Sing for the King

St George’s Bristol and Bristol Cathedral have organised a special tribute to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, as well as Bristol’s historic 650th anniversary. The Sing for the King event will take place at 3pm on Monday 1st May (Bank Holiday).

The live event is free and open to anyone, either as a singer or as part of the audience. Participants will find themselves surrounded by singers from several local choirs such as Bristol Choral Society, Bristol Cabot Choir, City Voices Bristol, Fitzhardinge Consort, and UWE Singers. There will be accompaniment by City of Bristol Brass Band. The event will be filmed, edited and presented to His Majesty as Bristol’s tribute to the new monarch with the city’s civic best wishes.

Sing for the King will feature Handel's famous composition Zadok the Priest, written for the Coronation of King George II in 1727. The event will also feature the brand new coronation anthem, The Mountains Shall Bring Peace, written especially for King Charles III by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange – part of a national Sing for the King initiative with the Royal Schools of Church Music.

St George’s Bristol will be running free online tutorials before the event for anyone who wants to learn the piece. Singers will meet online from 1.30pm-2.30pm to rehearse. For any individuals, groups or choirs who are interested in taking part, please visit stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

OUR APRIL ISSUE: OUT NOW

You'll love our fabulous April magazine which features a great collection of reading by our team of wonderful writers as well as beautifully presented advertising by Bristol's best businesses. We hope you 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.

Read the digital version of our current issue here!

And if you would like to have a copy sent in the post every month, then we offer a postal subscription for just £33 for 12 issues, £18 for six issues or buy a copy for just £4.25. UK mainland prices. For Euro and World zone subscription prices – see our website. 

Ice Sweet Ice

If there's a pantheon of the great sweet wines of the world - one inhabited by the likes of Sauternes, Tokaji and Vin de Constance - then Canadian Icewine is clearly worthy of a place there.

This remarkable style, born on the Niagara Peninsula between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and based on the toughest grape harvest on Earth (late December, -10°C), has been moulded by generations of growers into a perfect combination of luscious sweetness, biting acidity and dazzling purity of fruit. 'Nectar' is the tasting note that springs most readily to mind here. Welcome to Canadian wine!

Ice Cuvée Sparkling - Peller Family Estates

This is an intriguing sparkling wine - well, for starters, it's from Niagara in Canada. Even more interestingly, unlike Champagne, the final adjustment is made by adding ice wine (from frozen grapes), which gives complexity and not just sweetness. The finished result is a little less dry than Brut Champagne, with gloriously unique nuances of yeast, ripe apple honey, apricot and citrus zest. This you gotta try! £27.50

Sauvignon Blanc - Trius

A fresh, bright Canadian Sauvignon Blanc, packed with grapefruit, gooseberry, honeydew melon and passion fruit, with herbs, citrus and lemongrass. £22.

Merlot - Trius

Bright purple in colour with a bouquet of cherry and red plum fruit, accented by notes of earth, tobacco, spice box and smoke. Medium-bodied and fruit-forward. This Merlot has soft tannins, along with fruit-forward flavours of red berry, cherry and plum. Black tea, cocoa powder, plum and pomegranate notes linger on the finish. £22.

Vidal Icewine 37.5cl - Peller Family Estates

37.5cl. This wine has won so many top awards, it’s embarrassing -  but with a delicate gold colour, an aromatic bouquet of lemon marmalade, caramelized oranges, golden pineapple and a touch of honey - you get the drift. A rich, medium to full-bodied wine with explosive flavours of honey, golden pineapple, star anise and brown sugar and butter. Winning really is the sweetest thing. £44

Click here to look up Canadian Icewine at the Great Wine Co. greatwine.co.uk

Whatever your choice, there’s a great saving on Easter wines at The Great Wine Co. Click here to see over 70 wines on offer.

Recipe by Melissa Blease

No-Bake Easter Egg Cheesecake

This simple but indulgent no-bake cheesecake is a guaranteed crowdpleaser – but it doesn't necessarily have to be an Easter-only treat. When chocolate mini eggs have had their seasonal moment, Maltesers, chocolate buttons or mini peanut butter cups work equally well... or, for a more sophisticated, adults-only version, consider dark chocolate truffles and prepare to swoon.

Ingredients

200g digestive biscuits
80g unsalted butter, melted
250g chocolate mini eggs
400g full-fat cream cheese
150g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
400g double cream

Method

Lightly grease a deep, 20cm springform cake tin and line with baking parchment. Tip the digestive biscuits into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb (or, tip them into a plastic bag and pummel them with a rolling pin to achieve the same effect). Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter, then firmly press into the base of the prepared cake tin. Chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, roughly chop half the chocolate mini eggs. Using an electric whisk, beat the double cream to stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar and vanilla essence until just combined. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture along with the chopped chocolate mini eggs. Spoon the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base, then smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a large spoon. Chill the whole cheesecake for a minimum of 4 hours (or, if you're getting ahead, up to 24 hours).

When you're ready to serve, carefully release the cheesecake from the tin and top with the remaining whole chocolate mini eggs.

Graham and Green Hare Egg Cup - £16.95

A delightful addition to your morning breakfast, this ceramic egg cup has been beautifully made and hand-painted.

Click here to see more grahamandgreen.co.uk

The Vintage Bazaar, Frome, 22 April 9am–2pm

Visiting The Spring Vintage Bazaar in Frome, Somerset is a wonderful way to blow away the winter cobwebs and indulge in a bit of eco-friendly retail therapy. At this unique event you can purchase from some of the country’s best dealers in vintage textiles, decorative antiques and French brocante as well as a handpicked selection of designer makers.

The New Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41

We were not expecting this! Rolex is enjoying a most playful moment and has just launched one of the most visually fun to funky editions with ‘Celebration’.

This brand-new motif is available for the Oyster Perpetual 31, Oyster Perpetual 36 and Oyster Perpetual 41mm case sizes - so a perfect match for any wrist.

Composed of differently sized bubbles fringed with black, it’s inspired by the vivid colours of the lacquered dials introduced in 2020, bringing turquoise blue into play for the background colour, and candy pink, yellow, coral red and green for the bubbles.

On the practical side… the self winding perpetual movement is one of the finest calibres and has a power reserve of about 70 hours, it is water resistant to 100m and every watch is certified a Superlative Chronometer by COSC and Rolex after casing. What a surprise… we love it. The price for the Oyster Perpetual 41 is £5,400.

Find out more at Bath’s official Rolex retailer Mallory and register your interest by visiting: mallory-jewellers.com

Curated by Daniel McCabe

The pandemic diminished the number of international magazines available to us and while things have improved, our weak currency has closed out a good many others since, one of which was the offbeat Australian lifestyle indie Frankie which disappeared around eighteen months ago. Few titles can match this one for its peculiar blend of fashion, food, craft, interiors, wellbeing and vintage bits and bobs – we certainly couldn’t find a replacement, so we’ve had to import it ourselves. The latest issue looks at creative block, escape rooms, Sydney sharehouses, charity shop finds and ‘weirdly aggressive male skincare’. | £11.99

store.magalleria.co.uk

Bristol Old Vic: Zog, 5-16 April

Large in size and keen in nature, Zog is eager to win a golden star at Madam Dragon’s school, where dragons learn all the things that dragons need to know. 

Zog tries so very hard, perhaps too hard, and he bumps, burns and roars his way through years one, two and three. Luckily, the plucky Princess Pearl patches him up ready to face his biggest challenge yet… a duel with knight, Sir Gadabout the Great!

The smash-hit stage adaptation from Freckle Productions (the team behind Zog and the Flying Doctors and Stick Man) is back and promises to be bigger, brighter and more roar-some than ever before! With lively songs from Joe Stilgoe and directed by Emma Kilbey, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved Zog is a magical production for all ages.

Tickets (£13 child | £15 adult) available from the Bristol Old Vic website: Click here to book

ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show, 14 April, 8pm

Shakespeare hasn’t written anything new for an age, so ShakeItUp thought they would give him a hand…Using his language, audience suggestions, and the company's overactive imaginations, they create a brand-new Shakespeare play live on stage, complete with live music, songs and plenty of laughs.

So join ShakeItUp for an evening of Bard-Based Bedlam!

ShakeItUp Theatre is excited to perform for the first time at The Bristol Improv Theatre, bringing our unique blend of improvisation and the works of the Bard.

At the start of each show, the audience get to pick their preferred authentic Shakespearean genre (Epic History? Romantic Comedy? Gruesome Tragedy?), the location of where they will lay their scene, their hero’s name, or even their day job! From here, the company will weave a brand-new play that would make the Bard himself proud, accompanied by improvised music and songs from their talented (and flexible) ShakeItUp Band. Should their players struggle for exactly the right line in the heat of performance, they will have help from specially penned lines written by the audience before the show, adding an extra edge of unpredictability. Expect big laughs, high drama, and a healthy dose of rhyming couplets.

The cast will be made up of five expert improvisors, including an actor-musician who will improvise songs and a suitably Shakespearean score to the action.

For more information and to book your tickets, visit: improvtheatre.co.uk

Stay up to date with ShakeItUp:

Twitter: twitter.com/shakeitupimprov; Facebook: facebook.com/ShakeItUpTheatre; Website: shakeituptheatre.com

University of Bristol Botanical Garden Easter Sculpture Festival

The University of Bristol Botanical Garden is once again hosting its Easter Sculpture festival. This event allows visitors to discover the serenity of the Botanic Garden, but with a twist. The garden will be decorated with intricate mosaics featuring wildlife, white stone figures decorating the Mediterranean display, sci-fi metal work, plant-like ceramics, and carnival faces in the glasshouses.

Visitors can buy sculptures, experience a guided tour of the garden, and even have a go themselves willow weaving, pottery, woodturning, and stone carving, guided by experts on these crafts.

The Friends of the Garden will be present, running their usual plant sale, an tea and cake will by provided by Chandos Deli on the West Terrace.

• Friday 7th, Saturday 8th, Sunday 9th, and Monday 10th April.
• 10am until 5pm
• Entrance £10 (£11 with gift aid)
• Free to Friends of the Garden, children, students, staff and alumni of the University of Bristol.

Click here for further details

Cinema for a Pound

Independent filmmaker Marcus Markou has launched an innovative new release scheme for the film The Wife And Her House Husband.

The double bill of Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times and The Wife And Her House Husband will be playing at Scott Cinemas at Westbury Park for six consecutive nights from Saturday 15 April to Thursday 20 April at 18.30 each evening. All tickets are £1 and are on sale from the cinema now.

In The Wife And Her House Husband Cassie and Matthew come to the end of a bitter divorce proceeding, Cassie produces a forgotten letter from their younger selves suggesting advice in the event of a future separation. The letter specifies a list of items to help them recreate memories from the past, so that they "can let go of each other with love and not with fear". Matthew reluctantly agrees to do the first item on the list - to meet Cassie in the park where they were first alone together, 20 years before. This meeting starts a chain reaction of events, a release of memories and a confrontation with a challenging past - as the couple start to understand who they became in their marriage. Over the next four intense days, Cassie and Matthew find themselves painfully drawn back together but continue to struggle at what it means to reconnect.

Writer/Director Markou commented "I made this film from my heart. I set out to tell an intelligent story and make something authentic, true and emotionally engaging and I’ve used a story structure (the use of a letter) that allows for reveals."

Contact the cinema for more details at bristolwestburypark.scottcinemas.co.uk

UNL Studios

UNL Studios are garden landscape designers. Pouring optimism, energy and enthusiasm into every project, the team are based in Bristol, but like to get around a bit – Bath, Somerset, North Devon and even sometimes as far as London. Designer Rob Mills comments: “We’re what’s known as a boutique landscape design studio. A bit posh (not really), a bit experimental and a bit bloody brilliant if you pardon the language. Basically, if you want something marvellous with three Ms, then you’ve found yourself in the right place. If you don’t, well we’re not for everybody to be honest.”

Townhouse courtyard, rambling country estate or hanging gardens of Winterbourne. However ambitious your brief, the aim is always the same – to blow your garden-loving socks off.

3rd Floor, Old Stock Exchange, St Nicholas Street, Bristol BS1 1TG;
Tel: 07703 575 289;  visit: unlstudios.com

The McArthur’s Yard Development

A collection of one, two and three bedroom apartments and duplex apartments.

The first release of properties are now available to reserve off plan with many benefitting from a balcony or terrace and parking.

McArthur’s Yard is situated on the Harbourside close to the SS Great Britain and within walking distance of Wapping Wharf, North Street and the city centre. With Temple Meads railway station just 1.5 miles away and Bristol Airport a 20-minute drive, this is the perfect location to access all of Bristol and beyond.

Prices between £323,000 - £725,000

For further details, images, plans and more, and to register your interest, click here to visit the McArthur’s Yard website
mcarthursyard.co.uk