06/03/2017 Inside Out West

Can this city really be as polluted as Beijing?

Do you know what, it's quite tight on the chest, isn't it? It is, have

you felt it? Yes, I can definitely feel that.

We see how Chloe gets on as she goes out on the tiles

All of the blue cabs in Bristol are supposed to be accessible, but we

have heard that that isn't the case. We're going to find out.

And the dramatic life and death of Bristol's forgotten playwright.

This is Bath - absolutely clogged with traffic, most of the time.

Not a great image to send the city's many tourists home with.

But spare a thought for the people who live here all the time.

It's one of the greatest cities in England, but I think the air here is

no good, it's no good. The World Health Organisation estimated that

over 3 million deaths worldwide could be attributed to air

pollution. Why are these people prepared to sit in it to you after

Cuba -- in Q after Q only going 100m?

Air quality is a huge problem for those living

So Inside Out is asking two people who live in Bath,

a cyclist and a taxi driver, to carry around one

of these and find out who's breathing the worst air.

This is Adam Reynolds - a self-confessed bike fanatic

so concerned about the poor air he's breathing he's agreed

Since then, I've been able to get down to one car in the family. Can

you tell the level of congestion has gone up over the years? Going out on

the roads, it feels like there are too many people sitting, waiting and

not really getting anywhere. Some of those roots have a lot of air

pollution as well. They stink, it's really uncomfortable.

Adam will be measuring the air for pollutants

on his commute to and from work - a mixture of quiet and busy roads.

And we've attached a GPS tracker so we know where he is.

We'll find out how he gets on shortly.

For now, I'm in the city centre looking for a taxi.

Khalil Zekkari has been driving around Bath for the last 11 years,

and is putting one of our air monitors in the back of his cab.

What do you think about the air quality?

We don't have any big factories or anything.

But the volume of the traffic is giving this place more dirty air.

How have you noticed that? Talking to people, they say

they cannot breathe proper air. If you want fresh air,

don't come to the city centre. You can't, you just have to go to

out side of Bath. Khalil isn't wrong about the poor

air he's breathing driving Immediately, the air monitor we've

given him records very high levels of small particles called PM-10s

and PM-2.5s, found in diesel fumes. PM-10s go in through your

nose into our lungs It can cause respiratory complaints.

The second particle is even smaller, it can permeate through the lungs

into the bloodstream, it has been shown to be associated with not just

respiratory conditions but actually Codjo of the conditions such as

stroke and heart attacks. -- cardiovascular conditions.

Meanwhile, the data from Adam's monitor shows the problem for him

isn't small particles - it's Nitrogen Dioxide, or NO2,

Every time he hits a busy road, the levels soar.

NO2 is bad because when we breathe it in, it inflames our respiratory

system, it can cause asthma and can cause other respiratory diseases.

Khalil is taking me to one of the city's most congested roads.

The road is stationary most of the time.

On a daytime, yes. The traffic. From 8am until about 8pm. You can

imagine, 12 hours, the core, stop, start the smoke is coming out of the

car. Where does that smoke go, it's not going nowhere, it's just staying

there for to breathe it. We've moved about 20

metres in 10 minutes. It's not great, is it? Note. And

this is just solid traffic, isn't it? You know, it is quite tight on

the chest, isn't it? It is, have you felt it? You can definitely feel

that. There is a machine which measures the air pollution, but I

think it keeps looking down all the time!

During our survey, Khalil makes several more journeys along

London Road, including one in which the pollution in his taxi

After 10 days of monitoring, it's time to show Adam

Who's been breathing in the worst air?

So - cyclist, taxi driver, who takes in the most?

Adam, the air that you are breathing, obviously depended on the

time of day and the routes you took to work, your levels are minuscule.

Cool, that looks good. You are a cyclist! No, that's good!

Despite some occasional high levels, Adam's overall score

The green one needs to be below 25. And the grey- Blackwell needs to be

below 50. But for six out of ten days, they were higher. You are well

above the World Health Organisation standards. I'm speechless, I do know

what to say. Looking gap that, -- looking at that, the big particles,

the tie-up articles, you are breathing a lot of that stuff in.

How do you guys feel, looking at that? I feel really good about mine,

I'm slightly worried about Kahlil. Mine is bad. I feel sorry for any

driver, not just taxi drivers. Why is Khalil's air quality

so much worse than Adam's? Surely as a driver

he's more protected? Being in a car is not

like being in a sealed box. Winding up your windows may give you

the perception that the area in coming through the windows and that

you might have reduced your exposure to air pollution, but the intake so

the carp's air system or at the front of the car. The problem is,

they are generally at the level of the exhaust pipe of the car in front

of you. In fact, the answer for Khalil might

be to switch off his fan As for Adam, even on the same

busy roads as Khalil, The advantage of cycling is that

you're getting excercise. You are getting health benefits from

having exercise. It has been shown that that without we the harm that

would be caused by breathing in bad air. Thank you very much for taking

part in the experiment. I really hope your results haven't scared you

too much. I feel it has vindicated what I'm doing, which is avoiding

being on major roads. I am scared, and I'm more worried what that

showed me, my breathing and my chest, I may have cancer, I don't

know. For the health side of it, I really urge people, please, don't

use cars in Bath. That has been a real eye-opener, looking at the poor

air quality in the city. Perhaps it's really time that they did

something about it. Coming up: Remembering my

brother, Alfred Fagon. The first anniversary of his death

by his friends. Unlike most 20-year-olds,

Chloe Ball-Hopkins has never been She uses a wheelchair and worries

that it will be too difficult, even though, by law,

pubs, clubs and taxis should I've never been one

to live a quiet life, I work every day, I've done

a skydive, I've competed internationally in archery -

but I've never been on a night out, so tonight's going to be

a massive milestone. The more I say it the more

excited I get, I'm like I was diagnosed with muscular

dystrophy when I was four years old, and growing up,

bit by bit, I've had to use a wheelchair more and more

because my muscles have got weaker. I think, considering my 21st isn't

far round the corner, if tonight's a success,

we'll definitely be doing I missed out on my 18th,

but it doesn't mean I have It's a quick dry, so it should be

fine, it'll be tried before we go. Should we put another coat on?

This is Harriet, she's been my best friend since we were about three

or four years old, but I think the last time we were out

dancing was probably our primary school disco.

So how come you haven't been out before?

I think, to be honest, when you guys first started going out,

Then by the time I'd finished, all I heard was you guys

saying there's steps here, there's steps there.

And it put me off, and it's not been until recently when I've thought

it would be quite nice to have an element

The idea of going out for the first time is

a little bit scary - but also exciting.

I don't want to get out there and find I get

I don't enjoy the night, but I don't think that'll be

Tonight is about having fun - but there's also a serious side.

Just how accessible are Bristol's bars and taxis?

And he helps me navigate all sorts of obstacles that you only notice

Right, so there's a step here, but there's a flight inside,

so I think it's worth just going on to the next place.

So there's another step here, so I think it's just

It's not going great so far - some of the older places are probably

struggling to get accessible, but in some places, all it

Are you looking for somewhere to get in?

Now we're heading to a bar that's part of a big national chain -

which should have the resources to make it accessible.

If I go somewhere where there isn't a lot of drop kerbs,

and I was on my own, I'd be stuck.

I've been going out with Dom for just over a year.

I notice quite a few people have a glance at me,

I don't know if it's a disapproving look,

I think Dom notices more when people are looking at me than I do.

I've grown up like this for 20 years now, whereas for Dom,

it's a slightly newer obstacle, you could say.

There is a lot of challenges out there, but if there's someone

with you, it's a bit easier, but if you're by yourself,

You can't just say, "Let's go to this place."

You have to scope it out first to see if there's

And that's a shame in some ways, cos it would be nice

to feel that one morning, if I just wanted to get up and go

This time we've got a doorbell, and it says "For assisted access,

please ring bell," so let's see who comes.

Waiting for somebody is a regular occurrence.

People do what they need to do inside first then come to you,

It's a very cold night, and we decide to take

All the blue cabs in Bristol are supposed to be accessible,

but we've heard this isn't always the case, so we're

I'm wearing a hidden camera to see how the drivers respond.

The first driver should be able to take me, but says he can't.

He tries to help by asking the second cab in the line

A group of people who arrived after me get into the second

The first driver comes back and is very cross.

The third driver in the line agrees to take me.

He attaches two ramps to the side of the cab.

The ramp is very steep, and three people have to help me in.

Considering all blue taxis are supposed to be accessible,

I know we had heard rumours that some of the cabs around here weren't

disabled friendly. the case, that we'd get

in and out really easily. But actually, tonight,

it's proven that some people just It's not necessarily that you can't

get into the cab with a wheelchair, it's that people don't want to help

you with the ramps. We've made it to our final

destination for the night. If you go to the side, we will open

the fire exit for you. Thank you very much.

Several said I couldn't get in because of flights of stairs.

A couple of the bigger clubs say they're accessible, but wouldn't let

I will follow their advice for the my first time, vodka lemonade.

Are we going to the booth? Don't get comfy yet. If I go backwards, come

to the front and make sure the front stays up and then you pull from the

back. Luckily, I have a very light chair

- and strong friends. Go up one step at the time. Can't we

just lifted all at once? Go on, then. Cheers. And then drink.

Only half the bars we tried to get into were accessible.

And only one out of three taxi drivers would take me.

Probably enough to put some people off - but not me.

Now I know where I can and can't go, we'd be able to minimise

You wouldn't go on a night like this without your friends,

And instead of hearing them come back and say we did this,

Alfred Fagon was a playwright who made Bristol his home for many

years, but I bet you've never heard of him.

I've been retracing the drama of his life and the shocking

circumstances behind his untimely death.

His pen feed his friends

He Count his blessings with every word

His voice was wonderful, it kind of enveloped you in a most wonderful

way. He could be very strong but he could be very gentle and charming.

Alfred Fagon was the first black person to have a statue put up

in his name in Bristol - but his life remains

But for someone who has an award named after him

and has written so many plays, why is he not better known?

The third of nine brothers and two sisters -

Aged 18, Alfred came to England and worked on the railways -

And even became their champion boxer for a time.

In the 1960s, he moved to Bristol to work as a welder,

but the city was to spark off a very different path for him.

It was in Bristol he found his talent for acting and writing,

So he had a great reason to embed in Bristol and made great friends in

the artistic committee and that took into London, where his work really

flourished. He was auditioning for Black Pieces and Alfred took one

look at the script and said, I didn't know people can write like

this. If he can write like that, I can write like that, because it was

patois. And then he realised, of course, that he could ride. If he

wasn't the first he was one of the first writers to portray the

experience in this country are people who had come from the

Caribbean and were living here and settling down roots here, so he

would base the plays in Bristol or London, rather than stories back

home, and that is what makes him ahead of some of the writers of that

time. Some of the good Jamaicans have died

Like unwanted abandoned dogs in this But what is life with no

pleasure somewhere else? Don't tempt me with your

dangling sympathy. in Bristol that he began writing

plays, but here at the Bristol Art Centre - now the Cube - where

he first tried his hand at acting. Briony acted alongside

Fagon 40 years ago No Soldiers in St Paul's explored

social tensions between the police and the black community in 1970s

Bristol. The play was entirely cast for black

people and black characters, not for a white woman, so I partly

questioned in my mind why he was even auditioning me. But he felt

quite comfortable about the fact that I could, in time, get the

Jamaican accent and I would be OK. It was a landmark production in Art

Centre terms, because the whole audience would be full of black

people, many of whom had never been to the theatre before, they

certainly haven't been to the arts Centre, so it was a print experience

for everybody. While very few pictures

exist of Alfred on stage, his friends have kept precious

archives of his work - and have even There was one in it called Indian

Phones Panorama. No one had ever heard of it. There is Indian, half

Indian and B. That is the catalyst! It is a great name, Indian Phones

Panorama. I'd never even heard of that one. What was he like? I think

he was troubled and I think some of his trouble got communicated and

expressed in his creativity. I think he was extremely creative, but

almost too creative for this world. But he gave out great energy into

things as well. Even, I think, a kind of wisdom and understanding of

the nuances of people's lives. Why do you think his work never got the

recognition it deserved? I don't think it is surprising he wasn't

applauded them, really, because we are talking about a certain period

of time when there was a lot of racism around and I think a lot of

his plays are very challenging to white people, and to black people.

But in London, he started going places.

Alfred's plays began to be performed across the city, and he landed roles

Led me take you to eat some soul food and black Europe and give you a

bowl. -- you up. Then in 1973, the BBC dramatized his

play Shakespeare Country. But the good times

were not destined to last. His appearance in the BBC's

Fighting Back - filmed in his old home of St Paul's -

would be his final acting role. Hey, that was years ago. 15. You

have changed. On the morning of 28th August 1986,

Alfred went out for his daily jog and died suddenly of a heart attack

outside his flat in Camberwell. At the time, the police claimed

they were unable to identify him. He was cremated after five days. He

was in the hospital morgue and the hospital said, right, nobody has

come forward to claim him and his ashes were strewn in the South

London crematorium, known to us as T91. How terrible is that? I think

the whole family were shocked, horrified and they are still shocked

and horrified by it, it hasn't been completely... I don't know if you

can ever digester something like that.

After his untimely death, Alfred's friends created

Many winners have gone on to shake up the theatre in this country.

The Alfred Fagon award has become a launch pad for talent, firmly

embedding into our industry names like Roy Williams and Rachel

Delahaye. And so each year, Alfred's loved

ones come to the awards to celebrate new talent

and remember their And in 2013, the Old Vic put

on a retrospective of his work - It is a chance to really open at his

notebook again and see what is in his imagination and it is mixed with

sadness that you can't see the next part of that story.

But the story does go on and, 30 years after his death,

his his brother and nephew have flown in from Canada to visit

Let's give a toast. Long-lived Alfred Fagon.

And to visit the memorial in St Paul's for the first time.

The first anniversary of his death, by the friends of Fagon. This has

been emotional for me, I'm not even an emotional person. I hate to cry,

I hate somebody seeing me cry but to see this, it is an inspiration. It's

not something you see everyday, especially for someone to be a part

of your family. You come out here, it motivates you. This is more than

an honour, words cannot... It is all emotions. I guess the true cliche is

you are bigger than yourself after you die and this is a true testament

to the legacy of Alfred Fagon. Remember, as always,

there's plenty more to see We're not on air next week - we're

back the week after. But in the meantime,

you can catch our film about Massive Attack on BBC 4

at 11pm on Friday night.