Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol’s history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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The Bristolian Refugee by Sam Sayer
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What is it like to leave your country of origin and go to a strange, faraway land to find safety? How do you feel about your new city and what kind of welcome do you receive? How long does the label ‘refugee’ remain stamped on your identity? Do you choose to embrace it? When does Bristol really become home?

In this audio documentary against the backdrop of Bristol as a City of Sanctuary, Sam Sayer explores these questions with refugees who have settled in Bristol over the past 50 years from Ukraine, Iran, Kenya, Chile and Uganda share their early experiences of Bristol life.

The audio documentary begins with the newest of refugees, Diana and Jennie, who have recently arrived from Ukraine and are getting used to waking up to English voices. Adineh and Siavash from Iran have unexpectedly found new family here in Bristol to support them. JP from Kenya is a huge football fan and watching the game with others has become an important feature of his life. Luis and Carmen from Chile found lasting friendship through their children’s school, while Rashid from Uganda discovered home through his shop’s customers.

Featured Artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life Episode 1 - The Bristolian Refugee by Sam Sayer

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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Skate or Cry by Jazlyn Pinckney
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In this audio documentary, five women taking space in Bristol’s skateboarding scene speak to Jazlyn Pinckney. Some have just picked up a board for the first time, others have been skating for decades, but all talk about the feeling skating gives them, the sense of community and the biggest battles they face breaking down barriers of the male skater stereotype.

What does it feel like on the board? Why do they get back on when you fall off? And which corners of Bristol city are the smoothest, safest or down right gnarliest to skate?

We hear the voice of Vivienne Mcginnis, Bella Warley, Jasmine Creusson, Isadora Vlachou and Casey Jane. Recorded in the field at Campus Skatepark and Trenchard Street Carpark, and with special mention to Maverick’s Warmley Skatepark, M32, Dean Lean, and Bristol’s Cenotaph skate spots.

Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life Episode 2 - Skate or Cry by Jazlyn Pinckney

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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Henrietta Lacks by Daniel Edmund
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The life-size bronze statue of Henrietta Lacks that was erected at the University of Bristol in 2021 by Bristol-based artist Helen Wilson Roe is the first public statue of a Black woman made by a Black woman to be permanently installed in the UK.

Henrietta Lacks was a young African-American mother who had an aggressive form of cervical cancer. During surgery, a sample of cells was taken from the tumour and sent to a laboratory where they were found to be the first living human cells ever to survive and multiply outside the human body. Henrietta’s cells were taken without her or her family's knowledge or consent, and it was only in 1975 that by chance the family found out about her legacy. These cells made possible some of the most important medical advances of all time including the development of the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, gene-mapping, IVF and cloning.

In this episode, speaker and presenter Daniel Edmund talks to former Lord Mayor of Bristol Cleo Lake, American Senior Policy Analyst Marissa Edmund, and Brand Strategist Bobbi O’Gilvie about how a statue of Henrietta Lacks ended up in Bristol, and the importance of honouring and protecting Black women everywhere.

Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life Episode 3 - Henrietta Lacks by Daniel Edmund

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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Old Market (REMIXED) by Tom Marshman
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Old Market (REMIXED), written and performed by Tom Marshman and recorded and edited by Bernie Hodges, uncovers the hidden histories of communities in Old Market, shining a light on the area from the 1990s to the present day. Tom finds memories of a lawless place, the proclaimed gay village, and the home of gentrification; an area that has undergone radical change since its day as Bristol’s ‘golden mile’.

Woven together from the stories of people who experienced it first hand, this audio piece celebrates the raucous, riotous, tragic and the artisan. The show includes stories from 25A, Old Market Assembly, Bristol Bear Bar, Old Market Assembly, Fi Real, Rudies, Trinity, Jokoto Tailoring and Electric Ladyland.

The piece also premiered as a live theatre show in November 2021, and will be performed again in a 5-night run at The Wardrobe Theatre in November 2022.

Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life Episode 4 - Old Market (REMIXED) by Tom Marshman and Bernie Hodges

Your Bristol Life is a new series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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Bianchi's Food Group by Steven Mitchell
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During Covid and post-Brexit, food, hospitality and catering became acknowledged as an essential, infrastructural part of communities all over Great Britain.

Food often brings diverse communities together. This audio piece is a brief “listen in” on the sounds of an uniquely Bristol restaurant group that values community and is an integral part of Bristol’s local food ecology: Bianchis. Their authenticity and innovation are part of what makes Bristol one of the most exciting cities to eat out.

In this piece, we listen to a family that has become an integral thread in the multicultural fabric of a great city, by putting love into everything. From the intimate to the celebratory, even the perfect Napoli-level pizza. Delivered on a cycle? No problem! Italian marble supplied by a local stone company? Sure! Taken away through a slot in the window? Would you like that as a slice?

Steven Mitchell speaks to CEO Dominic Bianchi Borel and Ripiena head chef Joseph Harvey.

Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Your Bristol Life Episode 5 - Bianchi's Food Group by Steven Mitchell

As part of StoryTrails, the UK's largest immersive storytelling experience,  'The People's Map Bristol Remixed' brings to life an audio psychogeographic representation of Bristol. The piece combines good old-fashioned audio storytelling with experimental and immersive sound effects. 

Bringing together past and present, StoryTrails aims to re-connect people to their community through local stories, demonstrating what the very latest immersive technologies have to offer local storytellers. Over 400 stories and nearly 7000 scans were captured to create 15 animated maps, bespoke to each location and telling stories in new and surprising ways. StoryTrails toured the UK as a pop-up event in summer 2022, visiting 15 different towns and cities, including Bristol Central Library. StoryTrails was commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.
 
Producers: Marcus Smith and Peter Hall

Contributors: Neill Maggs, Lindsey Cole, Anthonell Peccoo, Priyanka Raval, Becky Whitmore, Ella Riggs, Tin Hinson, Nicole Fisher, Afzal Shah, Miss Beaver and Primrose Granville

StoryTrails: The People's Map Bristol Remixed

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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L'Chaim, My Lovers by Tom Chachewitz
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Local artist and writer Tom Chachewitz presents a brief history of Jewish life in Bristol, as well as reflections from Jewish people living in Bristol today on their connections to an ancient culture that has been part of the City’s diverse society for nearly 1000 years. Join Tom as he visits the site of Bristol’s medieval Jewish neighbourhood, its synagogues and its Jewish graveyards and learn more about an often overlooked part of Bristol’s past and present.

Credits:
Researched, presented and produced by Tom Chachewitz
Sounds and Music by Ninotchka, Motion Array, Eye For Music, Mayer Malik and Burgh Records
Contributions from Nik Jovčić-Sas, Mahallah Honey, David Burke and Sade & Sid
Additional research from Rife Magazine, Bristol Archives and Jewish Geneaology
Special thanks to Chevra Kaddisha, Park Row Synagogue and Bristol & West Progressive Jewish Congregation, Bristol Community FM and Marcus Smith.
Dedicated to Louis and Golda Chachewitz.

Featured artwork by Jon Trace

L'Chaim, My Lovers by Tom Chachewitz - Your Bristol Life Episode 6

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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Love Her by Mary Milton
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“You were in a pub environment, but it was also like being at a friend’s house,” says one musician who used to play at the Weekenders women’s acoustic night.

Love Her is a homage to a women’s music night, Weekenders which was started by singer songwriter Lucy Ray and friends in the late 1990’s. It began at the Three Tuns pub in central Bristol. Several venues later it found its final home in the back room of Kearney’s Irish Bar, in the heart of St Werburghs. The event was conceived to encourage women to play. It became a safe, lesbian friendly space where women could test their ‘out’ lyrics to an audience of like-minded people. 

Love Her includes interviews with some of the women involved in running and performing at the night and archive recordings from the events themselves. The songs were shaped by the political landscape for LGBTQ+ people at the time and the women’s personal stories. 

You’ll hear love songs, songs of protest, songs about life. They may make you laugh, or they could make you cry. Welcome to the special world of Weekenders.
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Featured artwork by Jon Trace

Love Her by Mary Milton - Your Bristol Life Episode 7

Your Bristol Life is back for a second series of five podcasts shining a light on underrepresented aspects of Bristol's history. This BCfm series was made with the Bristol Cable, Bristol History Podcast and In The Dark.
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A Short History Of Purple Penguin by Peter Hall
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You have all heard about the Bristol Sound, and the Bristol street art scene is well documented, but have you heard of the small record shop that was at the heart of it all? Peter Hall presents this short history of Purple Penguin. A tale of community, creativity and underground culture.

This is a story about a distinct community that grew from a widely unknown establishment that was situated on Colston Street in the mid 90s. It was a hub for all things underground hip hop, funk, soul and beats, and was the only place in Bristol you could get hold of certain US imported music, video tapes of scratch DJs, graffiti magazines, clothes, spray cans etc. It soon became a mecca for anyone interested in hip hop culture, sample digging, beat making, and would later develop into a foundation for creativity.

In this podcast we hear from the people that worked at Purple Penguin, and discover how it influenced their lives, as well as the lives of countless others, who ventured through its doors.
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Featured artwork by Jon Trace

A Short History Of Purple Penguin by Peter Hall - Your Bristol Life Episode 8

Over two years, BCfm Radio recorded 28 oral history interviews for M Shed, part of Bristol Museums, in partnership with the University of the West of England.

Through insightful interviews with journalists, broadcasters, and media personalities, we'll explore the challenges and triumphs of covering a city as dynamic and diverse as Bristol. 

In this episode, part of the MEDIA interviews, We will hear about the power of the press to hold power to account, to celebrate local heroes, and to spark community conversation.

M Shed informed us on some of the topics and themes that are missing from their archive audio collections, including content on local media outlets, what people do outside of work (leisure), specific groups of people and identities, as well as interviews with teenagers and young people.

These 1200 minutes of newly recorded oral history interviews, Bristol For The Record will be preserved for future generations to learn and consult about various aspects of Bristol life for generations to come.

Bristol Post - Eugene Byrne

Cancer sucks. Join Bristol's bald broadcasters Laura Rawlings and Pat Hart for an honest and open conversation about living with cancer.  With no plan or producer, the mics open for a 30-minute chat.  Nothing is off limits - which leads to an emotional, illuminating, and inspiring listen.

Blooming B*+@p Cancer podcast Episode 1

Community Radio for Bristol.

BCfm promotes community cohesion and well-being by providing an engaging and challenging audio experience. We use a mix of talk and music shows to inform, educate and entertain.

There are 60+ weekly shows broadcasting 24 hours a day in different languages, including Polish, Somali, Arabic and Spanish.

#LoveBristol #LoveBCfm

Bristol Post - Eugene Byrne

BCfm Radio

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