Katie Wild Pritchard

the constants in your years of raw unexpected growth

adolescence to adulthood

those are the ones you remember

and bristol has been my constant

the always changing, never changing electic mix of high rises and townhouses

patties and panzenalla, curbside pints and bridgeview prosecco

institutions build on colonisation next to fallen statues and a keffiyeh flying in the air to the cries of

free palestine.

this is where i found my activism, admidst the marches and the sit-ins

the thrusting of the socialist magazine in your face at sunday market

three pounds, eighty for your flat white please

next to commissioned murals from international artists

round the corner from dean lane where a child on his skateboard sprays paint from a cannister before climbing up through the spikes on the public pool, admiring his creation

sipping organic wine and unpacking girlhood gossip whilst overlooking

the netted curtained, cash only, no shoplifter signs on the pub on the corner

riots, carni, amphitheatre of echoing sound

drum and bass rolling through on push bikes

rice n tings by caper & cure

the bedrock of bristol cuisine with the mix of polystyrene and linen napkins

plastic forks and champagne coupes

the jamaican next to the indian next to the italian next to the…

is everything small plates nowadays?

east street next to north street

from pawn shops to book shops

tradies with breakfast baps yapping past the incense and trika yoga

saver stores round from the beautiful lifestyle shop where it costs you a tenner just to breathe inside

a city of contrasts has been my constant

a place of unfettered beauty

raw and deeply feeling

where i have deeply felt

all through from adolescence to adulthood