Cool As Leicester Roundup

With the new year comes new opportunity, so why not take the chance to explore Leicester a little further? With recently opened new venues to visit, new restaurants on the horizon and more activities to take part in than ever, there’s plenty to fill out your calendar with.

For a more chilled out vibe, we went to check out ReRoll Board Game Café on Granby Street and loved it. With over 400 board games for you to choose from, as well as an onsite bar and café serving coffee, shakes, beer, cocktails, bagels and sweet treats, it’s easy to wind down and spend a few hours having fun (or getting competitive) with your nearest and dearest. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to play, the team are on hand to introduce you to new games and they’ll take you through the rules before you play. Also, visit every day between 5pm – 7pm and you can enjoy Happy Hour with 2 for 1 beers and 2 cocktails for £12.

In a post-pandemic world, we know that many people have seen a change to their working day, with a large number still working from home. Whilst this can be wonderful for flexible working, it can also get lonely. There’s no shame in looking for new people to hang out with and that’s the very reason behind the set-up of the Cool As Leicester Social Club. Created by online magazine, Cool As Leicester, the new Social Club has been set up to make it easier than ever to make new friends and meet like-minded people in Leicester. “We so often hear from people who say they struggle to make friends as they’ve become older, or they’ve missed out on events because none of their friends fancied it. We want to change that.” With a series of events set-up to be welcome spaces for people to attend on their own, as well as a new online community encouraging people to share their interests and find “gig buddies”, there’s a fantastic opportunity to make 2023 your most sociable year yet.

We know how work life can be busy, with looming deadlines and new clients to meet, sometimes you just want to escape the reality. Make sure you book in a visit to ROAMDOME this year. Located in Thurmaston, alongside TeamSport Karting, ROAMDOME is a fully immersive VR experience that feels, sounds and smells so real you won’t believe it’s a game. Channel your inner Indiana Jones or grab your gun and shoot some zombies, as you put on your backpack and headset and journey into these incredible worlds. Up to five people can play on a team at once, with children aged 12+ also welcome. Afterwards you can enjoy a drink in the bar, or even have a quick round their motorsport themed mini golf, Putt Club.

Opening just before Christmas, Sixes Social Cricket is a must visit venue this year. Perfect for a work social, night out with friends or family afternoon activity, Sixes combines the age-old game of cricket with top-notch hospitality. You can grab a bat and see who gets the high score with the fast-bowling games, before heading to the bar for cocktails, beers, burgers, pizzas and more. Situated in the heart of the Cultural Quarter, Sixes has been a huge hit since opening with Leicester only the fourth city in the UK to boast one of these brilliant venues.

Whilst we’re in the Cultural Quarter, you won’t want to miss out on tickets to some of the hottest shows to come to Curve this year. Following its sell out success on a previous visit, smash hit musical, SIX, will be returning this June. From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing fi ve hundred years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. With rave reviews and sell-out shows in the West End and across the UK, don’t miss out on tickets when it’s in Leicester from June 13-18.

Of course, at the start of any new year in Leicester attention turns to one thing… Leicester Comedy Festival. Celebrating a massive 30 years, 2023 looks bigger and better than ever and if the recent Preview Show at De Montfort Hall is anything to go by, everyone is in for a real treat. You can see the likes of Milton Jones, Seann Walsh, Nish Kumar, Stewart Lee and more, but often the real gems are those hidden shows you stumble on at random. Our recommendation is always to pick a day, grab a brochure and head into town to see what you fi nd. Many of the shows are free or PWYW so it’s the perfect opportunity to explore and discover your next favourite comedian. Find some of Niche’s top picks on page 67. Get all the info from comedy-festival.co.uk.

Join us at our two locations: 21 Leicester Road, Blaby, LE8 4GR Everards Meadows, Cooper Way, LE19 2AN

jennos.co.uk Find us on social media: @jennoscoffee

Hope Against Cancer’s www.hf fcr.org | 0116 270 0101 new initiative

Leicestershire and Rutland Charity Hope Against Cancer have launched exciting new initiative ‘Hopeful Futures’, which aims to raise awareness of cancer research amongst a younger generation to encourage early detection and prevention of cancer.

Founded by Vice-Chair Eileen Perry MBE, Hopeful Futures is driven by a group of young professionals, who each have their own motivations behind committing their time to deliver on Hopeful Futures’ purpose: to provide support for young people who are living with cancer in one way or another, whilst also educating and fundraising to ensure that we are striving towards a better future for those diagnosed with cancer.

The board consists of Beth Grundy from PPL PRS, Chloe Ireland from Empire Finance, Emily Smith from Michael Smith Switchgear, Laura Filer from ER Recruitment, Nathan Smith from Mattioli Woods and Tinashe Sigauke from Soar Valley Press.

Founder of the group Eileen says: “In line with Hope’s charity funded projects… our Hopeful Futures board represents the investment we are making for the future growth of our charity, raising awareness of prevention and continuing our mission of better outcomes and saving lives”.

Hopeful Futures held a fantastic Launch event in December and are now working on a programme of fundraising events for 2023 as well as how they can start to bring to life the amazing stories of the research students that are funded by Hope Against Cancer.

You can follow Hopeful Futures on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to fi nd out more about their events and activities.