South leeds life 11 oct15

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Issue 11 | October 2015

What’s happening in Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Middleton & Stourton

Refugees are welcome here

In this issue:

Riverside regeneration

page 2

Gardening gold

page 4

How you can help DONATIONS

For direct support to destitute asylum seekers, with food, clothing and money donations – main contact PAFRAS – 0113 262 2163, www.pafras.org.uk.

Community camping

page 6-7

Leeds2Iraq are collecting warm winter clothing, shoes and maternity packs for pregnant women. The collection point, from 3-14 October is St Lukes Church, Malvern Road, Beeston LS11 8PD. Donations will be taken to refugee camps in Iraq.

VOLUNTEER A Syrian family on the beach at Kos. Photo: Freedom house (Public Domain)

Leeds City Council have offered to take 200 Syrian refugees through the official government programme.

With some scepticism being expressed in the community, Beeston & Holbeck Councillor Adam Ogilvie took to Facebook to explain the plans.

“We are still awaiting details from the government however the additional costs associated in welcoming additional refugees to Leeds will be met through a specific grant by the government. We would estimate the 200 people would equate to approximately 40 households (or

families) who will be from the camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. The visa’s received by the refugees allows them to work, and there will be support to support their assimilation into the Leeds Community.

“The families will not be concentrated in any one community, and they will be housed in a mixture of suitable private and public sector housing.This will not impact significantly on the number of council properties available to let. We have also received a wide range of residents, groups, businesses and organisations various offers of support to any refugees

arriving from Syria arriving in Leeds, and all these will also be factored into the support that can be provided.

“As we have said this is the right thing to do and we do hope that residents in Beeston and Holbeck will support this approach.”

Opinion was divided on the South Leeds Life Facebook page. Daniel Stone said “It’s hard enough getting a doctors appointment as it is.” But Tasneem Miraf said: “We need to get out of our own selfish worlds and look at the bigger picture. People are dying in the world.”

Turn to page 2 for Hilary Benn MP’s comments.

Volunteer – help with English lessons in refugees’ homes, or provide a room in your home for a destitute asylum seeker to sleep for a day or two. LASSN www.lassn.org.uk CITY OF SANCTUARY Other welcoming activities – Leeds City of Sanctuary coordinate activities to make Leeds more welcoming to refugees and asylum seekers, see their website leeds.cityofsanctuary.org.

It includes a link to ‘Here are 6 things you can do to help refugees if you live in Leeds’.

Get the latest news at www.southleedslife.com - new stories posted daily

Hunslet Hawks’ Championship adventure

page 12

NEWS

FEEDBACK

PHOTOS

WHAT’S!ON

HISTORY SPORT!

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South Leeds Life | October 2015

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About us South Leeds Life is written by and for local people. People who live and work in the LS10 and LS11 areas of South Leeds.

The blog and newspaper are produced by the South Leeds Life Group, a constituted community group with elected officers.

Our aims are: To inform people of events, activities, issues and opportunities taking place in the South Leeds community; To encourage the involvement of the wider community in communicating their experiences; To foster community spirit and involvement; and To provide a platform for local people to contribute and respond to community life more fully.

South Leeds Life started as a blog in November 2010 and still posts news every day at: www.southleedslife.com

Contact us Email: info@southleedslife.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ southleedslife Twitter: @SouthLeedsLife Phone: 07894 583966 We would love to hear from you!

Tell us your news Tell us what you’d like us to report on Tell us about your local events

This edition was published with financial support from the Beeston & Holbeck Ward Councillors

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A helping hand for refugees

by Hilary Benn MP Earlier this summer we saw that shocking photograph of Aylan Kurdi lying dead on a Turkish beach. This small and precious child had his whole life before him when his desperate family - victims of a civil war that is raging through Syria - stepped into a boat. They had fled from Kobane - a city where the BBC tells us "every building, home, shop and street is ruined.”

Nearly half the population of Syria are today no longer living where they were when the civil war broke out. Nearly 200,000 people have been killed. Millions have fled the country and most of them are now in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

That is why this is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our age. And while it is the neighbouring countries that have borne the

brunt of this tide of humanity on the move, here too in Europe we find refugees from Syria seeking shelter in our communities.

16 years ago our city welcomed another group of refugees fleeing war. They came from Kosovo and found shelter and a warm welcome in Beeston after the horrors they had endured.

As a city, and as a country, we have a long and proud tradition of providing safe haven to people fleeing for their lives; from Nazi Germany, Vietnam, other war torn countries and now Syria.

We should also be proud of the fact that Britain is second only to the United States in the generosity of its humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. But that makes it all the more shocking that the Prime Minister originally felt that our nation had already done enough when he said we would not take any more refugees in. It was public opinion that changed his mind,

something I welcome.

There are those who say that it's not our problem and that the country is too full. Certainly, the Government must provide local councils with enough funding to meet the costs, but I think the response from most people would be this.

If we had seen our home bombed and our friends and family killed. If we had been forced to flee the place where we were born and brought up, leaving behind everything that is familiar and gives us our sense of who we are.

If we had to travel to another country and live in a camp for years with no job, no school for our children and no hope. If all these thing happened to us, what we would we hope for from our fellow human beings?

I think we would hope for a helping hand. And that is why when we see people in distress our natural human instinct is to reach

Hunslet Mill at centre of riverside regeneration

by Jeremy Morton

Leeds City Council’s Executive Board considered plans to regenerate the ‘Hunslet Riverside’ area at its September meeting.

The report places the refurbishment of the derelict Grade II* listed Hunslet Mill and Victoria Works as one of the cornerstones of the regeneration plans. The mill has dominated the local skyline since it was built in the 1840s. At one time it employed 1,500 women spinning flax.

The mill as been listed as one of the ten most endangered buildings in the country by the Victorian Society.

The mill is in private ownership but Leeds City Council are in discussions with the owners to bring forward a mixed use development that protects the historic fabric of the building, whilst providing viable modern uses. The report suggests possible support from the Council through heritage funding or from the Local Economic Partnership or from Europe. It is also expected that vacant land on the site will be developed to help subsidise the heritage work.

The Hunslet Riverside area, which runs from Leeds Dock downstream to the H2010 development at Yarn Street between the river and Hunslet Road, lies at the southeastern end

Hunslet Mill. Photo: Jeremy Morton

of the Leeds South Bank. The report describes the South Bank as one of the largest city centre regeneration initiatives in Europe with the potential for 35,000 new jobs and 4,000 new homes.

Other important elements of the regeneration plan include discussions with land owners in the area, of which the Council is one, to co-ordinate plans and site assembly (swapping parcels of land to create bigger development opportunities). There is discussion of the importance of walking and cycling routes through the area and that these link to new housing to

create overseen, safe routes.

New health facilities and primary school provision will need to be planned in as the residential nature of the area is boosted. A new footbridge is to be built as part of Citu’s eco-home development at Low Fold and another could be built further downstream to help better connect Hunslet and Richmond Hill.

The full report can be found on the Council website here: http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/do cuments/s136957/Hunslet/Rivers ide/Cover/Report/Appendices/A -D/140915.pdf

Hilary Benn MP

out and do what we can.

Yes, we must strain every sinew as a world to bring this terrible conflict to an end so that those who have fled can go home and rebuild their country.

But for now, I hope we will give our new neighbours from Syria a warm welcome in the best traditions of our city.

Ann’s award

Local Holbeck volunteer and trustee of Holbeck Elderly Aid, Ann Hepburn has been shortlisted for the Lloyds Bank Foundation Award under the ‘Unsung Hero Award for Yorkshire and Humber’.

Chief Executive Elissa Newman and Strategic Support Officer Sue Cawthray of Holbeck Elderly Aid nominated Ann in recognition of her: “amazing, life changing and invaluable long servicing voluntary work in the Holbeck Area of Leeds. Ann provides vital support and her detailed consideration of individual’s needs is an inspiration.”

Alongside Holbeck Elderly Aid five other charities in Yorkshire got through the regional heats, each one benefitting from a £1,000 grant to continue their important work. They will now compete in the national wards to be held in London on 8 October 2015.

Ann Hepburn

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Beavers get a pizza the action

Beeston Beavers make pizzas at Asda

Breaking down South Leeds Academy myths

by Jeremy Morton I meet Marc Doyle in his office at The South Leeds Academy where he has been Principal since last December, having joined the school in 2013. He brims with enthusiasm and passion and is keen to break the myths that surround the school.

“I love it here, I can’t wait to get in each morning” he grins. “The children are fantastic: diverse, enthusiastic, honest.”

He acknowledges that the school has had a difficult history, but is frustrated that any problems get exaggerated and positive news is ignored.

“There’s a disjoint between what happens here and people think happens here. People need to come and look round the school. I can’t convince the community just by saying things are good, but every visitor who comes to the Academy leaves saying how calm and positive the atmosphere is here.”

There will be an opportunity to visit the school on Wednesday (30 September 2015) when they hold their Open Event. Parents and visitors are invited to look around and watch classes between 1:30-3:30pm and talk to staff and form tutors between 46pm.

With schools judged on exam results and league tables, the Academy has struggled over the years putting maximum resources into Year 11 pupils and creating something of a siege mentality. Marc is keen to change that.

“There are things you can fix quickly, but for sustainable change you need root and branch change.”

‘Botheredness’ is an important word for Marc. He expects his staff to be bothered and they are, many working six day weeks. He wants the pupils to be bothered, about their own learning

Principal Marc Doyle with (l-r) Josh Farmer, Grace Lake, Agata Baranowska, Omar Mia and Ronaldo Joao

and the wider school community. And he wants the wider community to be bothered about their Academy, but recognises that there is still a lot of work to do to convince parents and residents.

Marc has a large leadership team amongst a staff team he his clearly proud of; and a team of student leaders to act as ambassadors and spread the ‘Respect for the badge’ message.

That sense of ‘botheredness’ was exemplified during the GCSEs when staff and pupils turned as early as 6am and stayed as late as 8pm for extra booster sessions.

As well as improving relationships Marc Doyle’s priority is to improve teaching and learning. In the last year the percentage of lessons where progress is judged to be Good or Outstanding has doubled.

Marc doesn’t shy away from the problems. Behaviour and attendance

have been issues in the past.

“If children aren’t in school they can’t learn. We have cut exclusions by 90% and persistent absence has been halved.

“It’s not about making excuses, but you need to understand the context we work in. 30% of our pupils have Special Education Needs and a third speak English as a second language.”

Since the beginning of term in September 50 new pupils have joined the school from outside the country.

Changes are happening at The South Leeds Academy and progress is being made.

“I’m confident that this school will be Good or Outstanding in the next few years” he says “It will take time to be reflected in GCSE results, but children throughout the school are making good progress.

“But don’t take my word for it, come and have a look for yourself!”

Local children from 1st South Leeds and Morley Beavers earned their crust recently when they attended a pizza workshop at their local Asda at Old Lane in Beeston.

Pizza counter colleagues gave pupils a masterclass in the art of pizza making, teaching them everything from kneading the dough, to preparing the tasty toppings.

The children then got a ‘pizza’

the action, inventing their own healthy pizza toppings with an array of delicious ingredients.

Community life champion, Debbi Jackson, said: “The kids had a great time with our pizza colleagues and really made use of our fresh ingredients to create some delicious pizzas that were a huge hit!

“Our ‘crustomers’ love the delicious combinations from our pizza counter.”

Councillors debate sex work area

Last month’s Inner South Community Committee, made up of the nine Councillors from Beeston & Holbeck, City & Hunslet and Middleton Park wards, received a progress report on the ‘Holbeck Street Sex Work Managed Area’.

The area was set up to try and reduce the impact of prostitution on the residents of Holbeck.Within the light industrial area, between 7pm and 7am, offences such as loitering, soliciting and kerb crawling are not enforced, but Police will deal with other offences in the normal way.

The area was introduced after consultation with residents and businesses. Officers report that the introduction of the area has improved matters in terms of reducing residents complaints and increasing reports of crimes against sex workers, although issues remain.

Residents were urged to continue

reporting incidents that take place outside the designated area or during daytime hours.

The scheme has helped to build siome trust between sex workers and the police and it was reported that the first successful prosecution for rape against a sex worker had been achieved. The Yorkshire Evening Post reported that Abdul Fulat from Batley was jailed for eight years following his attack last year.

A full evaluation of the scheme is currently being undertaken by Dr Teela Sanders from the University of Leeds. The report will be presented to the Safer Leeds Executive and the next meeting of the Community Committee on Wednesday 9 December.

You can read the committee report in full (which starts at paragraph 5.3) here: http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/do cuments/s136462/A/SOKW/sept ember/2015.pdf

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News South Leeds gardeners strike gold in brief

by Linda Stanley

Anti-social tenant evicted

Ms Tracey Webster has had to leave 179 Sissons Road in Middleton after a Warrant to Evict was secured by the Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT) and partners including West Yorkshire Police at Leeds Magistrates Court. This follows a range of anti-social behaviour by the tenant that included the playing of loud music, shouting, screaming and intimidation and threats against both neighbours and council staff.

What a great day for South Leeds at the Yorkshire in Bloom award ceremony on 8 September!

Park Fisheries in Beeston were awarded a GOLD medal in the Small Business Category and also scooped best in category for the second year – well done to them.

Cross Flatts Park won a GOLD medal in the open space category – brilliant for their first time entry.

Beeston in Bloom got SILVER GILT overall for the spring and summer

judging. But well done to us for actually achieving GOLD standard in our summer campaign (I think that’s a first!)

And our neighbours in Holbeck also got a SILVER GILT medal and Cottingley achieved ‘developing’ standard in their category.

Makes all the hard work so worthwhile and thanks to everyone who helped along the way. A special thanks should go to Parks and Countryside Department who keep Cross Flats Park looking great and was described as ‘the jewel in the crown’ in Beeston. Thanks John, Andy and the team – we couldn’t do it without you.

South Leeds winners celebrate at the Yorkshire In Bloom Awards

Music helps boost achievement Pupils from Windmill Primary School perform in Leeds Town Hall

Cycling to raise cancer funds

Office Manager Zabir Bostan from Harris & Green Solicitors in Beeston, cycled 60 miles in the Cycle Trans Pennine event on Saturday 19 September as part of the 2015 Challenge Cancer North to raise £250 for Cancer Research UK and an additional £75 for Prostate Cancer UK. “Cancer has touched so many people’s lives and people, especially men, don’t talk about prostate cancer or the warning signs.”

CBFT take on Calendar Girls The must-have Christmas present in South Leeds this year promises to be a calendar. Friends and volunteers with the Ciaran Bingham Foundation Trust, which provides hot meals for older isolated residents,have shot a ‘Calendar Girls’ style calendar to boost their fundraising. Twelve women aged up to 85 stripped to be part of the publication with props to cover their modesty.

The calendars will be available during October, selling at £7 each.

Windmill Primary School and Opera North are celebrating a dramatic increase in academic achievement at the school where Opera North Education delivers a large scale Community Residency project.

As part of the Opera North programme, the school allocates up to 3 hours of musical delivery within curriculum time every week for every child, with children taking part in up to 7.5 hours of musical delivery each week overall. Leaders at the school strongly believe that the music programmes enhance both personal and academic development.

2015 results in Key Stage 2 SATS

South Leeds Life

exams, taken by 10 and 11 year olds, have increased the percentage of children attaining a Level 4 in Reading from 78% in 2014 to 98.7% in 2015.

In Writing, 86.7% achieved Level 4 or above, up from 75.6%, while the results in Maths increased from 73.2% to 93.3% of children attaining Level 4 or above.

In Harmony Opera North began in Windmill Primary School in the Belle Isle area of South Leeds, in January 2013. Every child in the school participates in up to 3 hours musical activity per week during curriculum time and many children attend Opera North ‘After School’ music sessions three times a week.

Most of the 362 pupils play a string instrument and enjoy weekly group instrumental lessons and orchestra sessions; everyone sings in an age banded choir. All of the children enjoy giving regular performances to family and friends and they have all had the opportunity to perform at several events with the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North; initiatives which helped parental engagement with the school rise from 7%-39% in 2013.

Similar results have been achieved at Bude Park Primary School in Bransholme, Hull where Opera North also run an intensive programme.

Hub pops up in Holbeck

Leeds City Council is bringing its services to the streets of Holbeck with its new ‘Pop Up Hub’. The Hub is visiting the Recreastions every Wednesday in a pilot project to get services closer to residents.

Services you can find at the Dewsbury Road Hub (formerly One Stop Centre), such as housing and Council Tax enquiries are provided from the wi-fi enabled library bus. You can also get help from the Jobs & Skills team to support your job search or CV writing.

Do you need help with your neighbours, or a smoke alarm fitting? Do you need help bringing down your fuel bills? Partner agencies are also on hand in the shape of staff from the Police, Fire Service and Groundwork’s Green Doctor Service.

LCC’s Private Sector Housing Team are continuing their intensive ‘Neighbourhood Approach’ visiting every tenanted house in the area to ensure it meets basic standards.

Councillor Angela Gabriel, Chair of the Inner South Community Committee said: “It’s really important that residents can get the services they need. We recognise that people can’t always get to Dewsbury Road or the St George’s Centre in Middleton, so we are trialling bring the services to you.”

The Pop Up Hub will be in the Recreations, on a different street each week, every Wednesday from 10am-3pm.

Pictured left to right: Bryce Sweeney (West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service), Wayne Ranby (LCC Dewsbury Road Hub), PCSO Nick Smith, Paul Broadhurst (LCC Private Sector Housing), Liz lawrence (LCC Jobs & Skills) Dave Paul (Groundwork Leeds) and Cllr Angela Gabriel

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South Leeds Life | October 2015

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6 Around the communities

Feeling Good at the Hillside Cafe

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Beeston Families are knitting squares for Swaziland orphans

so please to receive our gifts. I am so proud of the group and when I saw the picture of both groups together it really made me realise that just a small act of kindness can help so many.

Better Action for Families’ main priority is to focus on an inclusive service that will benefit parent/carers, people with learning disabilities and their families in the local community.

We also aim to widen and improve partnerships with other similar organisations, while running weekly groups to promote health and build confidence. The organisation is run by a Board of Trustees and acts on

by Lynn Bailey

Lyn & Helen at the Feel Good Cafe in Hillside

by Jeremy Morton One of Beeston’s hidden gems is the Feel Good Cafe at Hillside, the converted school building near the bottom of Beeston Road.

The cafe is run by SLATE who also run The Feel Good Furniture Shop in Hunslet. One of the special things about the Feel Good Cafe is that if you like the table you’re sitting at, you can buy it!

Like most cafes they offer a wide menu of hot and cold sandwiches, hot and cold drinks and a daily lunch special, not forgetting their famous vintage cream teas. But as well as serving excellent refreshments, the Feel Good Cafe provides training and employment for people with learning difficulties.

I spoke to Lyn who has been volunteering at the cafe for just over a year. When she first arrived she tended to look at the floor and avoid eye contact with other people.

She started working in the kitchen, learning different aspects of food preparation, such as preparing salads.

Gradually her confidence improved as she got to know the staff and other volunteers.

“Now I serve customers at the counter and I’m much more confident to speak to new people.

“I really look forward to coming to work. It helps me get out of my bedroom when I’m down.”

Cafe Manager Helen explains their work with volunteers is just one of the ways The Feel Good Cafe works to be more than just a cafe.

On Wednesdays she runs two cookery classes after the cafe closes.

“It’s about teaching parents and children how to cook and prepare meals from scratch. We cook with fresh ingredients and learn techniques such as peeling chopping vegetables safely.

“Each family prepare their meal together at a table then bring it through to the kitchen to cook it.

Finally they sit down together to eat their meal.

“Eating together is a very important time, but many families don’t spend that time together.”

The cafe provides an important first step on the employment ladder.

Their first apprentice now runs his own small cafe and their second works in another part of SLATE. Volunteers Sam and Danielle are now employed on part time contracts.

As a staff team they have staged charity events raising over £1,000 for the Marie Curie cancer charity.

The Feel Good Cafe is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 3:30pm.

Better Action for Families (BAFF) runs a group on a Wednesday evening for carers and children/adults with learning disabilities and some of the attendees had shown an intersest in learning to knit. I had called in at the St Gemma’s & New Hope Charity shops in Beeston who were happy to donate their odd balls of wool and the group started by knitting squares.

One of our members Yvonne Ugarte

Members of Better Action For Families show off their blankets and hats

mentioned that during her annual leave she was going to Swaziland to volunteer to help the children who lived there, many who were orphaned.

Members of the group thought what a good idea it would be to send the blankets to help the children keep warm as in winter it can be quite cold in Swaziland. Another member, Rita Metcalfe, knitted hats and these were all delivered to the children who were

discussions agreed at meetings.

The photos show the before and after which I have handed to the charity shops and the people who helped. We have recently been told about two more groups needing knitted squares, so we can keep delivering these building up the confidence of the group members while helping others.

Better Action For Families meets at Beeston Village Community Centre.

Contact us on 07515 851631, email: baff2007@hotmail.co.uk; or visit our website at: www.betteractionforfamilies.org.uk

Phoebe has a haircut with a difference

At the beginning of September a Middleton teenager raised over £600 for chairty by having her hair cut.

Phoebe Marren lost her grandmother to cancer last year and decided she wanted to do something to help others fighting the disease. She chose to raise funds for the Radio Aire Cash for Kids charity with a sponsored

haircut.

As well as the money raised, her hair will be donated to make a wig for someone undergoing chemotherapy through the Little Princess Trust.

Phoebe’s mum Lisa said: “I’m so proud of her for doing such a beautiful act of kindness

and for thinking of others.

“Please donate what you can to help Phoebe reach her target for such a great cause.”

Phoebe hair was cut by the RMUK Salon in the city centre.

You can still donate to Phoebe by going to her Just Giving page at: www.justgiving.com/LisaMarren.

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Around the communities 7

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Community makes camp in Middleton

by Josepha Ngandjui Tamo On Saturday 5 September a group of South Leeds residents camped together overnight in Middleton Park at the second Middleton Community Camp.

Camping has always been a well known world-wide activity for people to connect and have a break; you’ll discover beautiful scenery, appreciating mother natures’ beauty, but most importantly spending quality time with those you love and meet new people.

It was a great experience, together we shared stories, food and games. As a community and neighbours we united as one and set up the camping tents in no time.

We seemed to have luck on our side as we had glorious sun illuminating our faces and we were joined by a special guest, Mina Said-Allsopp. Mina is a Wild Food Specialist as well as a student at the University.With Mina we did our own foraging close to where we all live.Who says you can’t eat for free anymore when all you need is just outside your door. We learned the most fascinating things, for example, Plantae seeds are edible but can also be used to cure bruises and nettle stings from Polish culture as Aga, one of the campers kindly shared with us.

Arriving back at camp we were greeted with delicious snacks and drinks. Just like one big family we ate, talked, laughed, played games with an environment pulsing with a warming sensation leaving everyone at ease. Many thanks to Jules who volunteered to organise the games.

It was thoughtful of him as a community member to devote himself in making sure that the kids had a memorable time.

With the sun having left us, the night was falling around, almost enveloping everything in its sight; we set off for a night walk with torches illuminating our paths. Entering the woods, it was like entering into an enchanted story – the night life was awakening, creatures coming to life. If you listened carefully apart from the chattering and laughter coming from the herd of people, you could distinctively hear the ‘hooting’ of owls and rustling of leaves presumably the night creatures searching for their dinner.

During the night walk through the forest with Ed leading, he kindly allowed us a quick stop so we could admire the starry sky smiling down. The few minutes we had were breath-taking, to see it out in the open without the shadows of buildings eclipsing the sky.This should be enough to make you sign up to The Community Camp for the forth coming year.

One of the interesting conversations I had was with Alex and Olga, two youths, enthusiastic and full of life enlightened me with their views on camping. “I like coming camping because it’s easy to make new friends, I made 6”. Alex beamed with excitement. Olga agreed more than willingly adding to that she said, “Its nice how all the different children and adults played together.”

Those who had stayed behind took on the responsibility to prepare hot chocolate drinks and steaming tomato soup for everyone. Once again we shared a beautiful moment where we played card games gulped down our hot drinks and got ready to call it a night. Even though the cold had settled in we didn’t back out instead we shared out more quilts wrapped ourselves into warm clothing then went to bed. Having sorted out those who were going to keep on the lookout we were safe to sleep without uncertainties. With that having been said that was the end of our camping experience.

Well done to the organizers Lucy Potter, Rocio Torres with the help of Ed Carlise from Together for Peace. Don’t forget their names as you may

October 2015 | South Leeds Life

It’s Game Time at Beeston Parish Centre

by Carl Fulton

The whole volunteering thing came about when I was walking the dog around the cemetery of St Mary’s Church. I noticed a slipped tile on the smaller hall and thought being a good citizen, I would try and find a number to call to let them know to get it repaired.

I got talking to Steve Thompson, the former chairman who was grateful, but a little upset that the repair would cost money the hall didn’t have.

We got talking and he asked what I did for a living, and if I ever had any time or ideas to help out and raise funds then to come along to the events meeting held monthly at the hall. It all started with a walk, a slipped tile and a phone call.

I went home to tell Kelly about the roof and the phone call thinking it would simply go in and out of her mind, yet she got a little giddy and started coming up with ideas for events. Not long after we were at the meeting organising a Fun Day, that went reasonably well considering we had no advertising or many likes on Facebook. It raised around £200 after deductions which was great.

We then started what is now known as Game Time, just a few sessions over the summer to try out. We found that there was a demand for this and we soon planned to run it more regularly. I applied for a grant from Coins for Communities and Leeds Federated Housing who loved our idea and awarded us with £400 to buy equipment to use for Game Time. We have lots of fun stuff to play with including a Parachute, Space Hoppers, Skipping Ropes, Balls, Cones and Skittles and loads more. The sessions run every Thursday in term time from 4:30pm.

We organised and ran the New Year’s Party, which attracted over 120 people consisting of families and friends. Again, it was a success and made over £500 in ticket and drinks sold. This money goes towards the hall’s running and upkeep and is the reason that we love to help because

without the hall, another piece of Beeston is lost.

It hosts Fitness classes, Zumba, Karate, Dance, Game Time, Bingo, Craft Fairs and much more.

We started the Craft Fair back in March just before Mother’s Day and we were hopeful that it would be busy as we tried to bring something different to the area instead of the usual Jumble Sales most church halls have become accustomed to. Using Facebook and our increasing number of fans (68 likes when we started in June last year to 200 by New Year to over 300 as I type), we got the word out and hoped it would spread. The Craft Fair was very busy and most of the stall holders were very pleased and very surprised that they had done so well, some even admitted they didn’t expect many to turn up.

We sold Homemade Cakes made by parishioners and other volunteers of the hall and church.With these sales and the money taken for the stalls, we raised over £300 for the hall. Since then, we have run another in June and are about to run our next one on Saturday (12 September 2015). The next one after that is on 5 December and should be a busy one with the run up to Christmas. We will probably do another New Year’s Eve Party too if we can squeeze it in alongside full time jobs, kids and their activities. I also help manage the U7 team of Middleton Park Football Club who Daniel plays for.

People ask us if we get paid for all this and are stunned when we tell them no, it’s all voluntary and in our own time. Our children benefit from it and it is because of them that we do Game Time because we want to keep them active and socialised with people and not a TV screen and playing computer games all the time.

If anybody is interested in helping out, simply running a stall, pouring tea, tidying up or making some cakes. Or want to organise an event to help raise some much needed funds to help pay the gas and electric bills, please message us on the Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/BeestonParishCentre

It all started with a walk, a slipped tile and a phone call

The parachute game at Beeston Parish Centre’s Tea Time

need them for future reference if you are ever interested in taking part.

Thanks also to the Middleton Park Councillors for the funding and to Slung Low Theatre for the use of their van; also to Leeds City Council Parks & Countryside and to Friends of Middleton Park for their help and support.

South Leeds Life | October 2015

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6 Around the communities

Feeling Good at the Hillside Cafe

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Beeston Families are knitting squares for Swaziland orphans

so please to receive our gifts. I am so proud of the group and when I saw the picture of both groups together it really made me realise that just a small act of kindness can help so many.

Better Action for Families’ main priority is to focus on an inclusive service that will benefit parent/carers, people with learning disabilities and their families in the local community.

We also aim to widen and improve partnerships with other similar organisations, while running weekly groups to promote health and build confidence. The organisation is run by a Board of Trustees and acts on

by Lynn Bailey

Lyn & Helen at the Feel Good Cafe in Hillside

by Jeremy Morton One of Beeston’s hidden gems is the Feel Good Cafe at Hillside, the converted school building near the bottom of Beeston Road.

The cafe is run by SLATE who also run The Feel Good Furniture Shop in Hunslet. One of the special things about the Feel Good Cafe is that if you like the table you’re sitting at, you can buy it!

Like most cafes they offer a wide menu of hot and cold sandwiches, hot and cold drinks and a daily lunch special, not forgetting their famous vintage cream teas. But as well as serving excellent refreshments, the Feel Good Cafe provides training and employment for people with learning difficulties.

I spoke to Lyn who has been volunteering at the cafe for just over a year. When she first arrived she tended to look at the floor and avoid eye contact with other people.

She started working in the kitchen, learning different aspects of food preparation, such as preparing salads.

Gradually her confidence improved as she got to know the staff and other volunteers.

“Now I serve customers at the counter and I’m much more confident to speak to new people.

“I really look forward to coming to work. It helps me get out of my bedroom when I’m down.”

Cafe Manager Helen explains their work with volunteers is just one of the ways The Feel Good Cafe works to be more than just a cafe.

On Wednesdays she runs two cookery classes after the cafe closes.

“It’s about teaching parents and children how to cook and prepare meals from scratch. We cook with fresh ingredients and learn techniques such as peeling chopping vegetables safely.

“Each family prepare their meal together at a table then bring it through to the kitchen to cook it.

Finally they sit down together to eat their meal.

“Eating together is a very important time, but many families don’t spend that time together.”

The cafe provides an important first step on the employment ladder.

Their first apprentice now runs his own small cafe and their second works in another part of SLATE. Volunteers Sam and Danielle are now employed on part time contracts.

As a staff team they have staged charity events raising over £1,000 for the Marie Curie cancer charity.

The Feel Good Cafe is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 3:30pm.

Better Action for Families (BAFF) runs a group on a Wednesday evening for carers and children/adults with learning disabilities and some of the attendees had shown an intersest in learning to knit. I had called in at the St Gemma’s & New Hope Charity shops in Beeston who were happy to donate their odd balls of wool and the group started by knitting squares.

One of our members Yvonne Ugarte

Members of Better Action For Families show off their blankets and hats

mentioned that during her annual leave she was going to Swaziland to volunteer to help the children who lived there, many who were orphaned.

Members of the group thought what a good idea it would be to send the blankets to help the children keep warm as in winter it can be quite cold in Swaziland. Another member, Rita Metcalfe, knitted hats and these were all delivered to the children who were

discussions agreed at meetings.

The photos show the before and after which I have handed to the charity shops and the people who helped. We have recently been told about two more groups needing knitted squares, so we can keep delivering these building up the confidence of the group members while helping others.

Better Action For Families meets at Beeston Village Community Centre.

Contact us on 07515 851631, email: baff2007@hotmail.co.uk; or visit our website at: www.betteractionforfamilies.org.uk

Phoebe has a haircut with a difference

At the beginning of September a Middleton teenager raised over £600 for chairty by having her hair cut.

Phoebe Marren lost her grandmother to cancer last year and decided she wanted to do something to help others fighting the disease. She chose to raise funds for the Radio Aire Cash for Kids charity with a sponsored

haircut.

As well as the money raised, her hair will be donated to make a wig for someone undergoing chemotherapy through the Little Princess Trust.

Phoebe’s mum Lisa said: “I’m so proud of her for doing such a beautiful act of kindness

and for thinking of others.

“Please donate what you can to help Phoebe reach her target for such a great cause.”

Phoebe hair was cut by the RMUK Salon in the city centre.

You can still donate to Phoebe by going to her Just Giving page at: www.justgiving.com/LisaMarren.

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Around the communities 7

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Community makes camp in Middleton

by Josepha Ngandjui Tamo On Saturday 5 September a group of South Leeds residents camped together overnight in Middleton Park at the second Middleton Community Camp.

Camping has always been a well known world-wide activity for people to connect and have a break; you’ll discover beautiful scenery, appreciating mother natures’ beauty, but most importantly spending quality time with those you love and meet new people.

It was a great experience, together we shared stories, food and games. As a community and neighbours we united as one and set up the camping tents in no time.

We seemed to have luck on our side as we had glorious sun illuminating our faces and we were joined by a special guest, Mina Said-Allsopp. Mina is a Wild Food Specialist as well as a student at the University.With Mina we did our own foraging close to where we all live.Who says you can’t eat for free anymore when all you need is just outside your door. We learned the most fascinating things, for example, Plantae seeds are edible but can also be used to cure bruises and nettle stings from Polish culture as Aga, one of the campers kindly shared with us.

Arriving back at camp we were greeted with delicious snacks and drinks. Just like one big family we ate, talked, laughed, played games with an environment pulsing with a warming sensation leaving everyone at ease. Many thanks to Jules who volunteered to organise the games.

It was thoughtful of him as a community member to devote himself in making sure that the kids had a memorable time.

With the sun having left us, the night was falling around, almost enveloping everything in its sight; we set off for a night walk with torches illuminating our paths. Entering the woods, it was like entering into an enchanted story – the night life was awakening, creatures coming to life. If you listened carefully apart from the chattering and laughter coming from the herd of people, you could distinctively hear the ‘hooting’ of owls and rustling of leaves presumably the night creatures searching for their dinner.

During the night walk through the forest with Ed leading, he kindly allowed us a quick stop so we could admire the starry sky smiling down. The few minutes we had were breath-taking, to see it out in the open without the shadows of buildings eclipsing the sky.This should be enough to make you sign up to The Community Camp for the forth coming year.

One of the interesting conversations I had was with Alex and Olga, two youths, enthusiastic and full of life enlightened me with their views on camping. “I like coming camping because it’s easy to make new friends, I made 6”. Alex beamed with excitement. Olga agreed more than willingly adding to that she said, “Its nice how all the different children and adults played together.”

Those who had stayed behind took on the responsibility to prepare hot chocolate drinks and steaming tomato soup for everyone. Once again we shared a beautiful moment where we played card games gulped down our hot drinks and got ready to call it a night. Even though the cold had settled in we didn’t back out instead we shared out more quilts wrapped ourselves into warm clothing then went to bed. Having sorted out those who were going to keep on the lookout we were safe to sleep without uncertainties. With that having been said that was the end of our camping experience.

Well done to the organizers Lucy Potter, Rocio Torres with the help of Ed Carlise from Together for Peace. Don’t forget their names as you may

October 2015 | South Leeds Life

It’s Game Time at Beeston Parish Centre

by Carl Fulton

The whole volunteering thing came about when I was walking the dog around the cemetery of St Mary’s Church. I noticed a slipped tile on the smaller hall and thought being a good citizen, I would try and find a number to call to let them know to get it repaired.

I got talking to Steve Thompson, the former chairman who was grateful, but a little upset that the repair would cost money the hall didn’t have.

We got talking and he asked what I did for a living, and if I ever had any time or ideas to help out and raise funds then to come along to the events meeting held monthly at the hall. It all started with a walk, a slipped tile and a phone call.

I went home to tell Kelly about the roof and the phone call thinking it would simply go in and out of her mind, yet she got a little giddy and started coming up with ideas for events. Not long after we were at the meeting organising a Fun Day, that went reasonably well considering we had no advertising or many likes on Facebook. It raised around £200 after deductions which was great.

We then started what is now known as Game Time, just a few sessions over the summer to try out. We found that there was a demand for this and we soon planned to run it more regularly. I applied for a grant from Coins for Communities and Leeds Federated Housing who loved our idea and awarded us with £400 to buy equipment to use for Game Time. We have lots of fun stuff to play with including a Parachute, Space Hoppers, Skipping Ropes, Balls, Cones and Skittles and loads more. The sessions run every Thursday in term time from 4:30pm.

We organised and ran the New Year’s Party, which attracted over 120 people consisting of families and friends. Again, it was a success and made over £500 in ticket and drinks sold. This money goes towards the hall’s running and upkeep and is the reason that we love to help because

without the hall, another piece of Beeston is lost.

It hosts Fitness classes, Zumba, Karate, Dance, Game Time, Bingo, Craft Fairs and much more.

We started the Craft Fair back in March just before Mother’s Day and we were hopeful that it would be busy as we tried to bring something different to the area instead of the usual Jumble Sales most church halls have become accustomed to. Using Facebook and our increasing number of fans (68 likes when we started in June last year to 200 by New Year to over 300 as I type), we got the word out and hoped it would spread. The Craft Fair was very busy and most of the stall holders were very pleased and very surprised that they had done so well, some even admitted they didn’t expect many to turn up.

We sold Homemade Cakes made by parishioners and other volunteers of the hall and church.With these sales and the money taken for the stalls, we raised over £300 for the hall. Since then, we have run another in June and are about to run our next one on Saturday (12 September 2015). The next one after that is on 5 December and should be a busy one with the run up to Christmas. We will probably do another New Year’s Eve Party too if we can squeeze it in alongside full time jobs, kids and their activities. I also help manage the U7 team of Middleton Park Football Club who Daniel plays for.

People ask us if we get paid for all this and are stunned when we tell them no, it’s all voluntary and in our own time. Our children benefit from it and it is because of them that we do Game Time because we want to keep them active and socialised with people and not a TV screen and playing computer games all the time.

If anybody is interested in helping out, simply running a stall, pouring tea, tidying up or making some cakes. Or want to organise an event to help raise some much needed funds to help pay the gas and electric bills, please message us on the Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/BeestonParishCentre

It all started with a walk, a slipped tile and a phone call

The parachute game at Beeston Parish Centre’s Tea Time

need them for future reference if you are ever interested in taking part.

Thanks also to the Middleton Park Councillors for the funding and to Slung Low Theatre for the use of their van; also to Leeds City Council Parks & Countryside and to Friends of Middleton Park for their help and support.

South Leeds Life | October 2015

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8 Opinion

In our view

Refugees Welcome Here

South Leeds has a proud history of welcoming refugees fleeing violence and persecution into our community. It is a fundamental value to help your neighbour in their hour of need. Refugees pay us back in so many ways, contributing to eeconomic and community life. With the terrible civil war in Syria showing no signs of ending it is right that we stand with the rest of Leeds and the country and say “You’re welcome here.”

Beyond the myths

Many parents and young people will be choosing which high schools to apply for a place at.

The lesson from South Leeds Academy is look beyond reputations. Visit the schools, find out for yourself what they are doing today and providing tomorrow. Examine all the options before you choose.

Music in schools

What fantastic results from Windmill Primary School! Their intensive music programme is really paying off. As well as learning music, the children are learning important life skills such as concentration, team work and resilience.As well as helping them improve their academic achievement now, it can also give them a love of music and of making music to last a lifetime.

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Your letters and comments

Top Tweets

Garnets redevelopment

Perhaps an enclosed space in the centre of the site surrounded by terraced houses is the answer. Then the safety of children could be protected (from delivery lorries using Garnet Terrace) and a safe place to socialise for residents. would be provided Three streets were demolished, so there is the space for this.

Patricia Jackson Hi Patricia, I agree and this had been suggested to Sarah Griffiths (regeneration), we even redrew some plans, but was rapidly dismissed, adequately or not, due to concerns of noise, anti social behavior and the lack of a reasonable turning head for vehicles on Garnet Grove.

Another proposal was a linear park on the currently vacant plot closest to Tunstall road. This was dismissed even quicker.

What remains? well it’s interesting that you mention safe places to socialise because the only remaining space to this will be within supermarkets or their carparks.

On a positive note, until the building begins, the land is still vacant and up for use… and last night a group of were discussing the possibilities including bonfire night and perhaps outdoor cinema!

Andrew Wilson

Bonfire night on Garnets greenspace?

February 2013 before being relocated to a UK setting the following month.

Colin Hendrick Ward

Well done

Carl & Kelly deserve a medal! These 2 are a god send to their community and through their hard work with the craft fairs we have become great friends. Keep up the good work.

L Wisdom

Belle Isle Primary School

A message for the Belle Isle Head Teacher who asked what had been done Dog snatching hoax to her building concerning the historic The warning about dog-snatchers subsidence, apparently the walls still have tagging homes with coloured stickers to a few cracks. As far as I know the phantom facilitate the stealing of canines for use in crack checker was never seen. My best dogfighting events was originally circulated guess is that the gaps in the walls were in the suburbs of Perth, Australia, in plastered over and forgotten. Let's just say that it is highly probable that you have been dodging the bullet for many years and that God help the school if ever there Beeston & Holbeck ward should be any fracking done in Includes Beeston from Cross Flatts Park up to the Co-op, Cottingley, old the vicinity..

Holbeck. The three councillors are: Kathleen Bok (nee Hobson), David Congreve 0113 277 7389 david.congreve@leeds.gov.uk Canada

Your Councillors and MP Angela Gabriel Adam Ogilvie

07946 632 468 angela.gabriel@leeds.gov.uk 0113 247 4578 adam.ogilvie@leeds.gov.uk

City & Hunslet ward Includes the city centre, Holbeck Urban Village, Beeston Hill and Hunslet. The three councillors are:

Patrick Davey 0113 261 0465 patrick.davey@leeds.gov.uk Mohammed Iqbal 0113 294 1049 mohammed.iqbal@leeds.gov.uk Elizabeth Nash 0113 275 8594 elizabeth.nash@leeds.gov.uk

Middleton Park ward Includes Belle Isle and Middleton. The three councillors are:

Judith Blake Kim Groves Paul Truswell

0113 395 1735 judith.blake@leeds.gov.uk 07891 741 832 kim.groves@leeds.gov.uk 0113 247 4472 paul.truswell@leeds.gov.uk

Leeds Central MP – Rt Hon Hilary Benn Hilary Benn is our MP. He represents the Leeds Central constituency which covers Hunslet, Belle Isle, Beeston, Holbeck, Cottingley in south Leeds as well as the city centre, Woodhouse, Little London, Lincoln Green, Richmond Hill, Osmondthorpe, Halton Moor and New Wortley.

Contact: hilary.benn.mp@parliament.uk, www.hilarybennmp.com Constituency office: Suite 7, Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds LS7 1AB; phone: 0113 244 1097

World Mental Health Day

Please join us at an event to celebrate World Mental Health Day, on Thursday 15th October, 11am – 4 pm, in the Banquet Hall of Leeds Civic Hall.

This event is organised in partnership by Volition, Leeds City Council’s Adult Social Care and Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, along with many others.

A poster for the event is attached, and there’s more information here: http://www.volition.org.uk/worldmental-health-day-event-15th-oct-201 5/ There will be over 40 stalls with information about mental health services and support for wellbeing, along with entertainment throughout the day. The event will be opened by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Judith Chapman, along with Councillor Lisa Mulherin, Leeds City Council’s Executive Board Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adults.

Sign language interpreters will be available.

This is a drop-in event, stay as long as you like, no need to book. Everyone welcome, so please share this information with friends, family and people you work with.

Gill Crawshaw

Join the debate.

Comment online, email your letter to info@southleedslife.com, or post to: 224 Cross Flatts Grove, Leeds, LS11 7BW.

Keep up to date, up to the minute, by following South Leeds Life’s Twitter feed: @SouthLeedsLife.

Twitter is the 140 character ‘micro blogging’ site. It’s free and you can sign up at twitter.com. It’s a great place to find the very latest news.

Here are some of our favourite recent tweets: @thelightoutside A good afternoon visiting the hidden C15th tithe barn in Beeston on Heritage Open Day- @StankHallBarn.

Amazing space

@CB_FT Full House at Holbeck Feast Cafe Thank You to all Volunteers yet again for your dedication and the time you give on a weekend @NPAS_CarrGate 00:05hr; Belle Isle, Leeds; Search for vehicle used in suspicious incident @SlateLeeds Good morning! Today we're starting work on 'prettying' up our Hunslet store. Don't worry we're still open for now. @groves_kim Housing report Shelter states 23.000 people waiting for Social housing in Leeds right to buy extended we sell more than we can build @HunsletHawksRL Everyone at the club would like to wish @DannyMaun all the very best for the future!

Thanks for the memories!

Letters may be edited for publication.

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@Harrison_Spinks Its National Family Business Day and we are very proud that we remain one of the three million UK family businesses @slpsleeds Proud of our kitchen team. 5 star Environmental Inspection this week- our new certificate is on its way! @SouthLeeds_PE 10 men, no GK, superstars on international duty, 2-0 down at HT...Y11 WIN 4-3 at Cockburn! Outstanding effort! @T_S_L_A #pride

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October 2015 | South Leeds Life

Reflection 9

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Art Life: Timid Elk – The Art of Getting Started

Untitled Table Lamp #2.

For this latest instalment of Art Life - our look at artists who live and practice in South Leeds - we hear about the practice of South Leeds based Timid Elk and her inspiration via the Wakefield Art Walk.

Timid Elk is a Leeds based designer/maker. Primarily working in paper she creates ‘curious commodities’ taking inspiration from the mundane and banal. The most fundamental element of this process is repetition as it is used to transform the insignificant and overlooked. The separate elements of a piece are misunderstood; there needs to be cohesion to gain insight.

In conjunction with a commercial

range, Timid Elk produces overwhelming installation pieces.

Repetition can be used to disconcert and agitate as well as intrigue, a path is forged between these ambivalent emotions and the result is something utterly captivating.

Timid Elk Although each separate element of the installation is uniform, the piece is allowed to develop organically. The juxtaposition is evident and quite spectacular.

Whilst each piece created is unique an intermittent sense of is apparent familiarity throughout the collection.

Hoy treads the fine line between art and functionality.

After graduating university with a degree in Design Crafts and specialising in ceramics, Hoy found she needed a break from her creative pursuits. This quickly turned into a two year break complete with a 9 – 5 office job. However, her work was thankless, she began to get that ‘itch’

to design again and on a rather serendipitous Wakefield Art Walk she found the studio which was to be the birthplace of Timid Elk. It took months of preparation before she was ready to launch Timid Elk. The first hurdle was to settle on what to produce; she began flicking through years of old sketchbooks, to revisit the ideas that never came to

to create something that held a story and the choice of paper became intrinsic to the design process. She would utilise train tickets, OS maps, stamps, anything that possessed and element of connection, of a real human essence. She was drawn to the idea that these worthless commodities would be transformed into pieces of functional homeware or art and they would be revered.

Running parallel with this process was the branding development.As a child, due to a rather reserved nature, she was once described as being a ‘timid elk’, this was something which stuck with her for years and when Latex Form. Timid Elk it was time to name the fruition. Ideas that now could be businesses there was no realised. doubt in her mind what it She had always been fond of would be. Following on creating the paper maquettes for her from this, a colour palette ceramic pieces, these were the and aesthetic were prototypes for ceramic pieces and produced and everything held little value. It was then decided from newsletters to that paper would be her primary packaging followed the medium.This was paired with a desire strict code.

A collection of work quickly began to form with Hoy working on multiple pieces simultaneously. As she utilises repetition, she found it was more stimulating to keep switching from one piece to another. This body of work became known as the Curious Commodities Collection and is still under development.

Hoy strives to exhibit regularly and has done so throughout Yorkshire, she aims to show her work further afield and introduce her unique methods to a wider audience. www.timidelk.com www.facebook.com/timidelk www.twitter.com/timidelk

Untitled Framed. Timid Elk

South Leeds Life | October 2015

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10 What’s On

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Mostly Men 10am-12pm Northcotes Community Centre Friends of Stank Hall Barn 7:30pm Tommy Wass pub, Dewsbury Road Wednesday 7 October Hunslet Memories 12-2pm Garden Gate pub, Whitfield Place, Hunslet Hunslet Tenants & Residents 6:30-8pm Church of the Nazarene, Grove Road Friday 9 October Balloon Race 1:30-2:30pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle Saturday 10 October Middleton Community Group 10am Tenants Hall, Acre Close Fusion (gig) 8pm The Holbeck (WMC), Jenkinson Lawn Sunday 11 October Electric Dreams 5pm Slung Low Theatre 67-71 Bath Road, Holbeck Monday 12 October Beeston Local History Society 8pm Beeston Parish Centre, Town Street Wednesday 14 October LCC Site Allocation Consultation 2-8pm Hunslet Parish Hall, Church Street Thursday 15 October

Comics Club!

3:15-4:45pm Dewsbury Road Library Saturday 17 October Leeds Young Archaeologists Club 10am-12pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre Sunday 18 October Apple Day 2-4pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre The Town Meeting 2pm & 5pm Slung Low HUB, 67-71 Bath Road, Holbeck Tuesday 20 October Open Evening 6-8:30pm Ruth Gorse Academy, Scatherd Lane, Morley Saturday 24 October Table Top Sale 11am-2pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle Sunday 25 October Community Meal 5-6:30pm Watsonian Pavilion, Cross Flatts Park Tuesday 27 October Children’s Play Activities 1-3pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre Wednesday 28 October Children’s Play Activities 1-3pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre Hunslet Moor Residents Meeting 6:30pm St Peter’s Court, Dewsbury Road

What’s On

Your guide to events and activities across South Leeds in October Every Monday Swimming 9:45am Holbeck Elderly Aid Happy Chinese Families Group 9:30am-12pm Beeston Village Community Centre General fitness for the over 55's 11:30am-12:30pm St Andrews Community Centre, Beeston.

Walk and Talk 1:30-2:30pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre Keep Fit 4:15-5pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle Women only running with South Leeds Sisters 5.45pm Beginners Phoenix Bar, John Charles Centre Zumba 7pm Middleton Parochial Hall Every Tuesday Keep Fit 9:30am Trinity Network, Belle Isle Over 55's Nesfield church hall community room Knit & Natter 10:30am-12pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre General fitness over 55's 10-11am St Anthony's church hall, Beeston Chair based mobility session 11.30am-1pm Cottingley Community Centre Lunch Club 12:15-1:30pm St Matthew’s Community Centre, Holbeck

South Leeds Lakers running group 7pm from Beeston Co-op HUB Choir 7-8:30pm Slung Low HUB, 67-71 Bath Road, Holbeck Every Wednesday Chair mobility 10-10:45am Trinity Network, Belle Isle Over 55's Nesfield church hall community room Breaklfast Club & Foodbank 10am-12pm Hunslet Methodist Church, Telford Terrace, Balm Rd Computer Club 10am-12pm Holbeck Elderly Aid, Balm Walk Shopping Trip 10am-1pm Holbeck Elderly Aid, Balm Walk Pop Up Council Hub 10am-3pm The Recreations, Holbeck CAP Job Club 10am-12pm Two Willows Children’s Centre, Cardinal Square, Beeston Community Craft Cafe 10am-12pm Church of the Nazarene, Hunslet Hall Road Walk and Talk 12-1pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle Line Dancing 1:45pm Trinity Network, Nesfield Road, Belle Isle Knit and Crochet Group 3-5pm Costa Coffee, Crown Point Retail Park Aerobics and Dance 3:30-4:30pm Cottingley

For up to date event information make sure you go online to

www.southleedslife.com and check the What’s On Calendar

Primary Academy General fitness (suitable for beginners) 6-7pm Belle Isle Family Cntre Zumba 6:30pm Middleton Parochial Hall, Town Street Women only running with South Leeds Sisters 7.15pm Improvers Phoenix Bar, John Charles Centre Every Thursday Tea & Toast 8:30-9:30am Beeston Parish Centre, Town Street Heart Cafe 10-11:30am St Matthew’s Community Centre, Holbeck Middleton Park Estate Volunteers 10am-3pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre South Leeds Life News Cafe 10am-12pm Brew Coffee Shop, Beeston Road Chair based mobility group and games group 11:15am-12:30pm Beeston Village Community Centre Line Dancing 1pm Trinity Network, Nesfield Road, Belle Isle Craft Group 1:30-3:30pm Cleveleys Court, Holbeck Mashed up fitness session aerobic dance 1:45-2:45pm Beeston Village Community Centre Game Time 4:30-6pm Beeston Parish Centre, Town Street Women only running with South Leeds Sisters 5.45pm Intermediates Phoenix Bar, John Charles Centre for Sport General fitness (suitable for beginners) 6-7pm Beeston Parish Centre Indoor Bowls 7-10pm The Holbeck (WMC), Jenkinson Lawn Clubbercise 7:15pm-8pm Beeston Parish Centre Zumba 7:15pm Middleton Parochial Hall Every Friday Charity Shop, Tea & Toast 9am-12pm Beeston Hill United Free Church, Malvern Road South Leeds Life News Cafe 10am-12pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle Under 5s Storytime 10-11am Dewsbury Road Library Ladies Singing Group 10:30am-12;30pm Tenant Hall, Acre Close, Middleton

In Harmony Community Choir 12:15-1pm Windmill Primary School, Belle Isle Fish & Chip Lunch Club 12:30-1:30pm St Matthew’s Community Centre, Holbeck Krok Po Kroku (Polish Group) 12:30-2:30pm Beeston Village Community Centre Games Afternoon 1:30-3pm St Matthew’s Community Centre, Holbeck Friday Night Project 6-9pm Middleton Leisure Centre Friday Night Drop In 6:30-8:30pm Watsonian Pavilion, Cross Flatts Park Every Saturday Cross Flatts Parkrun 9am Run or walk 5km Watsonian Pavilion, Cross Flatts Park Police Contact Point 9:30-11:30am St George’s Centre, Middleton Zumba 10am Beeston Parish Centre, Town Street Middleton Railway 11am-4pm Moor Road, Hunslet Every Sunday Middleton Railway 11am-4pm Moor Road, Hunslet Circuit Training 4:15-5pm Beeston Parish Centre, Town Street Clubbercise 5-5:45pm Beeston Parish Centre, Town Street Thursday 1 October Open Evening 6-8pm Cockburn School, Gipsy Lane, Beeston Hunslet Carr Residents Ass 6:30pm Woodhouse Hill Community Centre, Woodhouse Hill Avenue Beeston Community Forum 7:30pm Beeston Village Community Centre Saturday 3 October Skelton Grange Open Day 11am-4pm Skelton Grange Road, Stourton The Devil Without 7:30pm Slung Low Theatre 67-71 Bath Road, Holbeck Sunday 4 October How To Festival 10am-10pm Slung Low HUB 67-71 Bath Road, Holbeck Monday 5 October St Luke’s Tenants & Residents Assoc 6pm St Luke’s Church, Malvern Road, Beeston Tuesday 6 October

Publicise your event with South Leeds Life Send full details of your event to: info@southleedslife.com, or post to: 224 Cross Flatts Grove, Leeds, LS11 7BW

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I was at the South Leeds Stadium on Sunday 20 September for the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate a piece of history in South Leeds – the first home game played by Hunslet under Northern Union rules, later to be known as Rugby League.

A member of the RFL delivered the opening speech of how the game evolved from there. Former Hunslet player and coach Peter Jarvis responded on behalf of the club,

Local History 11

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Hunslet plaque marks 120 years of rugby league

by Keith Hitchiner

October 2015 | South Leeds Life

before he and Councillor and Hunslet Director Kim Groves unveiled the plaque with captains of both Hunslet and Oldham in attendance in specially made replica jerseys that were worn 120 years ago.

The two teams, Leeds Masters representing Hunslet and Crosfields Masters then recreated that original game before enjoying their refreshments. Carl Wilson, a lifelong Hunslet supporter enthused about the game and his own pride at captaining the Hunslet team on the occasion.

Unveiling the plaque. Photo Steve Gaunt / Touchlinepics.com

Cemetery heritage

by Lucy Potter On Friday 11 September 2015 the Friends of Holbeck Cemetery opened their gates to the public in conjunction with Heritage Open Days. Eve Tidswell founder Friend was on hand with other members to share the distinguished history of the grounds.

I approached the blue gazebo sheltering tables with information boards from the sun I saw a crowd of people huddled together listening to Eve introducing the talk with leaflets, old receipt books of family members graves and many photographs.

Holbeck Cemetery opened in 1857 and was designed by Joshua Major. Over the years it has been a resting place for great and the good of the city. The graveyard is divided between the consecrated and general; ‘Consecrated’ meaning Church of England and ‘General’ belonging to; Methodist, Catholic and other denominations. The opulent Victorian tomb stone work tracks the skyline over one of the best panoramic vistas of the city. To the east I see the dome of the town hall and to the north Carnegie Stadium in Headingley.

The cemetery houses some of the most influential people in the history of Leeds, with the majestic monument of Holbeck’s Henry Rowland Marsden (1823 -1876); Philanthropist and Liberal

Lord Mayor of Leeds. Also, to show the diversity of those buried in the shadow of Marsden’s memorial lies Adam Paton’s (18361892) modest gravestone standing only 12 inches high, who’s contribution to the Industrial Revolution is equally important; leading developments in the lithographic colour process of Eve Tidswell welcomes visitors to Holbeck Cemetery printing.

As I walked further down the road toward town. Eve around the grounds I processed Eve’s told us all about the ‘guinea graves’ which talk. I looked upon headstones hiding were owned by solicitors. A family would between weeping willow and birch. The pay one guinea to the solicitor for an ornamental cherry trees who’s seasonal inscription. Sometimes there would be up blossom fall to line the asymmetrical to 4o names inscribed and also buried pathways in spring, but arrestingly stark underneath. There are also paupers in winter. I looked for the signs of graves which aren’t marked. Friends of Victorian symbolism from the handouts Holbeck Cemetery also supply records Eve has given us.There are angels; Agents to help identify First World War heroes of God, guardians of the dead. A broken as well as helping people find ancestors. column; A life cut short and too soon. Not all of the graves are recorded and Birds; Flight of the winged soul. they are quite hard to find. Eve and other Holbeck cemetery was created to members have spent hours walking house the overflow of the ‘Little Holbeck’ around the grounds studying the cemetery outside St. Matthew’s Church headstones.

More teacher’s tales from Belle Isle in the 1950s

by Kathleen Bok

Leeds Education Committee was broke for years. After the war funding was earmarked for the cost of erecting a huge number of schools in the city.

Leeds was endeavoring to play catchup for the decades of dereliction of its duty to provide better education for the children of Leeds. In my time at the Belle Isle school, there were many dedicated teachers. Most of them had served in WW2 and wanted to make a positive change in the lives of their pupils. I learnt later, that one of the staff members had quite a serious character flaw in that he liked to pinch other people's work and claim them as his own. He managed to purloin about 40 of my lesson plans and publish them. I had designed some specialized drawings which aimed at adding a little humor into the very boring Mechanical Drawing classes which we were obliged to teach. One thing I do remember is that nearly every one of the teachers chain smoked and that the small staffroom was always blue with choking smoke. The three of us who didn't smoke would have to go into an empty classroom for our breaks as no way did we feel we had

the right to ask them to change their behavior. How things have changed.

As far as I can recall, only one of the experienced teachers taught the two youngest grades - the 7 and eight year olds. Who could blame them since they had first dibs on the classes they desired? My introduction to teaching was with the lowest stream of 43, 7 year olds who, though they had been in the Infant School for 2 years, any scholastic instruction sent their way must have flown straight over their heads. For me, it was back to the alphabet, vowels, blends etc and myriads of flashcards and charts. On average it took me about 3 hours every night to make these aids. No place you could buy them even if you could have afforded to pay for them on your measly salary. My ability to draw was a great boon at this time.

Most mentally impaired and developmentally challenged children were not skimmed off and sent to a specialized school until the end of this intake year so these children had to be factored into your lesson plans.

One mum, new to the area, came into my classroom pulling her shy little girl behind her. In a chatty confiding way she told me,"Mi little lass 'as niver spoke but I'm sure she'll open 'er gob one day!" Strewth! From which planet did she hail?

Only a male Head would think that it was feasible to teach 42, 7 year old girls how to to knit. I swear the number of left-handers was way out of whack. At that time mothers were

to be 'right'.

The 'free' school dinners awarded to teachers had nothing free about them. It was a compulsory task not to be taken on by the faint

Belle Isle Road in the 1950s, looking south to Town Street Copyright Leeds Library & Information Services

not requested to help with these mammoth learning tasks and many of the children already had problems knowing 'left ' from 'right', never mind 'over', 'under' and 'through'. If only Scotty had been there in those days I would have been screaming ''Beam me up!'' Another ridiculous feature of the school was that boys caught fighting in the playground were frequently required to box each other in a make- shift ring , wearing boxing gloves. Obviously 'might' was thought

of heart. We had masses of kids who had free dinner status but joy of joys, we were required to police primitive behavior and instill polite table manners into the children who were deemed to need these niceties the most. Lucky me was placed with a group of my charges who seemingly had never heard of knives,forks or spoons. Immediately food was placed on the table the scrummage began.

Food was snatched with bare hands and then crammed into their mouths,

picking up candles of snot as it slid past their eager parted lips. These nasal discharges were a common sight and were thought as just being part of never- ending winter colds. God love these little tykes.You had to to admire their will to survive.The children who finished their meal first stood a good chance of getting a second helping. I strongly believe that some children got very little food outside school.

Sorting out this 'survival of the fittest' behavior into some form of normalcy was a hard fought battle. I was on the edge of vomiting many times. Similarly we were expected to go into the cloakroom with the children and teach each of them how to wash their hands and face. The two finger water flick was hard to eradicate. I am not going to go into some of the children's more far out toilet practices!

Towards the top end of the Junior School nearly all the students were presenting themselves very well and I have no doubt they went on to bigger and better things than their parents had the opportunity to attain. Had some of these children had a better start in school I am sure more of them would have been able to pass their 11+ scholarship exam and so gain access to the type of education they deserved.

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South Leeds Life | October 2015

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Hunslet Hawks’ big adventure ends in disappointment

by Jeremy Morton Hunslet Hawks’ big adventure in the second tier of Rugby League has ended with relegation after one season.

The Hawks finished second to bottom at the end of Championship Sheild section of the Super 8s, but can take many positives from the year.

Finishing the regular season with ten straight losses including poor losses to Doncaster and Workington left fans disgruntled. But three wins on the spin in the Super 8s seemed to open up the chance of a ‘Great Escape’. They had left it too late and defeat at the hands of Featherstone Rovers sealed Hunslet’s fate.

There are many ‘what ifs’ to be debated in the pubs of Hunslet through the autumn and winter. What if they’d kicked that penalty in the last five minutes against Halifax in June?

What if Andy Kane hadn’t been injured? What if they’d beaten Doncaster or Workington at the end of the regular season?

As it was Hunslet finished the season with 8 wins and 16 points. To be fair, that was 8 more wins that many pundits predicted at the start of the season.

Hunslet Hawks is a small community-owned club. They were up against some big money clubs in the shape of Bradford Bulls, Leigh Centurions and London

Andy Kain battles against Dewsbury Rams. Photo: Steve Gaunt / Touchstonepics.com

Broncos. Whilst they struggled against the biggest (richest) clubs, the Hawks more than proved they could hold their own at this level.

Hunslet’s pre season saw them lose the Lazenby Cup to Leeds Rivals14-28 and to a full strength Salford Reds 0-46; then beating Doncaster 12-42.

The Hawks lost their first two games of the season proper to Featherstone and Batley, before gaining their first league points with a win against Dewsbury Rams.

March and April ran to the form book. A heavy loss at Bradford Bulls was followed by

another win against Doncaster and a win at Gloucester in the Challenge Cup, then a loss to Sheffield Eagles. The Loss at Leigh was not unexpected, but Hunslet was perhaps unliucky to lose at Halifax after a spirited performance. Wins against Cumbrians Whitehaven and Workington were punctuated with being knocked out of the cup by Dewsbury.

May saw more losses and a scare against Doncaster who ran the Hawks close at the Blackpool Summer Bash.

Then came the long run of ten straight defeats through to

the end of the regular season.

Heavy defeats to Leigh and Bradfoird were to be expected, but the loss at Doncaster gave the South Yorkshire club their only win of the season.The loss at home to Halifax was a heartbreaker and could easily have gone the other way, but the loss to Workington was lacklustre.

Then came the fightback in the Super 8s. A superb win away to the London Broncos was followed by a win at Whitehaven.The Great Escape seemed on.

The fans, who had been marvellous all season, singing

Hunslet ‘Old Boys’ clinch NCL3

by Steve Richards

Wow! What a season for the 'Old Boys' In their first season in the National Conference League Division 3, Hunslet Club Parkside took it by storm: Played 19, Lost 1 (and only lost by 1point).

Already champions with one game at home to go v Dewsbury Moor Maroons as we go to press, the 'Boys' looked likely to get a big turn out as the celebrations continued.

On our second trip over t'Pennines on consecutive weekends they clinched it against Crosfields nr.

Warrington ... and the Fun Bus was rocking! Special thanks to Paul McShane, John Hirst, Frankie Fields and Paul Thorpe.These things don't organise themselves.

We are under no illusions about the task ahead next season but with Lionhearts like Jamie Fields we fear nobody. Also with young blood like Craig McShane the future looks good.

Hunslet Club Parkside, NCL Division 3 Champions

and cheering on the team and making friends across the country, believed Hunslet could stay up.

With three games to go they saw off Doncaster 25-16 at South Leeds Stadium. Hunslet led from the 17th minute, but Doncaster put on a solid display and fought to the end.

Despite the win, the Hawks were still two points below Whitehaven and Batley with two games to go.

Featherstone Rovers came to South Leeds looking to salvage something of their disappointing season by winning the Championship Sheild. Hunslet held them until just before half time, but Featherstone kept ahead and in control for the rest of the game.

The loss sealed the Hawks fate and was followed by a flat performance in the last game of the season at Batley. The game also saw the retirement of Danny Maun, a great servant to both clubs.

Rebuilding for next year has

started already with the bulk of the squad expected to stay.

Fans favourite Jimmy Watson (Full Back) has signed a 12 month extension to his contract as have goal kicking half back Simon Brown, back row forward Mufaro Mvududu & prop forward Lewis Reed.

Bouncing back from Championship 1 isn’t going to be easy. Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Caoch Barry Eaton said: “It is going to be tough next season, that’s for sure, in terms of the teams we are competing against. Eight or nine teams in League One are really, really competitive. There’s some good sides in there and it will be a tougher proposition than last year, when there were three or four in the mix.”

You can read full match reports of every Hawks match at www.southleedslife.com.

Would you like to write next season’s match reports? Email us now at: info@southleedslife.com.

Hunslet Hawks Kingstone Press Championship 15 16­Feb Featherstone Rov A L 28­14 22­Feb Batley Bulldogs H L 14­26 1­Mar Dewsbury Rams H W 18­6 8­Mar Bradford Bulls A L 56­6 15­ Mar Doncaster H W 32­12 29­Mar Sheffield Eagles A L 29­3 3­Apr Leigh Centurions H L 6­42 6­Apr Halifax A L 32­24 12­Apr Whitehaven H W 26­18 26­Apr Workington Town A W 16­19 3­May London Broncos H L 12­32 10­May Dewsbury Rams A L 40­4 24­May Doncaster A W 12­25 29­May Sheffield Eagles H L 10­54 7­Jun Whitehaven A L 28­12 12­Jun Halifax H L 8­14 21­Jun London Broncos A L 34­12 28­Jun Featherstone Rov H L 34­42 5­Jul Bradford Bulls H L 6­68 8­Jul Leigh Centurions A L 72­6 12­Jul Doncaster A L 34­26 19­Jul Batley Bulldogs A L 45­28 26­Jul Workington Town H L 6­30 Super 8s Championship Shield 9­Aug Dewsbury Rams A L 32­20 16­Aug Workington Town H L 18­22 23­Aug London Broncos A W 24­41 31­Aug Whitehaven A W 16­30 6­Sep Doncaster H W 25­16 13­Sep Featherstone Rov H L 10­18 20­Sep Batley Bulldogs A L 60­12