Bristol

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/57720333

The Greens became the largest party on Bristol Council last year, promising change after years of service cuts under Labour. What has this bright new future meant for Bristol? £50 million more cuts!

Greens were beaming ear to ear, two of their leading councillors spoke of their “pride” in their council budget. That’s pride in slashing funding for services for domestic abuse, mental health, and children in care, and reducing bin collections to once every four weeks.

The change in council has meant very little for the people of Bristol. Yet again we have a party aligned with austerity, maintaining a political system which puts private profit first.

Labour’s attempt to pose as opposition was extremely hypocritical. They spent the last eight years running the city, making cuts, and blaming the Tory government.

Now Labour sits in Westminster, and the Greens in Bristol. But austerity still continues. Labour even moved an amendment to reopen public toilets – toilets closed by a Labour mayor seven years ago!

Councillors repeatedly spoke of the collaboration between parties in the budget process, congratulating themselves for bridging a “broad church” of different ideologies. It’s hardly a wide array of opinions when they’re united in cuts and devastating the most vulnerable.

There wasn’t even a sniff of fightback to the national Labour government, in order to protect the community from the defunding of public services.

The Socialist Party was out in force, joining the lobby outside the council building organised by the trades union council. We gave out Socialist Party leaflets opposing cuts and pointing a route away from austerity.

Councillors do have a choice. They must refuse to make cuts, and instead mobilise a mass campaign of people to demand that council funding be restored.

Bristol council does still have the flexibility to prevent cuts in the short term, while a campaign is built. This budget saw the Greens find £60 million more to put into council reserves.

As we see public services cut, the Greens have the gall to state that this money is to be held back for an emergency. As if the current funding crisis doesn’t qualify as an emergency!

The Greens have no new ideas for running the council, and are totally fangless in opposition to Starmer’s Labour government. Now more than ever, we need a new mass workers’ party to take the reins from careerist politicians and into the hands of the working class.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/19048915

The graves of more than 4,500 people have been discovered in the grounds of a historic building on the edge of Bristol, which archaeologists say reflects a ‘dark chapter’ in the city’s history.

The remains were unearthed over five years in a dig at the site of the former Blackberry Hill Hospital in Stapleton in Bristol, and revealed in a report released this week by the archaeologists.

Cotswold Archaeology were commissioned by developers Vistry, who are developing the site for housing, to investigate the historic site, which has had many roles in the city’s history.

And now, having completed the first part of the archeological excavation, and analysed the findings, Cotswold Archaeology have now reported back to Vistry what they found - and the results are stunning.

The site was first developed in the late 1700s, when Stapleton Prison was built there. Over the next few decades, it housed prisoners of war from Britain’s conflicts with France, Spain, Holland and the US, but as Bristol grew and the conflicts ended, a new need was more pressing - as a hospital. Its location on the edge of the city meant it was converted into a hospital during the 1832 cholera outbreak, but within five years had been converted again into the Stapleton Workhouse.

From then until the early 20th century, the workhouse was where the poor, destitute, sick and anyone who couldn’t look after themselves were sent, and very often they died there, and were buried in unmarked graves - which have now been discovered, more than 100 years later.

“One of the most striking elements of the excavation is the discovery of more than 4,500 graves,” said Rosanna Price, Cotswold Archaeology’s engagement manager. “These primarily date from the workhouse period, from 1837 to the late 19th century. Some burials may even date back to the site’s earlier function as a prisoner-of-war camp.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16662111

A woman who "married" the River Avon said the event had changed her life.

Megan Ruth-Trump and her friends gathered for the ceremony in Bristol in 2023.

Her aim was to raise awareness about untreated sewage being pumped into the waterways, but she said the event had now grown into something "bigger".

"We put together a wedding event that would celebrate love for the river. It would bring people together - it started as a joke but quickly got attention," she said.

...

Speaking about the wedding, she said: "It felt bigger than the event itself. It felt a bit sacrificial - people's reaction was strong, they thought it was weird and funny and powerful.

"Marriage is a human tradition meaning union, promising care. It was very moving. People were moved to act."

She added that the event "changed her life", saying: "I was brought together with a lot of strong women in film, science, and journalism.

"I was now connected to other river campaigns - all the rivers are connected.

"It's a huge inspiration for my poetry. I'll attempt to be a river bride poet in Bristol."

...

Artist Kim Kaos has also been backing the campaign. He created a puppet representing a river goddess to draw attention to the issue and help people relate to the river as "a being".

Mr Kaos describes himself as an arts activist - he uses his art to "amplify campaigns".

"The river is a big thing for people to conceive - the puppet can embody the spiritual side of the river," he said.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14589126

Mr Malone said: "After a few minutes we noticed a man and another man - a black man and a white man - carrying a suitcase across the street right towards us.

"They were struggling with the weight of it. I actually thought they might drop it in the middle of the road.

"I thought about going to help them, but something made me stop.

"And so they came over and put the suitcase right by our feet.

"I said to them - 'That looks really heavy, what have you got in there, a body?' - jokingly like you do.

"We were feeling good, happy, so I made a joke and they didn't reply.

"Then they just left it by us and they walked back across the street.

A quest to dedicate a statue of Edward Teach – better known as Blackbeard – has been launched. Bristol resident Jack Stephens has launched a petition to commission a statue in the city centre saying it is crucial to honour iconic figures who have shaped its cultural identity.

Blackbeard was one of the most feared pirates on the high seas during the early 18th century as is thought to have been from Bristol. Despite his notorious reputation, he represents an important part of maritime history that had significant impacts on trade routes and colonial expansion during his time.

Jack said: “As someone deeply invested in the rich history and heritage of Bristol, I believe it is crucial that we honour those iconic figures who have shaped our city’s cultural identity. One such figure is Edward Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard the Pirate. Thought to have originated from Bristol, his story has become a part of our shared narrative.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/4010238

cross-posted from: https://real.lemmy.fan/post/993614

CREEPY DAMAGED DOLL FACE WARNING

cross-posted from: https://derp.foo/post/352263

There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.