dead brains don't dance

Yesterday, I finally finished first-order processing and uploading of the photos I took of last Sunday’s railway path celebration.

Apart from well dodgy blokes in shades, there were Police posing on pushbikes, vegetables, badgers, drummers, a pink souzaphone, a knight in shining armour, and childrins. The weather was perfect, and a wonderful time was had by all. Sadly, and predictably, on Tuesday the Labour group on First Bristol Council, abetted by the Tories, fucked up the Green-amended-by-LibDem motion to protect the path from the ravages of the arsewipes on the WOEP, by proposing and forcing through a wrecking amendment.

Still, if the thing does get stopped, it just gives WOEP more time to consider destroying the Malago Greenway instead. Or as well.

Guided BRT is the wrong answer to the wrong question in pretty much any existing urban area, which presumably explains why the government and its tame quangos are so excited by the things. That and their being bus, and not (still strongly Unionised) rail.

Today, I want shopping. First, to Asda - no, not to support Wall*Wart by buying anything, but to offer the knee of the cargo trousers I wtore on Sunday for repair at Johnsons, who rent a pitch in their market strip. Thence in search of new wholefood/deli experiences South of the river: the deli on Oxford Road was shut (permanently?) and I couldn’t find the one I thought was on Wells Road at all. Ho hum. I returned to North Street and got the bits we needed from the Southville deli and greengrocer, but still no concentrated blackcurrant juice.

There seems to be a terminal shortage of the stuff in Bristol ATM: all that I can find is the Crazy Jack (or whatever its called) stuff that only contains blackcurrant in homeopathic concentrations and is of no use whatsoever. The bog-standard Suma and Meridian juices might still be around on Gloucester Road, but I haven’t seen my holy grail, the little bottles of organic mega-concentrated Meridian juice, since I snaffled the last bottle the Sweet Mart on St Marks Road had over a month ago.

I’d bike up to Gloucester Road now if we weren’t waiting for purple_peril, who we’re ferrying up to CostCo this afternoon; she’s late, damnit. Hopefully she’ll arrive in an intact state soon after I post this.

ETA and here she is :)

Transforming a linear park joining communities across the city into a linear wall splitting them apart.

The Bristol Cycling Campaign meeting next Tuesday, to start a campaign group protesting the routing of a new guided bus route along the Bristol-Bath cycle path, has outgrown its initial venue and will now be in Easton Community Centre, Kilburn Street. Starts at 7:30, and you don’t have to be a cyclist to attend (plenty of Ordinary Non-Lycra-Wearing People use the cycle path and are as threatened by its desecration).

Be there or be somewhere else, but if you’re in the Bristol area (or Bath; the same sort of thing is threatened at the other end of the line), come along if you can. And sign the petition if you haven’t already.

Bus lanes and guided buses, yes, but not at the expense of cycle and pedestrian access, or with the destruction of community space.