Banksy's street art recreated with LEGO bricks

You might have seen this already, but in case you haven't, here you are: a very original recreation of most of Banksy's iconic graffities with LEGO bricks! 

The Canadian photographer Jeff Friesen is the one who had the great idea to recreate Banksy's artwork using his seven-year-old daughter's LEGO bricks... and the result is absolutely genius! He called it "Briscky: LEGO Banksy" and it creates many of the mysterious street artist's works. Can you identify the ones we can see in Bristol?

Isn't it genious?

WEBSITE: http://www.thebrickfantastic.com/new-gallery-bricksy-lego-banksy/

Low-cost lunches (for people as poor as church mice...)

If you are as poor as church mice, or want to save some money but still enjoy a nice meal in Bristol, this is the post for you. In this post, I give you 8 options to eat healthy and/or cheap in Bristol city centre under £5.50 (excluding fast-food chains, obviously). 
Here we go!

Let's start around the Hippodrome: if you like international food, you could have a buffet lunch for £4.99 at Flavourz (BS1 4UB). There is Chinese, Italian and Indian food with a chocolate fountain and many cakes. It gets busy during lunchtime so if you are looking for a quiet place, this is not the best choice. Just next to Flavours, Drawbridge (BS1 4UT) also offers very nice and cheap meals. For example, they have a a £5.49 Cheese Burger or Mozarella & Pesto Burger which is actually pretty good.

Every day between 12am and 3pm, The Bagel Boy (BS1 4UB) offers a 5-pound deal including a classic bagel (there are more than 10 to choose from), some crisps and a soft drink. I have been there and believe me when I say it is really good! (read about my visit to Bagel Boy here). Very close to the Bagel Boy, we can find a very interesting lunch deal at Revolution (BS1 1UA). For only £5, you can chose from a Classic Burger, Bean Dreaming Burger or a Blackened Chicken Burger, all served with a house slaw and skin-on fries every Tuesday and Thursday until 4pm. And not very far away, there is an option for sport lovers: The Walkabout (BS1 1HQ). They offer a meal deal including a beef, chicken or halloumi burger with chips, salad, a piece of melon and a pint of Fosters for 5.95 pounds. Everytime I go there, I always choose the chicken burger. It is grilled instead of fried with breadcrumbs; very tasty.

In the Harbourside, bSb The Waterside (BS1 5UH) offers a burger and a pint for 4.49 pounds. I have never had burgers there although I really believe it is a very good deal. On their website, there is an even better deal including beef/chicken burger, chips and a bottle of Budweiser for £3.95. 

At the Triangle, there is Square Club (BS8 1HB) serving express lunches for £5. There is a selection of mouthwatering ciabattas and sandwiches served with salad or fries. As they say: perfect for a quick fix. If you prefer Clifton, The Racks (BS8 1LX) offers a £5 lunch menu from Monday to Saturday between 12-5pm including a selection of pies, salads, baguettes and sandwiches (check menu here). On Wednesdays after 5pm, on the other hand, you can have a free homemade pie if you buy one. They are the most popular item on their menu!

On Gloucester Road, I stopped at Bubalu Food (BS7 8AS) for lunch one day, which is a coffee shop/restaurant/bar below a fitness centre, offers lunch deals for 5 pounds. It is a complete and varied menu. In my case, it was a roasted veg crepe (huge) with chicken and hummus, a salad on a side and orange/apple juice. On the other side, if you are looking for a cheap Sunday Roast, The Bishops (BS6 5QP) offers a deal including a Sunday Roast with unlimited roast potato and vegetables for just £5.49.

WEBSITES OF INTEREST

• Flavours: http://www.flavourz.co.uk/
• Bagel Boy: http://www.bagelboy.co.uk/
• bSb Waterside: http://www.bsbbars.co.uk/home/
• Bishops: https://plus.google.com/118024844922864037398/about?gl=uk&hl=eu
• Walkabout: https://www.walkaboutbars.co.uk/
• Bubalu: http://www.bubalu.co.uk/
• Revolution: http://www.revolution-bars.co.uk/bar/bristol/
• The Square Club: http://www.thesquareclub.com/
• The Racks: http://www.racks-bristol.co.uk

Mystery shopping in Bristol

Over two years ago, I met a girl who told me she was travelling for free with Easyjet. Yes, you read it RIGHT. She explained to me that she was one of the mystery shoppers that the company hires, who travel and give feedback to the company about the service they provide. Basically, the company paid her to travel to different countries and fill in a couple of questionnaires. And today, I am going to reveal my secret: I am a mystery shopper myself. 

For those who are not familiarised with the "mystery shopping" thing, a mystery shopper or secret shopper is a tool used externally by market research companies or internally by companies themselves to measure the quality of the service they provide. The mystery shopper's identity and purpose is generally unknown by the establishment being evaluated and it can be used in any industry, being the most common retail stores, hotels, restaurants, fast food chains, banks, car dealerships and health care facilities.

Normally, a mystery shopper will have to note names and description of employees, how long it takes to be acknowledged, speed of service, cleanliness of the store, store appearance... and sometimes, she/he will be give some questions to ask to the employees. In addition, they might also need to make a purchase which could be completely or partially reimbursed and will need to fill a form later on describing the shopping. Other times, when a purchase is not needed, they will get a payment for their completed job.

I have been a mystery shopper for a year and a half already in Bristol area, giving feedback from shops such as ASDA, Tesco, EE, Lloyds Pharmacy, Next, Pret a Manger, Urban Outfitters, Zaza Bazaar, V-Shed, Ikea, House of Fraser... and I have earned some money with it. At first, it was just to improve the language skills as you will not get wealthy with the money you earn from mystery shopping. However, it helps with your finances if you have free time and you like the experience. 

I have worked with several companies and I would like to give you my opinion in all of them, if you every want to be a mystery shopper. I really recommend it, it's a lot of fun!

GRASSROOTS

Grassroots Mystery Shopping was the company which I started my Mystery Shopper adventure. They send an email when a job is available close to the areas you have selected and you get paid around 10-15 pounds per assignment, depending what it involves. Sometimes, it requires a small purchase but most of the times it doesn't. However, for Bristol area, they do not have many assignments and you need to be really fast to accept the work. You will receive an email saying that "there are assignments available in your area" and you will need to access the website really fast and accept it, before someone else accepts it. Shops I mystery shopped with this company: ASDA, EE, Lloyds Pharmacy, Next, Tesco, Thomson, House of Fraser...

WEBSITE: https://www.grassrootsmysteryshopping.com

GFK

GFK was one of the first mystery shopping website I signed in. However, after a while, I had to cancel my account because they kept contacting me by phone. I like to have my time to read the assignment notes, check my calendar and decide peacefully whether I am really interested in carrying out the assignment or not. When they call, you normally don't have time to decide where it is, what you have to do and if it is worth it for you or not. Now, I opened the account with them and I must say they don't call that often anymore and the assignment descriptions have improved considerably. I was paid average (5-10 pounds) depending on the assignment but sometimes they had really well-paid (but long) assignments in Ikea, for example. 
WEBSITE: https://mysteryshopper.gfk.com/gfk/ref/?pro=11&inv=1215 

MARKET FORCE

My favourite by far! Market Force is probably the company with more assignments but it is also the one which pays you less. They normally involve a purchase, which is partially reimbursed although it mightcover the entire shopping if you make some calculations. You have to check the website very often to search for new assignments because the update email they send is a very high level and it is not sent regularly. You earn for each assignment completed and lose some if you need to clarify something or release it. Shops I mystery shopped with this company: Pret A Manger, Urban Outfitters, Zaza Bazaar, Cosies, Next, Bank, River Island, Subway, Vision Express, Karen Millen... The more you work, the more grade you have as a mystery shopper.

WEBSITE: http://uk.marketforce.com/register/?ref=181&lang=en&reu=1258265

MYSTERY-SHOPPERS LTD

I have recently started mystery shopping for this company but they mostly work for banks and most of the assignments involve either audio or video enquiries. I don't feel comfortable yet with audio or video assignments and so far, I haven't done any assignment with them. But, if you do feel comfortable with these kind of assignments, they are paid really well (35-60 pounds) and they have many assignments available all the time. The allocation system is not very clear either: you have to apply for each assignment you are interested in and wait to see if you have been allocated or not. If you are not, they don't even bother to tell you! Not very transparent...

WEBSITE: https://online.mystery-shoppers.co.uk

TERN

Tern is also a new company for me and I have only completed one assignment for them so far. They do not contact you by email so you must check the website often and I must say that they don't have many mystery shoppings available as other companies. However, you get really well paid (10-15 pounds).

WEBSITE: http://tern.co.uk/

AMBER ARCH
Amber Arch is a relatively new company for me too. Once you pass the annoying welcome lady on the website, they use the same database as in Tern. So far, I have only completed one assignment for them. They do contact you every now and then by email but you should check the website very often. You get paid about the average £7-10.
WEBSITE: http://www.amberarch.com/

HELION RESEARCH
I haven't done any assingment for Helion Research yet. I only get crazy long assignment for Car Price Audits, which take very long and they aren't even paid that well (£30-35). I still don't give up and check their website every now and then but I haven't seen any assignment in Bristol area that weren't car price audits. 
WEBSITE: https://evaluator.helionresearch.com/r/s1172814

ESA RETAIL (New)
I have recently joined this company and I haven't done any assignment yet. They use the same online system as Mystery-Shoppers, which I personally don't like, and they don't seem to have as many assignments as the rest of the companies. I will keep you posted, though!
WEBSITE: https://www.esa-webms.co.uk

RETAIL ACTIVE  (New)
I found out about this company when I had a chat with an experienced mystery shopper. I signed in and filled the questionnaire to start applying for assignments. It seems they have interesting and quite varied assignments available in Bristol area but I haven't carried out any of them yet. They payment is average (around £5) and most of the assignments require a purchase which is partially reimbursed. I found it very useful that they have a system which allows you are personally notified if a specific unavailable assignment becomes available again.
WEBSITE: http://www.marketchecker.co.uk/

EDIGITALRESEARCH (New)
I have recently joined this company, filled the sample questionnaire and I am waiting for the validation to start shopping. At first glance, the system is not very intuitive and user-friendly. I guess it will improve the more I use it. I will keep you posted on this, too!
WEBSITE: https://www.edigitalresearch.com/shopper/

CHECKOUT UK (New)
I literally just sent a mystery shopping request to this company. Apparently, I have been accepted but there is no online system to see and allocate the assignments. They tell me I will receive an email or call if I am allocated an assignment and they also said that if they do not contact you, it means that there are no assignments available in my area. Not very transparent system, I must admit...
WEBSITE: http://msteam.checkoutuk.co.uk/

MARKET CHECKER (New)
I literally just sent a mystery shopping request to this company. I will let you know about my thoughts on this company when I have some more experience.
WEBSITE: http://www.marketchecker.co.uk/

Wicked @ The Hippodrome

Wicked will be the third (but not the last) musical I will be watching at the Hippodrome. I have previously seen The Lion King, which was the best musical I have seen, and Cats, which I strongly recommend if you like Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. This time, as I barely know anything about musical beforehand, I had to do some research.

Wicked: the Untold Story of the Witches of Oz, a music that is celebrating its 12 years on Broadway, has won 90 international awards, broken records at the London's Apollo Victoria Theatre and will be in Bristol until the 21st March.

Based on Gregory Maguire's novel, it is the alternative telling of the classic 1900 story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Stephen Schwartz, who wrote  the music and lyrics of the musical, learned of Wicked while he was on holiday in Hawaii. While he was enjoying a boat ride, a passenger mentioned she was reading the novel and Stephen loved it, seeing a possibility to compose some music and convert it into a musical.

The story tells the perspective of two witches of the Land of Oz, Elphaba and Glinda, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints. It starts before Dorothy's arrival and continuing after, showing the rivalry of these two witches over the same love-interest and their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government.

My tickets are for the 2nd March so I will post a short review after that they for you to read. I bought the tickets some time ago and got the cheapest price possible (£20 plus £4 transaction fees). However, I have just checked the website for the night I am going and there are still some cheap tickets available if you aren't too picky with the seats (£25 or £32, buy tickets here). Join me, I'm sure it will be wicked! ;)