St. Mary Redcliffe Church

St. Mary Redcliffe Church isn't the main church is Bristol - that is the Bristol Cathedral, which was also a lovely church. This church was a bit off the beaten path, but is well worth a visit.

There has been a Christian church on this site since 1115 AD, although the oldest details on this church are from 1185. I particularily like all the faces on the outside of the church.
There were some very creepy ones, too.
This is the inner porch - the oldest part of the church. It dates from 1185.

These carvings just to the right of the main entrance door are the oldest in the church, also dating from 1185.
Each of the gold figures on the ceiling was completely different, ranging from men to flowers to mazes. Oh, apparently they are called "roof bosses' and there are more than 1200 of them.

The brightly colored stained glass at the bottom of the wall is new and more modern. I like it - it lets a lot of light in.
Along the bottom of the wall you can see the recesses in the wall meant for tombs. They are called 'stellate tomb recesses' and they are unique to a couple churches in Bristol.
This was on the ceiling. I though it was interesting.
It was nice being in the church, mainly because it was empty.
The tower is 13th century and had its spire restores in 1872. It is 292 feet tall.

It was hard to get a full view of the church because it faced a rather busy highway. And it was covered by trees. Still, well worth a visit.

Graffiti around Bristol

I'm not sure if Bristol is known for its graffiti, but I did find it a very 'rough' town. It's not the quaint English beauty that Stratford or Salisbury had. It was industrial and a bit scary at time. Lots of burnt-out buildings and dirt. Some of the graffiti was quite interesting, though, so enjoy.

Haha! Go Paddington Bear!


This appeared to be some type of church. I didn't get too close... it was a bit odd.
Nom nom nom.

Yes, by calling something a "Cultural Quarter", rather than "don't-come-here-after-dark-or-get-mugged Quarter", it makes it much less scary...
It was an interesting area to be in, but not one that I would linger in.

Bristol also had two lovely churches, but I will post information and pictures about them tomorrow when I've had more time to research them. Stay tuned!

Banksy vs Bristol Museum

Okay, so I'm going to assume that most of you know who Banksy the graffiti artist is. If not, click this link here and read all about it.

However, before heading to the museum I took a walk around Bristol to find of the graffiti that he is famous for.

This picture of what appears to be death is on the side of the Thekla social boat that is moored in the Bristol habor.
The next piece is one of the more famous ones, although it has been defaced recently, with the addition to this little paint-balling guard.
You can see the obvious blue paintball marks, but the idea of the picture still stands.
Apparently this peice drew complaints from guys who knew about guns since this guard isn't holding his gun correctly.
This is another famous one, called "Mild Mild West". The teddy bear seems to be throwing some sort of molotov cocktail. Heh.
Here is the start of the Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition. The beginning of the museum showcased some of the art/stencils that he is famous for, while the rest of the exhibition's peices were hidden among the rest of the museum - to appear as if he had defaced some of the art.
You can't read this, but the horribly-drawn man is saying "You have GOT to be kidding me."

This was made up to either mimic or represent some kind of studio - it showed some of the stencils for some peices, as well as a sweater that reads "Thug for Life".
The woman is saying "Where did you ge that hat?", while the man is responding "The same idiot that drew your shoes."







There is an asterix right at the top of the mountain, and at the bottom it reads: "Subject to availability for a limited period only".
If you haven't already seen there is also a hole inthe painting where the guy's junk would be. A place to put yours, perhaps?

The man on the left is saying "Does anyone actually take this kind of art seriously?", while the man on the right is responding: "Never underestimate the value of a big gold frame."
This part of the exhibition was done up in like a zoo, only with some strange 'animals'. This 'bird' and her two chicks are in fact, CCTV cameras - as I'm sure you realize. They all moved, too - everything was animated, which made it all very lifelike.
Yep, those are chicken McNuggets, dipping themselves in their sauce.
A bunny trying to be 'beautiful'.
And a tweety bird that appears to have been sitting there for quite a long time.
Instead of an information desk, here is a burnt out icecream truck, complete with Metropolitan Police officer in riot gear riding a playground horse.

Ooops... somebody better hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE!






You can't tell, but this money has Princess Diana's face on it, instead of the Queen.

And, on the exit, your own mini-Stonehenge out of port-a-potties. Good lord.

This was definitely one of the best parts of Bristol - a very good exhibition and at a good price, too (FREE!).