Bristol sculpture 'smells of dog poo' as bin blocks it

A Bristol sculpture important to the local community has been found with a Council bin blocking it. The sculpture commemorating a poem by the late famous poet, John Yeats, written when he was dying from tuberculosis, 'smells of dog poo' as a result of a bin placed directly in front of the artwork.

The artwork, two hands intertwined with Keats' poem, 'This Living Hand' written on it, was designed in collaboration with local children. Found in Auden Mead, the green space in Horfield, a local poet is trying to get people to lobby the council to change the location of the unfortunate bin placement.

Used frequently to deposit waste and dog poo, an attempt to read the poem printed on the artwork leaves you with a "nose full of dog poo aroma", according to local poet and poetry facilitator, Deborah Harvey. When plotting a route for a poetry walk for the community in Horfield, Deborah came across the unfortunate sculpture.

She said, "The bin blocks the sculpture, so in order to get up to it to read the poetry on there, it’s really unpleasant because you end up with a nose full of dog poo aroma. We need to respect that if children and the local community have been involved in the design of the sculpture, it's important for young people to have a stake in their surroundings.

"To have a bin in front of the sculpture is disrespectful to the local community." Deborah's poetry group, The IsamBards, who have previously hosted poetry walks along the Suspension Bridge and on a boat in Bristol harbour, were planning a poetry walk for the local community in Horfield for this coming Saturday (30 July) when she spotted the unfortunate sculpture.

She said, "Many of the streets in Upper Horfield are named after poets, so I've wanted to do a poetry walk here for the local community for some time. I wanted to take poetry somewhere where you don't expect to find it, because a lot of people feel that you have to 'get' poetry like a cryptic crossword in order to enjoy it - but that's not the case."

Deborah contacted Bristol City Council on discovery of the bin, and was directed to a page on the Council's website where individuals can request an improvement to a park or green space. She has since seen many other individuals request the bin be moved.

She said, "You don't even have to be a resident of Bristol to suggest an improvement on the Bristol City Council website. I know some people in America who have been engaging with this."

Bristol Live contacted Bristol City Council for comment. They said, "The bin has been in this location since at least 2008. If park users want it moved they can contact the parks department to request this."

Individuals can submit a request for the improvement of the green space here. The IsamBards' poetry walk takes place in Horfield on Saturday (30 June), as part of the Horfield summer programme of events.

The meeting place is Poet's Park at 3pm, the walk is flat, takes an hour and the finish line is Horfield Library for tea and cake. All proceeds will go to the Friends of Horfield Library community group and you can find out more here.