This piece has just been published in the Bristol Review of Books.

Travel classics from Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe to the Romantics all have connections to Bristol. Sawdays Publishing maintains that travel link today. The city itself is also shaped by travel; the docks, the railway, the suspension bridge and the M32 leave indelible marks the city.

Mike Manson’s new novel Rules of the Road, builds on this fine tradition with the comic tale of two student dossers who hitch to Greece one summer in search of sun, sea and free love. Set in 1975 the novel is a reminder of how so much has changed in Europe– the end of the Cold War transformed the political and economic landscape, EasyJet and the Chunnel cut the physical distances and communications reduce the sense of distance and create a common culture.

“I wanted to write a book that was a ripping yarn, and the journey is a way of doing that,” says Mike over his coffee. “So the idea was to have a journey,  a chase,  and arrival. Then the themes evolved as I wrote”.

This is Mike’s second novel,  his debut Where’s My Money? is set in aBristoldole office and also drew upon the 1970s for inspiration. Does he have a preoccupation with the decade that style forgot?  “I have just been reading Amis and he says that when you turn 50 a treasury of memories opens, which are very vivid in your mind.  The period when I was busy bringing up the kids and building a career I remember almost nothing of.  But when you are in your early 20s everything is new and up for grabs. There is also a lot of humour to be had from the 1970s.”

The feel of social change is also apparent in the lives of the two main characters in the book Felix and Boz.  Student friends who live in a house earmarked for slum clearance, “I was going for that Withnail and I feel,” says Mike. “During that period there was so much change in the air. Ranging from urban clearance for expressways like the M32 to issues like the Vietnam War. Plus we had a student grant, the pill, there was no HIV. In many ways we were a blessed generation, the whole world had opened up suddenly and I wanted to capture that spirit.”

The students set off on their great trip with the innocence and naivety of youth. In a pre-internet age before budget travel the relatively short distance to Greece seems much further. This sense of adventure and innocence is illustrated best by the hitch-hiking adventures which form the characters’ comically surreal ‘rules of the road’.

For example;  Rule 1 ‘You only get a lift where there are cars’ Rule 3 ‘Hitch at the bottom of a hill, that way you look smaller’. The rules range from the bleeding obvious to the faintly ridiculous. “Flying was prohibitively expensive for young people, so you would travel by bus for three days, like The Magic Bus which took scores of hippies through Europe. But you got there really cheaply. Otherwise there was hitching which could open up fantastic adventures. Basically if you looked freaky, only freaky people would pick you up.”

The novel also reminds us that the way in which we travel has changed – mobile phones and the internet mean it is harder for us to leave home behind. A fact which Mike laments.  “I used to love that you were totally focused on where you were, you were totally in the present. Now you can email and call back home so easily that your mind never has the chance to leave.  Home is often too accessible.”

Researching this by-gone Europe the author set off on a trip with his partner toAlbania,  a place he describes ‘as damaged and old school’.  Leaving from Montepelier train station the pair left without a map,  guide book or a mobile phone. Although he does admit they did have to compromise in Dubrovnik and buy a map.

Perhaps more than anything Rules of the Road is also about the relationship between the young traveling companions Felix and Boz.  Often awkward, the pair make an unlikely duo.  “I don’t like the term ‘bromance’ but I do like the Jack Kerouac/Neal Cassady friendship idea of having a buddy to share things with… you never get that later in life,” says Mike whistfully. “Also, I wanted the characters to learn from each other, and there was a real contrast in them in being Northerner and Southerner.”

It is easy to be cynical about young people’s gap years which seem to be almost obligatory today, but it’s worth remembering that travel was a foundation stone in Timothy Leary’s counter culture manifesto of ‘tuning in, turning on and dropping out’. A concept which itself was hugely influenced by the writers of the Beat generation. A link can also be drawn between the alternative lifestyles of the beats, the hippies and the birth of the environmental movement. But Mike feels this search may go back even further, “Coleridge was interested in alternative communities, writers and artists have always been searching for another way of doing things. But every generation always thinks they are the first ones to do it of course.”

The book’s serious backdrop is offset by the hapless pair blundering their way through the hippy dream. And with a surreal humour which is illustrated by the reoccurrence of pies which also appear in his first novel. “I think pies are just intrinsically funny” he chuckles. “Think of Desperate Dan’s cow pies…actually, I am just courting sponsorship from Pieminister”.

Mike Manson is a historian, novelist and publisher. His books include Bristol Beyond the Bridge and Riot! (Past & Present Press), The Hidden History of St Andrews, the anthologies Shedfest and Hidden Bristol and his first novel Where’s My Money? (Tangent Books).

A bloke flicking through ‘Banksy Myths and Legends’, without music.

My ‘Banksy: Myths and Legends’ book has been picking up good reviews from all over the world. Thankfully most people seem to get it, strangely the people who have the most trouble understanding my approach are journalists! No comment.

In the UK the book will only be available through HMV until Christmas, they are selling it cheaper than the RRP too. This seems a bit weird as they are the only people selling it, so there is no-one to undercut. But then I gave up trying to understand the economics of publishing a long time ago, so grab a bargain while you can!

Colin had two novels published by Angry Robot (Winter Song and Damage Time) and was the editor of Future Bristol, a collection of short stories from local science fiction writers. His writing and editing credits are extensive, and whilst mainstream success eluded him it was surely just a matter of time. Making the timing of his passing all the sadder.

Colin worked at Unilever for over 20 years, his finest hour being the man responsible for launching Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in Iceland. In 2007 he became a freelance writer and reviewed science fiction for Strange Horizons, and served on the Management Committe of the Speculative Literature Foundation.

A popular member of the Bristol Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, it was whilst at one of these meetings that he decided that Bristol should have its own Science Fiction and Fantasy convention. As co-founder Joanne Hall recalls ‘He was the inspiration behind BristolCon. I say inspiration; he suggested it over several pints in the Commercial Rooms, then sat back and grinned at the chaos he had wrought’.

Colin was also a mature student at Bath Spa University which was where I met him. We worked together to get Colin’s journalism published outside of science fiction and we had some success too, but it is a rejection from The Lady magazine that I will remember the most. Colin always pitched high, which speaks volumes about Colin’s sheer bloody determination (his first novel had 72 rejections), but also his eternal optimism and his devilish sense of humour. We laughed at the reply which said his piece wasn’t ‘suitable for publication in The Lady’.

I would also mock Colin about his obsessive compulsion to record his writing and studying time in spreadsheets. In actual fact I loved this as it shows incredible dedication to his craft. He would often clock up sixty plus hours of studying for his creative writing degree. He had just completed his second year and was well on his way to graduating with a first degree and was planning on joining the MA. I used to tell him that he would be teaching himself one of these days, something he never quite believed, but I am certain that he had the passion and drive to make a difference to younger writers.

One of Colin’s many friends was fellow science fiction writer, Gareth L Powell ‘Colin was a much beloved figure on the local and national SF&F scene. He was also a good friend, and I will miss his friendship and his counsel’.

Colin’s enthusiasm and dedication to writing, as well as his rants against local bus services, will be sorely missed.

In July Colin posted an entry on his blog (www.Colin-Harvey.com) entitled ‘An Unsatisfactory Ending’, the opening paragraph of which seems almost prophetic now.

‘One of the drawbacks of real life when compared to the tidy plotlines of story, is that it refuses to be shaped into any kind of ending, let alone the uplifting ones beloved of Hollywood. When it’s the lives we’re living, where does one fade out, run the credits and play the epic power ballad?’

Colin leaves behind wife Kate and dog Alice.

Pembroke Road in Clifton used to have a leopard walking througha barcode, it was very faded but sat all by itself on the side of a house probably for the best part of ten years. Then earlier this year someone decided the build a house over it. You would think that it might have been worth taking the Banksy piece off  wouldn’t you? Apparently the builder did ask the neighbours if they knew who the piece was by, but none of them knew. So he built over it anyway!

Down in St Werburghs there was another old piece, the ‘Playing it safe can cause a lot of damage in the long run’ stencil. The wall which graced this fine advice has now a been painted a nice shade of mustard. Yes, mustard.

Then most recently we have had the Gorilla which was unwittlingly painted over, partally restored  (although not enough in my opinion) and now has been badly re-tagged also with black spray paint btw. And now the Snipper has had it.

Of course street art purists will tell you that it isn’t meant to be permanent, but look in any museum and they are full of all sorts of old rubbish that wasn’t built to last. More importantly try and imagine Bristol with no Banksy pieces….crap, isn’t it?

So what is to be done? I am going to stick my neck out and say we should look at perspexing some of the remaining pieces in Bristol. Although not an ideal solution, the one in Kingsdown looks good and has added many years to its shelf-life. Perspexed pieces do tend to attract even more taggers who object that anyone should have their work preserved, but what is the alternative? More expensive restorations? More lost pieces?

Mild, Mild West is starting to look knackered anyway, leave it another couple of years and there will be nothing left worth preserving. One day you will be telling your grand kids ‘there used to be a Banksy here’ and then they will laugh at you when you tell them that ‘it wasn’t in the nature of street art to preserve them’.

We decided to go for it, thinking that even if it takes five years to recoup the time and money we put into the project it would be worth it. Thankfully it has got off to a good start. The App has been reviewed by Stuart Dredge for The Guardian and Lauren Laverne’s Radio 6 show. It has also been on the Apple App Store for two weeks, which has been a huge help in getting this going.

Interestingly iPhone sales are vastly outstripping Android sales. Most people attribute this to Android users being notoriously tight! Which as an Android user I find pretty funny. If anyone has any ideas on how to get the Android version moving you are more than welcome to let me know.

The app takes you on a journey around Bristol showing you where the remaining Banksy pieces are.  Everyone knows the main ones on Stokes Croft and Frogmore Street, so we have done our best to guide you to pieces that are a bit more off the beaten track and reveal some of the lesser known history associated with each piece.

Plus by using Google Maps and StreetView you can use the App as a ‘virtual guide’ and just sit on your backside to do the tour from the comfort of your own armchair. Hope you like it, and if you know of any other Banksy’s which aren’t on the app you can let me know as we plan to do updates in the future.

Introduction from ‘Banksy: Myths and Legends’

No single living artist has created as many myths, rumours and legends as Banksy. In his home-town of Bristol almost everyone seems to have a Banksy story. Many of these stories are from Bristol, some are from further afield. What they share is that they are all told with that wide eyed wonder which Banksy inspires.

The stories were collected from people in Bristol between 2009 and 2011. Some are quite old and have been told so many times they have become the stuff of legend, others are more questionable and best described as myths. Some are laugh out loud bollocks and are simply gossip. You be the judge.

For me these stories illustrate the incredible audacity, originality and sheer bloody mindedness of Banksy. Obviously he should be best known for his art and exposing the many hypocrisies of modern life. The myths will be viewed as a distraction to some or part of the appeal for others. One thing is certain, the art and the myths are both larger than life and stick two fingers up at conformity. This book is a celebration of that anarchic, rebellious spirit.

Bosh! Milly Cooper gets the cover over Bath Life with her Marilyn Monroe piece, and is currently preparing to interview Jeffrey Archer for Bristol Review of Books.

Ker-pow! Liz Cookman gets a full-page piece in the Western Daily about Glastonbury Festival.

Crack! Ed Collings-Wells and Claire Holmes both get features into Crack magazine. Claire is also doing live reviews for the Bristol Evening Post. Ed also got a music piece into Front magazine!

Bam! Philip Bates gets previews and reviews into Western Mercury, Bristol 24-7 and WhatsOnBristol.

There are loads of others too, but enough of the sound effects. Well done Rebecca Tantony who had a very powerful piece about the Stokes Croft riots in Bristol published in the Evening Post. And not forgetting Samantha Webb (Banter) and Rebecca Purnell (Itchy Guide).

In all, my students have racked up over 45 published pieces since October of last year. Their passion and desire to write never fails to amaze me. Well done to each and every one of you, I look forward to seeing your names in print for many years to come.

I feel that we should care and cough up to keep Venue alive. Venue fosters and gives much needed publicity to much of the creative talent that Bristol is rightly so proud of. I am sure you could argue that this talent would thrive anyway, but Venue gives an easily accessible focus and fosters a sense of a creative local community.

It has its faults,  maybe it has become a bit stale in the last few years and maybe the listings part isn’t as vital as it used to be with the advent of Facebook etc. For me, the important thing is reading and learning more about local authors, musicians, restaurants, pubs, characters, charities or artists. Venue creates a sense of living in an exciting and happening Bristol, and that is something that you can’t get off Google.

The attached article is a piece I wrote on ‘Bristol Brands’ a couple of years ago, it is an example of the kind of article that you just can’t imagine being published anywhere else in Bristol.

Personally, i’d like to see Venue operate as an independent company from offices that people can walk into. Less is more sometimes and maybe the magazine could also do with being smaller and cheaper. Whatever happens, it needs the support of Bristol people now so make sure you buy a copy over the next couple of weeks. And again, when it relaunches.

BristolBrands