Three Men On Tour: 13

A lot has come out of Bristol. Cary Grant was born there, John Cleese went to school there and Gene Wilder learnt to act there. Even the eternal battle between good and evil, or indeed Star Trek and Star Wars, has roots in the city with both David Prowse (Darth Vader) and Patrick Stewart (Jean Luc Picard) having spent time living in the city. Famously, David Prowse was not allowed to voice of Darth Vader, instead being dubbed over by the resonant tones of James Earl Jones. One can only imagine how the film would have come across had Vader been allowed to retain Prowse’s Bristolian burr. “I find your lack o’ faith roight unsettling. Succumb to the power of the dark side, me lover.“

Naturally, for such a centre of industry, Bristol has had a huge cultural impact but in its own unique way. In the 1990s, when British music was conquering the world once more, Bristol took on the frantic partying of Madchester, and the worthy aspirations of Mockney Britpop with its own laid back vibe, exposing the world to the likes of Tricky, Massive Attack and Portishead.

Historically, Bristol is a thing of itself as well. It is both county town and county, having been made formally independent from Gloucester in the 14th century. It even has its own accent, the Bristol habit of lengthening vowels at the end of a word into a long ‘awl’ sound having been responsible for renaming the town, from the prosaic Brycgstow to its modern Bristolian form.

It is hardly surprising then to find that the sights and sounds of Bristol are beginning to challenge the more traditional attractions of the nearby Cotswolds, replacing peace and tranquillity with fun, frivolities and no small measure of excitement. It remains to be seen whether the draw of the old can still compete with the thrill of the new.