Start The Bus

There’s something very of the moment about Start The Bus, a splendid bar marooned on Baldwin Street in Bristol city centre among other establishments of dubious morals. If Start The Bus was a person, they would wear skinny jeans, a chequered shirt and ride a fixed gear bicycle. This is one cool place.

A paint job last weekend has made both inside and outside even cooler. In my corner of the bar for a mid-morning drink with old friend Amy and her cousin Anna, we were in the thick of the new orange and green colour scheme with some brilliant murals all around us by some of Bristol’s best artists.

Above our heads, a circular mirror represented a giant eye in a typically bonkers piece (right) by Bristol illustrator Camellie.

Nearby was some graffiti by Khoi and two amazing orange stags by Dave Bain. And that was just in the corner where we were to the right of the front door.

Art may be a big part of the Start The Bus experience, but there’s so much more. Just a cursory glance at the back of the food menu will point to its musical pedigree and knack of snaffling up-and-coming artists before they break through to the mainstream: Alphabeat, Marina and the Diamonds and The XX to name but a few.

There is live music and DJ sets at Start The Bus most nights of the week (A Genuine Freakshow and Farthing Wood are both playing this evening), with other esoteric events also regularly taking place including jumble sales and an alternative pub quiz.

Whether you’re there for a mid-morning coffee, chilled lunch or raucous evening, Start The Bus is one of the most innovative venues in Bristol and remains the epitome of cool.

Start The Bus, 7-9 Baldwin Street, Bristol. 0117 930 4370.

www.startthebus.tv

Start Gallery opening night

A new gallery opens in Bristol on Friday evening. The Start gallery occupies the first floor of Start The Bus on Baldwin Street and for its first exhibition features a series of pieces from Bristol-based illustrators with the theme of tea. At the opening night, guests will be having tea, cake, beer and biscuits.

The theme for the exhibition was born out of the gallery’s plans to offer visitors a place to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and browse around the gallery and the shop.

The key feature of the gallery space will be the natural light that it gets from a wall of windows at the far end, making it a very open space to exhibit in.

For the opening night on Friday, the gallery will be open from 6pm until 9pm, and visitors will be able to buy prints, for which the first 20 purchasers will receive a hand-printed goody bag.  

David, one half of Bristol illustator duo Peskimo who along with Chris Dickason are exhibiting at Start’s first show, said: “The space is a really strong location for such a large art space in the city centre. The Tease Made exhibition is largely character-based and it all has an emphasis on fun. It’s very colourful and will appeal to all walks of life.

“The exhibition will celebrate the social rituals, history, iconography and biscuit dunking goodness of enjoying a cup of tea. Expect prints, paintings and doodles as well as the occasional three-dimensional surprise. The artwork will draw influence from the mid century aesthetic and vintage graphic design, cartoons and comics and the oddities and absurdities of everyday life.”

The Tease Made exhibition by Peskimo and Chris Dickason is at the Start Gallery, above Start The Bus on Baldwin Street, from March 19 to April 11 (Tuesday to Sunday).