Leeds today: castle, water, Breeze, beer, art walk, HS2, Chelsea and novelty vehicles.

Hello, and welcome to Wednesday. It’s pretty much all fun stuff today with not much real news hanging hanging around.

The YEP reports that there was again a prize for Yorkshire at the Chelsea Flower Show. We do seem to go quite well at Chelsea…

LCC is running a consultation on a novelty public hire vehicle. Next it’ll be a banana boat (or a DUKW, like in L’pool) on the river/canal.

The BBC has asked a question about HS2 – could the money be better spent? Almost certainly yes.

Leeds Markets is holding a World Feast to launch a monthly street food event on Briggate on Saturday. This is, of course, part of Leeds Loves Food. Amongst many other things to do with the Food Festival the editor (Mike) is doing a series of chocolate demonstrations at the Arch Cafe on Saturday; free to attend and no need to book, just pop in.

If you’ve heard about the Art Walk but never remembered to look up when it’s on then take a look at the details from Culture Vulture, which make it sounds like a lot of fun. It is.

An ‘exciting action-packed adventure’ with Yorkshire Water? The utility company is on the lookout for a local family to help front its biggest ever consultation. Apparently 80% of its customers have no idea just what YW do.

Half term is imminent: LCC is running ‘We Love Leeds’ free workshops for children. Don’t forget about Breeze International Youth Festival, too.

Wendy’s Things to see and do this week has lots of fun things to look at, including a talk by Rose George and of course the beer festival at Leftbank.

Alas, the petting zoo we reported on has been cancelled… but stressy students get a giant bouncy castle instead!

And that’s it for today. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you on Friday!

Leeds today: remember, casino, language, Owl, cricket, Drake, Holmes, Contact, cider and comics.

Good morning Leeds! Yesterday was Whitsun, which used to mean that today was a Bank Holiday before Spring Bank got its summery hands all over it. If you were around before 1971, South Leeds asks you how you remember it…although the mention of peasants relaxing from field duties with the permission of their medieval overlords could be amusing or insulting.

But forget that, in case you have been hibernating over the weekend, the winner is…Eastgate! The location of Leeds’ Super Casino as part of the Victoria Gate development was revealed late on Friday afternoon by the council’s licensing committee. The Leeds’ citizen explains in layman’s terms just what exactly the city is getting out of this deal: jobs for locals, net gaming revenue and a social inclusion fund.

Sadly, the Create enterprise whose Leeds’ restaurant had already ‘closed for refurb’ earlier this year has been given the last rites by insolvency experts who say the firm ‘had simply run out of money’.

LMU are cutting the number of specialist foreign language courses teaching students how to speak ‘Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Greek, Portuguese and Polish from the university’s main campus in Leeds’ and Harrogate. As ever, there will be job losses.

And in more disappointing news, Culture Vulture reports on the ‘Save The Owl at Rodley’ campaign where The Owl’s family run pub is facing closure in a matter of weeks due to outrageous rent hikes and dubious fines. The community has rallied round the family and created a facebook  group supporting the campaign.

Community action can be very powerful. As reported last week, Thursday night’s meeting about the fate of Highbury Cricket Club (owned by the developers of Ben Bailey homes) had more than a 100 local residents taking part. There was overwhelming support for trying to bring it back into community use and councillor Alex Sobel has promised a follow up meeting with the developers in about 6 weeks’ time. BGL will keep you informed.

Okay, fun stuff: Hyde Park picture house have a tribute to Nick Drake night scheduled for the 5th June ‘screening the short documentary A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, alongside live performances of his music’.

Sherlock Holmes: The best kept secret opened at the WYP this weekend. Early reviews indicate Steampunk inspired set design and magic and illusions provided by Scott Penrose. I have my tickets.

The Contact festival, the only student led photography festival in the UK, is running from now until the 25th of May in 13 venues in the city centre. Pick up a map at the White Cloth gallery which is acting as the hub of the festival and embark on a tour where as well as taking in art on walls, you’ll be able to see the students hosting talks.

The Old Bar Cider festival has another couple of days left in its wobbly legs; celebrate the joy of Cider and Perry at The Old Bar, LUU.

Start thinking about the spring bank holiday early and peruse the Dig’s guide to how and where to entertain the family during the half term break. There’s jousting, lots of jousting.

Musically speaking, the legendary Georgie Fame, whose ‘unique blend of jazz/rhythm and blues’, is performing at Brudenell Social Club on Tuesday night and Wednesday sees  Lauren Bradford’s Candles & Wine acoustic festival at Outlaws Yacht Club. No covers just original material.

Finally, we have another instalment of ‘Laydeez do Comics’, the UK’s first women’s led comics forum that ‘focuses on autobiographical comics and dramas of the everyday’. Tonight’s meeting is at the Wharf Chambers co-operative club with guest speakers including Leeds based diary artist Becky Kidner.

A previous version of this article incorrectly said Leeds Uni were cutting language courses, not LMU. Our apologies for any confusion caused.

Leeds today: ballet, Wellington, museums, art, cocktails, conversation and Almond.

It’s Friday! Alison here to provide your news.

Rather lacking in details, but a picture’s worth a thousand words and all that. Here’s a glimpse of the new building to go up in Wellington Place. I’m liking the trees; more of the trees, please.

John Baron is in a dudgeon on The City Talking, but manages (through gritted teeth by the sounds of it) to link us to the best of the blogs this week. We like angry John!

The Council is taking some services back in house to save money. Great plan. Except we all know they’ll go out again in ten years’ time or so. And then be taken back in house in… ooh… another ten years… Round and round we go, and yet we never learn.

I was reading this Northerner article about nights at the museum earlier, thinking what a shame only one of those mentioned is in Leeds (although it does sound very cool), when lo and behold, I found another! Night at the Medical Museum. (Remember to take spare batteries!)

I’m steadfastly ignoring the link to Christmas party planning on the Leeds List, but as my eye flicked down the page… Leeds Loves yadda yadda yadda… but wait… what is this? Leeds Loves Cocktails? Oh, my! Do remember to line your stomach first, though. Leeds definitely Loves Food.

Summer is allegedly approaching… hmm, I’ll believe that when I feel it. Should you wish to be planning a bit of summery art, though, Leeds Inspired has a useful list to help you.

Next up, a positive viewpoint on Trinity. Some of the empty shops in surrounding streets are beginning to fill up, which is good news.

If you live in the city centre, as I do, you’ll probably have the odd beef about the lack of services and infrastructure, or wish to make your viewpoint known on big changes coming, like the imminent arrival of HS2… in 2030-something. Thus we’re invited along to a ‘Big Conversation’ on the subject, at 6.30pm on 7 June in Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane.

It’s Friday! It’s South of the River!

Leeds singer Marc Almond has won the Ivor Novello Inspiration Award. Yes, yes, but take a look at that picture and then read that he’s 55. Wow, he has some good genes.

Rod Stewart fans? Here’s an announcement to make you happy. (Ed’s note: the new album is a bit insipid, IMO. Maybe live it’ll be better?)

I was a ‘balletomane’ (ballet enthusiast) even before reading Lorna Hill’s Sadler’s Wells books as a child, and have practised adult ballet at various points in my life. I know I’m rubbish at it, but I do it regardless because I don’t think anything has ever made me quite as happy as performing a pirouette without falling over in the process. It also helps me to appreciate just how hard dancers are working when I watch a ballet on stage. If you feel that your ‘dancing ambitions have been affected by [your] size and weight and want that second chance to take to the stage’, Culture Vulture has just such an opportunity.

Have a fabulous weekend! [Chassés off]

Leeds today: TV, Bond, crypt, arena, opera, bookend, arena and munchies.

Hello! Welcome to Wednesday. Sorry if you’ve seen this twice, I’m all fingers and thumbs today.

There’s a new local TV station in town. Made in Leeds (nothing to do with the shop) is starting to get its name out there.

Bond Court is to get a revamp. If you don’t know where this is, it’s the little hidden away petanque court with the lovely red birches. There’s going to be some new trees and seating.

The suspended coffee idea is adjusted and expanded in this plan for St George’s Crypt. It’s not just coffee you can buy in advance, but meals as well.

The casino location decision is to be announced on Friday, updates the Leeds Citizen. Obviously careful thoughts are being made.

Wendy’s Things to see and do in Leeds is always a highlight.

The dates have been announced for Opera in the Park and Party in the Park. Don’t forget you have to pay for both of them now; great gigs, but no longer free.

It’s Eurovision weekend, heavens help us. The Leeds List provides us with details of where the Eurovision parties are.

The latest Arena acts to be announced: Russell Howard and Lee Evans. Comedy!

Leeds Big Bookend Festival event at the Leeds Library (the private one on Commercial Street): Speaking about the unspeakable – Rose George, on Wednesday 22 May, 6.00-7.30pm

The next meeting of Leeds Skeptics in the Pub is on Saturday 18 May, 2pm at the Victoria Hotel: Confessions of a Tarot Reader

One of our writers came across this blog serendipitously last year when suffering a broken heart, and it reminded her why being single really isn’t a bad thing. Now blogger @ElfinKate would like to tell you why she started writing and perhaps ask a little favour. Have a read and see what you think.

Finally, thanks to North Leeds News I now know about this really bad (i.e. good) idea: Midnite Munchies. If you live in LS1-LS19 postcodes you can have snacks delivered to your door between 7pm and 1am. Oh dear.

And that’s that for today! We’ll see you on Friday, hopefully less technologically inept

Leeds today: space, speed, bats, afterlife, superposition, Party, dementia, market and Healthwatch

Hello Leeds! We’re undergoing a bit of a refurb here, so some things might move around or be a little different. Don’t panic, we’re just having a bit of a tidy. Anyway, it’s Mike here today (not Naziya). On with the news!

Have you been following @Cmdr_Hadfield on Twitter? Everyone has retweeted him, so you probably know about it. He’s on the Space Station, and a week or so ago he tweeted this picture of Leeds and Bradford, which is jaw-dropping. Some people will have this as their desktop wallpapers, I’m sure.

Another interesting thing spotted over the weekend was a series of articles on ‘two-speed Britain’ in the Observer yesterday. On a positive note, I did read it thinking how (relatively) good Leeds feels at the moment, with building works and major projects, although it’s dreadful for all the other areas of the country.

The first meeting of The Superposition is on Wednesday in the Packhorse on Woodhouse Lane. This group will bring together scientists, artists and makers for creative purposes. We hope it’ll do well!

The Market is doing a series of heritage tours, starting this week! Learn all about the history of the market, some of its little foibles and things that make it such a character.

The YEP is reporting that – three years after the same thing happened to Opera in the Park – Party in the park is to charge people to attend. This was widely considered to be the beginning of the end for free gigs in Leeds when it happened to Opera. A shame.

Well, there’s always free culture if you know where to look. The School of Performance and Cultural Studies at the University is puttingo n some end of year shows, one of which is Art in the Afterlife on Wednesday this week. It could be a pretty interesting piece, inspired by Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights.

A PCSO in South Leeds writes about her dementia training. People just don’t know how to handle those with dementia of some kind; even when it happens in your own family it’s not an easy thing to work with. This sort of training is essential for those who might come across it in their working lives.

Sticking with health, ClaireOT has written about how the Healthwatch Leeds board selection happens. Some interesting and useful info if you’re at all intrigued by how public body boards are constructed, and how you could get involved.

Finally today there’s a Bat walk on Killingbeck fields on Weds 22nd as part of Wildlife Discovery Week. This sounds like a lot of fun but you have to book in advance!

That’s it for today; thanks for reading and we’ll catch you on Wednesday. Cheerio!

The monthly @chrisnickson2: “The Grand Pygmalion”

The Grand Pygmalion

So the Trinity shopping centre has opened, all shiny and new, and undoubtedly a consumer experience. Certainly the location has form when it comes to shopping. Those going through the doors are very close to some real Leeds spending history.

Back in 1884, at the corner of Boar Lane and Briggate, Alexander Monteith opened what was then a massive emporium, a department store back when that kind of thing was a true novelty. It was four floors of most anything that a population with a rapidly increasing income could wish for, with huge plate glass windows and displays on the ground floor. One of the signs read ‘Monteith, Hamilton & Monteith Ltd.’ But the other, which wrapped around the corner, was the one that gave the place its name – The Grand Pygmalion.’

It was retail therapy on a grand and glorious scale, the Harvey Nicks of its day. What did they sell?  Everything from mantles to sunshades,  millinery, corsets, ladies’ boots, gentlemen’s hosiery, bedding, carpets, china, children’s costumes, haberdashery, bedsteads and much, much more. And with about 200 assistants on the shop floor, help was never far away (possibly a far cry from today’s big shops), and the goods were shown with ‘consummate taste and effect.’

The Grand Pygmalion remained a fixture on Boar Lane until 1927, when John Monteith, Alexander’s son, retired from business, when the business was sold. Older readers will remember it as the location of C&A. And when you’d finished there, you could pop across Boar Lane to Mr. Richard Boston’s Great Fruit, Game and Fish Market, which offered fifty kinds of fish, thirty-six types of vegetables and one hundred sorts of fruit.

But what about those on a more modest budget? They had the giant Co-operative store on Albion Street. The Leeds Industrial Co-operative Society had been founded in 1847 by workers at Benyon’s flax mill, who clubbed together money to buy land and build a flour mill for members, the Leeds Mill and Store Society, with dividends paid to members on the co-op manner. Within thirteen years Leeds had the biggest co-operative society in England and soon moved into retail.

The store on Albion Street wasn’t its first. That was on Briggate and opened in 1856. Soon, though, it outgrew that and moved to some extremely impressive premises on Albion Street, offering all manner of items long before the Grand Pygmalion came into existence. The Co-op became such as force that it eventually had buildings on both sides on Albion Street. In these days of lengthy, global supply chains which seem lacking in accountability, the Co-op’s ideals seem incredibly impressive. Not only did it own its own farm, it had builder’s yards, a carpentry workshop, brush works, boot factory and a coal wharf on Neville Street, along with coal depots at all the Leeds stations. The Co-op sold everything and very likely made it, too. By 1900 it had seventy branches around the city. It was shopping for the people, its prices reasonable, and always offering that dividend to members.

So, for those who think that Trinity is ushering in a gold age of retail for Leeds, with ‘aspirational’ Eastgate still to come, think on. That gilded time began many, many years ago. And to put it all into perspective, the same year that the Grand Pygmalion opened its doors, a certain Mr. Marks started his Penny Bazaar (‘Everything A Penny!’) in Leeds Market. The lad might have a future…

Chris Nickson is the author of the Richard Nottingham crime novels, set in Leeds in the 1730s. He’s currently at work on a murder mystery set in Leeds in 1890 and featuring Inspector Tom Harper of Leeds Police.

www.chrisnickson.co.uk

Leeds today: Meanwood, nostalgia, transport, vicar, SPOTY, markets, compost, reptils, marathon, and Lunch.

Good morning Leeds, Naziya checking in and let me say it feels like a very long time since I was last with you so let’s get cracking with two opposing points of view.

Firstly, flyers have been distributed in the Headingley/Meanwood area to inform residents that there will be a meeting at Meanwood Institute, Green Road next Thursday 16th May. It concerns planning permission which has been sought by developers for building on the cricket field next to the Headingley allotments (pdf). Instead, residents of the area will be discussing a community buy out of the land with ideas for use whilst preserving the nature as much as possible. I’m not surprised, since we moved here two years ago, house prices have rocketed by 30% (the Waitrose effect?) and combined with what property experts Clarion call ‘the dawn in a golden age of planning’, we could see a boom in planning permissions sought since the creation of the National Planning Policy Framework last year. All of which is lovely news for us new and potential homeowners but alarming if you consider our beautiful and plentiful green spaces make Leeds a delight to live in.

And what will be the result of all this expansion? Well, you may have followed a nostalgia thread on The City Talking which brought up fond remembrances of familiar Leeds haunts. If this sounds like something you like to do then Leeds Back In The Day Retro Party at the Irish Centre is an event for you! Held at the end of June it is for ‘for those of us who grew up in the great Yorkshire city of Leeds and want to be reminded of things that maybe aren’t around any longer.’

More politics: Wednesday’s Queen’s speech has ‘placed the government on a collision course with furious council leaders’ after a new bill means that any large increase in council tax bills ( the council’s proposed method of levying the amount needed for a West Yorkshire Transport fund) needs to be put to a public referendum.

Beeston has a new vicar…and it’s the Reverend Lindsey Pearson! Hurrah! I’ve actually led a classroom discussion on the creation of the universe alongside her for my 8 year olds and it/she was awesome!

The news that the Leeds Arena is set to stage the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards puts the cherry on our sporting cake. Over to Councillor Keith Wakefield:

“Together with hosting matches in the Rugby League World Cup in November, the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and the amazing Grand Départ of the Tour de France next year, this is another wonderful sporting event which we are very proud and excited to be holding.”

All we need now is the successful resurrection of LUFC, the excellent Scratching Shed discusses the conundrum of the Leeds striker.

Whilst Jo has been blogging about the newish Horsforth farmer’s market held on the 1st of the month on the car park of St Margaret’s primary school, traders of the city’s Kirkgate market have rallied outside the Civic Hall to complain about a £12.3 million revamp to take place without consultation.

Incidentally, tomorrow sees Headingley’s farmers market from 9am at the Rose Garden.

It’s compost awareness week…oh yes it is! And LCC are offering cut price compost bins for less than 17 pounds at getcomposting.com. The move comes after about 50,000 Leeds residents now have their black and green bins emptied on alternate weeks.

This weekend in brief then: the Parks and Countryside Service will hold its annual open day at Red Hall Nursery near Shadwell. The best of the city’s captive wild life (reptiles from Tropical World, Birds of Prey from Lotherton Hall etc.) as well as fairground and tractor rides from 9am -3pm each day.

There’s a free art/music/dance/sound/fashion show at the Hepworth in Wakefield on Saturday afternoon. Titled The Ultimate Form, a ‘living collage’ will take place from 2pm. Booking essential.

Kirk Norcross (Towie) is signing his autobiography at Asda, Crown Point.

It’s Leeds Half Marathon Time. To be fair, by now you’re either running or you’re not but do be neighbourly and pop on the route to cheer them on.

A point that smoothly links us to the fact that you may want to start planning The Big Lunch with your fellow street dwellers which will be scheduled for 2nd June this year. Apparently Chapel Allerton has quite a do going on but you can start yours by downloading an information pack or knocking on a few doors.

Cheerio!

Leeds today: spring, fires, Odeon, casino, cheese, cake, microbrew, blogging, projection and opera.

Hello! Hope you enjoyed the long weekend – I know we certainly did. Gosh, it was lovely. Anyway, on with the news!

Visit Leeds tells us what to do in Leeds now that spring has truly arrived. Except it feels like winter is coming (again). Not soon enough for the moorlands, though. Possibly as a result of the dry weather there were moorland fires overnight and our Calderdale correspondents have seen many of the emergency services from across West Yorks concentrate their efforts in that area.

In other news, Bradford Odeon is sold for £1. We’ve been looking at the Save the Odeon story for a while now; let us hope that an investor can be found soon, because if not then the building could still crumble away.

Today’s the day the Council decide where the city’s super-casino is going to go. Leeds Citizen does this sort of thing best. I’m easily amused but the “Alea jacta est” photo caption made me giggle.

Wendy has once more come up with an excellent Things to see and do this week on The City Talking. Also on The City Talking is a news companion for your smartphone, trialling now. Solomon is trialling now and you could get on the beta. Read the article for more information!

It seems that there’s a bit of a food theme in the zeitgeist.

There’s a whole bunch of ‘Foodie’ clubs in the North, reports the Northerner. Leeds stalwarts the Clandestine Cake Club and Homage2Fromage get a decent mention here.

Speaking of the Clandestine Cake Club, there’s a properly judged competition Bake-off happening with AgeUK and Leeds Food Festival! This is brilliant stuff, and even if you don’t fancy baking there’s plenty of tickets for people who just want to eat the cake.

A fantastic story from the YEP, now, about The Beeston micro-brewery which could be the smallest brewery in the UK, making only 70l of beer a week. In a back-to-back in Beeston. I’m trying very hard not to pop in on my way home. You can buy Sunbeam Ales from Beer Ritz in Headingley, amongst other places.

Sticking with the beer theme for a moment, the LS6 Beer Festival is returning to, erm, LS6. The beers look exciting and the people are always lovely. It’s on the same day Mike is doing some chocolate demos, so he’ll be heading to the evening session on the Saturday…

Staying with Culture Vultures they have a sneak peek at Leeds Loves Food, which you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the next few weeks.

Away from food there’s some other stuff going on. Students at LMU have done some data analysis on the impact of local blogs. It’s a bit sports heavy but good to see CV at the top. We don’t even feature, which needs to be sorted out for next year.

We seem to have quite a few literary festivals in our area, reports the YEP. Worth reading.

Light Night has started its ball rolling again for this year. Leeds Inspired has some details on a momentous projection for Light Night, and this years theme will be Light Night Circus.

There’s a David Bowie exhibition at White Cloth Gallery; lots of photos that you might have seen before, only not this big, and some that you certainly won’t have.

This is awesome: Opera North will be performing in the Arch Café this weekend. Free solo performances with your coffee and cake.

There’s a Fabrication event tonight. Well done on staying open, guys!

Finally, Leeds Museums are running a CSI Discovery evening course on human skeletal remains. HOW COOL IS THIS? If you’ve ever watched CSI and gone “I could do this” then this is for you. (Although, every time I watch CSI I get cross at how poorly those lab techs use auto pipettes.)

Ok, and we’re done. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you on Friday when Naziya will be bringing you the news and Chris Nickson will have another tale of Leeds history for us. Cheerio!

The monthly @leedsbookclub: an intense passion for something (this time, skiffy).

Are you a geek?* My guess is… probably.

After all, the vast majority of us feel an intense passion for something in our lives – whether it’s food or books or music or travelling. And since passion fulfils my sole criterion for geekiness (and as I’m the one writing this, you’ll just have to live with it!), I reckon everyone has a geeky side.

This weekend I head off to a SF Con (Science Fiction Convention to the uninitiated) to mix and mingle with the stars and fans of some of my favourite television shows. I can’t wait. And before you ask, no, I will NOT be dressing up (If you’re interested in learning more, I’ve written about my con experience previously HERE). For three nights and four days I will relax – completely secure in the knowledge that I can be every inch the bouncy noisy obsessive I truly am, with no hesitation or reservations. Though I’ve only been a con attendee for the last three years; I feel a tremendous sense of kinship and family there. And every time I return to our fair city, I find myself itching to re-connect with a similar vibe and seek out new geeky havens.

Fortunately, May seems to be a passion friendly month! Here are some of my favourite hangouts in the city centre – I’ll have to do a Yorkshire geekfest at some point in the future.

Leeds Central Library – oh come on now, did you honestly expect me to start anywhere else? Forget about this Grade II listed building’s proximity to the Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute (there’s a Robert Filliou exhibition on at the moment by the by – well worth a look) or the Tiled Hall Cafe with it’s scrumptious looking treats, or the little shop, or it’s unique collections…think for a moment about the books. So many books, just waiting…for me – *ahem* or anyone with a valid library card.

While the city is well represented in comic book stores (with a Forbidden Planet and Travelling Man), my go to is OK Comics. And this year – as with every other – I continue being utterly useless by FAILING to attend Free Comic Book Day on the 4th of May (May the forth be with you. Sorry. It’s a thing). If you’re about and looking to expand your interests, this is absolutely positively the best way to dip a toe into the comic pond (oh…and World Book Night…but that was last month…so…doesn’t count).

Once you’ve picked up your books and comics, you might as well take a closer look over a coffee. Although I’ve yet to visit Laynes, I hear that the coffee is brilliant and the staff OBSESSIVE! Sounds like my kind of place!

Or if it’s an evening out you’re looking for – Fab Café is one of those best kept secrets that everyone – no matter how brief their stay in Leeds – knows all about. I discovered the “World’s first Television and Movie Themed” pub as a student and have never (and likely will never) grow out of it.

Now, you all know that I’m a cinephile and I’ve spoken before about my love for geek haven the Hyde Park Picture House and the innovative Mini-Cine before. Apparently though I’ve been missing out on the Basement at Armley Mills – one of the worlds smallest working 1920’s cinemas. Wander round the memorabilia, then treat yourself to a B&W!

Oh – and a future must-visit I suspect – the Leeds Skeptics get together on the 3rd Saturday of each month (18th of May) to discuss all manner of topics from science to genetics to creationism and back again. Their upcoming line up looks AWESOME – I’m particularly intrigued on the upcoming scientology discussion and (Maths Jam aside) this is probably the geekiest thing I’ve heard about happening in Leeds.

No, I lied, I’ve just remembered Leeds Meeples – a group run by some truly tremendous friends of mine – focusing on playing board games. I’m unfortunately incapable of friendly competition, but my little birds assure me that it’s all great fun! Their next meet up is on the 19th of May I believe!

And someone has just reminded me that Leeds has a robust Live Action Role Playing reputation too! Again it all sounds like great fun…if a little too energetic for my tastes. All that effort and running and…moving. No, leave me curled up with a good book – but check out LARP Events for more information!

Mind you, it’s not all just fun and games. In July Leeds will need to brace itself as – for the forth year running – Zombies invade. Urban chase game 2.8 Hours Later Asylum will be back, bigger and better than ever. As ever there will be a variety of different teams coordinating survivor groups to protect innocent civilians from the undead hoards. If you’re a Zombie…or a sympathiser…you’re days are numbered!

All the city needs now is an aquarium.

I’m not kidding.

Right that’s quite enough for now – I know that I’ve missed out on loads, particularly around music, so let me know your essentials for the next month in the comments below!

Ciao,

Niamh

*Labels are bad, mmkay? I never needed to self-identify as a geek – everyone else did that for me and this post isn’t meant to continue that rather patronising process by forcing on an uncomfortable mantel. So for the purposes of this post, geek is being utilised as a useful and rather open-ended descriptor.

Leeds today: dragon, lizard, music, comics, banks, ducklings, bikes, elections and Bollywood.

Welcome to the Bank Holiday weekend! Just look at all this exciting stuff going on…

Starting with some out-of-Leeds news first…

Yesterday saw local elections in a large part of the country. None in Leeds, but here’s the map of results if you want to check what colours the country is turning elsewhere. We didn’t get any here because Leeds only holds elections in 3 out of 4 years, as only a third of our councillors are elected at any one time. This blessed electoral quirk meant we didn’t get inundated by UKIP or Respect canvassers. Thank goodness.

Sticking with news outside our fair city for a moment, we have a few tidbits on our neighbour Bradford. It’s sporting a fine Bollywood ensemble at the moment, with news of a Real-Life Bollywood Star Jackie Shroff visiting today as part of celebrations of 100 years of Indian cinema.

At the same time, Bradford is getting a one-off Bollywood version of the opera Carmen, outdoors in City Park on 9 June. For those who can’t get there, it will be televised live. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Back to Leeds now; the Leeds Arena has been named the ‘first direct arena’ (yes, all lower case). Sponsorship: great. Local company: excellent. Couldn’t they have retained the city name in there somewhere, though? (Saying that, we’re ecstatic that the arena isn’t being sponsored by a fast food chain or arms manufacturer.)

Now for the sport. First up, Elland Road stadium has been selected for some Rugby World Cup matches in 2015. This is a good thing, yes? In bike news, I was taught to save up for things and budget to make sure I could afford them before buying. This is evidently not the fashion nowadays (hence the mess we’re all in), as ‘negotiations’ are taking place between the government, UK Sport, Leeds City Council and Welcome to Yorkshire over who will pay for the Tour de France Grand Départ here next year.

Partial to a cute bunny rabbit or just want to pet a baby duckling? Stressed students are getting a petting zoo pre-exams. Not so much the snake, though…

Leeds Online have provided their useful weekly blog round-up. Always worth reading. Meanwhile, blogger extraordinaire Jeremy Morton gives us our Friday dose of ‘South of the River’, this time about disappearing banks. This is a tremendously disappointing story. We bang on a lot about “community” but the instant someone realises a penny could be saved by closing something which only 80 people use, then those 80 people can go whistle. It sometimes feels like the only obstacle to companies running as efficiently as they’d like is the pesky customers.

So, to the weekend! [makes Superman 'lift-off' arms]

Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. We’ve got four – yes, four! – shops distributing free comics in Leeds: OK Comics, Travelling Man 2, The Twilight Zone, and Forbidden Planet. (By the way, if you do a search on distributing locations, Cornwall is listed as a country. Aww, those American organisers. Bless.)

If superheroes are your thing, polish your Wonder Woman wrist bands and dust off your Superman cloak because it’s ‘Arms and Armour of the Superhero’ at the Royal Armouries this weekend. Pants over tights optional.

What else is on over the weekend? Well, Leeds Inspired have put together a fantastic list, so quite frankly, my job is done!

Some reminders, though: Live at Leeds begins today, of course. If you’re new to the area’s music, take a look at this guide from Leeds List. There is also news of Yorkshire Rocks Cancer coming to Millennium Square in Leeds.

Sunday brings us the Farmer’s market weekend on Briggate (I’d recommend the quiche and flapjack from the stall next to the Hog Roast – deeeelicious!) There is also a book launch for ‘The Almost Lizard’, by James Riggerson, on Sunday at Brewbar (under the Tiled Hall), from 2pm.

And on Monday one spectacular place to be is Roundhay Park for the Dragon Boat racing in aid of Martin House. Always briliant fun.

Fingers crossed for some sunshine!

Check back later on today for Leeds Book Club’s monthly look at what’s going on in the literary world – and as always, thanks for reading. See you next Wednesday!