The flight times are ideal for a weekend break. A plane leaves at around 7pm Friday night and there are return trips available early and late Sunday.

It isn’t the cheapest discount flight. The lowest advertised price is 39.99 each way (80 in total) although if you have little flexibility in dates you’ll probably end up paying between 120-250 for return depending on how early you book.

Alicante itself is a charming little town with a beach, marina and castle perched on the hill. The town itself would occupy a full weekend. There is a great little area packed full of bars in the centre which only really starts after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. In fact some of the bars don’t open till after 12.

The night life is very Spanish with a few Erasmus students but no hordes of British holiday makers.

If you do want to join the throngs of Brits then the infamous Benidorm resort is 45 minutes away from Alicante. A bus from the central station costs 4 euros, they are also available from the airport, a taxi costs around 75 euros.

Kukus Coffee Shop 

Kukus on Jamaica Street looks on to the famous Banksy Graffiti on Gloucester Road. It has very airy feel with big windows facing the road and a light colour scheme. Freshly baked basked of bread are placed at strategic points either for enjoyment inside or to be bought takeaway.

 They have a daily changing menu of specials which usually includes a vergetarian and non-vegetarian option. When I went this week it was toad in the hole and pasta bake. The toad in the hole came with a large varied side salad. They also have a nice range of soup. Service is always friendly and the place is generally busy without being too crowded.  You’ll often see people tapping away on laptops using the free wireless.

Kuvuku Coffee Shop

Cafe Kuvuku is just up the way from Kuku’s on  Cheltenham Road. It is a small cafe with an african theme. They have a couple of nice big leather sofas and a selection of books to browse from.  Notably they have some nice large picture books with African themes.

 The menu is pretty standard with a range of fair trade coffees, paninis and salads. One thing that really strikes the eye is collection of Stokes Croft postcards on display on the counter.

Cafe Kino

Kino is a vegan cafe perched on a slight hill off Cheltenham Road. The slightly hidden location is worth checking out if only for the super friendly, slightly DIY feel of the place.

Upstairs there is a small seating area with enough space to perch with a coffee and watch the world go by through the large windows. Downstairs there is plenty of seating with tables although it can feel a little cramped. The games and books lining the walls, and the general cheery feel, more than make up for this though.

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The UK department of transport has recently launched a bid to encourage cycling and Bristol has beaten off competition from other major cities to become the first “cycling city”. A grant of 11.4 million pounds will be used to provide free bikes to poorer communities, excellent locker and storage facilities in the city centre and dedicated cycle paths linking the suburbs and the city centre.

Any type of property that could be used on TV or in a film is required. So that could be a stately home, a 3-bed semi or a scruffy student place. If you are willing to put with a few smelly cameramen traipising round this could be a fun and interestig way to earn some extra money.

The BristolVolunteers website is the first place to look. It contain a comprehensive list of places to volunteer, grouped by sector, and includes a useful urgent vacancies list. Do-it is also a great nationwide site and if you narrow the search to Bristol there are lots of volunteer opportunities that aren’t even listed on the birtsolvolunteers.org.uk site.

The Cold Weather Group is an organisation providing help and shelter to rough sleepers in Bristol. They need volunteers to help out and have some interesting testimonials from volunteers on their site.

Nationwide Organisations

If you are a good listener maybe you would be interested in becoming a Samaritan. Information sessions are held the first evening of every month in central Bristol on St Nicholas Street.

Arts Organisations

The Cube cinema is a local independent cinema. It is not for profit and entirely volunteer run. It exists as a community social space hwoing films, events and music that would not be shown elsewhere. They do a volunteer induction once a month.

The age range is going to be 26-38, although this is leeway either side of that. If you are a 40 year woman with a taste for younger men then you should be ok. The night kicks off at 7:30 and includes free entry to the club later that evening.

For booking details follow this link.

The programme is as follows:

Friday 14th March

6.30pm Grand opening of Art ExhibitionTasters of the delights in store! Music - refreshments! Stanfords book launch.

7.30pm“Unforgettable Walks to Take before You Die” by Steve Watkins & Clare Jones (BBC Books)

Saturday 15th March

11am-5pm Art Exhibition

10.30am Shadow puppet workshop & animated film “The Pilgrimage” for families with kids 7–11(Jonathan Hayter - Figure of Speech)

2.30pm Summiting Ama Dablam:Nikki Skinner’s journey from Kendal to Khumbu

7.30pmThrough the Giant Caves of Borneo : illustrated talk by cave explorer Dick Willis

Sunday 16th March

11am-5pm Art Exhibition

11.00amBooks & Buns Morning -coffee, croissants, books & authors

1.30pm“A Message to the Sea” - performance around the Atlantic Slave Triangle

4pm Iraq War: Diana Warner’s experiences on her Bristol to London peace walk

Cabot Circus Cantata: screening & discussion of Neville Gabie

7pm& David Ogden’s musical film Travels with a Trumpet: David Mowat’s story

They showcase artists like cheba, inkie and FLX.

The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday midday to seven at 140-142 Gloucester Road.

This years selection tackles such monsters as global warming, democracy, creativity and rational choice. Each one being covered seperately in individual talks with moderately famous authors/intellectuals/clever people.

The highlight for me will be Charles Leadbetter’s talk “We-think: The Power of Mass Creativity” which promises to discuss some really recent cultural and technical changes. How websites such as youtube, wikipedia and craigslist can release innovation and creativity.

Leadbetter is going to be giving similar talks on “We think” at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Tallberg conference in Sweden. So it is nice to see Bristol on the creative map alongside these.

You can download a draft version of the book here and get involved in some community conversation around it as well… which is, after all, exactly what the book discusses.

Ticket prices are fairly steep at £17.50 a pop although the concession price of £7.50 looks better value especially when you usually can pick up a free book from the presenter. Last year most of the attendees seemed to go along for free because there company had sponsored the event and the organisation was a little chaotic. I paid full price but could easily have gotten in for free as no tickets were checked.

The full programme can be found here.

The auditions have never taken place in Bristol which is a shame although they usually have a casting each year close by in Cardiff. Other locations are Newcastle, Glasgow, Dublin, Belfast and Manchester. So maybe we will have Big Brother auditions in Bristol for 2009.

To book your place check out this link.