Working Hours

Sarah Gordon recorded on 10/06/2022 Sarah Gordon is a freelance designer and tutor from and based in Leeds. She is currently working on her PhD which embraces the worlds of design, education and mental wellbeing, exploring Black students’ experience of university life, through design-led methods. Sarah’s PhD allows her to demonstrate design’s value in research and work in an area that is meaningfu...

Recorded on 11/05/2022 Faye Dawson doesn’t really know who she is anymore! She says she never wanted to define herself by her work but now wonders if she’s done just that. From wanting to be an actor at the age of 7, then training, jobbing and falling out with the idea at 25, she fell into PR aged 30 and really found her dream job. For over 20 years she worked in PR in entertainment, leisure, thea...

Mosa Mpehta recorded on 10/06/2022 Mosa Mpehta works for Hyde Park Picture House and is on the Scalarama Leeds team. She runs pop up DIY screenings as ICONIC Presents, freelance film programming under her own name, or sometimes as Black Cinema Project – an initiative that she set up last year during lock down. Within her role at Hyde Park Picture House she works with people, organisations, chariti...

Rachel Fisher recorded on 22/04/2022 Rachel Fisher was born in Leeds and had lived here (other than the odd excursion away) up until February 2022. Now she’s living and working in Malta, where she says it’s beautiful but, she’s “missing Yorkshire puddings and a post-work pint of Kirkstall Brewery’s Virtuous.” Rachel is working as a HR Business Partner in the iGaming (online gambling) industry. She...

Chris Nickson recorded 17/05/2022 CONTENT WARNING there’s some discussion of (fictional) childhood abuse in this interview - nothing graphic - but I felt it was worth noting. I don’t have time codes on these yet so if you’re in any doubt please don’t listen and go through some of my back episodes instead. At some point there will be time codes. Chris Nickson is an author and former journalist. At...

Tom recorded 28/05/2022 Tom is a Clinical Trials Data Manager in a University clinical trials unit, the coordinator of TransLeeds, and a celebrant. He spends his days looking at numbers and making sure the trials are running smoothly, his evenings running support groups and doing advocacy, and his weekends doing weddings, funerals and coming of age ceremonies.

Henry Raby recorded 13/05/2022 Henry Raby is a York-based, performance poet, theatre-maker, play-wright and workshop facilitator. His work has been described as playful, highly-charged, passionate and anarchic! He’s performed at festivals and events across the UK, has been published by Burning Eye Books and runs York based spoken word organisation Say Owt. He’s ½ of Vandal Factory Theatre Company...

Jed Aitchison recorded 02/05/2022 Jed Aitchison is the Project Manager at the Buy Nowt LS6 - Library of Things, which involves opening the Library, when they're open, running social media, growing and maintaining the stock of items, grant applications, arranging and doing publicity and growing the membership of the Library. Jed also teaches secondary science & tutors science and does some rese...

Elliot Benson 04/05/2022 Elliot Benson is a mortgage broker and owns a small business based in Headingley called Sett Mortgages, which he has been running since September last year. Before starting Sett Mortgages Elliot had worked in a large corporate estate agent as a broker for four years and prior to that worked as an estate agent. While working as an Estate Agent Elliot was short listed for th...

Kahina Grant recorded 05/05/2022 Kahina Grant is the owner of Grants of Leeds. Grants of Leeds started after Kahina had her first child during the first lockdown. She started with the aim of using her chemistry expertise to produce products that made people feel good. Grants of Leeds now sells candles, wax melts and Reed diffusers. Ever since Kahina can remember she’s always wanted to be a chemist...

Lucy Meredith recorded 27/04/2022 Lucy Meredith is self-employed and a professional mermaid, teaching mermaid classes at Bramley Baths (she also has a background in synchronised swimming). Lucy’s work is in the arts and she is self-employed, so she has many different jobs, her main one being as Co-director of Yorkshire Life Aquatic CIC (YLA), an arts & wellbeing organisation. Yorkshire Life Aq...

Toby Green recorded on 28/04/22 Toby Green recently finished his PhD at the University of Leeds, with a research focus on Bioenergy. It was during the first year of his PhD when Toby was enlightened to the immense challenge of the Climate Crisis and decided to make his life's work tackling this challenge. During his PhD, Toby trained and certified in carbon calculation, carbon reporting, carbon re...

Paul Thomas recorded 24/03/2022 Paul Thomas is a civil servant and a qualified FE teacher and has lived and worked in Leeds for over 30 years. Outside of his day job Paul has been involved with the debating group Debating Matters for several years, judging and chairing at all levels throughout the UK as well as for Debating Matters India, Debating Matters Israel and Debating Matters Berlin. Paul i...

Luke Aylward recorded 19/01/2022 Luke Aylward is the Communications and Network Officer and Autism Information Officer for The Advonet Group, a Leeds-based advocacy charity. He has worked with them for over five-and-a-half years. He is autistic and has, like many others, spent the majority of the pandemic working from home. Luke produced resources to help people manage during the pandemic. In the...

Ann Jones recorded 09/02/22 Ann Jones moved to Leeds about 5 years ago, gave up teaching and started Cards or Die. Ann was a secondary school English teacher for 17 years before starting Cards or Die - a pop up board game events business (a bit like a mobile board games café). Cards or Die runs regular gaming events at pubs and cafes, but also at weddings, festivals, birthday parties and corporate...

Claudia Wardle recorded 25/01/22 Claudia is currently in a band, writing a novel and is a run leader for Recovery Runners. But she doesn't get paid for that. Claudia works in Executive Search as a head-hunter, handling top executive and non-executive, high-profile appointments for predominantly UK organisations. Claudia specialises in the Public Sector and especially Higher Education. We cover the...

Debbie Rhodes recorded 15/02/22 Debbie specialises in digital consulting, translating business goals into digital strategy. She works with teams to adopt a more digital approach and deliver an exceptional user experience. Bringing over twenty years of experience to the table as a digital marketeer and consultant, working across a range of sectors and industries, including Financial Services, Mutua...

Simon Moore recorded 12/01/22 Simon Moore is a climate justice activist and science communicator in Leeds. He dedicates his work (and a fair bit of his spare time) to tackling the climate crisis and the social justice issues that are being exacerbated by it. Simon works half of the week for the University of Leeds, as a Communications and Engagement Officer, helping to support the Yorkshire and Hu...

Adam Booth and Dick Bonham recorded 27/01/22 Dr Adam Booth, works at the University of Leeds where he is Associate Professor of Applied Geophysics.  Roughly translated, someone who looks underground for buried things, without having to dig them up.  Dr Booth researches in this field, and also trains students in the art of seeing through the soil. One of his main branches of research...

Philip Holdgate and Jamie Saye (founders of SAIL) recorded on 07/01/2022 We kick off Series 3 of Working Hours with a special bonus episode where I speak to SAIL. This was the first time I have recorded two guests at the same time. Formed in 2018, Sustainable Arts in Leeds (SAIL) is a not for profit Membership Network of organisations and individuals in the creative and cultural sector, who have c...

Ian Thursfield recorded on 25/11/21 Ian Thursfield is your friendly, local zero-waster. He likes to re-use bread bags and enjoys litter picking with his daughters. Happy to answer any questions you have (ask his 5yo, he really does answer e-v-e-r-y question!) that would help you on your zero-waste journey. Ian's shop, Leeds Refills, is located at Hyde Park Corner and has a full range of items for...

Chris Lloyd recorded 05/10/21 Chris Lloyd is a producer with Red Ladder Theatre Company and has been with them for over 10 years. Red Ladder originally started in London coming out of radical 1960s theatre and they continue to put out new and original theatre in both traditional and non-traditional venues. Chris is still in constant awe of the talent he has to work with at the company. We talk abo...

Kara Hazlegrave recorded 22/10/2021 Kara Hazlegrave is Research & Innovation Manager for Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics (based at University of Leeds) where she works with University of Leeds researchers to support the development of emergent, interdisciplinary ideas. Kara helps teams craft applications in response to funding opportunities and connects businesses seeking expertise to speci...

Ed Carlisle recorded 19/10/2021 Ed Carlisle is a community activist who co-leads on various projects including the Big Bike Fix, Leeds Repair Cafe, South Leeds Life newspaper, Beeston Festival, the Space youth programme, and the Holbeck Viaduct project. Ed lives in Beeston with his wife and two kids and is the lead candidate for the Green Party in south and central Leeds. I have included links for...

Anna Quinn-Martin recorded 26/11/2021 Anna Quinn-Martin is the Service Manager for Linking Leeds which is a city-wide free social prescribing service which helps anyone to sort out practical or emotional problems that are effecting their health and wellbeing. They help around 500 people a month. Anna leads a team of around 50 people who work in the service supporting the people of Leeds. Linking L...