A Day At The Races

Chickapella

Christian Walsh

Glitter Fairies!

Dancing at the Oxjam Bristol Takeover!

Frozy

Hello Lazarus

Hello Lazarus

I Am Horse

I Am Horse

Joyce The Librarian

Joyce The Librarian

Joyce The Librarian

Ten Pound Suit Band

Ten Pound Suit Band

Ten Pound Suit Band

Ten Pound Suit Band

Ten Pound Suit Band

Matt Woosey

Matt Woosey

Matt Woosey

Poor Old Dogs

Noah (Archidemes)

Jason Watts

Katey Brooks

Normally adverse to the exclamation marks in writing, I’ve realised that most of the posts I have written have had titles with exclamation marks at the end. As well as throughout each post. Oooh the over the top nature of it all! But trust, it’s pure enthusiasm for our amazing events. I have not been over the top in my pre-event and post event articulation of joys, shown through the power of the ‘!’. Sometimes capital letters work even better than exclamation marks – they also replicate a loud speaker. Ahem:

OXJAM IS BRILLIANT.
THE OXJAM BRISTOL TEAM HAVE RAISED OVER £2,500 THIS SUMMER, WHICH WILL HELP SAVE LIVES AND ESTABLISH NEW & GREAT THINGS FOR PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD.

The generosity of the bands, venues, volunteers and good people of Bristol have helped change lives, such as you can see here:

Now it’s time for the TAKEOVER. This is the BIG ONE. We can raise an enormous amount of money, whilst having a fantastic time enjoying THIRTEEN HOURS of live music from local artists.

Local music, global impact.

Bristol has – and continues to – produce some of the best acts in the country, come, watch, enjoy, dance etc. to the merry beat of the city’s loved and respected music scene. A fiesta! Tomorrow, head down to Stokes Croft, you can purchase tickets in advance from WeGotTickets, or at the Canteen tomorrow.

See you there!

The Oxjam Bristol Raffle Tickets are still available through each of us and from select Oxfam shops. Come and get some when you pick up your wristband at The Canteen!

Our STAR PRIZE is a pair of flights to Dublin. It’s a fantastic city -see my account of a mini trip, here.

‘I had preconceptions of spinning through old buildings, past rivers of alcohol drenched bars, raucous singing and steamy lead detailed windows. I think I must have thought I was travelling back to 1853. In reality, Dublin is an extremely cool city, full of fascinating stories, museums, boutiques and enormous plates of delicious food. Every person we met was a delight and the relatively small size of the city gave it a fantastic community feel.’ 
Extract from Bristol 247 review.

Commenting on the event Aer Arann’s Media & Communications Manager, Aoife Donohoe said:

“Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Aer Arann is delighted to support the Oxjam Bristol Takeover. Congratulations to all the event organisers and volunteers, we wish you every success for what promises to be a fantastic event on 22nd October.” 

Your visit to Dublin:

Dublin Festival Season in Dublin is coming to an end in October, but the city always has something going on. If you go before Christmas, you’ll find:

Innovation Dublin – Current – 18th November
National Science Week – 13th -20th November
Christmas Season at beautiful Farmleigh House 1st – 30th December The house will be decorated in traditional Edwardian Christmas style; markets, storytelling and singing to get you in the Christmas spirit.
Leopardstown Christmas Racing - 26th – 29th December
NEW YEAR in Dublin – All info. here at dublinnewyearfestival.com.

There is a FREE app available to download from Visit Dublin, full of ideas, passes and information.

Other amazing raffle prizes include:

Two tickets to next year’s faery festival in Cornwall

PapadeliHamper worth £100

Papadeli Hamper worth £100

Bristol Relaxation Centre Spa Day Package

Howkapow item

The Joy of Hooping hula hoop in Oxjam colours

Two prizes of 1x Personal Training session and 4x Core Conditioning or Kick boxing group sessions c/o ProTomFitness

White Stuff £20 Voucher

Sarah Matthews illustration of Bristol

Fritha Strickland illustration

Faery Festival

Sarah Matthews illustration of Bristol

Howkapow

Owl In The Sun
+ The Daturas + Joanna Joyce + Liz Kearton
Thursday, October 13th
Leftbank, Montpelier

The takeover is so close; OCTOBER 22nd! This is our last show before we bring out the dazzling glitter and dance/sit/play/strut and sing with 30 plus local artists. We can’t wait to spend a day seriously celebrating and applauding Bristol’s music scene with our festivities!

Without further ado: May we introduce our acts for the October 13 Oxjam show:

OWL IN THE SUN
Folky Americana and gypsy jazz is combined with acoustic instruments and rich vocal harmonies. Full of energy, emotions and spiraling stories within songs.

The Daturas
Lightly rocky, with a bit of gypsy jumping, varying tempos, 90s punky vocals and strong guitars – this Bath band is head nodding, hips a jiving good.

Joanna Joyce
The lady and the guitar – a strong voice, delicate guitar and heartfelt lyrics.

Liz Kearton
‘Disco House/Melodramatic Pop’ – what more could you want on a Thursday evening? Pretty electro with lyrics on love, nuclear paranoia and various cultural/political philosophies.

£4 entry – all profits to Oxjam.

Russ raised £100 through his Just Giving site – and many more pounds on the night itself by supporters, cheering him on! It’s not too late to donate to Russ’s Just Giving fund – just click here. Thank you Russ, absolutely FANTASTIC!

Pigpen Social Day of The Dead event is on Saturday 29th, No. 51s. See you there!

We enjoyed music by:

Simon Allen

Clayton Blizzard

and…

Centrefolds

We also thoroughly enjoyed seeing Russ Spollin and Rich Fogerty being waxed! It was bizarre how everyone thrived on the clenched teeth and sweaty brows, but thrive they did! Our waxer, Emma, from Treatment Rooms, said Russ: “Was the most vocal man she’d waxed.” She added: “It was the screaming and yelping.” Our lovely waxer said she felt bad for the waxees, but they’re fine, smooth and happy again now. Plus they’ve raised OVER £350 for Oxjam. For this, we thank them from the bottom of our pink hearts. We also raised £100 just from our little whip round with a bucket, as the event was all FREE.

Thank you to the artists, Emma, Treatment Rooms, Russ, Rich and Andy Valentine for compering Rich’s wax – TOP show!

Russ Gets Waxed

Rich’s Turn!

We are all very excited to see Centrefolds, Clayton Blizzard and Simon Allen tonight at The Prom.

Also, can’t wait (ish) to see Rich, Russ and Steve, get waxed. Thanks so much to Treatment Rooms of Park Row, who are waxing our volunteer hairy ones!

Sponsor Rich here. Sponsor Russ Spollin, here.

What this is for: Oxfam‘s vital work around the world. Here follows a video from Oxfam‘s Grow Campaign – Land Grabs:

Musicworks

As the Oxjam Bristol Takeover team arrived to the Anchor Stage, it was raining. Really hard. However, we grabbed some hot drinks, put the gazebos up and welcomed Musicworks to the stage. Some Bob Marley covers then the beautiful, entrancing sounds of Katey Brooks grabbed lots of attention and raised spirits completely. As the Musicworks belted out some rap, the sun peeked out.Then it showed itself as the Goodnight Sweethearts strutted, sweetly sung and made everyone chuckle with their chat between songs, as well as their cheeky lyrics. The Butcher of Bedminster had a couple of songs dedicated to him and twirling was aplenty.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed comedy by Chris Chopping & Co. girlfriends, cats and swimming pools… Hannah Phipps singing in French, as the light lowered was perfect. Whilst the impassioned singing from Jason Watts, was impressive. Andy Valentine finished the show with a great set, full of 90s hits.

Though we weren’t fundraising at BrisFest, we had a couple of tins out incase anyone wanted to donate. Happily, HAPPILY, we raised over £100. This is brilliant and goes towards our total. The final amount to be counted after the takeover on October 22nd.

Thank you so much to everyone who worked with us at BrisFest. All the artists, Peter Davie the sound man & Ben Morris, who were calm in the wet weather and a pleasure to work with. Rob Dyer for getting up every morning to help us set up, as well as staying late to help us pack up – and of course, performing. The Oxfam land grab team, stood in the gazebo next to us and all the people who stopped to say hello and enjoy our entertainment! We hope to see you all at the takeover on October 22nd.

 Goodnight Sweethearts

Eliza Jane Fyfe

Last Saturday, the Oxjam Bristol Takeover Team took over the centre of town’s Anchor Square stage, right next to @Bristol. We put up some our gazebos (with ease *ahem) and danced a merry dance in the sunshine, until our first artist took to the stage, in the form of the excellent, Eliza Jane Fyfe. Meanwhile, in the very middle of BrisFest, graffiti artists worked their magic on Lloyds Ampitheatre, coffee was poured and excitement started brewing for a day of music, art, dancing, talks and comedy. The atmosphere was relaxed as everyone eased themselves in for a day of fun. The night before, heralding the start of the festival, the Alfresco Disco etc., had geared many up for what promised to be a full, SUNNY and exciting couple of days and nights.

We at the Oxjam stage, put on a brilliant show, full of variety, enthusiasm and showcasing this city’s amazing talent. The artists were all absolutely fantastic and we can’t thank them enough for donating their time and skills to our cause. It was a super day and we think Oxjam stood out perfectly – all pink and entertaining. Thanks to everyone!

Oxfam Land Grab Campaign Volunteers

Team Oxjam

Beelieve Journal

Rare Roses

Evie Woods

Stepped in to have a strum

Crack Tan

Ben Woodward, The Unbreakable Pattern

Rob Dyer

Anna Young

Bite The Buffalo