This summer, At-Bristol is bursting at the seams with fun activities for everyone! From bouncing sheep to making robots and painting your veins to being boggled by brains, every day has something exciting to offer.

Championsheeps LIVE! is being held for five weeks over the holidays, from 30 July – 31 August. This hilarious event has been developed jointly by SGA Productions and Aardman Animations and features a range of amusing activities from Shirley-shaped sheep hoppers, a farmyard assault course and a Naughty Pig’s sack race. Championsheeps LIVE! costs £1.50 per person, plus standard admission.

Throughout the Summer there will be Make-Your-Own master classes in At-Bristol’s Live Lab. Boat-building is happening during Water Week, where you can race your own boat in the pools in Millennium Square to see who’s sails the fastest. Artist, illustrator and storyteller Hannah Broadway will bring her wonderful Monkey and Robot books, as seen on CBeebies, to life in the venue from 1-3 August – Hannah will also be helping visitors get creative and reuse everyday materials to make their own recycled robot. Plus there are K’NEX building challenges, and you can discover what makes your own body amazing by painting your own veins!

At-Bristol has also launched a new show for the Summer – the Boggling Brain show. Visitors can be a part of this mind-bending science show, and discover the mysteries of our grey matter, learn how our brain makes sense of the world around us and how our senses can fool our minds. Boggling brains is the family show that will test your brain power, so get your thinking caps on. This is free with ticket into At-Bristol and on twice a day.

Donna Speed, Commercial Operations Director at At-Bristol, says: “This Summer we are offering our biggest programme of events which is really exciting! Not only have we got Shaun the Sheep bringing his flock here with Championsheeps LIVE! but having Hannah Broadway bringing Monkey and Robot to life and being able to take part in dissections in our Live Lab, PLUS the Little Stars shows, Planetarium shows, the 300 exhibits to play on and fantastic indoor and outdoor picnic areas, you really can guarantee a great value fun day out – whatever the weather!”

Championsheeps LIVE! will be staged in At-Bristol, the family attraction on Bristol’s Harbourside, from 30 July – 31 August. The hilarious event has been developed jointly by SGA Productions and Aardman Animations, the award-winning animation company located in the city and creators of the popular Shaun the Sheep series. The event features a range of amusing activities from Shirley sheep space hoppers, a farmyard assault course and a naughty pig’s sack race.

Commenting on the event SGA Productions says: “SGA are delighted that Championsheeps LIVE! will be coming to Bristol this summer. It will be a great addition to the At-Bristol programme – just a stones throw away from where it all began at Aardman Studios.”

The farmyard sports day has been designed for the enjoyment, fun and laughter of the whole family. Premiered at the Eden Project earlier this year, At-Bristol will be the second venue to host Championsheeps LIVE! Be among the first to take up the challenges presented by the farmyard themed games:

Shirley’s Pieathlon – Race a Shirley-shaped sheep hopper while trying not to drop the piece of cake you’re carrying and avoid the fruit obstacles that stand in the way at the same time!

Naughty Pig Sack Race – Dress up as a Naughty Pig and race your challengers to prove that you’re the fastest porker in the yard!

Free Range – Lift the chickens and see what you find: If it’s a chick, take it back to the safety of the henhouse; if it’s an egg, balance it on the wooden spoon and take it to the wicker basket.

Farmyard Fling – The farmer is keeping an eye on everyone with his three ‘farmer scarecrows’. Try knocking their vegetable heads off in this welly boot throwing contest.

Keep Fit with the Flock – Get fit with a hula hoop challenge whilst wearing ears just like Shaun the Sheep and friends.

Sheep Shape – Add your creative touch to the growing farmyard scene by creating Aardman style Naughty Pigs out of clay. Use your newly created model as a prop in Animate It! Then take your masterpiece home to share with friends and family.

Flock n Roll – Work in teams to roll a giant Shirley around an obstacle course. The fastest team to push their Shirley around the farmyard wins!

In addition to the above activities, At-Bristol will be out and about around Millennium Square with Cabbage Football ‘Keepie Uppies’ where you will be challenged to keep the farmer’s prize cabbages up and out of the mud, ready for the market!

Kerrie Grist, from At-Bristol’s marketing team said: “We are looking forward to Championsheeps LIVE! coming to At-Bristol this school summer holiday. Some of our team went to the Eden Project when it was there and hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. Championsheeps LIVE! is a fabulous mix of a school sports day, a country fete and It’s a Knock Out, all rolled into one. As a science centre it’s something quite different for us and I encourage people that may never have visited At-Bristol before to come and give it a go – it really is tremendous fun”.

Kerrie added: “All Championsheeps LIVE! contestants will receive a victory Championsheeps badge as a reward for completing the farmyard challenges. Visitors will also have the opportunity to have their photo taken on Shaun’s special Winners’ podium, so don’t forget your camera!”

Championsheeps LIVE! will cost just £1.50 per person after standard admission into At-Bristol. Visitors will be given one hour to complete the farmyard challenges, with bookable sessions available throughout the day, seven days a week. Championsheeps LIVE! will launch the same weekend as the Bristol Harbour Festival on Saturday 30th July and will be held in At-Bristol’s Rosalind Franklin room overlooking Millennium Square.

David Sproxton, Executive Chairman at Aardman Animations, says: “Championsheeps LIVE! is an exciting new venture for us with Shaun the Sheep, encouraging kids and families to have fun and get active in the way only Shaun and his flock can. As a board member for At Bristol I’m thrilled that the event is being hosted here and am looking forward to seeing it for myself.”

For further information on Championsheeps LIVE! and other events and activities taking place in At-Bristol, see www.at-bristol.org.uk or call 0845 345 1235

Top comic poet, John Hegley will be giving one of his virtuoso performances when he visits Bristol Central Library on Friday, July 15 at 7pm.

John Hegley is known as one of the country’s most innovative comic poets and an Edinburgh Festival regular. He is noted for his exploration of such diverse topics as spectacles, dog hair, potatoes, handkerchiefs and the misery of human existence.

Tickets, which must be purchased in advance cost £8 and are available from any Bristol library. Doors will open at 6:30pm and a licensed cafe and bar will be available.

For further information please contact Andrew Cox, library reading manager, tel. 0117 922 2180 .

John Hegley was born in Newington Green, North London, and was educated in Luton, Bristol and Bradford University.

His first public performance monies came from busking his songs, initially outside a shoe shop in Hull, in the late Seventies. He performed on the streets of London in the early Eighties, fronting the Popticians, with whom he also recorded two sessions for John Peel, and has since been a frequent performer of his words, sung and spoken, on both local and national radio.

An Edinburgh Festival regular, he is noted for his exploration of such diverse topics as dog hair, potatoes, handkerchiefs and the misery of human existence.

He is also an occasional DJ, dancer and workshop leader, using drawing, poetry and gesture. He has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts from what is now the University of Bedfordshire, and once performed in a women’s prison in Columbia.

John’s website can be found here.

The pair are meeting with Culture Minister Ed Vaizey  next week to enlist the support of the Government in calling for a change to the US visa system, which has constrained the ability of UK musicians to travel and work in the USA.

John Robb said, “The special relationship between the UK and the USA has been the backbone of international post-war pop culture. The shared influences, pool of creativity and flow of ideas have been crucial to what is one of the biggest industries in the world.

“That flow is currently being hampered by the expensive and unworkable US visa situation for British bands. It’s a situation that is getting worse.”

The campaign is backed by organisations such as the Musicians’ Union, the Association of Independent Music and the Association of British Orchestras.  It has also had extensive input from UK Music, UKTI and the Traffic Control Group, as well as individual record labels, management companies and musicians.

Kerry McCarthy said, “Since I first raised this issue in Parliament in March, I was surprised by the responses from right across the UK music industry. They confirmed that this is a real difficulty for musicians and that it is becoming more and more critical.

“We hope the Government will speak  up on behalf of British musicians to  encourage USCIS (the US Citizenship and Immigration Services) and the US Embassy to address this issue.”

John Robb added: “In the past few years the American visa situation has tightened up and become far more expensive till we have a situation where getting a British group into America can cost up to £2700, and that’s not counting travel and accommodation expenses for bands outside London who have to travel for the 8 o’clock in the morning London American embassy interview.”

“The forms that have to be filled in are very difficult to understand and lots of the money has to be spent on an American agency processing the forms. There have been endless examples of British bands, some very high profile, having to reschedule or cancel tours in the last year. And if a visa application fails, they don’t get any of the money back.”

“American bands find it far cheaper and easier to travel and work in UK. What we need is a fairer and friendlier system that will break down the barriers, and let us do what we want to do, which is play music”.

Sun 12 Jun – Wildlife Gardening For Beginners at Arnos Vale Cemetery

12 Jun – 18 Jun 2011 – Miniature Railway at Ashton Court Estate

Sat 11 Jun – Get Inspired! Music Club at Colston Hall

Sat 11 Jun – Herbal walk with Max Drake at Create Centre

Sat 11 Jun – Historical Research For Beginners at Arnos Vale Cemetery

Sat 11 Jun – Live local: part of Bristol’s Good Living Week 11 to 19 June at Create Centre

Sat 11 Jun – Solar Saturday at Various locations

11 Jun – 12 Jun 2011 – Harbour Railway Trips at ss Great Britain

At-Bristol, the popular hands-on science centre and family attraction on Bristol’s Harbourside has been awarded the status of Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Bristol Tourism and Hospitality Industry Awards 2011.

The awards ceremony, arranged by Destination Bristol, took place at the Marriott City Centre hotel on the evening of Thursday 2 June and was attended by over 350 people.  18 awards were presented on the night from over 200 nominations.

The Visitor Attraction of the Year category was open to all visitor attractions from in and around Bristol that welcome in excess of 50,000 visitors a year.  In their applications, attractions not only had to demonstrate the high standard of day to day operation, sustainability, their audience development and customer service, but explain how they exceeded expectation in all areas.

Kathryn Davis, Commercial Manager for Destination Bristol says “The Visitor Attraction of the Year category was exceedingly competitive with a high standard of all entries and to be shortlisted was an achievement in itself.  As winners, At-Bristol demonstrated a clear understanding of their audiences, their communication and marketing, together with the development of a world class visitor attraction which continues to evolve.  Customer service exceeded all expectations across the whole visitor experience and we are absolutely delighted for them”

At-Bristol offers an interactive family day out with over 300 hands-on exhibits, inspiring live science shows and a Planetarium.  The science centre first opened its doors in June 2000.  As an educational charity, At-Bristol has attracted over 4.5 million visitors and raised over £25m to develop new exhibitions and supporting educational programmes throughout its 11 year history.

In recent months, At-Bristol has seen an exciting range of new developments take place, reaching out to new audiences while enhancing the overall visitor experience.  These experiences include, Toddler Takeover Days, designed especially for At-Bristol’s youngest visitors of under five years old, the introduction of the science centre’s first Brownie Sleepover events and Cub Astronomer days and new family facilities including a popular indoor picnic space and a revamped café.

Earlier this year, At-Bristol launched All About Us, a new £1.5 million exhibition all about the human body and the brain, with over 50 new interactive exhibits and a Live Lab where audiences can watch and participate in real science experiments.  Among the first visitors to experience All About Us, was the UK’s Tourism and Heritage Minister, John Penrose, who visited the exhibition as part of British Tourism Week in March 2011.   During his visit, John Penrose MP said: “At-Bristol is a great place to visit and I’d like to encourage everyone to get out and see the science centre “

At-Bristol’s iconic Planetarium continues to be a huge draw for visitors; here you can enjoy presenter-led shows of the seasonal night sky inside the big silver dome and immerse yourself in the wonders of the Universe.

From 17th July, At-Bristol’s Live Science team will deliver the brand new Boggling Brains Show! which will take place in the studio on weekends and holidays.  Visitors to At-Bristol can also become an Animator for the day in Animate It! make giant bubbles, take on the role of a weather presenter in the TV studio, walk through a tornado, run in a giant hamster wheel and much much more!  There are also special touring exhibits for under eight year olds including; In the Jungle, Fossils and Funny Bones and Jet Set Go!

Away from the public floor At-Bristol has laboratories, preparation rooms and classrooms in which a wide range of curriculum-linked school workshops, debates and teacher training is developed and delivered by the science centre’s in-house science communicators and education experts.  The science centre receives over 40,000 educational visits a year.

Commenting on the Visitor Attraction of the Year award, Goéry Delacôte, Chief Executive for At-Bristol said: “We are delighted that At-Bristol has been recognised for its outstanding achievements, the quality of the visitor experience and role that the science centre plays within the local tourism industry.  I am very fortunate to work alongside a team of expert and enthusiastic individuals; to be presented with the Visitor Attraction of the Year award is a credit to them all.  We thank everyone who continues to support the work of At-Bristol and look forward to welcoming new visitors to the science centre this summer”. For further information on events and activities taking place in At-Bristol, see www.at-bristol.org.uk or call 0845 345 1235

She’s currently undertaking an extensive tour of Europe and the USA showcasing her latest album “Diamonds in the dirt”, and right now she is gigging up and down Britain, bringing her brand of rock-blues to her home country.

This week finds her in Bristol, where she will play at the Tunnels (Arches 31 and 32, Lower Station Approach Road, Bristol BS1 6QF – www.thetunnelsbristol.co.uk ). If you can get a ticket, it will be the best twelve and a half quid you’ve laid out in a long time. If you can’t, sell your body to someone in the queue – this is a must-not-miss event.

At twenty-five, she has the world at her feet and this time next year, the tickets won’t be easy to come by. Trust me.

This week, JST took time out from her tour to talk to us about where she came from, what she’s doing and where’s she’s going.

RockRebels: Did you always know you’d be a blues artist?

Joanne Shaw Taylor: I didn’t always know, no. However, I did, when I got into blues – when I was about 13 – and I was playing electric guitar quite heavily. It was something that from the very beginning I took very seriously.

RR: Influences in the early days?

JST: In the early days I was listening to a lot of rock. Coming from the Black Country area, as you can imagine, my father’s record collection was very sort of Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Slade, Purple etcetera. In terms of the blues it was really Stevie Ray Vaughan who was the predominant influence.

RR: Why a Fender Telecaster?

JST: That influence was actually from Albert Collins one of my other influences – a combination of that and I found an older Telecaster with a slightly smaller neck that I still use as my main guitar to this day. Being female, I don’t have particularly large hands. To be honest it’s more comfort than anything.

RR: Amps?

JST: Fender Bassmans – a sixty-four head and a two by twelve cab. On this tour I’ve been using the Blackstar Artisan 30 which I really, really love, but I’m predominantly a Fender girl.

RR: The tour is massive undertaking. Do you find it heavy going?

JST: Yeah. We’re close to the end of it now. We started in America at the end of January and we left the States on April 3^rd. We’ve done a fair bit of Europe on this run. We started in Germany and Switzerland and we went on to Norway, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Sweden and now the UK. It’s gone by very quickly, but looking back it’s certainly been a lot of shows and a lot of travel.

RR: What’s been your favourite venue so far?

JST: Oooo, well obviously I love playing the UK, obviously it’s home and it’s nice to be back for a little while. I think some of the festivals we did out in Norway were really great fun. We did some festivals with Imelda May and Joe Bonamassa out there… We’ve just completed a couple of gigs with Glenn (Hughes) which was fun. Being such a long tour it was nice to break up the monotony by seeing other artists.

RR: Your gigs are a lot more high energy, louder, brasher than your albums – is that a conscious choice?

JST: Yeah, I think quite a few people have noticed that. I think for me, being a blues artist, the live aspect is always going to be the main example of what you do, and it’s difficult to get that on record really. The records are a snapshot in time – one week when you record them. They’re two different formats.

RR: A live album in the pipeline?

JST: Yeah, I think so. We’re contracted to one more studio album, so we’re going to complete that next year. Then next year, I’d certainly be interested in doing a live album, possibly even a DVD as well.

RR: Do you have any favourites off the album, Diamonds?

JST: You know actually, live, “Dead and gone” – that’s coming into its own a little bit more. I think my favourites off it… they were “Diamonds in the dirt” and “Lord have mercy”, but that’s changed a little bit with playing them live. Now it’s probably “Dead and gone” and “Can’t keep living like this”. They’re a bit more a challenge to do them justice and do them live… that’s why I like them.

RR: What was it like working with Jim Gaines?

JST: Yeah, yeah – I love Jim. He’s and incredible person and he’s become close friend – him and his wife. On a professional level, he’s so humble given his CV. He’s so easy to work with.

RR: Were you taught to play, or did you teach yourself?

JST: I taught myself. I played classical guitar from the age of eight. When I picked up and electric, I figured that if BB King could teach himself, so could I. Not that I think I play like BB King. My record collection is very vast. I often listen to a lot of stuff, whether it be some of the country guys like Danny Gatton or Vince Gill, or some of the classic rock guys. It’s funny now seeing what you actually soak up. I don’t mean actually learn anything, but just sitting down and something sticks in your head.

RR: There’s a progression from White Sugar – a sense of moving forward. Are you exploring new areas of song writing?

Yeah. There’s a couple of reasons for that. White Sugar it’s that case of, you know, it’s the first album. I had ten years to prepare it. That said, I only started writing about a year before White Sugar. So when we came to do the second album, we’d been drawing so much from the first album, we literally had a ten day gap to get the songs together. So, I’m not the most proficient song writer I guess. I don’t write that much, I just do it when I have to, but to break up the monotony I did try to push myself a bit. That’s the best way to become a better song writer, I guess. I’m glad we did that and I do think lyrically it’s a stronger album than White Sugar.

RR: I get the impression there’s a lot of life lived in your lyrics.

JST: Yes, I think the challenge for me was I wrote all the music first, as I tend to do. It’s obviously a heavier album, which I was excited about… That came from the band I’ve been paying with in the States regularly for the past two years. Being from Detroit, they come from a bit more of a rock background. So, I was quite excited that it was going in more of a rock direction and that was testing my guitar playing and vocals I guess. Then I was presented with a lot of music that was quite heavy, and the challenge was to steer away from bluesy cliché lyrics, which I think I’ve managed to do. So it was great fun to imagine situations where the lyrics went along with the darkness of the material, i.e “Can’t keep living like this”, or “Dead and gone” which is actually about being born again, so not a biographical song.

RR: What next for Joanne Shaw Taylor?

JST: We’re going to wind up this UK tour, then I fly back to the states the day after it ends and then it’s time to start writing. We’re pencilled in for the studios in September, so there should be another album coming out later this year and basically just touring a lot hopefully. That’s the plan.

Rock Rebels will be at the Bristol gig on Sunday and we reckon you ought to be there too. Joanne Shaw Taylor is too good to miss.

Mr Mu was also disqualified as a company director as the case was brought against him as a director of the company that ran the club until it closed under S37 of the 1974 Act.

Mr Cam Mu has previous convictions for breaches of licencing and food safety law in relation to premises in Weston-super-Mare and at MuMus. He is a director of 5 companies.

In February 2008 Health and Safety Inspectors from Bristol City Council’s Public Health Services Team inspected MuMu’s nightclub, King St, Welsh Back, Bristol.

This inspection followed an application from the police for a review of the premises licence, and the inspectors found serious public safety risks due to lack of maintenance and poor standards of management. Hazards found included bare live wires in public areas and other electrical defects; broken glass in windows, mirrors and light fittings; exit routes obstructed with rubbish; gas cylinders stored in the basement; and toilets in a generally very dirty and dilapidated condition.

They immediately served a Prohibition Notice regarding the dangerous electrics and sent a letter listing all defects requiring urgent attention, and later served 2 Improvement Notices in relation to poor safety management at the club.

In March the Council was contacted by a member of the public about an injury that he had received at MuMu’s on the night of 1/2 March 2008. He said that he had fallen in the basement WCs at the club and on putting his hand out to save himself had cut his wrist on the broken tiles to the wall of the cubicle. He severed the tendons, artery and nerves and lost a large amount of blood. He was taken to hospital by ambulance where he had a 6 hour operation, followed by a further operation for a skin graft. Damaged wall tiles were one of the hazards that had been pointed out by the inspectors after their visit on 14 February.

The club had closed for business on 4 March 2008. and the company went into voluntary liquidation on 16 June 2008.

Cllr Gary Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety said,

“Our Public Health Services team work to support local businesses to provide services in a safe and efficient way. However when a business is run in a way that endangers customers or staff we take firm action. We are determined to do all we can to protect the public. The size of the fine reflects the seriousness of this case”.

375 tickets were sold out in two days, the fastest selling event Explore-At-Bristol has ever had.

Richard Dawkins will be giving a lunch-time lecture on the evidence for evolution as part of the Festival of Ideas programme, taking place on November 3.

He will be discussing his new book ‘The greatest show on earth: evidence for evolution’ and will be sifting through scientific facts and disciplines to build a cast-iron case for evolution.

His talk will be hard-hitting, taking on creationists, including followers of ‘Intelligent Design’ and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection.

Hosting this event is one of many ways that helps Explore-At-Bristol meet their mission of making science accessible to all.

Katy McDonald, Explore & Planetarium Officer from At-Bristol said: “It’s fantastic that we’ve had such a great response – we’re really excited about hosting this Festival of Ideas event. I think it’s a true testament to the impact that science learning has on our generation today.

“Last month we did some research to test people’s reactions to holding a real brain, as part of a new large exhibition due to open soon called All About Us. They were fascinated and I think it proves that science is still inspiring and engaging for all.”

Explore-At-Bristol has over 300 hands-on exhibits, Live Science shows and a Planetarium. The first part of the new All About Us exhibition will open in December, with the full exhibition opening in January 2011. The £1.5million exhibition will reveal inner workings of the human body, and is being funded by a grant from The Wellcome Trust.

Explore-At-Bristol is a leading science centre in the UK and a major player in the worldwide science centre movement.

Explore At-Bristol aims to be a world-class science centre that makes a distinctive, valued and recognised contribution to science learning and public engagement with science across Europe.

A registered charity, At-Bristol has hosted more than three million visits since its opening in June 2000 and continually strives towards making science accessible to all. www.at-bristol.org.uk

At-Bristol receives no central government funding and support from visitors, members, corporate partners and donors means it can continue to make science relevant and fun for future generations.