BBC Studios' week-long 'Prehistoric Planet' event series set to begin

Featuring an original score by multiple Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Prehistoric Planet is an enthralling exploration of ancient earth.

Set to debut globally on Apple TV+ from Monday 23 through to Friday 27 May, the five-episode groundbreaking series will transport viewers 66 million years in the past to discover our world – and the dinosaurs that roamed it. 

Rolling out with one new episode per day, Prehistoric Planet combines award-winning wildlife filmmaking, the latest palaeontology learnings and state-of-the-art technology to unveil the spectacular habitats and inhabitants of ancient earth for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience. From revealing eye-opening parenting techniques of Tyrannosaurus rex to exploring the mysterious depths of the oceans and the deadly dangers in the sky, Prehistoric Planet brings Earth’s history to life like never before.

This series is produced for Apple TV+ by the world-renowned team at BBC Studios Natural History Unit with support from the photorealistic visual effects of MPC (The Lion King, The Jungle Book). Watch the first episode of Prehistoric Planet on Apple TV+ on Monday 23 May: tv.apple.com

OUR MAY ISSUE: OUT NOW

Our May magazine features a collection of great reading by our team of wonderful writers as well as beautifully presented advertising by Bristol's best businesses. We hope you'll enjoy the read!

15,000 copies are delivered door to door, and you can pick up a copy at many places around town – including our stands at Waitrose, John Lewis, House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols.

You can also read the digital version of our current issue by clicking here!

And if you would like to have a copy sent in the post every month, then we offer a postal subscription for just £30 for 12 issues, £15 for six issues or buy a copy for just £3.95. UK mainland prices. For Euro and World zone subscription prices – see our website. 

Win a £25 John Lewis voucher!

This week's 14 letter word is made up using the above letters in green and blue. We’ve placed 3 letters to give you a start. The blue letters are both used more than once.

Clue: Marilyn Monroe would have loved anything that might be described using this week's word.  

Make sure to follow us on twitter ( @thebristolmag ) to see the answer: posted on a Wednesday afternoon. Winners picked at random.

City of Hope: in conversation with Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees

Marvin Rees has been the Mayor of Bristol for six years; but this month, the city voted to end the mayoral system. Simon Horsford sat down with the Bristol-born politician ahead of the vote to discuss Rees' career so far, and what’s next…

You can read the full interview on The Bristol Magazine website: thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Image credit: Lisa Whiting Photography 

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until soft and translucent, adding the crushed garlic for the last minute or so.

2. Stir the diced carrot and sliced fennel into the pan and continue to sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Pour the fish stock, wine and saffron (plus saffron soaking water) into the pan, followed by the tomato purée and the thyme. Stir and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes before taking off the heat and allow to cool slightly before transferring the bisque to a blender or food processor and processing until smooth.

4. Return the bisque to the pan, add the raw prawns and cook over a low heat for around 4-5 minutes or until the prawns have turned pink and the bisque has thoroughly heated through. Season to taste (white rather than black pepper works well here), add the cream and heat for another minute.

5. To serve, ladle the bisque into warm bowls, add an extra swirl of cream to each bowl and sprinkle with a little fresh dill

Devilled Eggs (vegetarian; makes 12)

Peel 6 large, cooled hard boiled eggs and neatly slice them lengthways. Gently prise the yolk out of each half and put the yolks into a mixing bowl. Arrange the 12 halved whites on a serving platter. Mash the egg yolks with 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tsp English mustard, 1 generous tsp smoked paprika and a dash of Tabasco sauce. Season well before adding 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and blending with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth and glossy (if too thick, add a splash of just-boiled water). Neatly fill the egg whites with the spicy mixture (use a piping bag if you're feeling fussy) and serve sprinkled with more smoked paprika.

Herby Dough Balls (vegetarian; makes 16)

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Slice 16 ready-to-cook dough balls (readily available in the supermarket) in half horizontally and arrange on the baking tray, cut side up. Mix 100g cream cheese with 1 tbsp finely-chopped fresh chives, 1 tbsp finely-chopped fresh parsley and seasoning to taste. Spread the cheese mixture over the flat side of each ball right to the edges and spoon a small blob of chutney of your choice (mango chutney works well here) on top of each one. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden-brown. Serve hot.

Pear and Blue Cheese Filo Tartlets (vegetarian; makes 24)

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Brush two sheets of filo pastry with melted butter and place on top of each other. Cut the pastry into 24 equal squares and put the squares together, in pairs, on top of each other at a 45 degree angle to make a star shape (read that again; it's honestly not as complicated as it sounds!). Press each 'star' into the holes of 2 x 12 mini-muffin tins and bake in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Remove the pastry cases from the oven but leave the oven on while you peel 1 large ripe pear, chop it into small pieces and divide the pear pieces between the pastry cases. Mash 100g creamy blue cheese (Roquefort works well here) with 1 tsp lemon juice. Spoon blobs of the cheese mixture on top of each tart, sprinkle lightly with paprika or black pepper and return the tarts to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has just melted. Serve warm.

Mini Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraîche (makes 24)

Combine 400g cold, well-seasoned mashed potatoes with 1 large beaten egg, 1-2 tbsp whole milk, 1-2 tbsp plain flour and 2 tbsp finely-chopped fresh chives until you have a firm 'dough'. Roll the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface to around 1cm thick and, using a pastry cutter or the rim of a suitably-sized, flour dusted glass, cut into 24 discs. Coat the base of a large frying pan with oil and fry the potato cakes over a medium heat for around 2 minutes on each side, until browned (you will need to do this in several batches) placing each one on kitchen roll when cooked to remove excess oil. Top each cooled potato cake with a generous dollop of crème fraîche, slivers of finely-sliced smoked salmon, freshly ground black pepper and a squirt of lemon juice. Serve at room temperature.

Maeve Nanea Bandeau Tie-Back One-Piece Swimsuit

Get ready for summer with this colourful one-piece from Anthropologie. £98

Click here to shop the costume on the Anthropologie website.

HBO: The Time Traveler's Wife

Adapted by Steven Moffat from the beloved novel of the same name, The Time Traveler’s Wife follows the spellbinding love story between Clare (Rose Leslie of HBO’s Game of Thrones), and Henry (Theo James of Divergent), and a marriage with a problem: time travel.

Over six hour-long episodes, the genre-bending drama series expertly weaves themes of love, loss, marriage, and survival – in a story that defies the laws and logic of time. 

The Time Traveler's Wife is available to watch now on HBO Max: hbo.com

The idea behind The Art-Form is to ask six artists to complete a questionnaire about art. Each artist tackles the form in their own fashion, often generating original artworks in the process. There’s also a follow up interview which allows the artists to explain their work in addition to the insights and workings glimpsed on the completed form. It’s a very satisfying formula and makes for a fairly unique magazine. Issue 6 features Argentinian-Spanish multi-media artist Felipe Pantone, Spanish muralist and painter Aryz, Roby Dwi Antono, French painter Julie Curtiss, Swedish painter/sculptor Joakim Ojanen and US painter Grace Weaver. £15

Magalleria is a Bath-based shop and online retailer, selling fine and interesting magazines from independent and selected publishers from all over the globe. Visit the website to find out more: magalleria.co.uk

Radix Big Tent Ideas Festival 2022, 11 June, Queen Square, Bristol

Think you can do better than our current politicians?

Want to share your ideas with them and policy makers from across the country? Join conversations on regeneration, net zero, the future of the media and how we can transform our public services at the annual Radix Big Tent Ideas Festival. Held this year in Bristol at the invitation of Mayor Marvin Rees, the festival will give you the opportunity to contribute to policies in Bristol, the region and across the country.

Your chance to challenge local, national and international speakers including front-bench politicians, shadow ministers and leaders of Lib Dem and Green parties; have your say in Speakers Corner; make your mark on the art wall; watch local entrepreneurs bid for investment in the Pitch Pit (introduced by Shadow Minister Kwasi Kwarteng); enjoy lively entertainment and food and drink from local suppliers.

The festival will take place in Queen Square from 10am-6pm on 11 June. Details of the programme can be found at bigtent.org.uk. Tickets are available from the Ticketsource website: ticketsource.co.uk

Arun Ghosh: The Canticle of the Sun, Friday 3 June, St George's Bristol

One of the UK’s most accomplished composers and clarinettists, Arun Ghosh is touring the country with his brand-new project, The Canticle of the Sun.

Inspired by a beautiful old book picked up in a second-hand bookshop, Arun transforms the words of St Francis of Assisi into a spiritual jazz celebration of mother nature. Set across ten songs, Arun’s electro-acoustic reimagining of The Canticle of the Sun is mystical and joyful, contemporary and ancient. 

Pure and other-worldly vocal melodies soar over the eight-piece ensemble’s pulsating, hypnotic rhythms, searching harmony and meditative ambient textures, revealing a transcendental sound world.

Co-commissioned by Norwich & Norfolk Festival & Sound UK, the work is performed by a stellar line-up of some of the most exciting names in jazz and contemporary music at key festivals and venues across the country – including St George's Bristol on 3 June. 

Tickets (£15-23) are available from the St George's Bristol website: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

Shindig Festival, 26-29 May, Dillington Estate

The seventh edition of Shindig combines old-school festival residents with rising stars to ensure there’s something for everyone.

This year’s fancy dress theme is Mardi Gras, presenting Shindiggers with the perfect peacocking and parading opportunity. Don feathers, beads, gather your festival crew and bring the best shimmys and shakedowns you’ve got.

Visit the Shindig Festival website for more information: shindigfestival.co.uk

Gallagher Premiership, Ashton Gate, 20 May, 7.45pm Kick Off

Charles Piutau and Luke Morahan return to the Bears starting XV for tonight's Gallagher Premiership clash at Ashton Gate. 

Pat Lam makes five changes for the Bears’ final home game of the season against the play-off chasing Chiefs, with Alapati Leiua, on his final appearance at Ashton Gate, switching to inside centre and Steven Luatua captaining the side from number eight.

Dave Attwood and John Afoa, also playing at home for the final time, both start in the pack, as the Bears look to sign off the season in style.

Immediately after full-time, the club will honour its 11 departing players with a jersey presentation on the pitch, led by Director of Rugby Pat Lam. Please stay to show your appreciation.

Keep up to date with the Bristol Bears on twitter: twitter.com

Thatchers Cider donates apple trees to community orchards in Bristol

Community organisations across Bristol and the West Country have been planting young apple trees this spring as part of Thatchers Community Project 2022. 

The Somerset cider maker has donated 350 apple trees to 50 community groups across the UK who applied to be a part of this year’s project, now in its second year. With 500 groups sending in applications, Thatchers selected this year’s recipients for their positive impact on their local communities.

“This is the second year we have run the project, doubling the number of trees we donated. With such an amazing number of groups applying to take part, we know there’s a massive appetite for planting trees, with people recognising the positive impact orchards, however big or small, can have on our lives,” says Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cider maker in Somerset.

Find out more at thatcherscider.co.uk. 

Featured image: Martin Thatcher visited Barton Fields in Bristol, where Mike and Tina Bond are creating a community garden. The community space includes a wildlife garden and nature area, with the volunteers working hard to provide a greener space.

Self-taught artist to auction Mario Itoje painting at flagship rugby event

A portrait of England rugby star Maro Itoje is set to be auctioned at a flagship players’ event later this month – created by a self-taught Bristol artist who took up painting during lockdown. 

Martin Palmer’s oil and gold spray paint work will go up for sale at the Rugby Players Association (RPA) Awards Dinner, being held in London next week on Wednesday 25 May. Martin, who is director of business development and marketing at national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP, has had no formal training and only took up painting during the first Covid lockdown in 2020.

"The first lockdown was quite challenging and intense, with a lot of long working days spent enabling 600 plus people to successfully work from home," says Martin.

"I have never thought of myself as a creative person and have had no training whatsoever, and I just started initially as a means of relaxing and switching off."

At an RPA event earlier this year, his study of England rugby star Marcus Smith fetched £600 at auction. 

Martin says: "I was asked if I would paint another player for the RPA dinner this year and chose Maro Itoje because he is such an iconic, dynamic figure who inspires a lot of emotion. It is a pleasure to be able to support such a great cause."

Clarke Willmott is a national law firm with offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton. 

For more information visit clarkewillmott.com.

Featured image: Martin's portrait of Maro Itoje

The Vincent could be your place to be

The Vincent, beautifully nestled in Bristol's popular Redland district, offers a stylish collection of later living apartments that have been created with downsizers in mind, offering modern homes and a welcoming community created for you, your lifestyle and your future. 

The Vincent is ideally located within easy reach of Clifton Village and the city centre, while the expansive Clifton Downs nearby provide plenty of outdoor spaces to explore. All apartments have been finished to a high specification with open-plan designs creating spacious and light-filled abodes, and generous kitchens that feature fully integrated appliances and large worktops. The cosy yet spacious bedrooms offer built-in wardrobes to maximise storage with en-suites in many of the apartments. 

From: £400,000 - £1,250,000; rent from: £2,390 pcm.

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