Selecta has been involved in carnival for as long as he can remember. He went from a child helping out at a family stall to being a key member of the organising committee, and staging the most popular and enduring sound system.

“I think the first time properly helping and doing something for the carnival was when I was about nine or ten,” said the St Pauls Carnival legend, who is now 49. “My uncle ran a stall on Brighton Street back then, and I would help him all day on that.

“I kept to that until I was maybe 18 or 19, and I was starting to get more and more into music. I was playing at christening and weddings and parties. My uncle’s good friend Rene ran a sound system called Godfather Sounds, which was always set up outside the Inkerman’s pub, and I think in about 1990 or 91 he said to me ‘why don’t you play with me at St Pauls Carnival?’ he asked me and I went along that first year, and started doing that every year,” Selecta said.

Looking back now, Rene was mentoring Selecta to take over what at the time was an already well-established and important sound system at carnival.

“He was an old guy back then and he took a step back a bit, but he was so important for me. He taught me how to set it all up, doing all the wiring, create a good sound system, and he showed me how to do things. I have just got so much love and respect for Rene. He said to me he wanted me to keep things going, and I promised him I would. He would just be so happy if he could see how it’s grown now,” he said.

Selecta took over in the early-1990s, and in the mid-90s he joined famous Bristol pirate radio station Ragga FM, and for two years used the stage at the Inkerman as a platform for Ragga FM DJs.

By around 1998, it became the Ghetto Force stage, and for the past 25 years that’s been the name now synonymous with Selecta, through music nights at venues around Bristol and beyond, and there’s even a range of clothing with the GF brand.

“The stage has had changes over the years,” he reflected. “Back in the 2000s we were the only ones doing competitions, the dancehall king and queen, and I built it up so we had a national reputation – artists would want to play on the Ghetto Force stage. When I first started we had maybe ten people dancing in front in the street, and I remember that vividly. Now, we have thousands,” he added.

In the 2000s, Selecta got involved in running the entire event, and was a prominent figure in the carnival organising committee for many years. “I knew that it wasn’t enough for me to just do my stage, that if the event was to happen, then it needs people to step forward and help, so I did,” he said.

The carnival went through a few turbulent years in the 2010s, and has since been taken forward with a new organisation and board, but Selecta will still be heavily involved on the day, but in a different location.

After 2017, such was the crowds of previous years, organisers re-jigged the spaces and decided that Ghetto Force was so popular it needed to be in Portland Square. So in 2018 and 2019, thousands danced the day and evening away in the stage’s new location, only for the pandemic to cut the party short since then.

This year, Selecta is back with the motivation of three missed years to make up for, and determined to make the Ghetto Force stage the place to see Bristol artists shine.

“It’s all about giving Bristol artists a platform, and showing the people what Bristol is all about. I want to get Bristol artists to a certain level, and it will be a wide range of music, we’ll have reggae, R&B, hip-hop, Afrobeats, garage, drum n bass and jungle, and be a good mix of MCs, artists and DJs,” he said. “Portland Square is going to be crazy.”

The list of artists already set to appear on the Ghetto Force stage includes K*Ners, Asher Simmons, Rass Kelly, Frilla, Dash Villz, reggae singer Alicia Scott, from Cardiff, Bristol’s top drum n bass and jungle syndicate Urban Front Sound, and other sound systems and artists. “It’s going to be amazing. I know Rene would just be so happy,” said Selecta.

Temple Quarter will become a world-class gateway to the region that unlocks our city and the West of England’s potential. A series of well-connected and thriving mixed-use communities will benefit new and existing residents, employees and visitors with new homes, jobs, infrastructure and opportunities.
With Temple Meads railway station at its heart,

Temple Quarter will reflect Bristol’s past, present and future to become a blueprint for sustainable and inclusive city regeneration.

Temple Quarter sits at the heart of Bristol, one of the UK’s most productive and fast-growing regions and a focal point for the West of England’s £39bn economy.

Temple Quarter will transform over 130 hectares of brownfield land over the next 25 years into a series of thriving, well-connected mixed-use communities. The regeneration of the area will deliver 10,000 new homes in a mix of types and tenures, including much-needed new affordable homes. 22,000 new jobs will be created, bringing inclusive economic growth to the city and new opportunities for Bristol’s citizens, alongside £1.6bn annual income to the city economy.

Tackling the challenges posed by the climate crisis and a changing employment landscape head-on, the regeneration will build on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to put low-carbon, climate-friendly homes, jobs, and opportunities at the heart of the city, alongside new green spaces and an 18-hour economy, where visitors and residents can live and work and spend time.

A refurbished Temple Meads Station will build on its role as the region’s largest transport hub. Work will preserve the heritage of Brunel’s historic station while creating a gateway to Bristol and the West of England that is fit for the 21st century. Works in and around the station will be a catalyst for change, unlocking opportunities for new homes, jobs and public spaces in St Philip’s Marsh. Public transport, walking and cycling will all be made easier, creating a greener, better-connected city region.

Communities and businesses – new and existing – will co-exist within residential, commercial, leisure and cultural areas, supporting a thriving 24-hour economy that works for everyone.

The new University of Bristol Enterprise Campus will bring cutting-edge innovation, education, and skills to the area, boosting Bristol’s reputation as a centre of knowledge and enabling world-leading research and development to link with and work alongside local and regional businesses.

Temple Quarter will have social value at its core, contributing to a fairer and more equitable city that benefits all communities during and after construction; helping to create a city region in which everyone has a stake, and no one gets left behind.

To make this happen we will be ambitious and work together. The project partners, Bristol City Council, the West of England Combined Authority, Network Rail and Homes England, have come together to create this vision and we will work collaboratively with Bristol’s citizens to help shape a successful future for Temple Quarter that showcases what can be achieved by public sector organisations working in partnership.

They will lay the Bristol Bus Boycott organiser to rest on 16 September

Relatives of civil rights pioneer Roy Hackett are inviting the city to celebrate his life during a day of remembrance next month. The community activist, who helped organise the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott which paved the way for the Race Relations Act 1965, died on 3 August aged 93.

Mr Hackett was made an OBE for his lifelong fight against racism in 2009, an honour followed up with an MBE in 2020. His high-profile fans included Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who said the Bristol Bus Boycott “should be taught in every school”.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1928, Mr Hackett travelled to Britain in 1952 as part of the Windrush generation. He lived in Liverpool, London and Wolverhampton before settling in Bristol.

There, he found that the owners of boarding houses would not rent to him because of his colour, and he spent his first night sleeping in a doorway. In 1962 his wife Ena applied for a job as a bus conductor with the Bristol Omnibus Company and was refused, despite being qualified.

Inspired by Rosa Parks’ actions in America, Mr Hackett formed a pressure group with Owen Henry, Audley Evans and Prince Brown to fight the colour bar on Bristol’s buses. Supported by senior Labour party politicians, their action was successful when the bus firm announced an end to their ban on non-white employees.

The “born activist” continued his work as a community leader and mentor to Bristol youths, establishing the Commonwealth Coordinated Committee and the St Paul’s Carnival – one of the biggest of its kind in Europe.

His remembrance event will take place at Elim Church on Jamaica Street from 11am on Friday September 16, followed by burial at South Bristol Cemetery and a wake at Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

Anyone seeking further information about the day is asked to telephone Adams Funeral Directors on 07860555133 or email craig@adamsfuneraldirectors.co.uk.

Small independent Cafe opens in Cristol Bristol.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-bristol-61094211

Bristol man’s garage is now tiny coffee shop measuring 3ft by 6ft

A Bristol man who opened a tiny coffee shop inside his garage says he hopes it will contribute to his neighbourhood’s growing sense of community. Rob Savage sells cakes, coffees and cups of tea from his garage, which measures just 3ft by 6ft in size.

The enterprising neighbour converted the space along Lancaster Street, on the border of Redfield and Barton Hill, during the lockdown. Named ‘3ft 6’ after it’s dimensions, Rob opened last month and believes the eaterie is one of the smallest in the UK.

Despite its compact size he says the does a roaring trade and even offers seating on the paths outside his terraced home. One reviewer on Google raved: “I bumped into the coffee shop rather accidentally while walking around.

“They make superb cappuccino. Cakes also were very fresh.” Another reviewer wrote last week: “Great coffee and friendly owner, welcome addition to the neighbour and opposite the [Netham] park.”

Open on weekends between 10am-3pm for the moment, Rob built the tiny cafe out of his garage that he uses as a workshop with limited resources. Rob, who is also an artist and designer, said: “It’s very much about being a neighbourhood cafe.

“I made it in response to a demand that became apparent during lockdown where basically there was nothing around. I realised that actually there was something lacking in the area for the local community.

“We came up with this idea of making a small takeaway coffee and cake place for the neighbourhood.” The cafe took around a year to construct, opening in March 2022, and is described as being a “little bit like tetris” behind the counter.

Rob said: “I’ve been here for nearly 20 years and I’ve seen a massive change in people caring. There’s a real sense of community, a real sense of neighbourhood – and hopefully this adds to it.”

Teachings in Dub – JAH SHAKA Soundsystem

TOMORROW AT 10 PM – 5 AM

Tickets here.