Book excerpt: Bristolians' love of banter and outlandish gossip provides a perfect environment for the urban legend to breed, expand and ferment. One can never be sure that these stories are not in fact entirely true – or that the truth behind them may not be stranger than the legend itself. What one can be sure of is that these stories have been passed, with increasing delight, from child to child, from uncle to aunt, from granddad to everybody, until they have become right rollicking tales. Forget small talk – this here is Bristol Urban Legends.