Mus Tournament in Bristol

The Basque community in Bristol is increasing every day. Some come to Bristol only for a weekend, others escaping from the awful job market in the Basque Country, while a few are settled down in Bristol.

For those who don't know who the heck Basques are and were they are from, here is a brief explanation. The Basque Country is the name given to the home of Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast. The region is home to the Basque people (Euskaldunak), their language (Euskara), culture and traditions.

These days, there are many Basques around the globe for many reasons and in order to maintain their traditions and culture, many Euskal Etxeas (in English, "Basque Houses") have been created all over the world.

In order to create a centre-point for Basques and showcase the Basque culture to the British people in the South West of the UK, a group of Basque people officially presented the Bristol Basque Cultural Society (Bristoleko Euskal Etxea) last month among friends with a traditional filling Basque lunch: black beans with sacramentos (meaning ribs, chorizo, black pudding, etc.).

Food, dance, games, logo competition... it was an excuse to meet new people and have a wonderful time. Additionally, the society has selected the two logo finalists and just selected the final logo yesterday.

The charity is organising a Mus Tournament next 7th February and celebrate Carnivals at the same time with a Carnival Costume Competition at The Crofters Rights, Stokes Croft. Mus is a traditional card game originally from the Basque Country similar to poker (more info here). Details about the event will be posted in the following week in the Facebook page as well as on the website. In advance, I can say there's gonna be a course for beginners to learn how to play, food will be provided and there's gonna be real prizes for winners!

Are you interested in participating in the Mus Tournament or Costume Competition? Write an email to bristolbasque@gmail.com and ask for more details. They will be delighted to have you there!


WEBSITE:

http://bristolbasque.strikingly.com/
FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/609346609114447/

Bristol Walking Festival

I came back from my Easter break down in Cornwall fully recovered and looking forward to posting new (and hopefully interesting) stuff in my blog.

I have friends visiting this weekend. It is my birthday next weeks so we will celebrate it properly during the weekend. It won't be the first time in Bristol for any of my friends and therefore, I have to come up with different options to do in the city rather than "touristic stuff".

Some days ago I read about the Bristol Walking Festival and thought, "Hey, that'd be fun!". If weather permits, I think I am gonna make my friends to do some walking. 

The Bristol Walking Festival, which is a month-long festival, is the largest urban walking festival in the UK. Over 150 guided walks will take place offering a good opportunity to learn about local history of the city voted European Green Capital for 2015. 

The official launch of the festival will be next Saturday, 26th April 2014, at 11am at City Hall and College Green. In this event, everybody will be able to find out what's happening during the festival, meet the walk leaders and sign up to take part in any activity that might be interested. There will be walks to take part in on the day, all starting from the City Hall and activities and stalls College Green.

Main walks start on Sunday  though, including walks around the Medieval Bristol and the Suspension Bridge, continuing with many walks everyday until 26th May. For more information, have a look at the programme here.

They will also be running a photography competition to capture Bristol's beauty. It is open to all amateur photographers who want their photograph to be exhibited publically. The main prize will be a Swim&Dine for two at the Lido. Further information about the competition here. 

USEFUL LINKS

Bristol Walking Festival: www.bristolwalkingfestival.co.uk

Lido: www.lidobristol.com