In partnership with the Tobacco Factory, Bristol City Council and Aardman Animations, Puppet Place presents Bristol’s first ever festival dedicated to puppetry in all its forms, from socks to latex and street theatre to celluloid. Last year we got to watch Rust, the ‘low life on high seas’ – and it rocked.

Black Tape - Rachel Goodyear

For my first visit to Manchester yesterday, I was nicely surprised with masses of culture and architecture on offer. Makes you realise how small Bristol really is for a City… I only had a few hours to eat, walk and explore, so the Urbis centre seemed an obvious stop. Unfortunately, didn’t make it into the Videogame Nation exhibition, which looked like a few hours of serious old school gaming fun.

However, ‘The State of Art: New York’ (free) work had that attitude and vibe of New Yorkers. There was a wide range of video, installation and traditional media all buzzing with the energy that can only be fed by strong coffee and sugary doughnuts. For a more in-depth review check Christine Wong Yap’s blog.

But for me the the real winner was the ‘Best of Manchester Awards’ exhibition (free). The dark David Lynch-esque illustration work by Rachel Goodyear was top notch (picture at top). Also, the mashup of wood, sound waves and carpentry by the Owl project was intriguing. Overall, the quality of work was brilliant – which left me feeling satisfied with that post exhibition glow you still get occasionally…

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