
Bright Nights light festival returns to Gloucester
A "stunning" and immersive family light festival is returning to Gloucester.Gloucester City Council is bringing the new Bright Nights exhibition to Kings Square over half term.Councillor Caroline Courtney said the "magical combination of light and art" was high quality, free and accessible.The festival kicks off with a Twist and Shine exhibition from creative collective Kaleider, and runs from the from 13-19 February.
'Mystical light creatures'
The council is partnered with Together Gloucester for the event which was supported by Gloucester BID, Strike a Light and GL4.Visitors will be able to interact with the light show through an immersive display of various shapes with coloured prism's which move under touch.Every time a sculpture is changed, the next person can continue on from their shape.Previous years have seen thousands interact with the event, with 2021's piece Shadowing receiving more than 100,000 interactions. A spokesperson said a new experience will be on offer later in the month with creative studio Air Giants, which will see Kings Square light up with "mystical light creatures", of part sloth, spirit and dragon.Standing at more than 9.8ft (3m) metres tall, The Whilers are powered by robotic air control and sensing technology.
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The Guardian
06-05-2025
- The Guardian
Breast not to touch: Dublin orders tourists to leave Molly Malone alone
Each time a tourist sidled up to the statue and reached for the most famous cleavage in Dublin, a voice called out: 'No touching please.' Two city council stewards stood vigil over the landmark on Tuesday to notify would-be gropers that Molly Malone was to be left alone. After years of supposedly bringing good luck to whomever touched the breasts, they were now off-limits. To reduce damage to the statue, and to protect the dignity of a Dublin symbol, city authorities have posted the stewards in a week-long pilot project while they ponder other ways to shield the bronze figure from tactile appreciation. 'I was here a few days ago and got to touch them then,' said Anders Oustid, 42, from Norway. 'I don't think they should stop people. It's a fun gimmick that you can come here and touch the boobs. It's good luck and apparently means that you'll get to come back to Dublin.' Anders Oustid, a tourist from Norway, at Dublin's Molly Malone statue Photograph: Rory Carroll/The Guardian Mars Masana, 33, from Barcelona, had also touched the cleavage on a previous visit to the statue on Suffolk Street and was hesitant about the prohibition. 'I suppose in Spain we would feel the same if people were touching such a statue all the time.' Molly Malone – by many accounts a fictional 18th-century fishmonger's wife – is the subject of a ballad, known as 'cockles and mussels', that is an unofficial anthem for Ireland, sung at wedding, parties and sporting fixtures. The sculpture, by the artist Jeanne Rynhart, was first erected in 1988 and promptly dubbed 'the tart with the cart' in reference to the cleavage and rumours that Molly sold more than fish. A creative tour guide is credited, or blamed, with inventing the story that touching her breasts would bring luck and a return trip to Ireland's capital. The result is discoloration where countless hands have passed – and indignation by some who consider it disrespectful. They include Tilly Cripwell, a music activist who last year launched a Leave Molly Alone campaign. Elaja Declercq, 17, from Belgium, obeyed, but regretted, the injunction to not touch. 'I understand some think it's inappropriate but it's a tradition.' Her two friends – Erasmus students who had come to film themselves singing the ballad – agreed. Kjenta Galens (l), Elaja Declercq (c) and Victoria Zemajduk, visiting Erasmus students, at the statue. Photograph: Rory Carroll/The Guardian Ray Yeates, the city council's arts officer, said authorities were considering options, including leaving the statue in place and simply repairing the damage as needed, or erecting a fence, or moving it, perhaps indoors. The stewards' interactions with people this week will inform the final decision. Yeates told the BBC that while a 'worldwide phenomenon that statues are touched or rubbed' has become a custom, some people had noted that it mimicked undesirable behaviour. 'It would be illegal in public, so why would we mimic it?' Naomi Smith, 70, from Australia, was struck by the statue's revealing attire. 'It makes me cold just to look at her. She would have been awfully cold going around like this.'


BBC News
03-05-2025
- BBC News
Oxfordshire street parties and torch processions to mark VE Day
Street parties, live 1940s-style music events and beacon lighting alongside the River Thames in Oxfordshire will mark 80 years since VE City Council is waiving the road closure charge to encourage residents and community groups to host street displays and the traditional throwing game Aunt Sally will also feature in the week when the nation celebrates the end of World War Two in bells will ring out and beacons will be lit across the UK on VE Day, 8 May. On VE Day, 8 May, Abingdon will begin commemorations with the town crier's proclamation from the County Hall roof at 09:00 BST. Banbury Town Council promises a "true street party experience" in the town hall with live music, stories and military vehicles on will be run at churches in Bicester, Thame and Witney in the early evening, while beacon-lighting ceremonies take place in Henley-on-Thames and Blenheim Palace in Oxford, the union flag will fly over the Town Hall and bells will peal at Carfax Rose Hill, the Social Club will celebrate with an evening of music and Aunt Sally games, a traditional English pub game where players throw batons at a wooden skittle or "doll" placed on top of a post. On Saturday 10 May, Woodstock will host a "a street party with living history", Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum displays, military vehicles and live 1940s-style music.A rally of MG cars will take place in Abingdon Market Place on Sunday 11 May and an exhibition of the role the car factory played in the war streets of Wantage will come alive for a vintage party, where people are invited to come dressed in their "finest 1940s attire" for a fancy dress competition. Mike Rowley, Lord Mayor of Oxford, said the anniversary was "an important opportunity for us to come together to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the wartime generation"."VE Day is a defining moment in our history and this may be one of the last opportunities we have to thank the surviving veterans, so we should celebrate them in style."By waiving the road closure charge for small street parties, we want to make it as easy as possible for people to take part." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.


BBC News
15-04-2025
- BBC News
zoë bread TikTok parking fine videos force Manchester sign review
A woman's Tik Tok videos about parking fines on a city centre street, which have attracted millions of views, have led to a council reviewing its signs.A T-shirt designer and filmmaker, who goes by the online alias zoë bread, had received a fine after parking on Collier Street in Manchester city centre and buying a ticket at the wrong meter. She told the BBC the Pay At Machine sign pointed both to the private car park and the council City Council said it would "explore if additional signage is needed" after the videos by the self-styled social media investigator documented her penalty charge notice, rejection of her parking fine appeal and other people's similar stories. In her videos, zoë bread filmed a "stake out" of the bays and said she met other drivers who had received parking tickets "for the exact same reason", as well as contacting a council agent who informed her the council's then view was that the signage was not misleading."They're saying it's not [misleading] yet others have been misled, that's the definition of misleading: it's not just me," she said. During her investigations into the parking problems on the road, she submitted a Freedom of Information request to the council and reviewed official documents on the number of parking fines issued on the bread claimed that the opening of the SIP private car park in 2018, corresponded with an increase in the number of fines being issued on the road."I have a lot of time to go investigate things," she said. "Usually I do joke investigations, I don't take things seriously, but I would never joke about these five parking spaces and misleading signage on Collier Street now."Her videos have also attracted the attention of opposition Liberal Democrat councillor Alan Good, who contacted zoë bread after her films appeared on his social media newsfeed. 'Some confusion' Good, who represents Ancoats and Beswick, told the BBC that he had visited the street in question and that he believed parking fines appealed on the street due to confusion over signage should be "rescinded"."They can take a bit more of a human and more of a common sense approach to parking enforcement," he said."This is one of those times they really need to come down here for themselves and have a look and install a new meter."Manchester City Council said the authority believed there was "clear signage indicating there is a private car park in operation at the Collier Street Arches and that the majority of people are able to purchase a valid parking ticket".But a spokesman acknowledged that there had been "some confusion amongst a small number of motorists who have bought a ticket from the wrong machine".The local authority would now "explore if additional signage is needed to ensure that in the future, motorists are directed to the correct ticket machine", he added. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.