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Making Bristol sparkle

Being asked to create a campaign to promote your own city to visitors at Christmas is a dream brief. But defining what makes Bristol such a great place isn’t easy. We had to appeal to a very wide audience and showcase all of the attractions and great things happening in the city over the festive period.

We wanted to create something that was typically Bristol and represented the vibrancy and uniqueness of the city. Graffiti seemed an ideal choice as it is synonymous with Bristol and allowed us total creative freedom. But we didn’t want it to be too urban. We needed something that also represented the more glamorous side of the city. Something festive and sparkly!

Our solution was to recreate the Visit Bristol logo in shimmer discs, which we sat on top of a graffiti mural painted by local legends Cheo and Silent Hobo , bringing it all together with the line – Make Your Christmas Sparkle. This, alongside the hashtag #MerryBristmas, meant we had something people could interact with and easily share across social channels. Leaflets, bags, colouring pages and numerous online assets completed the campaign.

Such was the success that the following year we aimed even higher, securing an amazing location on one of Bristol’s most iconic buildings, allowing us to work with not two but eight of Bristol’s best graffiti artists. Alongside Cheo and Silent Hobo , we brought in Kid Crayon , Marta Zubieta , Elaine Carr , Andy Council , Tim Ulewicz and Lucas Antics .

We came up with a different scene for each artist to make their own, each one depicting the different attractions and festive offerings of Bristol and spelling out the word BRISTMAS. The result was a wonderfully colourful and creative piece of work, celebrating all that is great about Bristol at Christmas.

Next year, the COVID pandemic gave us a different problem to solve. One that we overcame by taking the entire campaign online and creating an interactive advent calendar. Keeping with the previous theme, we commissioned local artist Bex Glover to create the calendar, including 24 separate illustrations, each one representing a different attraction. This was shared online across the Visit Bristol social channels each day from the 1st – 24th of December, providing vital support and awareness to local businesses at a difficult time.

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Visit Bristol is the official visitor website for Bristol, so naturally we are very proud to have them as a client. There’s nothing better than spreading the word about our wonderful city, especially at Christmas, with high-profile campaigns showcasing the great things happening over the festive period and making Bristol sparkle.

Bristmas 2018

Bristmas 2019

Bristmas 2021

Bristmas 2022

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News and features

University unveils refreshed logo.

26 February 2024

The University of Bristol has launched its refreshed logo which, as previously announced, sees the removal of Edward Colston’s dolphin emblem.

The book of learning which was previously referenced in the shape of the lower left and right segments of the logo is now reinforced and strengthened by the addition of moving pages and a bookmark. This image reflects the institution’s core mission - education and learning.   

The decision to change the logo was made in November last year when the University announced its £10 million Reparative Futures programme. The funding will be used on projects to address racial injustice and collaborate on education and research initiatives to tackle educational, health, and economic inequalities building on work started by the University’s Anti-racism working group.   

The names of buildings named after the institution’s founders [including the Wills and Fry families] will be retained but their historic links to the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people will be presented in a proper context. Edward Colston was a 17 th  century investor in the slave trade whose statue was toppled into Bristol Docks during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. The University received no funding from Colston, who died nearly 200 years before the University was founded, but his personal emblem – the dolphin – formed part of the institution’s crest and modern logo.   

The sun symbol of the Wills family and the horse emblem of the Fry’s will remain, reflecting the wider decision around acknowledging the institution’s history by explaining the historical significance of these figures in terms of their relationships with the University. The University was founded in the early 20 th century through substantial financial donations made by these families.  

The castle and ship symbols, which also feature on the logo, are from the medieval seal of the city of Bristol which dates back to the 13th/14th  century.    

The University will now start a phased update on the logo to limit wastage and manage this refresh as cost effectively as possible. The logo will be updated on our digital platforms first along with some prominent signage on campus. Other changes will be made as and when materials and signage need replacing. This means there is likely to be a mix of logos used across the University for some time.      

More information about the history of the logo can be found here . 

Visit Bristol Zoo Project

Get outdoors and discover wildlife linked to our conservation projects around the world, including giraffes, lynxes, lemurs and more.

Go wild and explore 50 acres of beautiful nature, from woodlands and gardens to the tranquil Tower Meadow - perfect for summer picnics. Hot and cold drinks, pizzas and freshly made sandwiches are available from our food outlets.

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Discover our seasonal events and watch animal talks and feeds.

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Enjoy delicious sandwiches, pizzas and ice cream from our food and drink vendors around site.

We’re just off junction 17 of the M5 motorway , near The Mall at Cribbs Causeway.

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Half-day and full-day itineraries to help you make the most of your day.

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Open daily 10am - 5pm Last entry to Bristol Zoo Project and Bear Wood is 4pm

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Match report: Arsenal Women 5-0 Bristol City

Bristol City Women - Sun Apr 14 - 18:45

Beth Mead and Alessia Russo both hit braces on Sunday as we delivered an outstanding team performance to defeat Bristol City 5-0.

We were also boosted by the long-awaited return of Laura Wienroither from an ACL injury, while lifelong Gooner and academy talent Katie Reid made her Arsenal debut off the bench.

WHAT HAPPENED

With an attacking starting XI, we got off to the perfect start at Meadow Park as we took control by scoring with our first sight of goal.  From there on the goals just kept on goal.

Caitlin Foord made a dangerous driving run down the left wing and hit the post after cutting inside, but Beth Mead was in the right place at the right to fire home from close range on the rebound.

Victoria Pelova then came close with our next attacking move, curling a stunning right-footed effort off the woodwork, before Mead doubled our lead and her tally in similar fashion to her opener.

With more impressive wing play from Foord, the ball eventually dropped to Mead who converted at the second time of asking after seeing her first effort blocked.

Our No 9 has now scored six goals in 12 league fixtures this season.

Our left-hand side continued to wreak havoc on Bristol City’s defence and through a well-timed run and cross from Steph Catley, the ball deflected off Ella Powell and looped over Fran Bentley to nestle in at the back post.

Following the restart Catley produced another moment of quality, but this time in defence, making a vital last-ditch challenge to deny Bristol City a dangerous shot at goal.

Alessia Russo started as an attacking midfielder on the night and marked her impressive performance with a stunning goal, receiving the ball with her back to play and wriggling away from two defenders, before firing into the top left corner.

Full of confidence after that goal, Russo made it five and in some style too, finding the bottom right corner with a perfectly-placed snapshot from Katie McCabe’s cutback.

The celebrations weren’t finished there, though, as Wienroither was introduced off the bench to make her first Arsenal appearance since suffering an ACL injury back in May 2023, before academy graduate Reid replaced Leah Williamson to make her Arsenal debut.

WHAT IT MEANS

We remain third in the WSL table on 40 points, three and six points adrift of Chelsea and Manchester City respectively

Arsenal XI: D’Angelo, Fox (Wienroither 81) , Williamson (Reid 87), Wubben-Moy, Catley, Little, Pelova, Russo, Mead (McCabe 63), Blackstenius, Foord (Lacasse 63)

Substitutes (not used): Zinsberger, Goldie, Lia

Bristol City XI:  Bentley, Powell (Bull 69), Rodgers, Aspin, Connolly, Napier, Morgan, Syme (Furness 69), Stratigakis (Layzell 69), Thestrup, Evans (Ward 79)

Substitutes (not used): Struck, Clark, Jones, Yanez, Slocombe

Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.

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Bristol Community College unveiled a new logo and reaffirmed its dedication to creating a “college-going culture” in the region with its brand launch in 2018.  “Many times the people who live in our communities don’t think that the college education is within reach. But we want them to know that you can attend college without racking up student debt right here at Bristol Community College.” - Laura L. Douglas, Ph.D., President, Bristol Community College

AUGUST 30, 2018 –Bristol Community College has unveiled its new logo and a reimagined brand identity that better represents the high-quality education and exceptional student experience offered at the college. For the first time in the college’s history, the new logo will emphasize the name of the college, Bristol, rather than its three-letter acronym, BCC. The logo has a more “collegiate” feel and will transition to a darker, more modern green with an accent color called Bristol gray. The college also announced that the new identity marks a new era in the community college’s history that reaffirms Bristol’s dedication to creating a “college-going culture” in the region.

“First and foremost, we are a community college here to serve the educational needs and further the economic development of Bristol County. Through innovative curriculum and a top-rated education, we are also one of the leading higher education resources in Massachusetts,” said President Laura L. Douglas, Ph.D., Bristol Community College, who joined the college in July 2017. “When we create a college-going culture in our region, where students graduate and assume good jobs, we change lives for the better. Our new brand reaffirms this commitment to the community.”

“We live in a place where mills, manufacturing, construction and fishing have provided jobs for decades. A place where many jobs did not require a college degree. But the mills and factories of yesterday have gone away. Manufacturing has changed, and so have other local industries. As our economy shifts and technology plays a major role in all we do, we need to raise the level of education in our region and prepare our community for new jobs that will lead us to greater prosperity,” President Douglas said. “Many times the people who live in our communities don’t think that the college education is within reach. But we want them to know that you can attend college without racking up student debt. And for those adults who are preparing for college, we offer a high school equivalency program, English as a second language courses and credit for work experience.”

What’s in a logo?

According to Joyce Brennan, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, the new brand and logo bring to the forefront the transition that has been taking place at community colleges in Massachusetts and across the country.

“There is a strong misconception that the community college education is somehow not on par with four- year universities,” she said. In partnership with Brandigo, a Massachusetts-based brand strategy agency, the college determined its strength is the unique educational experience offered at Bristol – one that is more affordable, tailored to their needs with greater support services built in. There are also endless opportunities that may lead directly into the job force or transfer to a four-year university. In addition, many times the instructors at the community college are also employed by four-year universities in the same community.

“The new logo announces that there is a transformation taking place. The design clarifies who we are and signifies the collegiate experience that Bristol students receive. We know that some people will always refer to us as BCC. What is important to us is that everyone, no matter where they live, understands who we are and what we have to offer. Our online programs have been rapidly growing and we serve 20 towns throughout southeastern Massachusetts. Our brand must be clear, modern and represent the top-quality education every Bristol graduate receives. We are ‘one college’ with locations in Attleboro, Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton and online. It does not matter where you choose to go, you will receive the same, quality education.”

Marketing & Communications held more than 20 focus groups with faculty, staff, alumni, donors, current students and potential students this past spring with overwhelming positive response to the new logo prototypes, but what stood out the most, according to Brennan, was the excitement around elevating the community college’s overall perception. 

Students share in excitement of the new brand

Sara Hincapie, of Taunton , is an engineering transfer student and serves as the Student Trustee on the Bristol Community College Board of Trustees. She is thrilled that the college is launching a new brand. “I ranked 13th in my class and was encouraged to apply to many expensive four-year universities. It was after I visited Bristol for the first time that I fell in love with the college. I tell students who rank high in high school and are considering Bristol to follow their heart. They will get the same college experience and save so much,” said Hincapie who traveled to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia as part of the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars project.

Virginia Cruz, of Fall River , is a mother of two who wanted to expand her career options. This past year, she participated in Bristol’s Weekend Fast-Track program and earned her associate degree in business in 12 months. She was surprised that more people aren't taking advantage of having a community college right in their backyard. “I knew I need an associate degree to move up in my career. Working a full-time job with a family made it feel impossible. Bristol Community College is 10 minutes from my house and I took some of my courses online. I knew I had to work hard, but there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. It was the perfect fit!”

During the coming months, the college will be updating the signs around its five locations and launching Brand Central, a one-stop-shop for all new brand materials. The fall semester begins classes on September 4. Anyone interested in attending the college should visit the newly updated website for more information at bristolcc.edu.

About Bristol Community College

Bristol Community College is a leading resource for education and workforce development in Southeastern Massachusetts. Bristol has locations in Fall River, Attleboro, New Bedford, and Taunton, along with flexible online offerings that lead to an associate degree, a career ready certificate, or the ability to seamlessly transfer to baccalaureate colleges throughout the state and country. The college’s Center for Workforce and Community Education provides customized training for businesses and the community including healthcare, workforce and sustainable initiatives, and corporate services. The Bristol Community College Foundation, a nonprofit organization utilizing community donations and partnerships, supports the college’s mission to meet the lifelong educational needs of the community. 

Plan Your Visit

Sharing the joy of music together

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Bristol Beacon is a place of welcome warmth and light.

We invite music makers , music lovers and music explorers of every kind to enjoy our spaces at Bristol Beacon , as well as Beacon Music Centre – our creative learning base in Southmead.

When you visit us you can expect a friendly welcome. From meeting friends for coffee in our café, to joining us for music lessons and live performances, we help make space for you to experience the joy of music.

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Bristol Beacon is located in the heart of the city, a space celebrating music, connection and creativity.

Bristol Beacon comes alive when buzzing with people having fun, making memories, learning and sharing moments that last a lifetime.

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Visit Bristol Loaf , our café on the lower ground floor for breakfast, lunch or a Sunday Roast. Dine in style in our brand new restaurant Colonnade . Drop in for a drink at any of our bars.

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Looking for the perfect place to stay in Bristol? We’ve partnered with five of the best hotel groups in Bristol to bring you exclusive offers and discounts .

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Beacon Music Centre office staff are available to meet in-person by appointment only . Should you wish to meet with a member of Beacon Music Centre staff, please arrange via telephone or email .

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Monday 14:00-17:00 (if there is a show) Tuesday 12:00-17:00 Wednesday 10:00-17:00 Thursday 10:00-17:00 Friday 10:00-17:00 Saturday 14:00-17:00 (if there is a show) Sunday 14:00-17:00 (if there is a show)

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Thu 18 Apr 2024

Orchestral Season 2023/24

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Fri 19 Apr 2024

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A Pennsylvania murder case went cold for years until police started asking questions about their own

He’d been trying for almost a year to talk to the former police chief.  

Sgt. Mike Slaughter, a police detective in suburban Philadelphia, wanted to interview the retired chief, Thomas Mills, about a decades-old unsolved homicide. The detective said he had repeatedly gone to Mills’ home and asked intermediaries to help broker a meeting. But Mills refused, he said.

Finally, in December 2015, the former chief agreed to a recorded interview and, after roughly an hour, Slaughter said he came away stunned by what Mills told him: While still a detective in the early 1990s, the former chief had been instructed to “stay away” from a possible suspect in the unsolved killing because of the man’s status with the Bristol Township Police Department. He was a confidential informant. His handler was a narcotics detective.

That suspect, Robert Atkins, 58, was eventually charged, convicted and — earlier this year — sentenced to life in prison in the April 19, 1991, murder of Joy Hibbs. But the revelation that authorities allegedly “protected” Atkins, as Slaughter put it, left the detective baffled — and Hibbs’ family furious.“Why a person who could be the murder suspect would be protected just because of their role as a drug informant for our police department — that doesn’t make sense in any kind of cop math,” Slaughter told “Dateline” in an exclusive interview. 

“I will say this to my last dying breath,” he added. “You never trade off a murder suspect as a drug informant.”

To Hibbs’ son, David Hibbs, there was only one explanation for how the case was handled.

“They turned the other way, and they covered this up,” he told “Dateline.”

Mills died in 2017. Messages left on phone numbers listed as his relatives were not returned. Another narcotics detective identified in charging documents for Atkins as his handler died in 2018.

During Atkins’ trial, another officer who worked on the case initially — the lead homicide detective — testified that he had been ordered to back off Atkins as a possible suspect and allow narcotics investigators to handle that part of the investigation. That detective said he was told that the drug investigators didn’t want anyone “screwing up our narcotics deals.” (The detective declined to speak on camera with “Dateline.")

Another former police chief who the homicide detective said gave those orders is dead.

In a statement to “Dateline,” a lawyer for the Bristol Police Department said local officials are aware of the allegations surrounding the investigation into Hibbs’ killing but are unable to comment because none of them worked for the township in 1991.The statement noted that in 2015, a new police chief was tasked with restructuring and reorganizing the department. Two years later, the department was accredited by the state.

The chief “assures the Bristol Township community that all criminal investigations are handled with the utmost professionalism, integrity and compassion,” the statement says.

A $20 drug deal and a brutal killing

David Hibbs, 45, long believed that Atkins had something to do with his mother’s killing. 

Atkins had lived two doors down and his wife, April, often spent time with the victim. David Hibbs said Atkins had a temper: he could hear his neighbor yelling from their home. A few weeks before his mother’s killing, he said, he heard Atkins screaming through the phone at his mother.

When he pressed his mother for details on the argument, he said, she reluctantly told him it was over the quality of a small bag of marijuana she’d bought from Atkins.

“My mom was shaken by that conversation, but I don’t think she took it serious because it’s a $20 marijuana deal,” David Hibbs said.

Then, on April 19, 1991, authorities responded to a fire at the family’s home. Inside, firefighters discovered the victim’s body. Hibbs was badly burned, and authorities initially believed she was the victim of an accidental fire, according to grand jury documents in the case. But an autopsy revealed she’d been stabbed, beaten and likely strangled, the documents say.When investigators asked the victim's son if he knew of anyone who’d want to harm his mother, he said, he gave them Atkins’ name.

“He’s the only person that came to mind,” David Hibbs said.

In the months that followed, authorities seemed more focused on David Hibbs’ father — the victim's husband — than on Atkins. Charlie Hibbs told “Dateline” that he was repeatedly interviewed and polygraphed, even though he’d been working a construction job in Philadelphia at the time of the killing and had multiple witnesses who could confirm where he’d been. 

Frustrated with the lack of progress, in 2006 David Hibbs tried to obtain case documents from the department with a goal of having someone else review the evidence. He said authorities declined to turn over the file, but a police lieutenant offered his view of who he believed was responsible for the killing.

“In his opinion, it was my father,” David Hibbs recalled the official saying. “He was certain it was my father’s fault.”

David Hibbs said he’d never previously believed that his father could have killed his mother, but this new piece of information “made me question everything.”

He said he never asked his father directly about it. But for a time, he mostly disappeared from the relationship, Charlie Hibbs recalled.

“He pulled completely away,” he said of his son. “We barely communicated.”

‘This case was never supposed to be solved’

By the time Slaughter was assigned to reinvestigate the killing in 2014, the case was “frozen,” the detective said. “It was a block of ice.” He didn’t believe he could solve it, but he thought he could at least give it a proper update — organize it, categorize it and identify everyone who was still alive.

As Slaughter began to review the case file, he said he found there were no recorded interviews — just some handwritten and typed records — and little forensic evidence. Much of it had been damaged by the fire or the effort to extinguish it. He eventually concluded that Charlie Hibbs had nothing to do with the killing and that people who said otherwise “had no idea what they’re talking about,” he said.Slaughter had seen Atkins’ name in the file, the detective said, but investigators’ contact with him was documented in what he described as a brief paragraph or two.

In his conversations with police at the time, Atkins denied that he had anything to do with the killing, Slaughter said. He told authorities that he’d received a phone call from his wife’s co-worker that day — a Friday — before traveling to the Poconos with his family, Slaughter recalled. Investigators at the time never brought Atkins to the department to question him, nor did they obtain phone records to corroborate the call or its timing, Slaughter said. And there was nothing showing that Atkins’ wife was interviewed without him present, Slaughter said — an approach that he described as “very suspicious.”

“That would be the opposite of what we would want to do,” Slaughter said.

Not long after he began re-examining the case, Slaughter interviewed Atkins again. In the April 2014 interview, Atkins repeated his account from 1991 and acknowledged being a confidential informant — he’d used and sold methamphetamines — for the police department, according to the grand jury documents. Atkins also confirmed that he’d had a dispute with the slain woman about the quality of the marijuana he’d sold her, but he denied having anything to do with her killing, the document says.

In a separate interview, Atkins’ wife said she hardly knew the victim and had nothing to do with her death, Slaughter recalled.

More 'Dateline' cases

In addition to reviewing the case file and conducting interviews, Slaughter said, he had also been reaching out to the original detectives, who by then had retired or moved away. But most refused to speak with him, he said.Finally, in December 2015, Mills revealed details about Atkins that were nowhere in the case file — including that Mills had been told to not pursue him as a suspect, Slaughter said.

Slaughter struggled with what he’d uncovered. He said he had affection for the officers who trained and hired him — Mills had been chief when Slaughter began working for the department — and he loves the department and the command staff who now run it. But nobody “ever stepped up and went to the AG’s office or state police or some other agency and said, ‘Hey, we got to look into this,’” Slaughter said.

“This case was never supposed to be solved,” he said. “It was supposed to go nowhere.”

A new revelation 

After the interview with Mills, Slaughter said, he shared what he’d learned with a lieutenant and a sergeant. And he forwarded the case to the district attorney’s office.

More than two years after he first interviewed Atkins’ wife, she showed up at the police department with Slaughter’s business card and said she needed to talk about something “really important,” Slaughter recalled. 

Slaughter raced to the station. In the interview that followed, April Atkins — who’d since divorced Atkins — told him that on the day of the killing, her husband came home wearing bloodstained clothes.“I looked at him, I said, ‘What happened to you?’” April Atkins told “Dateline” in her first interview about the case. “He came to me, in front of me, and he said, ‘I stabbed somebody and lit a house on fire.’”

Atkins told her to skip work that day and get their two young children ready for a trip to the Poconos, she said. The next day, when they went for a walk, he was carrying a bag, and at one point told her and the children to stop as he momentarily disappeared.

“When he came back, that bag was gone,” she said.

In her interview with Slaughter, April Atkins said that Atkins' sneakers may have been in the bag. She learned who the victim was only after a detective came to their home after the killing, she told "Dateline," and later pressed her husband to turn himself in. But she told "Dateline" that he beat her when she raised the subject and threatened to blame her for the murder if she continued. (Atkins' lawyer said his client “absolutely” denies the allegations of abuse.)

April Atkins said she remained terrified of her husband, even after their divorce in 2006, but finally reached out to Slaughter after a series of deaths in her own life.

As with the Mills interview, Slaughter said, he forwarded what he learned from her to the district attorney.

It wasn’t until May 2022 — more than five years after her revelations to Slaughter — that Atkins was arrested and charged in Joy Hibbs' killing. Matt Weintraub, a Bucks County judge who in 2022 was the county’s district attorney, declined to comment on why it took years to charge Atkins, citing “pending/impending nature of post-conviction matters.”

After Atkins’ arrest, Weintraub told reporters there was “no great reason, no specific reason” for the delay. “We have many cases, and some tend to take priorities over others,” he said.

During the news conference, a reporter asked if Atkins' alibi had been thoroughly vetted back in 1991.

“Perhaps other people that were situated differently back then accepted his alibi and maybe didn’t look under every rock as thoroughly as we have now,” Weintraub said. 

Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.