The Up Our Street team are now fully recovered from mince pie overload and are back in the office inspired, well-rested and ready for whatever 2017 brings.

We have wonderful news to share. Tamsin Harcourt, who has been writing Up Our Street magazine for us, is now a permanent member of the team as our new Communications Officer. Tamsin will continue to work on the magazine as well as our ebulletin and social media. She will be working Monday to Friday from 10am til 3pm. Contact Tamsin by email at newsletter@eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk or call her on 0117 954 2837 or 07903 089 002.

Monday 16 January, 1pm to 3pm, Muller Hall, Seymour Road, BS5 0NX

The next Neighbourhood Forum will look at employment issues in Easton and Lawrence Hill. We will have an update on Bristol City Council initiatives to boost local employment opportunities, and look at how poor employment practices are impacting Bristol residents.

There is also a local councillor surgery from 12pm to 1pm.

We are putting together the Spring edition of the Up Our Street magazine – do you have ideas for stories, is there a local group we should feature? We also have a limited amount of advertising space available. Get in touch with Tamsin by 13 January.

Help with Communication Need help promoting an upcoming event or service? Up Our Street offers a range of print, broadcast, web-based and face-to-face communications packages to help you spread the word in Easton and Lawrence Hill. To find out more, email business@eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk

Community Research Do you work with an organisation or agency looking to better understand service users’ experiences in Easton and Lawrence Hill? Up Our Street’s multilingual Community Research Team offers a variety of inclusive research and consultation services to provide you with robust information about the community. To find out more, email business@eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk

TidyBS5 Saturday 7 January, 9am, Easton Community Centre Come along to find out about the Clean Streets Campaign and find out more about the group. If you would like to join our mailing list to find out when meetings take place please contact community@eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk

OTHER LOCAL EVENTS AND NEWS

The funding will be approved by partnership members and Councillors at the next meeting in March. The funding does not need to be spent by March but allocated by then. Visit http://tinyurl.com/hl8oyvy

Environment Sub-Group – 9 January, 7pm, Junction 3 Library, Lower Ashley Road This meeting focuses on the environmental priorities for Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill agreed by the Neighbourhood Partnership with a view to developing projects to deliver them. All are welcome to attend. Contact neil.burwell@bristol.gov.uk

Traffic and Transport Sub-Group – 23 January, 7pm, Junction 3 Library, Lower Ashley Road

Save the date.

Black to Nature – deadline 12 January Thursday 19 January, 10am to 4pm, St Werburghs Farm Saturday 21 January, 11am to 4pm, tour of Slimbridge Wetlands Centre There are just a few spaces left for these free events, part of a Diverse Nature project which is a joint initiative between Ujima 98fm, the World Wildfowl Trust (WWT) and the Green & Back Ambassadors. Transport is available and on 19 January, participants will be paid a fee of £25 per person as well as receive a free lunch. Contact julzd1971@googlemail.com

Manifesto for Race Equality Conference Monday 16 January 2017, 9.30am to 2pm Rose Green Centre, 65 Gordon Road, Whitehall, BS5 7DR This event is for community members and reps from groups working with BAME communities wanting to be part of the change to improve race equality in Bristol. There will be an update on what’s already happening as well as a chance for you to say what needs to happen next. The event will finish with a networking lunch. Please let us know of your attendance so we can cater for all and meet all dietary requirements.To Register click here or email charlene@voscur.org or for further information contact Ruth Pitter or Charlene Lawrence on 0117 909 9949

Bristol Waste drop in Wednesday 25 January, 3pm to 7pm, Newton Hall, Newton Street, BS5 0QZ Come along to this drop in to discuss the Stapleton Road pilot so far, tea and biscuits provided.

Alive ‘N’ Kicking

Thursday 26 January, Easton Leisure Centre

Alive ‘N’ Kicking will be running free sessions to support families to lead a healthier lifestyle and to reduce levels of obesity in children. There is a free healthy lifestyle programme for children aged 5-11 years for parents that are concerned about their child’s weight. Contact sarah@ank.uk.com

Sewing group Wednesdays, 11.30am to 1.30pm, Easton Community Centre, Kilburn Street

St Mungos hold a sewing group for South East Asian Women which starts again on Wednesday 18 January. Run by the ACE (Assertive Contact & Engagement) Service, come along to the free weekly group to improve your wellbeing, learn new skills and meet new people. Contact rachel.moulton@mungos.org

IT and form filling course – book your space now Thursdays, 9.30am to 11.30am, Rosemary Childrens Centre A new course starting in February, you will get the chance to learn and improve some basic IT skills to help you apply for jobs online including: understanding some of the words used on application forms, filling in application forms online, going online and looking for jobs, knowing more about internet safety. All levels welcome. To book contact edwina.provansal@bristol.gov.uk

BOOST Finance Fridays, 9.30am to 12.30pm, Barton Hill Settlement, 43 Ducie Road, BS5 0AX No appointment necessary. BOOST Finance is a partnership project and features – Talking Money, help with debt issues and general benefits advice. Knightstone Floating Support, short-term housing related support for people with housing issues. The Society, training and employment support. Visit www.bartonhillsettlement.org.uk/

Junction 3 Library weekly activities Mondays, 1pm to 4pm – Job Club. Mondays, 1.15pm to 2.15pm – English Conversation Club, come and practice in a friendly atmosphere Mondays, 2.15pm to 2.40pm – Baby Bounce and Rhyme. Mondays, 2.45pm to 3.15pm – Pre-school children’s storytime. Tuesdays, 11.30am to 1.30pm – IT Support, help with some of your IT queries. Booking not necessary. Tuesdays, 11.15am to 12.30pm – Knit and Natter, Knitting, crochet and other needlecraft. Drop in sessions. Wednesdays, 3.30pm to 5pm – Chess Club drop in sessions. Wednesdays, 6pm to 6.45pm – Reading group for ESOL Learners, relaxed and informal reading practice. Fridays, 3.30 to 5.30pm – Shared reading, relax, listen and joing in the conversation.

Update from Bristol Water From January, Bristol Water will renovate the water main that provides the drinking water for the Lawrence Hill and Easton areas. The main is in two parts both starting on Easton Way. The first part stretches down to Church Road and the second part weaves through the streets up to Greenbank Cemetery. The work will involve a number of road closures go to http://tinyurl.com/jbcwmzl for more details.

St Annes bridge closure

You may have noticed that the bridge on Feeder road is closed for a few weeks, this has meant changes to the no.36 bus route going through Barton Hill. To find out more visit http://tinyurl.com/grzlg9s

Redfield Post Office petition – please sign! Local MP’s Kerry McCarthy and Thangam Debbonaire launched a petition and are campaigning hard to restore post office services in Redfield, along with local councillors from Easton and St George. Please sign the petition here www.change.org/p/the-post-office-re-open-a-post-office-in-redfield

Felix Road Adventure Playground

The playground is back open for 2017 on from Sunday 7 January! Their hours are 12pm to 5pm on Sundays, and 3.30pm to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday. Expect adventure fun with fire, food, Circus, sport, music and dance. Please join them, and support your local adventure playground.

Grant available!

Bristol-based community and faith groups can apply for up to £1,000 towards a wellbeing activity for children. Next deadline Tuesday 10 January, there is also another round of funding with a deadline in March if this deadline is too soon. For more details email anna.balcerek@cassbristol.org or visit www.cassbristol.org

Join Book Drive Fully accessible vehicles that can be booked online by the hour, a much more cost effective way to manage all your transport requirements. Please do get in touch if you would like to register to join this new service or find out more information on how Bristol Community Transport can help with all your transport needs. Visit www.bristolcommunitytransport.org.uk

Community Asset Transfer – St Paul’s Adventure Playground, Thomas Street, BS2 9LL The council is inviting expressions of interest from third sector organisations to manage St Paul’s Adventure Playground. This opportunity is aimed at any voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation interested in taking over the management of the property and applying for a lease of between 5 and 15 years through ‘Community Asset Transfer’. Full details of what is being offered and of the eligibility criteria are set out in the brief, which can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/hj4gn5j

Job vacancies – 1625 Independent People (deadline 27 January)

Funding and Communications Manager, visit http://tinyurl.com/h2jprqj

Mental Health Project Worker, visit http://tinyurl.com/j74rw2c

Learning and Work Project Worker, visit http://tinyurl.com/zpax8nj

Volunteering opportunities – IBT17 Volunteers are need to help including Front of House Crew, Artist Hosts, Delegate Hosts, Social Media Pros and Evaluation Assistants. To find out more visit www.inbetweentime.co.uk/news/volunteer-for-ibt17/

Volunteering opportunities – Tutors Needed IntoUniversity is a national education charity that provides local learning centres in disadvantaged areas where young people are inspired to achieve. They are currently recruiting for volunteer tutors for after school Academic Support sessions. Volunteers must have achieved at least grade C (or equivalent) in Maths and English at GCSE. The next training and selection session will be held on Wednesday 15 February from 1pm to 3.30pm at the University of Bristol. Apply online here http://intouniversity.org/bristolvolunteering.

Training – free training for commmunity groups Essential skills for all community groups – get the people, skills and resources you need to run your group effectively! Register to guarantee a place. Powering your Projects; raising money for your group Tuesday 17 January, 10am to 3pm, St Werburghs Community Centre, to book visit http://tinyurl.com/jqkqh3o Building your Group; bringing new people and skills into your group Saturday 28 January, 10am to 1pm, Barton Hill Settlement, to book visit http://tinyurl.com/zet6wx4

Practical Steps for Building Diverse and Inclusive Groups Thursday 21 February, 6.15pm to 8.45pm, St Paul’s Learning & Family Centre, to book visit http://tinyurl.com/zzxlqum

Training – Enterprising skills and employability 23 January to 3 February, Are you aged 18+? Interested in learning Enterprise Skills? Considering setting up your own business or finding your ideal job? Join CCDEB to study a Level 2 Award in Enterprising Skills & Employability (QCF) Explore the skills required and learn – how to set and achieve your target, understand what motivates you, teamwork skills, introductory enterprise skills for success, key work principles, creative thinking to problem solving. Contact jane.franklin@c-cbed.com