⏩ The Gloucester Start: Wednesday April 30th
Election row | Guildhall rebrand | New rugby shop
Good morning, welcome to Wednesday’s Start. A quick plea to double-check your email spam filters if you’ve signed up to receive my bulletins - many a newsletter can fall foul of them. Here’s what I’ve found for today’s edition.
☀️ Today’s weather: Hotter still with highs of 25C and uninterrupted sun.
🗳️ Local election candidate Daniel Woolf is considering legal action after Gloucester’s former MP Richard Graham posted about him on Facebook. Mr Graham called on Reform UK to drop Mr Woolf as a candidate in the city after he was dismissed as a grammar school teacher in 2016. - Gloucestershire Live, via the Local Democracy Reporting Service
🎭 Gloucester Guildhall has had a rebrand. A new logo was revealed this week and, in its latest programme sent to followers, it says the building’s architecture is the inspiration. The venue’s different rooms are also having their original names revived - The Ballroom, Chamber Cinema and Bow Bar. - Gloucester Guildhall
🛍️ Gloucester Rugby will turn The Heritage bar it owns next door to Kingsholm Stadium into its new club shop. The Cherry and Whites have announced a new deal with Italian kit manufacturer Macron from next season. - Gloucester Rugby
🛣️ Gloucester Services is among the most popular farm shops in the country, analysis of search trends has found. The M5 pit-stop holds its own against the likes of Daylesford and Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat in the rankings. - Gloucestershire Live
🚧 The A417 was closed most of last night near Brockworth after a ‘serious collision’ involving a motorbike. - Gloucestershire Live
↪️ It reopened this morning but more details of the incident have yet to be shared 👇
🚨 Police and crime news
🚨 A woman in breach of an antisocial behaviour order in the city centre was jailed the same afternoon she was arrested, on Monday. She’ll spend 45 days behind bars. - Your Community Alerts
🚨 Car doors in several roads around Kingsholm were being tried in the early hours of Monday by a man wearing a hoodie and carrying a bag. Police have reminded people to make sure their vehicles are locked. - Your Community Alerts
🚨 Several other instances of cars being broken into, or attempted to, have also been reported lately alongside the theft of two motorbikes in Brockworth. - Gloucestershire Live
🗳️ Election watch
🗳️ Gloucestershire County Council’s elections take place this Thursday, May 1st:
See who’s standing where you live using your postcode - Who Can I Vote For
Not sure where your polling station is? Find it here
🤞 Who’s promising what? Interviews with representatives of the main parties fielding candidates by community journalist Will Luker are a good place to start. You can also find his pieces with the Independents, Liberal Democrats, Reform, Conservatives and Greens already published, and keep an eye on his Substack for more coverage before polling day tomorrow.
📌 Community Noticeboard
This section is powered by you. Submit community news, initiatives and events, new openings and fundraisers, and plenty more, via this simple form for inclusion. It’s free.
📌 We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic person to oversee and manage the City Farm project in Barton, Gloucester. The aim of the City Farm is to provide a hands-on connection to nature and the countryside to those living in the heart of the city of Gloucester, and so this role is as much about animal care and management as well as community involvement. Hours: 25-30 hours a week. Salary: £27,000-£29,000 (full time equivalent). For further information please email info@thefriendshipcafe.com. More details here too. - Thanks to the Friendship Cafe for this submission
📌 Ibrahim Issa, director of Hope Flowers School Bethlehem, is visiting Gloucester on Saturday to talk about the groundbreaking work done with children aged five to 14 years who have been traumatised by conflict and who are exposed to poverty, malnutrition and lack wider perspective. His talk is at the Friendship Cafe from 6.30pm. More details here. - Thanks to subscriber David for this submission
📌 City centre shops, cafes and businesses will be displaying original art by 25 local professional artists in their windows throughout May and June. The artworks will form an art trail from the Folk in Westgate Street to the Museum of Gloucester in Brunswick Road that you will be able to view 24/7. 👇
📅 Things to do today and tomorrow
🎭 Working together to shape Gloucester’s cultural future at Gloucester Guildhall | Today, from 9.30am | Free | Details
🎨 Creative Welcome Space at City Works, Alfred Street | Today, 10am-2pm | Free | Details
🪴 Gardening for Wellbeing at Gloucester Cathedral | Wednesday, 11.30am-2.30pm | Free | Details
🎺 Jazz Festival at The Thirsty Pine | Thursday, 8pm until Saturday | Free | Details
The top posts from Tuesday’s Start:
💥 Dr Who spin-off star coming to Gloucester Comic-Con
🌊 New plans for GL1 Leisure Centre unveiled
🛒 Cafe and superstore planned for Gloucester Docks