Light on Leeds

Send us Fan Mail Rob Galloway has been the lead singer of punk rock and roll band The Yalla Yallas for 16 years. He tells me all about the Leeds music scene and how it has changed over the years, how the band got together, their upcoming new album (their seventh!) and much more. Rob played Sid the Snake in the Shane Meadow's production The Gallow's Pole which you can see on iPlayer. It&a...

Send us Fan Mail Tian Liu has been selected as a member of the Youth Parliament Leeds. She advocates for youth voice, climate action and making mental health support accessible. She taslks with representatives from the UK governemnt, youth groups and has met with King Charles. Tian has a passion for social mobility, justice and activism. She aims to understand difficulties within her own community...

Send us Fan Mail I had a wonderful time chatting to Spike and Fran who are both members of Leeds Arts Cenrtre. Spike and Fran tell me about their upcoming play ROPE, a play by Patrick Hamilton that was further immortalised by the Alfred Hitchock film. ROPE is Spike's directorial debut and he tells me all about what the experience has been like. Fran only moved to Leeds in April and she tells...

Send us Fan Mail Martin Gaughan is a contemporary classical music composer, currently living in North Devon. He tells me what led him to becoming a composer, the inspirational people who helped him on his way and about some of his creative processes.  Martin chose to feature his beautiful track "Echoes" which is part of a larger piece called "Pale Goddess". Do check out his wor...

Send us Fan Mail Hannah Broadbent told me all about Feel Good Film Experience, which as she explains, the title of the project sums up it's aims. Hannah explains to me how she got started, her love of film and what you can expect from one of her events. Hannah is collaborating with Come On In and is showing a film called "Ginger Snaps" and also screening 'A Film About Studio El...

Send us Fan Mail Lisa Thiel has been an Egghead since 2014. She was a fantastic guest and told me all about how she got started in TV quizzing, what it's like behind the scenes, the move from BBC to Channel 5, Jeremy Vine on a unicyle and much, much more. The featured track is "Blowing Kisses" by the up and coming and very talented Leeds band, Lucky Iris. I predict big things for th...

Send us Fan Mail I had a grand old time chatting to Vic Bingham about standup comedy, coming from a funny family, how she got involved and where you can see her perform. The featured track is the stuninng "I don't Want To Live Without You" by Lorenzo Gabanizza & Jeff Christie. https://www.https://www.laughatleeds.com/instagram.com/vixbingham/?hl=en-gb https://www.laughatleeds.co...

Send us Fan Mail Lauren & Mathew joined me to tell me all about FoodCycle, to tell me how they got involved, how you can get involved and about all of the good work thet are doing across Leeds and the 66 projects they have running across the UK. "We are FoodCycle, and our vision is to make food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past for every community. We connect communit...

Send us Fan Mail I had a great time chatting to Kully Thiarai, Creative Director and CEO of Leeds 2023 - the city's international year of culture. "For one whole year, we’re Letting Culture Loose.  In partnership with world-class creatives, homegrown talent, local communities and international arts organisations, together we’re creating a celebration that's about Leeds, for Leeds, b...

Send us Fan Mail Ann Lightman told me about some of the fascinating history of Leeds and it's colourful characters - she relates this history as part of her Lawnswood Cemetery Walks. Spring 2023 walks at Lawnswood Cemetery, Leeds LS16 6AH: Ann Lightman is offering the following walks, all at 2.00 p.m. on Sundays and no charge made! Expect each to last about two hours –tailored to suit group o...

Send us Fan Mail I can't tell you how much I enjoyed chatting with Elizabeth! I learned so much! Elizabeth is the Lead Coordinator of Leeds Festival of Gothica. She tells me all about 1980s Leeds being at the forefront of the alternative and goth scene. I also learn about the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and the great work they do; about the Batwings mural in Kirkgate Market and about the Leed...

Send us Fan Mail It was so interesting chatting to Hannah Gehrke, a talented tattoo artist at Red Tattoo & Piercing in the Corn Exchange. She tells me what led her to being a tattoo artist, her apprenticeship, developing her own style, how she ended up in Leeds and much, much more! The featured song on this episode  is "Birds Are Falling Out Of The Sky" by West Yorkshire band, Bloodh...

Send us Fan Mail Enya Lucas is the director of the Leeds Arts Centre production of the play "Scarborough" which is on at The Carriageworks Theatre from Wednesday 8th March until Saturday 11th March, 2023. We had a great chat and Enya tells me about being involved with Leeds Arts Centre, all about the play written by Fiona Evans, the role and challenges of being a director and what she lo...

Send us Fan Mail "Leeds Community Foundation distributes vital grants and gives trusted advice to Community Organisations across Leeds and Bradford to influence positive change. We are driven by creating meaningful social impact for thousands of local people every year. As the region’s largest independent funder, Leeds Community Foundation is the only organisation of its kind in Leeds and Bra...

Send us Fan Mail I had such a great chat with Kenneth Barker of WOTR Movies, a film company that has been going since 1998. Kenneth is a producer, writer, director and film maker and he tells me all about how he got started, how he works, where his inspiration for his films come from and much more. Kenneth chose to feature the track "Count Creepy Head" by the fabulous band Johnny Cosmic...

Send us Fan Mail I had a grand old chat with Dave, Daniel and Tony of SAS - Specialist Autism Services. "Specialist Autism Services has worked exclusively for and with adults (18+) on the autism spectrum and their families since 1999. We are a non-profit organisation that works with the charity Sacar to provide autism specific services across the Yorkshire region. We provide a range of servic...

Send us Fan Mail Sorry for the delay in getting podcasts out to you all! Normal service has now resumed... In many ways this episode is a reboot as I last spoke to Yusef back in May 2020 about Art by Arjo. He joins me on this episode to give me an update since our Lives inLockdown and slo to tell me about Sketch Club Leeds. These are monthly events of skecthing amazing architecture across Leeds. Y...

Send us Fan Mail "Leeds Coppice Workers is a workers co-operative commited to restoring and managing neglected and underused woodlands in the Leeds area. We aim to create jobs in Leeds woodlands for our members and to promote the use of locally sourced woodland products within the Leeds area. We also aim to reintegrate local people to their woodlands, show how woodland can be managed in susta...

Send us Fan Mail Catherine Warr was a brilliant guest who is extremely knowledgeable about history - especially Yorkshire History! She has a very popular YouTube channel "Yorkshire's Hidden History" and she has written a book "A Yorkshire Year" which will be published soon. Catherine tells me about what inspires her, her up and coming episode on Louis LePrince and what her...

Send us Fan Mail Leeds Hunters RUFC is an inclusive rugby club formed in 2016. It has a rapidly growing membersip that is broad and diverse. They have recently developed their O2 Touch Team that aims to provide rugby access to all, including women of all sexualities and the trans community. Chris Woods and Daniel Nerini are both Membership Officers of the club and were great guests who told me abo...

Send us Fan Mail "Leeds Dads is a voluntary organisation that brings together a diverse community of fathers for social interaction and support." I had such fun chatting to Errol Murray, the founder of Leeds Dads. He explains how and why he got started, the challenges he has faced and the successes. We talk about Forest School, Saturday Styling Sessions, Sunday Walks and Dad Talks. If yo...

Send us Fan Mail What a great conversation I had with Johnny Cosmic! We talked art, offence, inspiration, frustrations with the city loop system - it was wild! Leeds Tarot is "a commmunity focused art project aiming to unify both established and aspiring artists together therough the intriguing imagery of tarot. 78 crads by 78 different artists." The Leeds Tarot Deck is the first of its...

Send us Fan Mail I had a fantastic rambling chat with Mat Cooper who is a BAFTA nominated script writer for hire, a script consultant and script doctor. He has written for Eastenders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs. Mat was the first ever winner of the Lloyds Bank Film Challenge and the the winner of the Oscar Moore Screenwriting award. Mat works with producers, directors, production comp...

Send us Fan Mail Sue Jennings is the Director of Left Bank Leeds. We first had a brilliant chat back in April but unfortunately, technology failed us. Sue very kindly agreed to rerecord our conversation and I am very glad that she did. "Left Bank Leeds is a progessive space for creativity, culture and community, set inside a beautiful Grade 2 listed former church building." Sue chose to...

Send us Fan Mail I had such an interesting conversation with Rob Wilson, founder of Angels of Freedom. "Bringing a caring LGBT+ scene to a compassionate city The Angels of Freedom is a community based initiative organised by volunteers and supported by Leeds City Council, British Transport Police and West Yorkshire Police. Our aim is to provide visible support for the LGBT+ community based in...