Light on Leeds

Send us Fan Mail This was such an interesting interview with Bryn Mostyn (Team Leader at Leeds Community Gambling Servcie). We discuss the impact of gambling not only on your finances but also on your time; what he and his team are doing to reduce the stigma of seeking help with gambling and how all of this affects family and friends. The featured track on this episode is "Glimmer" by Le...

Send us Fan Mail Steven Burt has written a fantastic book "The Remarkable History of Hunslet" which covers the history of this area from 11th century to the present day. More people were living within the bounds of Hunslet by 1850  than in Wakefield or Dewsbury.  Many visitors, from the Seneca Indians of North America to the future Tsar of Russia, came to see the marvellous machines of H...

Send us Fan Mail Lucy Ndlovu is the Communications Director at Leeds African Communities Trust. We had a great chat about how and why the trust was formed, how they are looking for more communities to join them, their food hub at Little London Community Centre and much more: "The Leeds African Communities Trust promotes the wellbeing of people of African descent throughout Leeds, by advancing...

Send us Fan Mail It was really lovely to chat to artist Pamela Crowe about 23 Press, art, community walks and poetry. "23 Press is a Small Press, a new inclusive publishing platform co-created within the community of Headingley & Hyde Park, LS6. #23PRESS is part of My World My City My Neighbourhood and Leeds 2023 Year of Culture. 23 Press would like to explore how we use words and our voi...

Send us Fan Mail It was really great to chat to author Miranda Keeling about her new book "The Year I Stopped to Notice". We talk about her inspiration for the book, her Twitter friends and the art her book inspired in them, her work in theatre and on radio and much more. The featured track on this episode is "The Snow" by a brilliant band originating south of Leeds, Astoria. A...

Send us Fan Mail I had a grand old chat with Chris Bailie, Director of Swarthmore Education Centre. We talked about how Chris got into working in adult education, Sawrthmore being founded by members of the Quaker movement in 1909, the Grade II listed building it's housed in and much more. Chris chose to feature the brilliant track "Rail Road Blues" by Brendan Croker and the 5 O&apos...

Send us Fan Mail I enjoyed chatting to Annabel Harrison (writer and director) and Hester Cox (assistant director) about their upcoming play "Zip It". " How many voices must be taken before we are heard? Join the studio audience of this dystopian and comedic gameshow and follow the friendship of two young women and their experience of womanhood, sexual harassment and domestic violenc...

Send us Fan Mail I have been looking forward to speaking with Caleb for such a long time! Caleb Ranson is a writer and creator from Dorset. If you enjoyed the BBC production of 80 Days Around the World at Christmas you have Caleb (And Ashley Pharoah) to thank for that. Caleb has written and created some of the biggest successes on UK television in recent years. We talk about the nature of TV today...

Send us Fan Mail I have been looking forward to speaking with Emma Bearman for such a long time and I was not disappointed! We had such fun chatting about Playful Anywhere "Catalyzing creativity and conviviality with people, in places". Emma tells me about her gigantic playboxes, the Playlab, Culture Vulture, Digital Access West Yorkshire and we discuss the nature of fun and play and so...

Send us Fan Mail I had a lovely chat with Elvi Piper from Wrongsemble. Wrongsemble are a theatre company based in Leeds who specialise in creating work for schools, families and young people.  Elvi and I talk about how she got interested in theatre, the company and their upcoming production The Not So Ugly Sisters which runs from Saturday 2nd April until Sunday 24th April and is a Leeds Playhouse,...

Send us Fan Mail I chatted to Carl Hutton, Chief Executive at The Leeds Library - the city's oldest cultural institution. We spoke about the Grade 2 listed building the library is housed in, the resident ghost, Sternberg, about all of the amazing events they hold in the building and much, much more. The featured track is "(Shitting Bricks) Lucky 13" by Undisclosed Addictions. https:...

Send us Fan Mail Laura Beare was a great person to chat with about the Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery and the Treasures of the Brotherton Library. Laura tells me about her love of museums and galleries beginning in childhood, how she and her team have been expanding their digital content, some of their fabulous collections and works of art and the Leeds University Library Tik Tok account (it&ap...

Send us Fan Mail What a great conversation I had with Amy Letman, the Creative Director of Transform! "Transform is an engine room for powerful performance. We create exhilarating international festivals and work year-round to catalyse future-gazing artists and creatives to reimagine what theatre can be. We bring Bold, Brave, Vivid & Socially-Conscious international performance to the Lee...

Send us Fan Mail What a great conversation I had with Joe Kent, Business Development Manager at Barca-Leeds. Joe told me about some of the great things they do "Barca-Leeds delivers transformational services to adults, children, young people and families in Leeds" and it was especially great to hear about the work they do around homelessness. We talk about how the team deal with vicariou...

Send us Fan Mail I learned a lot about the history, culture, fashion, music and dance of flamenco with this week's guest, Vanessa Matthews. She was a fascinating guest and I was glad to learn more about something I knew very little.  "Flamenco de Leeds was started in 2015 after looking for local Flamenco workshops and events and found they were few and far between. Since then, they are p...

Send us Fan Mail I had a grand old chat with Deby Jackson who is the creator, editor, all-round-everything of That Leeds Mag, an independent printed Leeds magazine that goes out to 19,000 homes across North Leeds. It provides advertising for local businesses, has great editorial features and the cover art work is really beautiful too. Deby tells  me about how and why she got started and what she t...

Send us Fan Mail Where to begin?! Testament is a rapper, a spoken word poet, a world record holding beatboxer, a writer, a theatre maker, a workshop facilitator, a husband and a father... We spoke about his perfomance for Desmond Tutu, how he came to write Orpheus in the Record Shop and performed it with seven members of the Opera North orchestra, how his First Word record label was voted Label of...

Send us Fan Mail I had such a fabulous time chatting to Amy Sanderson, Head of Communication at Leeds Heritage Theatres. Leeds Heritage Theatres encompasses Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House. Amy tells lots of great facts and stories about the three, how hard the last 18 months have been and about their Learning and Engagement Programme and Leeds Actors in...

Send us Fan Mail I had a good time chatting to Denham Hill, the Community Manager and Skateboard Coach at LS-Ten Skatepark. LS-ten is situated in South Leeds and provides alternative provision for pupils who are close to, or have been excluded from school. The skate park covers 25,000 feet and has a wide selection of professional and bespoke ramps and a huge street section open to all kinds of rid...

Send us Fan Mail "The Leeds Salon is a discussion group founded in early 2009 by Michele Ledda and Paul Thomas, inspired by similar initiatives they had attended and, in particular, their participation in the Academy of Ideas sixth-form Debating Matters competition. The Salon organises public discussion around political, cultural and scientific issues, with the aim of challenging any orthodox...

Send us Fan Mail I had a great time chatting to Rebecca about Young Musicians for Social Justice, how they began, their ethos and what their plans are for the future: "Founded by a group of students at the University of Leeds, our mission is to mobilise young musicians for sustainable social justice solutions. We aim to establish a community of musicians who care about social justice, find cr...

Send us Fan Mail I had an illuminating chat with John Crouch all about Leeds Fencing Club. The club is about to celebrate it's 50th aniversary and is recruiting new members.  The Club can cater for fencers of all abilities from the age of 12 years. It meets every Monday (except for the month of August and Public Holidays): Beginners                                  - 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm Interme...

Send us Fan Mail It was great fun chatting to Adam about Quantum Sauce and how it aims to break down barriers between university researchers and the public. Quantum Sauce is a blend of fascinating science facts that keep you curious - it's science meets stand up! The featured track is gorgeous -  "You Gotta Move" by Nick Cody and The Heartache The next event Is Dr Who and The Tardis...

Send us Fan Mail I spoke to Kim and Adam Strickson about the charity 6 Million Plus and the Friendship Through Puppets project they run. It was an illuminating and fascinating conversation. If you are available, do go along this weekend to their Weeping Sisters Parade (featuring 12 foot puppets!) this Saturday 6th November beginning at the Market Place in Dewsbury from 11am and the Batley Market P...

Send us Fan Mail Masato Jones was born in Saitama, near Tokyo, Japan and graduated from Central St Martins in Womenswear in 2009.  He is a designer, pattern cutter, tailor, tutor and artist. He tells me about his own label Masato, how he designed the costumes for Beverly Knight's 2011 tour and his wonderful shop in Thornton's Arcade. The featured track is the fantastic "Richard&apos...