Oxford Trip

Oxford – the “City of Dreaming Spires” – is a beautiful place, as we all found out on Saturday when we took two coach-loads on a day trip. It was a lovely day again (we’re getting good at booking nice weather for our trips!) and the guided walking tours of the city with which we started our day were very informative and interesting. We got a good overview of the university town from the guides, and were able to look around pretty Brasenose College. Following that, people went their own separate ways and explored the market, the museums or climbed one of the towers to get a view of the whole town. We met up for tea and coffee together later in a church building which was a well-needed break from all the sight-seeing and a good chance to chat with new and old friends! We’re now looking forward to our trip to Cambridge in May so that we can compare the two famous university towns…
Click here to view photos from this trip.

Cotswolds Trip

The sun was shining (for once!) as we set off out into the Cotwolds to the north of Bristol. Our first stop was Chedworth Roman Villa which was a really impressive example of a Romano-British villa from the 4th Century AD. We could see the remains of beautiful mosaics that covered the floors, Roman bath houses with rooms for steaming yourself before jumping into cold water, Roman toilets and the very clever under-floor central heating that warmed the house in winter. The view down the valley must have been just as beautiful when this place was inhabited by an upper class family so long ago. We also enjoyed a very informative video presentation that really helped you to picture what it probably looked like originally.

We then drove on further to the village of Bourton-on-the-Water, with Elvyn giving us a very interesting commentary on the way about the scenery and history of the Cotswolds area. We had plenty of time to get some lunch and wander leisurely around the village and some people popped into some of the little tourist attractions there too.

When it was time to move on again, we all piled back in the coach and headed to Broadway, another typical, pretty, little English village where we enjoyed a generous cream tea together in the Horse and Hound pub before having a walk up and down the main street in the evening sunshine.

In all, it was a lovely day, as I think you can see from the smiles in the photographs!
Click here for photos.

Japanese Evening

At the end of the evening, all that was left was the Japanese symbol for “heaven” marked onto the window panes of BISC. A few brightly coloured origami birds, boats and boxes were left scattered about on the floor and the distinctive smell of sushi and soy sauce in the air. All this could only hint at the fun and delights that had gone before.

The Japanese Society once again did BISC proud as the centre was filled with new and unusual sights and flavours. As guests were welcomed in, their names were written in Japanese script on their name badges, before being ushered into the lounge to be served special tea, by a beautiful and strangely familiar young lady, dressed in an elegant pink and grey kimono. Tiny pink, blue, white and green sweets, like flowers, were available as a starter, before generous bowls of beef and potato “Nikujaga” appeared. This was followed by “Okonomiyaki” or “as you like it” pancakes and “Miso” soup served with “Asazuke” vegetables.

Throughout the evening, guests had the opportunity to roll their own Sushi, filled with a selection of avocado, thinly sliced cumber, smoked salmon, fried egg and crab, all wrapped in Japanese seaweed. In the mean time, highly trained engineering students used all their concentration and skill to grapple with the delicate origami techniques to achieve aerodynamic planes, boats and delicate birds. And others were taken away like foreign princesses to be wrapped in bright floral fabrics and intricate bows in Japanese kimonos.

A truly vibrant and educational experience, which few of us are likely to forget in a hurry. Many thanks to the hard working Japanese team for an evening of Eastern delight. Arigato. Click here to view photos.

Globe Cafe Unplugged

The evening kicked off with the internationally renowned Transition with our very own Mr. Josh Edbrooke on drums, just back from foreign parts and some old favourites including Jericho to set the mood for the evening. Lee Boon Shian Lee, a Malaysian Law student, followed suite with a reflective set of Metallica and Radio Head, Creep. Next came an unexpected and unusual “Irish Folk Song “by Tom Lehrer sung by Becky Bruce of BISC fame. This definitely came with a heath warning….don’t try this at home kids. A hard act to follow perhaps but most skilfully achieved by the world Famous Jack, also studying law at UWE, Jack had managed to get together a talented Malaysian band with base and acoustic guitarists and a bongo player. Maroon Five , “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” and “No Woman No Cry” were instant crowd pleasers, skilfully and effortlessly achieved.

During the break, a generous meal had been prepared by the Globe Café team. This was an opportunity to chat and mingle back stage with the stars.

On our return, Soraya (yet another Malaysian lawyer) opened with a beautiful and husky rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” On tour for one week only, we were privileged to have a guest appearance from Portuguese/English musician: Filipe. (I was impressed at how, in just a few days, he appeared to know more people at BISC than the BISC team). “Sweet Home Alabama” had the entire audience joining in with Filipe’s funky Southern chords, followed by a more reflective Portuguese song “Hot Feet” demonstrating his professional and powerful voice. This was followed by a superb song “Lets Go To War “ written by Seb (another lawyer, half Mexican, half Irish). The lyrics were powerful and poignant, including “Lets go to war with soldiers of compassion and words that inspire action.” We were treated to an encore from Transition and Jack, with some beautiful keyboard accompaniment from Allan (Taiwan) on the James Blunt’s “Good Bye My Lover.”


All these lawyers might seriously be wanting to consider giving up their day jobs to follow a more musical career path. As ever, the true stars of the show were behind the scenes…stacking chairs and hoovering until close to midnight…A big thank you to the tremendous efforts of the Globe Team and to all those who braved the boards and the bright lights of the stage to ensure that all of us had a most splendid evening.

Here are some photos.

“We are crepe” Pancake Party Tuesday 20th February

From Patagonian beef chilli to flash fried Indonesian vegetable crepes, BISC taste buds were once again assaulted with a new and delightful range of flavours and aromas, courtesy of the “We are Crepe” pancake party team from Holy Trinity Church, Nailsea.

Diners started to arrive in the early evening. The menu promised a veritable “cornucopia of culinary delights” and we were far from disappointed. The Holy Trinity team worked slavishly over steaming hot French griddle pans to produce nearly one hundred pancakes for the grateful hordes. Click here to view the photos.

Jonny Herring from Bristol University Christian Union gave a thought provoking talk about the origins of why we celebrate Pancake Day and how countries across the world celebrate.

All in all a great night in. Many thanks to the Holy Trinity team. The question is, will people be giving up sweet things for lent? ….we do hope not. Cream Teas continue on Mondays until the end of term

From the BISC Lecture evening....

International Feast and BISC Lecture

Between 30 and 40 people gathered at BISC on Wednesday evening, bearing dishes from all over the world for us to try. We enjoyed Japanese home -madesushi, meatballs from Croatia and Denmark, German cheesy noodles, Portuguese shrimp cakes and many other interesting and delicious foods! And then of course, there were plenty of cakes, a cherry pudding, Chinese sweet soup and English trifle for desert.

Following the feast, everyone stayed around for the talk by Canon George Kavoor of Trinity College, Bristol. All agreed that it was a very entertaining talk - he even managed to get us all up on our feet doing African dancing, as well as drawing some lessons about life from a postage stamp! The photos can be found here. What did you think of the evening? Did you enjoy it as much as we did?