Banksy's street art recreated with LEGO bricks

You might have seen this already, but in case you haven't, here you are: a very original recreation of most of Banksy's iconic graffities with LEGO bricks! 

The Canadian photographer Jeff Friesen is the one who had the great idea to recreate Banksy's artwork using his seven-year-old daughter's LEGO bricks... and the result is absolutely genius! He called it "Briscky: LEGO Banksy" and it creates many of the mysterious street artist's works. Can you identify the ones we can see in Bristol?

Isn't it genious?

WEBSITE: http://www.thebrickfantastic.com/new-gallery-bricksy-lego-banksy/

Low-cost lunches (for people as poor as church mice...)

If you are as poor as church mice, or want to save some money but still enjoy a nice meal in Bristol, this is the post for you. In this post, I give you 8 options to eat healthy and/or cheap in Bristol city centre under £5.50 (excluding fast-food chains, obviously). 
Here we go!

Let's start around the Hippodrome: if you like international food, you could have a buffet lunch for £4.99 at Flavourz (BS1 4UB). There is Chinese, Italian and Indian food with a chocolate fountain and many cakes. It gets busy during lunchtime so if you are looking for a quiet place, this is not the best choice. Just next to Flavours, Drawbridge (BS1 4UT) also offers very nice and cheap meals. For example, they have a a £5.49 Cheese Burger or Mozarella & Pesto Burger which is actually pretty good.

Every day between 12am and 3pm, The Bagel Boy (BS1 4UB) offers a 5-pound deal including a classic bagel (there are more than 10 to choose from), some crisps and a soft drink. I have been there and believe me when I say it is really good! (read about my visit to Bagel Boy here). Very close to the Bagel Boy, we can find a very interesting lunch deal at Revolution (BS1 1UA). For only £5, you can chose from a Classic Burger, Bean Dreaming Burger or a Blackened Chicken Burger, all served with a house slaw and skin-on fries every Tuesday and Thursday until 4pm. And not very far away, there is an option for sport lovers: The Walkabout (BS1 1HQ). They offer a meal deal including a beef, chicken or halloumi burger with chips, salad, a piece of melon and a pint of Fosters for 5.95 pounds. Everytime I go there, I always choose the chicken burger. It is grilled instead of fried with breadcrumbs; very tasty.

In the Harbourside, bSb The Waterside (BS1 5UH) offers a burger and a pint for 4.49 pounds. I have never had burgers there although I really believe it is a very good deal. On their website, there is an even better deal including beef/chicken burger, chips and a bottle of Budweiser for £3.95. 

At the Triangle, there is Square Club (BS8 1HB) serving express lunches for £5. There is a selection of mouthwatering ciabattas and sandwiches served with salad or fries. As they say: perfect for a quick fix. If you prefer Clifton, The Racks (BS8 1LX) offers a £5 lunch menu from Monday to Saturday between 12-5pm including a selection of pies, salads, baguettes and sandwiches (check menu here). On Wednesdays after 5pm, on the other hand, you can have a free homemade pie if you buy one. They are the most popular item on their menu!

On Gloucester Road, I stopped at Bubalu Food (BS7 8AS) for lunch one day, which is a coffee shop/restaurant/bar below a fitness centre, offers lunch deals for 5 pounds. It is a complete and varied menu. In my case, it was a roasted veg crepe (huge) with chicken and hummus, a salad on a side and orange/apple juice. On the other side, if you are looking for a cheap Sunday Roast, The Bishops (BS6 5QP) offers a deal including a Sunday Roast with unlimited roast potato and vegetables for just £5.49.

WEBSITES OF INTEREST

• Flavours: http://www.flavourz.co.uk/
• Bagel Boy: http://www.bagelboy.co.uk/
• bSb Waterside: http://www.bsbbars.co.uk/home/
• Bishops: https://plus.google.com/118024844922864037398/about?gl=uk&hl=eu
• Walkabout: https://www.walkaboutbars.co.uk/
• Bubalu: http://www.bubalu.co.uk/
• Revolution: http://www.revolution-bars.co.uk/bar/bristol/
• The Square Club: http://www.thesquareclub.com/
• The Racks: http://www.racks-bristol.co.uk

Mystery shopping in Bristol

Over two years ago, I met a girl who told me she was travelling for free with Easyjet. Yes, you read it RIGHT. She explained to me that she was one of the mystery shoppers that the company hires, who travel and give feedback to the company about the service they provide. Basically, the company paid her to travel to different countries and fill in a couple of questionnaires. And today, I am going to reveal my secret: I am a mystery shopper myself. 

For those who are not familiarised with the "mystery shopping" thing, a mystery shopper or secret shopper is a tool used externally by market research companies or internally by companies themselves to measure the quality of the service they provide. The mystery shopper's identity and purpose is generally unknown by the establishment being evaluated and it can be used in any industry, being the most common retail stores, hotels, restaurants, fast food chains, banks, car dealerships and health care facilities.

Normally, a mystery shopper will have to note names and description of employees, how long it takes to be acknowledged, speed of service, cleanliness of the store, store appearance... and sometimes, she/he will be give some questions to ask to the employees. In addition, they might also need to make a purchase which could be completely or partially reimbursed and will need to fill a form later on describing the shopping. Other times, when a purchase is not needed, they will get a payment for their completed job.

I have been a mystery shopper for a year and a half already in Bristol area, giving feedback from shops such as ASDA, Tesco, EE, Lloyds Pharmacy, Next, Pret a Manger, Urban Outfitters, Zaza Bazaar, V-Shed, Ikea, House of Fraser... and I have earned some money with it. At first, it was just to improve the language skills as you will not get wealthy with the money you earn from mystery shopping. However, it helps with your finances if you have free time and you like the experience. 

I have worked with several companies and I would like to give you my opinion in all of them, if you every want to be a mystery shopper. I really recommend it, it's a lot of fun!

GRASSROOTS

Grassroots Mystery Shopping was the company which I started my Mystery Shopper adventure. They send an email when a job is available close to the areas you have selected and you get paid around 10-15 pounds per assignment, depending what it involves. Sometimes, it requires a small purchase but most of the times it doesn't. However, for Bristol area, they do not have many assignments and you need to be really fast to accept the work. You will receive an email saying that "there are assignments available in your area" and you will need to access the website really fast and accept it, before someone else accepts it. Shops I mystery shopped with this company: ASDA, EE, Lloyds Pharmacy, Next, Tesco, Thomson, House of Fraser...

WEBSITE: https://www.grassrootsmysteryshopping.com

GFK

GFK was one of the first mystery shopping website I signed in. However, after a while, I had to cancel my account because they kept contacting me by phone. I like to have my time to read the assignment notes, check my calendar and decide peacefully whether I am really interested in carrying out the assignment or not. When they call, you normally don't have time to decide where it is, what you have to do and if it is worth it for you or not. Now, I opened the account with them and I must say they don't call that often anymore and the assignment descriptions have improved considerably. I was paid average (5-10 pounds) depending on the assignment but sometimes they had really well-paid (but long) assignments in Ikea, for example. 
WEBSITE: https://mysteryshopper.gfk.com/gfk/ref/?pro=11&inv=1215 

MARKET FORCE

My favourite by far! Market Force is probably the company with more assignments but it is also the one which pays you less. They normally involve a purchase, which is partially reimbursed although it mightcover the entire shopping if you make some calculations. You have to check the website very often to search for new assignments because the update email they send is a very high level and it is not sent regularly. You earn for each assignment completed and lose some if you need to clarify something or release it. Shops I mystery shopped with this company: Pret A Manger, Urban Outfitters, Zaza Bazaar, Cosies, Next, Bank, River Island, Subway, Vision Express, Karen Millen... The more you work, the more grade you have as a mystery shopper.

WEBSITE: http://uk.marketforce.com/register/?ref=181&lang=en&reu=1258265

MYSTERY-SHOPPERS LTD

I have recently started mystery shopping for this company but they mostly work for banks and most of the assignments involve either audio or video enquiries. I don't feel comfortable yet with audio or video assignments and so far, I haven't done any assignment with them. But, if you do feel comfortable with these kind of assignments, they are paid really well (35-60 pounds) and they have many assignments available all the time. The allocation system is not very clear either: you have to apply for each assignment you are interested in and wait to see if you have been allocated or not. If you are not, they don't even bother to tell you! Not very transparent...

WEBSITE: https://online.mystery-shoppers.co.uk

TERN

Tern is also a new company for me and I have only completed one assignment for them so far. They do not contact you by email so you must check the website often and I must say that they don't have many mystery shoppings available as other companies. However, you get really well paid (10-15 pounds).

WEBSITE: http://tern.co.uk/

AMBER ARCH
Amber Arch is a relatively new company for me too. Once you pass the annoying welcome lady on the website, they use the same database as in Tern. So far, I have only completed one assignment for them. They do contact you every now and then by email but you should check the website very often. You get paid about the average £7-10.
WEBSITE: http://www.amberarch.com/

HELION RESEARCH
I haven't done any assingment for Helion Research yet. I only get crazy long assignment for Car Price Audits, which take very long and they aren't even paid that well (£30-35). I still don't give up and check their website every now and then but I haven't seen any assignment in Bristol area that weren't car price audits. 
WEBSITE: https://evaluator.helionresearch.com/r/s1172814

ESA RETAIL (New)
I have recently joined this company and I haven't done any assignment yet. They use the same online system as Mystery-Shoppers, which I personally don't like, and they don't seem to have as many assignments as the rest of the companies. I will keep you posted, though!
WEBSITE: https://www.esa-webms.co.uk

RETAIL ACTIVE  (New)
I found out about this company when I had a chat with an experienced mystery shopper. I signed in and filled the questionnaire to start applying for assignments. It seems they have interesting and quite varied assignments available in Bristol area but I haven't carried out any of them yet. They payment is average (around £5) and most of the assignments require a purchase which is partially reimbursed. I found it very useful that they have a system which allows you are personally notified if a specific unavailable assignment becomes available again.
WEBSITE: http://www.marketchecker.co.uk/

EDIGITALRESEARCH (New)
I have recently joined this company, filled the sample questionnaire and I am waiting for the validation to start shopping. At first glance, the system is not very intuitive and user-friendly. I guess it will improve the more I use it. I will keep you posted on this, too!
WEBSITE: https://www.edigitalresearch.com/shopper/

CHECKOUT UK (New)
I literally just sent a mystery shopping request to this company. Apparently, I have been accepted but there is no online system to see and allocate the assignments. They tell me I will receive an email or call if I am allocated an assignment and they also said that if they do not contact you, it means that there are no assignments available in my area. Not very transparent system, I must admit...
WEBSITE: http://msteam.checkoutuk.co.uk/

MARKET CHECKER (New)
I literally just sent a mystery shopping request to this company. I will let you know about my thoughts on this company when I have some more experience.
WEBSITE: http://www.marketchecker.co.uk/

Wicked @ The Hippodrome

Wicked will be the third (but not the last) musical I will be watching at the Hippodrome. I have previously seen The Lion King, which was the best musical I have seen, and Cats, which I strongly recommend if you like Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. This time, as I barely know anything about musical beforehand, I had to do some research.

Wicked: the Untold Story of the Witches of Oz, a music that is celebrating its 12 years on Broadway, has won 90 international awards, broken records at the London's Apollo Victoria Theatre and will be in Bristol until the 21st March.

Based on Gregory Maguire's novel, it is the alternative telling of the classic 1900 story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Stephen Schwartz, who wrote  the music and lyrics of the musical, learned of Wicked while he was on holiday in Hawaii. While he was enjoying a boat ride, a passenger mentioned she was reading the novel and Stephen loved it, seeing a possibility to compose some music and convert it into a musical.

The story tells the perspective of two witches of the Land of Oz, Elphaba and Glinda, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints. It starts before Dorothy's arrival and continuing after, showing the rivalry of these two witches over the same love-interest and their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government.

My tickets are for the 2nd March so I will post a short review after that they for you to read. I bought the tickets some time ago and got the cheapest price possible (£20 plus £4 transaction fees). However, I have just checked the website for the night I am going and there are still some cheap tickets available if you aren't too picky with the seats (£25 or £32, buy tickets here). Join me, I'm sure it will be wicked! ;)

New milestone: 50,000 pageviews!

Within two years and basically without big publicity campaigns, we managed to get 50,000 pageviews and we would like to share our happiness with you today. This is a HUGE milestone. Thank you very much for being there! 

Please, feel free to share the blog among your friends, comment on posts and keep reading us!

Peter and the Wolf @ Tobacco Factory

I remember the timbre of oboe thanks to Peter and the Wolf. Sergei Prokofiev had the excellent idea to educate children to identify properly instruments such as oboe, clarinet, flute and bassoon by identifying them with the duck, cat, bird and Peter's grandfather in the story. He intended to cultivate the musical tastes in children from the first years of school and yet, it is an excellent piece of music for grown-ups. Now, every time I listen to the sound of the oboe, I see a duck. And every time I listen to the sound of the clarinet, I see a cat... It is that powerful what Prokofiev has done in me.

When I saw that there will be a live performance of storytelling about Peter and the Wolf and other "wild" musical tales, I got very excited. Storyteller Martin Maudsley will be performing a brand-new show that translates the enduring brilliance of Prokofiev's masterpiece into a thrilling interaction between classical music and spoken word storytelling. Even though the instruments will be different to the original ones, I am sure it will be a very beautifully performed imagery show called Little Wolf Gang. Eddy Jay will be playing the accordion, David Adams the bassoon and Fiona Barrow the violin.

Little Wolf Gang will be performed at the Tobacco Factory Theatre from 29th-31st January at 7.30pm (plus the 2.30pm matinee session on Saturday). Tickets are £9 (£7 concessions) and can be bought online on here.  

And if you don't want to go or tickets are sold out, you can always listen to Prokofiev's original version:

MORE INFORMATION

Tobacco Factory Website:
http://www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/detail/peter_and_the_wolf_and_other_wild_musical_tales/

Keep money warm and safe this winter with TransferWise

Yesterday, I read an unbelievable story in a newspaper: a man apparently traveled from Belgium to Madrid to meet his Venezuelan cousin to receive from him an envelope with 5260€ (around £4000) for a health surgery he needs back in Belgium. This 41-year-old chap says he was carrying an envelope full of notes that his cousin brought from Venezuela when three men pushed him in an underground station and "some time later", he realised he didn't have the money anymore (read here). :S

Whether the story is true or not, it will be up to the Spanish police to decide, but I believe we all agree that needing to travel to Spain to get £4000 in an envelope is neither a cheap (nor a safe) way of transferring money. What was he thinking?

Less than a year ago, somebody mentioned TransferWise to me and I would like to recommend this way to transfer money to this poor fellow too... but mainly to you, dear reader! I have been using it since then to simultaneously change currency and transfer money, and it ended up being a very cheap and efficient solution (invite here).

How does it work? Let's suppose I have 100€ that I want to change into pounds and transfer it to a friend, and there is another British father who wants to send some extra euros to his daughter who is on Erasmus in Paris. I have the 100€ he needs, he has the £76.71 I need. The website only acts as an intermediary between him and me... and many other people. They do the conversion rate at the day of the transfer and TransfeWise only gets a very fair and low fee (0.5%). 

The money is transferred really fast although it actually depends on the user doing the transfer the other way around. I had used it myself and I can assure you I have never had any problem except when I was transferring USD, which is a slightly more complex process.

Let't both win! If you would like to try and have a free first money transfer, you have my invite here. For every three readers that sign up through my invite, I will have 50 pounds that I have decided I will use to buy some Bristol merchandise or products that I will raffle on the blog in the following months. It's a win-win! 

INTERESTING LINKS

• Newspaper article (20minutos.es) on Belgian guy: http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2352110/0/robo-madrid-metro/venezolano-enfermo-robado/consulado-venezolano-espana/
• TransferWise Website (with invite): https://transferwise.com/u/8f0cd

European Green Capital 2015: The Kick Off

When Vitoria-Gasteiz, one of the main Basque cities, got the European Capital Award in 2012, I barely followed what went on. Partially because I had already moved out and was living in the UK but also because I didn't know it was such a big deal. Now, I realise it is.

The "European Green Capital Award" is an award launched on 2008 for a European city based on its environmental record. This year, it's Bristol's turn. The opening ceremony will take place this Saturday, 24th January 2015. I am not quite sure what will be going on at the ceremony but the free event will start at 7pm with some high wire artists at A Bond warehouse on Smeaton Road and finishing at the B Bond warehouse. They are currently looking for some more volunteers for this once in a lifetime event. If you are willing to take part, please contact Emma Thompson on emma.thompson@bristol2015.co.uk. I will be there, will you?

During the year, there will be plenty of events going on in different corners of the city. Organisers have been trying to create a programme that will allow everyone to get involved and encourages schools and businesses to add their own events by contacting events@bristol2015.co.uk.

In the following lines, I have highlighted some events, walks, discussions and workshops that you might be interested in. They will make us more aware of our planet and the environment and how the actions that we do are far far away from our intentions.

What's going on (Jan-Feb)

Everything will kick off with the Opening Ceremony, on 24th January at 7pm. A light projection show will be using the warehouse buildings as canvas accompanied by music composed by Dom Coyote. I personally haven't hear about him before but apparently he is an awesome songwriter and performer (Read review here). Titled "Bridging the Gap", it will symbolise the different between our green intentions and our actual actions. 

Before the opening ceremony, there will be a Lantern Parade on Redcliffe area. Acta Community Theatre is working with hundreds of local people of all ages and cultures to set up a great lantern parade with green theme to celebrate the local environment starting from 4.45pm.

On the 3rd February, there will be a walk on Bristol's Floating Harbour. The 2-hour walk will kick off at 10.30am led by the MShed expert guides pointing out Bristol's maritime heritage (a donation of 2 is suggested). The same day, the Lead Design Engineer from Black & Veatch Anne-Marie Tuck will be describing  the challenges faced in designing a 10-km long 700mm pipeline through the residential streets of Bristol. The talk will be at 18.30pm in the Pugsley Lecture Theatre at University of Bristol. 

On the 5th February, Willian Miliken from Kew Gardens will be chatting about the indigenous people and how they change relationship with the biodiversity of the Amazon at 19.30pm in the Tyndall Lecture Theatre at University of Bristol.

Anyone interested in using technology to solve sustainability challenges will have a discussion to attend to with six panel members at 6pm the same day at the Engine Shed. This event is about cutting through the hype of smart cities, Internet of Things and data to focus on action. Capacity is limited to 50 peole so you should book a seat in advance if you are interested (here).

There is a very interesting workshop on the 7th February for those who are interested in natural dye printing. It will be a one-day course to create natural pigments using foraged plant materials. The event will run from 10am to 4pm at the Barley Wood Walled Garden (BS40 5SA) and the inscription fee is 165.

If you prefer to learn more about butterflies instead, there is another cheaper workshop to teach you how to identify different species of butterflies at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery same day from 10.30am to 4pm. It costs 35 but they do student discounts (20). You must book in advance.

Some outdoor art will take over Pero's Bridge (or what I usually call "The Shrek Ears' Bridge" LOL) between 12-22nd February. The japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya, famous for her fog sculptures, will convert it into a Fog Bridge to makes us aware of the world getting warmer and how a changing climate might disrupt our lives.

Picture taken from http://ibt15.co.uk/fog-bridge/

There is a very cool free family-friendly event called "Bristol rocks!" at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery on the 18th February that will explore "some amazing aspects of our planet with dressing up, games, tours behind-the scenes and chatting with geologists" between 11am and 4pm. In addition, on the 20th February, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery runs another free behind-the-scenes tour to discover a secret collection of animal hidden on the basement of the museum (11am to 2.30pm).

To wrap up the month with another natural walk, the local lichen enthusiast Sheila Quin will guide us around the Downs to explore the lichens growing on trees. If you are interested, you will need to book this event in advance on mleivers@bristolzoo.org.uk. Fee: 4.

INTERESTING LINKS

• Bristol European Green Capital 2015 (Website)
• Vitoria-Gasteiz European Green Capital 2012 (Website)