LivingBristol.co.uk

The Bristol Silent Film Festival is due to run this week Thursday through Saturday the 17th, 18th and 19th. Events will take place at the Watershed, Colston Hall, Arnolfini and St George’s. Paul Merton will be hosting a Slapstick Gala Event at the Colston Hall. Other guests include Peter Lord and Richard Williams.

Tickets for individual events are 6 pounds and a pass for all events is 70 pounds.

Evening Classes in Bristol 

As a university town Bristol has a thriving education sector but learning is not just for students there are plenty of evening classes in Bristol for those looking to do some lifelong learning.

The University of Bristol

The first place most people look is at the local universities. Bristol University has a site dedicted to lifelong learning opportunities. They have a choice between traditional evening classes, short courses which often are just a onde day event on the weekend, or longer courses and courses leading to an official qualification.

Language Evening Classes in Bristol

Some highlights from the Bristol timetable include a great range of language classes. The language courses available in Bristol are - Arabic, Czech, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Madarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Welsh. They generally run in the evening with start times between 6 and 8 with fees of around 80 pounds per term.

Drama and Creative Writing Evening Classes at Bristol University

There are also some fascinating looking evening classes in drama available including one day workshops with names such as “Instant Wisdom” and “Show Some Emotion” in addition to more traditional longer term “Actor Training” classes. If you are more interested in sitting behind a screen then there are various writing classes available including a “Diploma in Creative Writing” and courses entitled “Successful Screenwriting” and “More Than Words”.

Evening Classes at UWE

The University of the West of England also has a range of evening classes available although they tend to be more vocational as opposed to the more artistic bent of those available at Bristol. The range of courses can be found on their website. They have a particular focus on Health Care, Teaching, Law, Construction and Business.

 The Folk House Bristol

The Bristol Folkhouse is a central Bristol location on Park Street which also has a range of evening classes. This venue doesn’t tend to be widely publicised but it does boast an impressive schedule. The summer term starts on April the 21st and there are classes in Arts and Crafts, Pottery, Writing, Music and Dance, Fitness and Exercise,Languages
and Personal Development.

Spotted a really cool looking job for the Bristol company Aardman Animations as a web designer. They, of course, are famous for the Wallace and Gromit cartoons. They are looking for a senior designer for their website with a salary in the 30k range. Check out the details at this link.

You might be a bit suprised to learn The Apple was voted Bristol pub of the year 2006. At first glance this converted boat doesn’t leap out as the best place in town. When you go to order a beer though you’ll start to get a feel for the place.

Or you would but you probably won’t have a beer here. The Apple is famous for its wide range of local ciders. The drinks menu boasts 40 different ciders including Raspberry and Strawberry flavour, pear ciders (known as perries) and some special apple-distilled spirits such as Apple Eau de Vie and 5 year Old Somerset Cider Brandy.

Even if you don’t do cider it is definitely worth checking out. If your previous experience has been limited to the chemical tang of the commerical cider brands you be pleasantly suprised by the selection on offer. The range of ciders are natural and organice lovingly produced fro, um, apples.

In Summer their outside benches are a great place to relax and enjoy the harbour area.

Check out their website for more information.
 

You’ll find Syndicate nightclub smack bang in the middle of Bristol beside Broadmead and a short walk from the Corn Street nightlife area and the harbour.

The place is billed as a superclub although it doesn’t quite live up to this reputation. It is big but not as large as places like Oceania. For free entry to the Bristol Syndicate you can often pick up flyers on the street. As you walk along Corn Street watch out for the promotion guys and girls. Don’t be tempted to throw the flyers away because they often do include free entry. You do usually have to get there before midnight though.

The club has two main dancefloors. Downstairs is a, usually packed, dancefloor with a a couple of podiums playing mainstream music. Upstairs, depending on the night, there is another large, almost cavernous dancefloor playing a more alternative selection of songs.

The outside smoking area is quite good for comedy value because it looks on to the main street, in a previous life it was probably a loading bay, but with a large grill pulled down. So you can chat to passers by as you smoke and it gives the impression you are locked in some kind of odd cage.

Friday night is a good night for students with plenty of drinks promos. Usually they have cheap bottles of beer for £1.50 each. Saturday brings more of the young 9-5 crowd and the attitude levels rise considerably. If you are going on Saturday remember to take ID as they check pretty everyone even if you are obviously overage.

Check out the Syndicate website for information on drinks, prices and guestlist.

The New Year is a time to focus on your life and plan for the future. If you fancy sorting out your love life then there are a few upcoming dating events in Bristol this January.

The GrapeVine Social folk are holding an Australian wine tasting event. The tasting is aimed at 24-38 year olds and the 25 cover price includes a tasting of multiple Australian wines. The event is held at Po Na Nas on the Triangle and includes free entry to the nightclub afterwards. They have discounts for bookings of five or more people so it can be a great way to have a fun night out as a group. To book follow this link.