What's in a name? Battle for the soul of Bedminster

HERE are a lot more important things going on in the world - and in Bristol - right now, but the one thing that seemed to get everyone talking of late, south of the river at least, is something that has been bubbling away for years in the community social media groups.

- Tristan CORK

We're not talking about the speed humps at Imperial Retail Park, the buses or exactly how fast you have to go to trigger the speed camera on St John’s Lane (it's 26mph, trust me). No, it’s something far less important than that - what is Bedminster’s nickname?

The thing is, something can be not at all important but also at the same time, actually really matter to people. And this, it seems, really does.

Most people in Bristol, if you asked them, would say Bedminster’s nickname is Bemmy. The only debate would be whether it should be spelled Bemmie. But there's another nickname - that ‘some’ people use - Bedmo.

Many in South Bristol have never heard ‘Bedmo’ being used, and have lived their lives in blissful ignorance of this new interloper. They are Bedmo virgins, their ears and eyes untouched by the word.

And here's the thing. Whenever there’s an example of ‘Bedmo’ being out in the wilds of BS3: on a social media post, being used in a shop sign or whatever, two things happen. The first is that some people are hearing or seeing it for the first time and react. And the second is that many people who say ‘Bemmie’ are triggered once again by seeing or hearing Bedmo.

Last week, someone noticed that in the depths of one of those innocuous, standard and harmless website ‘guides to Bristol; shared housing provider Guinness Homes dropped the Bedmo bomb in the little paragraph all about Bedminster.

That got shared on community social media and, for maybe the 25th time in the last ten years, it all kicked off again. The Bedmo rage is like one of those thermo pools in Yellowstone Park. It’s always there, bubbling away with a bit of background noise.