The Alley

THE ALLEY

This being a true and accurate account of the passage between Greenbank Road and Co-operation Road, Bristol BS5, UK on or about the twelfth of September in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Six.

We start our journey at the Co-operation Road end of the alleyway. A shopping trolley has been provided in case you have a drunken friend, too inebriated to walk, who needs pushing along.



Some fencing


The Cure. I think The Cure were an Eighties band. Did they do "Killing an Arab"? Sounds a bit racist now. I didn't know there were fans of The Cure living in this area, but I do now.





Lots of broken down old garages. They couldn't be for cars, as the alley is too small. If they were built like that, it would be for cart access. I think the houses were built around 1900.



This plant has a flower like one kind of licorice allsort. There are dark blotches on the leaves that were supposed to be the blood of Christ as it fell from the cross onto this plant. I don't know if this is true or not.



The imprint of a trainer on a garage door. Trying to kick it in, I guess.



More dilapidated garage doors.


A fig tree. There are quite a few figs trees growing semi-wild in Bristol. I have seen the figs black and ripe on some trees, but I've never eaten them.


Graffiti. This one says "Royal Bitch". It could have been written by a female member of the British Royal Family, though I suspect not.



Reflecting Bristol's multi-cultural heritage.


Back of the United Reformed Church. The inscription on the stone is nearly worn away.




More back of the URC Church. It boasts a history of 350 years, though not all at this location. It was originally on what is now Castle Park in the centre of Bristol, but they moved to here either 100 or 150 years ago. It was a canny move, as Castle Park got bombed flat during World War 2.
Now they've got a small congregation. They did have plans to convert the building so it could be used as a theatre/community space as well as still being a place of worship. That doesn't seem to have got off the ground. There is a hall attached that is sometimes used for music events. There have been Performers' Nights there recently, but it is a bit lacking in atmosphere for things like that.