South Leeds Life 98 June 2023

Covering Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Middleton, Riverside & Stourton

BEESTON RESIDENT IS NEW LORD MAYOR

Community activist and Councillor Al Garthwaite is 129th Lord Mayor of Leeds

Cllr Al Garthwaite (Labour, Headingley & Hyde Park), who has lived and worked in Beeston for the last 40 years, was elected unanimously by members of all parties on the council to be the 129th Lord Mayor of Leeds at a meeting of full council on 24 May.

Following University, Al moved to Leeds in 1973 and quickly became involved in social and community activism in the city.

Al founded Vera Media, in the attic of her Beeston terraced house, which produced films and taught multimedia skills to women and marginalised groups from communities around the city. The company later set up South Leeds Community Radio and still runs a training programme today. Vera Media was part of the partnership Faith Together In Leeds 11 which set up the Hamara Healthy Living Centre and Building Blocks nursery. Al was a Board member at Hamara for three years and is still the Chair of Trustees at Building Blocks.

Al was also Chair of the Tiger11 board, which bought and refurbished the former Hillside Primary School in Beeston to create the Hillside Enterprise Centre. Having helped to set up the Friends of Cross Flatts Park, Al is still active booking bands for the summer concert season and organising the annual dog show.

In 2007, the University of Leeds awarded Councillor Garthwaite an Honorary Degree for her work.

Wishing to use her varied skills and experience for the benefit of the city, Councillor Garthwaite won a seat on the city council representing Headingley in 2016 (now Headingley and Hyde Park). She is passionate about a range of issues, including the environment, climate change, arts and culture, community safety, planning, licensing,

and working to end violence against women and girls.

Speaking in support of her nomination, several Councillors talked about Al’s feminism and her role in organising the first Reclaim The Night marches in 1977 at a time when the Yorkshire Ripper stalked the city and the Police advice was for women to stay at home. In more recent years she has championed women’s safety including the Ask For Angela campaign.

Her feminism has also informed her choice of charity to raise funds for through her mayoral year. The Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service (WCTS) offers free, professional longterm psychological support to women in Leeds to access the help they need.

Former Beeston & Holbeck councillor Honorary Alderwoman Angela Gabriel BEM was appointed Lady Mayoress and will accompany the Lord Mayor for part of the year. A diverse range of students from Leeds Beckett University will act as her consorts on other occasions. This will broaden the students’ knowledge and understanding of Leeds and its citizens and offer unique experiences. Bishop Arun Arora, Bishop of Kirkstall, has kindly agreed to act as the Lord Mayor’s chaplain during her year of office.

The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Al Garthwaite, said:

“The people of Leeds have been at the heart of my work for 50 years and it will be an honour and a privilege to represent them as their Lord Mayor for the coming year.

“I look forward to getting out into our communities, meeting as many people as possible and raising money to support the work of the Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service.”

The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Al Garthwaite

About

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

The website and newspaper are produced by South Leeds Life CIC, a social enterprise registered with Companies House, No 9998695.

South Leeds Life is a member of the Independent Community News Network.

M621 junction 2a slip road to close

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scheme to create safer and more reliable journeys on the M621 motorway is moving forward with a new junction and further improvements near Leeds United’s football stadium.

Acongestion-easing

Towards the end of June, National Highways will permanently close the M621 junction 2a exit slip road, allowing the creation of the signalised junction and crossing between Cemetery Road and Elland Road. The entry slip road joining the M621 at Junction 2a will remain open.

This is the next stage of the major programme of work between junctions 1 and 7 of the M621. This will enable traffic to flow much more smoothly and safely, especially during peak times.

This phase has been planned to use the break in the football season to mitigate the impact on school and match day traffic.

Preparation works in the area will begin from 31 May, with temporary traffic lights at the junction of Elland Road and Cemetery Road.

Following the permanent closure of the Junction 2a exit slip road towards the end of June, there will be a full temporary closure of Elland Road south from Baron Close for around eight weeks while the main upgrade works for the signalised junction are carried out.

National Highways Senior Project Manager Sal Hopkinson said:

“The closure of the exit slip road follows extensive public consultations around the M621. People raised concerns around the amount of commuter traffic using junction 2a and surrounding local roads as a shortcut into the city.

"We took the concerns on board and developed this scheme to include additional improvements to Elland Road and Cemetery Road, creating a more resident-focussed community within this area.”

In December, National Highways began adding and widening lanes at the busy junction 2 near Elland Road. These improvements will provide extra room at the junction to help keep traffic moving and reduce queues, so drivers can get to their destination sooner.

Junction 2a was initially not planned to close until autumn this year, after the improvements to junction 2 were complete. However, due to the programme moving ahead of schedule, and restrictions needing to take place within the break in the football season, the work has been accelerated.

Upgrades to increase capacity on the Junction 2 westbound exit slip will be complete before the closure of J2a.

Work will be carried out during the night, and weekends. National Highways is working with delivery partner Keltbray and Leeds City Council to keep disruption to a minimum. During full closures, traffic will be diverted along routes that have been agreed with the local authority.

National Highways has worked closely with Leeds City Council on the closures of Elland Road and Cemetery Road.

Sal added: “We’ve considered various options for carrying out this work and this is the safest and quickest way while causing the least disruption.

“While we’ll be working as much as possible during the day, there will be the need for some overnight road closures.

“We work in this way, as this is when traffic levels are lighter; however, due to it being quieter in the area, there may be some noise impact. We are however, looking to ensure that around residential areas we complete our most disruptive work as early as possible within the shifts.

“This is an activity we can only complete at night. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused. We will keep traffic flowing as much as possible while we carry out this essential improvement work.”

The M621 project will go on to create free flow links connecting the A643 at junction 2, as well as extra lane capacity at both junctions 2 and 7.

Additional technology is proposed along the length of the motorway to

New council homes provide building blocks for thriving communities

Dozens of new high-quality homes have been delivered for people in Leeds thanks to a pair of council housing schemes that are also making a hugely-positive difference to wider community life.

A total of 69 homes have been built and handed over to tenants at two Leeds City Council developments, one in Holbeck and the other in Seacroft.

But the schemes are not just benefiting the people living in the new properties – they have also had a significant social impact by channelling funding towards good causes and providing apprenticeship opportunities for the city’s workforce of the future.

The completed developments –both part of Leeds’s Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP)

– have been hailed as fine examples of how regeneration activity is about much more than simply bricks and mortar.

In Holbeck, a total of 28 homes –14 houses and 14 apartments –now stand on a former tower block site at Meynell Approach.

All the properties were built to energy efficient and eco-friendly specifications, with features including special heat loss minimising windows, water saving devices and, in some cases, solar panels.

The Holbeck development was delivered for the council by United Living New Homes, who played their part in ensuring that the scheme have had an impact that reaches beyond the front doors of the new properties.

United Living New Homes’ community engagement efforts scored impressive results while the Holbeck development took shape.

safely manage traffic in the event of an incident and to keep drivers better informed.

All planned closures are updated each week on the National Highways M621 improvement page, bit.ly/M621works where you can register to receive updates about the scheme.

Updates will also be shared on the National Highways website and social media channels: @HighwaysYorks on Twitter; National Highways Yorkshire on Facebook.

Key achievements included:

Safeguarding a total of 15 • apprenticeships and creating four new jobs; Holding construction-themed • learning days for students and staff at local colleges;

Engaging the Leeds Wood • Recycling social enterprise to collect waste wood from the building site.

Cemetery Road crossing Junction 2a of the M621

New council houses on Meynell Approach in Holbeck

Labour lose another South Leeds seat as SDP win in Middleton Park

Emma Pogson-Golden won Middleton Park ward for the SDP, defeating Labour’s Lauren Summers by almost 400 votes in the Leeds City Council elections held on 4 May.

Emma Pogson-Golden joins Wayne Dixon with the SDP now holding two out of the three seats in the ward.

Labour won in Hunslet & Riverside ward where sitting Councillor Paul Wray held off Omar Mushtaq of the Green Party by almost 300 votes.

Last year Ed Carlisle made a breakthrough for the Greens when he beat Labour’s Elizabeth Nash, but they weren’t able to repeat the win this time.

Andrew Scopes increased his majority for Labour in Beeston

& Holbeck ward winning 63% of the vote.

Commenting on her win Cllr

Emma Pogson-Golden (SDP, Middleton Park) said:

“I’m so proud of everybody that went out to vote for us. We are really going to make a difference.

“We are looking at communities and families. We’re looking to make sure that everybody is looked after.”

Defeated Labour candidate

Lauren Summers said:

“I’m pleased that we improved our result from last year and I’ve really enjoyed meeting people in Middleton and Belle Isle.

“I’m proud of the campaign we’ve run and I’m so grateful for all the help from Labour Party members.”

Cllr Paul Wray (Labour, Hunslet & Riverside) said:

“I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to have the huge responsibility of representing the people of Hunslet & Riverside. It’s been a tough campaign, but hard work and a commitment to honestity, integrety and doing things the right way and a fabulous campaign team and the really generous, kind, warm-hearted community has kept me going and I look forward to serving them over the next four years.”

Omar Mushtaq, the losing Green candidate said:

“It was a pleasure running for my first time and an honour running for the community that I live amongst. Credit to Paul, he’s very active as a Councillor, but I think I’ve done pretty well

Clare Brooke is heading for the charts

by Ken Ingram

Clare Brooke is a singer, a role she combines with being a Duty / Events Manager for Active Leeds at the John Charles Centre for Sport, is about to release her first single ‘Our Country Rose’.

Clare is mother of three, a psychic, entertainer and blogger. At the age of five Clare told her dad she would be the charts someday, watching him play Madonna over and over again and love of music.

Clare runs a campaign called Denim for Dementia with Faye from Pudsey and has raised £120,000 so far. People can follow the campaign on Facebook.

Clare, and her husband Matthew Brooke have been on Come Dine With Me on Channel 4 and she is a regular guest as a lunch mate on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, which is filmed at Leeds Dock.

Clare has sang in pubs, clubs, care homes, events, the

Leeds United Pavilion, Blackpool and all over Yorkshire. Clare is a Yorkshire Calendar Girl as a plus size model and her biggest dream of releasing country music has finally come true – she is so grateful and hoping you follow her journey on Facebook, ‘Our Country Rose’ was released on 14 May on all music channels.

Clare is hoping to hit at least over 550 downloads, to push her further on her journey into London and abroad.

“As my lunch mates Soraya Vivian and Becky Measures, would say we are the Charlie’s Angels of the North and we are doing it for Yorkshire. x.” says Clare.

And you can see Clare perform Our Country Rose at Hunslet RLFC ahead of their match against Cornwall on Sunday 18 June, Father’s Day, at South Leeds Stadium.

To book hospitality packages including a pre-match meal, match tickets, prime seats and access to the Directors lounge and bar; not to mention hearing Clare sing all for £20, contact info@hunsletrlfc.com

considering it was my first time running. I’m going to carry on and try again next year.”

Cllr Andrew Scopes (Labour, Beeston & Holbeck) commented:

“Firstly I’d like to say a massive thanks to the team that helped me campaign and

particularly my agent Adam Ogilvie, an Honorary Alderman of the city and a former Beeston & Holbeck Councillor.

“I’m really honoured to have been given a new mandate by the residents of Beeston & Holbeck ward to keep doing what I’ve been doing for the

last five years, I’m looking forward to carrying on.”

Overall there has been little change to the political make up of the Council.

Despite losing in Middleton Park, Labour increased their seats from 58 to 61 out of 99 and retain an outright majority.

Election results in full

Clare Brooke recording Our Country Rose

Newly elected Cllr Emma Pogson-Golden with Cllr Wayne Dixon at the count

Crossland Surgery closes

Partners at the Leeds City Medical Practice have closed the surgery at Crossland Terrace, Dewsbury Road in Beeston.

In a letter to patients, they say that they had planned to buy and redevelop the Crossland Surgery which they currently lease, but the rise in building costs means that the project is no longer financially viable.

Instead, they are transferring services to their existing sites at Parkside Health Centre further along Dewsbury Road near the junction with Tempest Road and Beeston Hill Health Centre at the top of Cemetery Road.

Swarthmore Centre brings arts project to South Leeds

The practice is engaging with its patients and asking for feedback by 11 June. You can comment online at www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/Cro ssland23 or ring the Patient Care Team on (0113) 467 7500, choose option 7.

The Partners stress that there will be no change to the services offered to patients and that Parkside Health Centre is only half a mile from Crossland Surgery.

“We are working through this transition and hope that you agree that this is a much better solution for staff and patients than is currently available at Crossland in terms of modern, purpose built facilities.”

Swarthmore

Education Centre, based at Woodhouse Square in Leeds, is celebrating after being awarded £200,162 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

Swarthmore will use their funding to run a two year project called ‘Creative Communities’ in South Leeds, in areas which are affected by poverty and social exclusion. The project will target Middleton, Belle Isle, Holbeck and Hunslet and provide an exciting arts based programme in each area, including a sessional artist to facilitate sessions, all materials, lunch and a creche worker, if needed, to ensure additional barriers for the local community are overcome.

There will be three six-week programmes in each area over each of the years, delivered in community spaces which are known to the community and are easily accessible. A celebration and exhibition of work produced will be displayed within each community.

Swarthmore will work with volunteers within each area, developing skills needed to move towards further training and employment.

This new National Lottery funding will provide access to

arts for those over 18 in the areas targeted with the aim of overcoming social isolation, developing new relationships and promoting pride of place. Swarthmore will be attending local events to promote and recruit participants in the project over the summer, with the first sessions starting in September.

Details of how to get involved will be available soon – check out the website and social media for more information, or keep an eye out in your local area.

They will be holding launch events where the community can come and see what is on

offer, influence the delivery of sessions, volunteer on the project, and have a go at some of the arts and crafts featuring during the project.

Swarthmore recently won the Community Development Award at the Educate North Awards in Manchester for their Art at the Heart project, which supported Ukrainian refugees to develop confidence in English through arts and culture.

Chris Baillie, Director of Swarthmore said:

“Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant means that we can engage with some of the hardest to reach members

Health For All feature in new short film

of the community in Leeds, offering access to arts based learning, which is often inaccessible due to the cost and location.

Our target areas are Middleton, Belle Isle, Holbeck and Hunslet, and we are really excited to be able to engage with people who may be new to Swarthmore through our Creative Communities project.

“As I was brought up in the area, I am delighted to be able to seek out the talents in the communities and promote a sense of pride in what we can achieve.

“This will make a big difference to people’s lives.”

Afilm

showing the work of Middleton-based charity Health For All was released on 31 May.

The film has been made by Locality, a national umbrella group supporting local community organisations to be strong and successful.

Each year they make three or four films focussing on the work of members across the country – the aim being to show to breadth and depth of support provided by community organisations across the country and the incredible impact they make.

The ten minute film does just that talking to staff from a range of projects that operate across South Leeds and beyond. Chief Executive Pat McGeever stresses the importance of being part of the community:

“I think the value of community organisations is being rooted in the

communities they serve and being trusted by those communities.”

A point echoed by Health For All worker Thahmina Begum:

“I live and work in my community and I know what happens. I know what happens at 7 o’clock in the morning and I know what happens at 10 o’clock at night. It’s local issues, things that affect me, my children, my family.”

One of the things that shines through the film is Health For All approach over many years to meet needs expressed within the community. As Pat explains:

“When communities identify a need or an interest, we facilitate them. We help them form a small group, set up a bank account, apply for funding. We

help them to become independent. Health for all now supports 50-60 small groups, from community choirs to gardening groups to peer support groups.”

A group might benefit from art activities or cooking skills, but there is always an added

benefit. Bringing people together to do something opens up room to talk. As Thahmina puts it: “A safe space to talk honestly and openly about issues that affect them.”

That might be helping older people overcome their isolation

or turning a young person away from crime.

Lewis Garland, Content and Media Officer at Locality commented:

“It was a real pleasure visiting Health for All and learning about the lifechanging work they have been doing in South Leeds –for over three decades!

By actively listening and collaborating with their community, they have developed a range of services, from creches to choirs, peer support group to food banks, that directly address the needs of local people. Health for All truly are the embodiment of what we mean, at Locality, when we talk about the Power of Community.”

Pat McGeever added:

"We at Health for All are delighted that

Locality has taken the time to capture our work in this engaging, informative film. Our charity has had the privilege to serve the communities of south Leeds for 32 years, leading to us now supporting seven welcoming community and family centres and numerous community groups in the local area. The film shows our wide range of services which redress health inequalities, improve health and wellbeing and reduce social isolation. It also captures the positive impact of our initiatives such as our five local Community Food Pantries which help people cope with the current cost of living crisis.

Thank you Locality for your support!"

If you have an idea for a new group or project or wish to volunteer please contact Health For All. Call: (0113) 270 6903, or email: info @healthforall.org.uk For more information visit their website at www.healthforall.org.uk

You can watch the film at: youtu.be/4e-Xz-q2nT0

Exhibiting work from the Art at the Heart project

The new Beeston Hill Community Association

by Sarah Hutchinson

The newly formed 'Beeston Hill Community Association' had its first meeting on Monday 22 May at The Hamara Centre.

This community led group aims to give residents of Beeston Hill* the opportunity to get to know neighbours, share their views on community life and issues and be heard. We hope to celebrate what is strong in our community, not simply focus on what is wrong. We would love to see residents getting to know one another, working together to speak up for the area and

bring about change.

It was wonderful to see a good number of local residents alongside all our Hunslet & Riverside Councillors at the relaxed and informal meeting.

We enjoyed some delicious food cooked by our fellow community member, Shazia, we played human bingo as well as giving our thoughts and ideas on topics such as children & young people, community safety/crime the environment, the cost of living crisis, community events and health & well being.

We hope to build on this positive start and will look to meet every couple of months

Thank you

(next meeting will be in July, date to be confirmed). If you live in the area and want to make our community better we would love to hear from youplease get involved! Our Facebook page will be up and running very soon to get in touch and find out more. Email: beestonhillca.info@gmail.com

* Beeston Hill Community Association covers the old red brick housing around the Tempest Road area, down to Dewsbury Road, including areas such as the Harlechs, Woodviews, Trenthams, Belvederes, Rowlands, Lindens, Stratfords and all surrounding streets).

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Eco-friendly offices at Millshaw launches

The first phase in the refurbishment of Millshaw Court, in Beeston, 20,000 sq. ft. of eco-friendly office accommodation has been launched, complete with its own gym, showers, café and outdoor meeting areas.

Shelborn Asset Management have acquired the property which had previously been home to Barclays Bank for 25 years. Following the £7m investment, the property has been rebranded as South Central.

Hunslet’s new Litter Picking Library is open

by Jeremy Morton

TheHunslet Litter Picking Library launched officially on 11 May.

Open every Wednesday, 124pm, groups or individuals can hire sticks, bags and hoops to carry out their own litter picks.

The Library is run by Stewart Walton and operates out of a rented garage off Hemmingway Close in Hunslet. One of Stewart’s customers is Tom who lives nearby on Penny Lane Way. Tom explained:

Showhome opens at Holbeck’s Ironworks

The Ironworks, a new-build owner-occupier residential scheme is now open for prospective buyers, as a new show home has been unveiled. Located in the heart of Holbeck Urban Village, The Ironworks, built by igloo Regeneration and PfP Capital comprises 68 homes for sale.

“I’ve been trying to set up a litter pick for my area just to try and change the culture. Since the pandemic I think dog fouling has got really out of hand and people are just chucking litter everywhere. The first one we did was on Hunslet Green playing fields with the Hunslet Club, we had about ten residents plus Paul (Cllr Wray) and Stewart, and we were joined by a dozen young people from the The Hunslet Club’s

youth club.”

Tom is continuing with a monthly litter pick on his street on the first Sunday at 10:30am, “unless it’s raining.”

As well as opening the library every Wednesday, 12-4pm, Stewart runs a litter pick every Friday 11am-1:30pm and another every Sunday, 12-2pm. The Sunday session is the most established is sometimes joined by staff and pupils from Low Road Primary School.

Stewart explained why he is passionate about litter:

“I was the Chair of Hunslet TARA for six or seven years and one thing that people always mentioned, more than anything else, was the state of the streets. I think it’s the one thing that once people see you out, they recognise that you’re actually doing something in the area, that’s when it becomes noticeable. I’m a community person, I love getting people involved and helping people.”

Cllr Paul Wray (Labour,

Hunslet & Riverside)

commented:

“From the Council’s perspective, community engagement in keeping our communities tidy is always much more valuable than the Council doing it.

“This ward alone has 8 square kilometres of streets to litter pick, thousands of kilometres of road and pavement, so the community taking an active part, doing it themselves, not only builds community pride, community resilience, but is also a really huge help to our overstretched staff.

“So, anything that encourages people to a) take responsibility and b) do more in a way which is community minded, benefits the

community, benefits the Council and its overstretched budget and so it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Stewart also thanked Peter Tiffany from Litter Free Leeds, who is also an Ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy, and the Leeds City Council Tenant Engagement Team for the support he had received.

You can find Hunslet Litter Picks and Library on Facebook, or contact Stewart by email: smwalton16@googlemail.com or call 07419 776356

Charity partners with finance firm

Lowell, a UK-headquartered European leader in credit management with offices in Stourton, has partnered with Beeston-based homelessness charity Turning Lives Around (TLA). TLA was chosen by Lowell colleagues to be the focus of their 2023 – 2024 fundraising initiatives.

Steve Hoey, Turning Lives

Around CEO, said: “We are working with 1000 people a year, but our resources are strained. Lowell colleagues already have lots of ideas about how they can help us, even volunteering time to help decorate one of our services.

Community cinema exhibition

StLuke’s CARES hosted a Community Cinema Exhibition at their Dewsbury Road charity shop last month.

The building the shop now occupies was built as the Pavilion cinema. Although most traces of the building’s former life have been lost over the years, you can still see the coving around the top of the screen and the decorative ceiling in the upstairs mezzanine area.

Staff have been interested in the building’s history and many older customers comment that they have memories of seeing films when it was a cinema. The exhibition explored not only the history of The Pavilion, but other local cinemas including The Malvern and The Rex.

With a heritage grant from Leeds Community Foundation and Leeds Civic Trust, and

some technical help from Slung Low, St Luke’s CARES have been putting on film shows for the last year. The most popular screenings have been children’s films, but they’ve also took part in the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival. With many Arabic speaking customers it was a chance to see an Arabic film.

Shop Manager Sally Thums said: “Our customers and volunteers want to see kids films, for free, with snacks, in a relaxed environment. People get up the whole way through, people come and go, but that’s what being a community cinema is, that’s what makes it different from a cinema where you go and sit and watch, we know our market.”

They got interested in the history of the building following a visit from the Great Granson

of ‘Tommy’ Thompson, an early cinema entrepreneur who owned 50 cinemas in the North East and Yorkshire. The Pavilion was the first purpose built cinema in the chain.

Thompson also owned Hunslet Picture Hall on Norfolk Street opposite Crown Point

Making the bed

Print Works which is now part of Leeds City College; and the Armley Picture Hall.

The Pavilion was built in 1914, but sold to Gaumont in 1928, possibly because of the cost of converting to show ‘talkies’ – movies with sound. Movies had been silent up this

point. It was renamed the Royal in 1950 and closed as a cinema in 1958 or 1959.

Kitty from Leeds Museum gave a presentation showing some of the playbills of cinemas around Leeds including the Malvern. This was before most people had television and cinemas showed many different films each week, usually a ‘feature’, a ‘B movie’ and a ‘Newsreel’.

L-R: Hunslet resident Tom and daughter, Stewart Walton, Cllr Paul Wray

Residents in Hunslet Carr this month worked with Cllr Ed Carlisle (Green, Hunslet & Riverside), members of the Housing Leeds team, and partners, to transform an unloved and unsightly planter on their street, by filling it with edible plants, bushes, and herbs. The project links with the growing national and Leeds-wide ‘Incredible Edible’ movement, to develop edible community growing everywhere. Visit edibleleeds.org.uk to find out more, to get involved, or start something where you are.

BEESTON FESTIVAL

SATURDAY 24TH JUNE | 12-5PM | CROSS

FLATTS PARK

Celebrating life and diversity in our community with live music • dance • food from around the world • 100 stalls in the bazaar

• birds of prey • farmyard animals • donkey rides • inflatables • climbing wall • arts & crafts • sports • magic • roving performers • fun fair

Beeston Festival is run entirely by volunteers. If you could spare an hour or longer to help out on the day please email: beestonfestivalvolunteers@gmail.com

Follow us on social media @BeestonFestival

Supported by

Website: beestonfestival.org.uk

Working with

Money matters with

Leeds Credit Union

How to reduce your water bills

get their hosepipes out and start watering their lawns to stop the extra sun exposure from drying them out. However, this is not a good idea.

Hosepipes use the same amount of water in one hour as a whole family does in two days, making them bad news for your bank balance. They're also surprisingly ineffective when the weather is particularly dry and the ground is hard because they tend to result in water simply lying on the surface of the lawn before evaporating.

Instead of relying on a hosepipe this summer, switch to a watering can. Watering cans use less water - ie cost less - and are easier to aim at items in need of watering, reducing wastage.

Brushes for Rollers

For last month’s Northern Roll festival of skating (19-21 May), illustrator Wumzum co-created a big street art mural with local people, in the games area of Beeston’s Cross Flatts Park. The project was commissioned and organised by Hunslet skatepark, LS-TEN (formerly The Works). Join their free family-friendly 'Park Roll' skating sessions there, every Saturday from 10am throughout the summer.

WithWaterwise's annual Water Saving Week having recently taken place, Stephen Porter, Head of Member Experience at Leeds Credit Union, looks at the importance of reducing water usage and the impact this will have on your bills.

With summer nearly upon us again, many people will be looking forward to spending some extremely welcome time outdoors, tending their gardens and playing with their children.

According to Water UK, the average household water and sewerage bills in England and Wales will rise by approximately £30 this year compared to 2022.

Taking that into account, now is the perfect time to look at ways in which we can all use

less water and reduce our water bills.

Don't leave taps running

Running taps waste more than five litres of water per minute, so try to only use them when absolutely necessary. And whatever you do, don't leave them running while brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your face!

When it comes to doing the washing up, use a washing up bowl. Never wash everything in the sink under running water.

Beware drips

Dripping taps can waste in excess of 5,300 litres of water a year so, if you notice a tap dripping, it's time to change the washer asap.

Be sensible in the garden

When summer arrives in the UK, some people are quick to

You should remember to water your outdoor plants in the early morning or at the end of the day to stop the water evaporating in the midday sun. If you don't, you'll have to water everything twice.

Take advantage of rainwater

Installing a water butt allows you to collect rainwater which can then be used to water your garden, saving you as much as 24,000 litres of water a year.

Change your shower head Replacing your shower head with a water efficient one could reduce a four-person household's water bill by approximately £53 a year. While you might not want to buy a new shower head if yours works perfectly well, water efficient models are available for as little as £20.

Leeds Credit Union provides straightforward and affordable financial services.

Campaigners call out towpath pollution

Hunslet residents and campaigners are crying foul, and demanding answers, about a mysterious liquid pollutant being piped onto the nearby River Aire towpath.

Since November 2022 there have seen several incidents of an unidentified grey discharge flowing out of two large industrial pipes, covering the towpath and surrounding greenery. The weekend of 19-21 May saw the worst yet, with a thick slick over 10 metres wide. Locals report that it had a sticky consistency like paint – and seems to have killed all the plants and greenery in its path.

The toxic sludge is killing vegetation by the River Aire

The pipes face immediately onto the towpath just north of the footbridge by H2010 and Old Mill Lane, on the way to Thwaite Mills. It’s part of the Trans Pennine Trail, and is a popular route for walkers, runners, and cyclists, with hundreds of passers-by each day. The pipes are on land belonging to GB Railfreight, but the Cross Green Industrial Estate is just 150m away; it remains unclear who the pipes belong to, who is using them, and what the discharge is made of.

Members of the local Friends

of the Aire voluntary group, and Cllr Ed Carlisle (Green, Hunslet & Riverside) are in touch with bodies including the Environment Agency, and the Canal and River Trust – but answers and clarity remain in short supply for now.

Marianna Roncone, a leading member of Friends of the Aire, commented: “This is ridiculous. This liquid is clearly toxic, and the discharges are getting worse – but no-one is accountable, and no-one is doing anything to stop it. I’m so angry that a company can dump their waste freely, and destroy the local environment that we’ve worked so hard to improve, without consequences.”

Cllr Ed Carlisle added: “It’s a totally mad, and maddening,

situation. If you or I were to dump waste like this into public space, we would rightly expect the Police at our door. We need answers, we need accountability, and we need this to stop.”

The Environment Agency have commented that they are unable to act, as the liquid doesn’t impact the river (something the campaigners dispute); they also confirmed that there are no ‘permitted sites’ for discharging waste in that location. The Canal and River Trust were also unable to comment officially at this time, but wished to assure residents that they are investigating the situation. GB Railfreight have been contacted, but not responded at the time of going to press.

Photo: Shutterstock

Hunslet Gala and me: the end of an era

by Steve Thompson

Sincethe start of the Industrial Revolution, Hunslet has undergone many changes.

Heavy industry has come and largely gone as has the ‘crammed together’ back-toback housing needed for the workers.

In all that time there has been periodically some sort of celebratory gala or festival that has taken place. Sometimes on Penny Hill, now under the Morrisons shopping centre or in the old vicarage garden. There were very few green spaces in those days.

About fifty years ago when the church that has recently been demolished was built and, following that the new school of Hunslet St Mary’s came the green space that we now have on Grove Road appeared. The Gala began on the space at the side of church and was run by the church, a Church Gala in fact.

Over the next few years this evolved into a Community Gala and the first was held in June

2003 on the field on Grove Road with a car boot sale on the space at the side of church.

In 2006 it was decided to include more events throughout the year including the Gala itself, a Songs of Praise Celebration, an Older Persons’ Tea Party, a Community Gala Evening, and a Children’s Christmas Fayre and Craft Day. The whole programme of events was collectively named ‘Hunslet Festival’, with the whole ‘Festival’ funded by the National Lottery.

However, organising all these events proved too much and going forward it was decided that the Gala in June was to be the main focus and the name of Hunslet Festival was used from then on.

Over the past twenty years there have been many different activities and the one that sticks in my mind is that one of the organising ‘committee’ arranged for the Air Ambulance to come along and land in the school field. Right on cue, just as the person opening the Gala said, “I declare this Gala open”,

the helicopter flew over the Gala field coming into land. Unfortunately, that was one photograph I didn’t manage to get as it was unexpected, but I do have twenty years’ worth of other photographs archived.

I must mention that the archiving of photos and other documents relating to the Galas was done by Committee Member Jonathan Chapman who sadly passed away a few weeks after the Gala in 2021.

So, here we are now twenty years on and the Gala has only been rained off once and, of course, in 2020 was cancelled because of Covid. However, the Gala is now back in full swing, and preparations are taking place for this year’s event.

I have decided after 20 years this will be my last year as Chair as I feel it is the right time for me to concentrate on family and other things.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped on the Committee over the years and all the volunteers on Gala Day itself. I must also thank the

Council’s Area Management Committee, our elected Councillors over the years, our Member of Parliament, The Rt Hon Hilary Benn, our Hunslet Festival President, Cllr Mohamed Iqbal and all our sponsors for their support over the last 20 years, without whose help the Gala would never have been as successful as it has been.

Although after this year’s Gala on 17 June, I will not be organising much going forward, I will be there on the day taking

Active Communities offers games, food and friendship

by Jeremy Morton

Hunslet Rugby Foundation’s latest project is called Active Communities and all about getting people and families together, sharing some food and playing some games.

The project runs at the Welcome Centre at St John & St Barnabas Church in Belle

Isle on Wednesday mornings and Friday afternoons.

Foundation General Manager Michael Nuttall explained:

“Everyone is welcome. The Wednesday morning sessions (9-11am) attract adults who are not at work, some with preschool children, on Friday afternoon (4-6pm) there are more children as it’s after

school.”

Despite its name, as a community sports organisation, Hunslet Rugby Foundation runs lots of different sporting activities. As well as sessions in local schools, they have also recently taken over running the ParkPlay sessions at Brickfield Park in Beeston on Saturday mornings.

Active Communities is another way to get out into the community. Father Chris Buckley, who is both the Vicar at St John & St Barnabas and Chair of the Foundation explained:

“South Leeds Stadium is seen as elitist by people who don’t engage with sport and it’s the last place they’re going to go, so coming out to community venues is really important.

“Anything that gets people active, anything that gets people together, anything that improves people’s wellbeing, is well within the remit of the Foundation as a community sports foundation and the remit of the church and its role in the community.”

The centre has great facilities including a kitchen and library and the church hall is spacious enough for bigger games such as dodgeball. And when the cold weather returns the project will provide a warm space for people struggling to heat their homes.

Michael is pleased with how

photographs and videos and helping where I can.

Committee member, Stewart Walton adds:

“On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank Steve for his leadership and commitment over the years, he will be missed. I would like to recognise that over the time I have been on the committee I have learned a great deal from Steve as well as finding a friend.

“Please do join us on

the project has started:

“The numbers are good for the first week, the kids are smiling, come along and join us.”

The sessions run on

Wednesday mornings from 911am and Friday afternoon

Saturday 17 June to send Steve off on a high - 11:30am-4pm.”

And Cllr Paul Wray (Labour, Hunslet & Riverside comments:

“Steve can look back on a remarkable period in which he helped lead and organise this fantastic gala. Hunslet would not be Hunslet without the gala, and Steve has played a significant role in ensuring this. He can look back with immense pride and with the heartfelt thanks of the people of Hunslet.”

4-6pm. You can get some hot food for just £1 and there are games, activities and a friendly chat. The Welcome Centre is located at St John & St Barnabas Church, off Belle Isle Road, just above the Circus, LS10 3DN.

Anyone for (table) tennis? Join the fun in Belle Isle

Steve Thompson (right) with Gala Chair Cllr Mohammed Iqbal

Conquering Darcy’s challenges

Rising stars emerge from The Hunslet Rogues

by

Three local youngsters, members of the Hunslet Rogues, have secured parts on television and in the West End.

The Hunslet Rogues is a South Leeds theatre company based at The Hunslet Club. The group is bursting with talent, as these young performers showcase dedication, commitment and enthusiasm at each and every Wednesday session from 6-8pm.

Joanna Scanlan, who also starred in the comedy Getting On.

Annabel is the next rising star, and she stepped right into the spotlight when she joined the Rogues due to her talent, hard work, and passion. Recently, she featured in a TV series that needs no introduction, Waterloo Road. Kian is known for his

powerful songs and has landed a role in a new West End Show, 'Across the Line.' His powerful voice will light up the stage, and he will go far on this exciting journey due to his hard work and talent.

These are just three amazingly talented young people attending The Hunslet Rogues sessions, as the room is bursting with musical and

theatrical talent. These three rising stars have worked incredibly hard, and they all should be immensely proud of their commitment.

We cannot begin to describe how much dedication these young stars show, not just these three remarkable stars but all the young people involved in The Hunslet Rogues Theatre Company, and we are sure we will be sharing more rising star stories.

Young people are welcome to join the Rogues Drama group on a Wednesday. No booking is required; sign in at The Hunslet Club reception.

Darcy is a young woman from Middleton who has had to face up to health challenges and is now challenging the community to help her take an opportunity of a lifetime as she recovers from her illness.

Darcy, who is 14 years old and a student at Cockburn School, suffers from the very rare McCune Albright syndrome. This has caused scar tissue to form on her bones and limited her mobility. Six months ago she underwent an 8 hour operation and whilst her recovery has been a long and gruelling journey, she is now mobile, wheelchair and crutch free, and eager to return to “normal life”.

Darcy has recently been given the opportunity to attend a ‘once in a lifetime’, monthlong, Camps International voluntary expedition in Peru in July 2024, where she’ll be contributing to various projects such as digging wells to provide the local communities with clean and safe drinking water, building schools to provide the local children with access to

proper education, and building toilet facilities for local communities to provide clean sanitation. Also, as an animal lover, Darcy is most excited about the opportunity to work on wildlife conservation and environmental projects, helping to protect native species and landscapes.

Whilst on this expedition, Darcy will also get the opportunity to fulfil her long held dream to visit the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. This involves a 5-day trek, walking 6 hours per day. Darcy, once again, is very eager to prove to herself that she can conquer this challenge, regardless of her ‘limitations’.

Her family are now fundraising to ensure Darcy can make the trip and are already a quarter of the way to their target.

Darcy is also raising funds herself by cleaning cars in the summer, holding bake sales, gardening for neighbours etc.

If you would like to support Darcy please visit her Go Fund Me page at: gofund.me/dd5abf17

Budding young stars come to these sessions to start their journey into exploring the world of dance, drama, singing and musical theatre, and three members of the many rising stars in these sessions have currently moved onto the next step in their journey. Oliver, Kian, and Annabel have secured roles in different shows due to their incredible talent and hard work!

Oliver, one of the longeststanding Rogues members, has landed the role of Alan on the new BBC mini-series 'Boat Story'. This drama/thriller miniseries showcases stars such as Tchéky Karyo as The Tailor and

This is not just any store opening …

Darcy’s aiming for Machu Picchu

After months of anticipation, Marks & Spencer officially opened its new store in the White Rose Shopping Centre on 25 May. The M&S Leeds White Rose team gathered at the store entrance at 10am

stars: Oliver, Annabel and Kian

Lisa Benfi

Can you help to celebrate 10 years of the Kyle Asquith Foundation?

Having raised £1,547 before the Easter holidays for the Kyle Asquith Foundation, Cockburn School are now focussed on their next round of fundraising to mark the 10 year anniversary of the charity.

Big Summer Raffle!

To mark the 10-year anniversary of the Kyle Asquith Foundation, the charity is planning a big summer raffle to take place in July. Local businesses as well as staff, families and students from the school are being asked to donate raffle prizes.

These could range from sweets and chocolate to make hampers, to experiences of offers from businesses.

Could a local pizza

• takeaway donate a family meal deal?

• bar donate a top set of nails?

Could a local spa or nail

Or a fresh trim from a

• local barber?

A car clean and valet?

• Perhaps a shop at the

• White Rose Centre can donate some vouchers?

If you can support and offer anything for the raffle please go to the website and complete an online form to donate prizes: www.cockburnschool .org/about-us/charity-work/ big-summer-raffle-2023

Details of how to buy tickets for the raffle will be reported in our July edition.

South Leeds women help to raise a barn for Leeds 2023

Aspart of the Leeds 2023 Year of Culture, a group of women and non-binary people built a barn on Cinder Moor in Hyde Park which acted as a venue for series of events spotlighting women’s issues.

The project is supported by WOW – Women Of The World, a global movement of festivals celebrating women, girls and non-binary people, and looking at obstacles they face. We spoke to two women

from South Leeds who took part in the build.

Joanna Resnick had some construction skills to start with but said she really enjoyed a woodworking course put on for barn-raisers by Bec Coles at

As well as the raffle, the school will host an event to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the charity. They plan to invite members of Kyle’s family and his close friends as well as all of the students and staff from the school.

There will be readings, songs before a memorable closing to the event – more to come on this!

As we reported in our May edition, the charity was set up to commemorate the death of student Kyle Asquith, who passed away following a fatal brain haemorrhage. His organs were donated and they saved the lives of five people.

After the 15-year-old’s tragic death, students and staff at Cockburn School launched a series of special fund-raising events in his memory, with the aim of raising £5,000 to support the NHS Blood and Transplant Trust Fund and other local charities.

The Kyle Asquith Foundation has continued to raise funds to support local charities and the children of South Leeds. Since then, the charity has raised well over £40,000 and the school continues to raise funds and the awareness of organ donation.

As well as donating to other charities, funds raised go to support Cockburn School students in achieving things that they may not have been able to afford otherwise.

Such donations have allowed students to travel to Italy and France, buy musical instruments and IT equipment or travel to be part of national events. The charity works to support such students and remove barriers caused by the current economical challenges.

The art department came up with a whole school challenge to create a design for a tote bag. Lyla J in Year 10 and Poppy M in Year 8 were the proud winners. The bags are being printed in school and sold for £3.50 and all profits go to the charity. Angus Smith, Assistant Headteacher and trustee of the charity said “The tote bag design is excellent. Lyla and Poppy have captured the spirit of the charity. We are very proud of them.”

If you wish to contribute to The Kyle Asquith Foundation, please contact the school at info@cockburnschool.org and title the email ‘Kyle Asquith’. They also have a JustGiving site and you can make donations online at www. justgiving.com/kyle-asquith

Leeds College of Building. Graciela McIntyre had been at woodworking workshops in the community in the past.

Asked what the best thing about the build, Joanna said: “There was such a great, supportive atmosphere on site. As we started our early morning shift our team cheered and clapped for the barn raisers coming off-site who’d had a particularly tough night shift in the pouring rain but they were still smiling and laughing.

“It was brilliant to meet so many friendly, talented, enthusiastic women and nonbinary people who were drawn to this epic 24 hour barn raising mission. It was joyful to come together at the topping out ceremony to celebrate everyone’s efforts.”

In Graciela’s view:

“The best part of the build was to see it standing up! I learnt that with clear goals and supportive members of a team anything can be tackled. It was amazing to be part of such big project, it proves that society can have a powerful impact and there is the example of such an achievement by joining forces with committed people!

“It was very interesting to learn that a Company that builds structures such as these was committed to support

women and non-binary people to display their skills and support others to achieve a common goal!”

She added that construction companies are mostly managed by men and that the percentage of females and non-binary people in the industry is still very low.

Joanna added:

“I learnt that women make up only 1% of the workforce on building sites which makes this project all the more special.”

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracey Brabin joins barn raisers for the Topping Out ceremony

Joanna Resnick and Graciela McIntyre on site

Tote bag winning design - Congratulations to Lyla J in Year 10 and Poppy M in Year 8 pictured with Head of School, Rob Dixon

Local schools trust shortlisted for three national awards

Helping more Lane End P pupils walk to school

Anew partnership has been helping pupils at Lane End Primary School in Holbeck take to their feet during National Walking Month in May.

Lane End is one of 15 schools that National Highways and Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, is working with to help encourage and enable pupils to travel to school more sustainably.

The schools, based across Yorkshire and the North East, are all located within 500m of the Strategic Road Network. In Lane End’s case, the M621. Throughout National Walking Month in May, the charity is carrying out School Route Audits, which see pupils, families and school staff walk around the local area and identify the barriers to walking to school.

Wellspring Academy Trust, which operates two schools in South Leeds, has been shortlisted for three prestigious awards at the inaugural Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) Excellence Awards.

These new awards recognise and celebrate outstanding achievement in education in England. Wellspring has been recognised for its work in three categories; MAT of the Year, Executive Team of the Year and CEO of the Year.

The MAT Excellence Awards showcase the best and brightest in the education sector. The awards are judged by a panel of education experts. The awards ceremony and gala dinner will take place next month on 29 June 2023, at The Tower Hotel,

London.

The Trust currently operates twenty-nine Primary, Secondary, Special and Alternative Provision schools in Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire. These includ Elements Primary School in Middleton and Springwell Leeds Academy South in Belle Isle which works with young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.

Highlights from the past year include eight Ofsted Good and Outstanding school judgements, an £80m school building programme that will deliver three new schools and four complete school rebuilds and series of groundbreaking collaborations with professional artists. The Trust has also been shortlisted for Executive Team of

the Year Award, which celebrates the work of senior leadership teams, and the Trust’s CEO, Mark Wilson, has been shortlisted for the CEO of the Year award.

Commenting on the news, Mark said:

“We are delighted to be shortlisted for three awards. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and commitment of everyone at Wellspring.

“We are proud of what we believe is an inclusive and supportive environment that enables our pupils to thrive, our workforce to progress and our communities to flourish. We will continue to work tirelessly to provide the very best that we possibly can.”

Following the audits, Living Streets will provide recommendations to National Highways regional teams on potential improvements that could make it easier for pupils to walk to school, such as community actions.

Lane End carried out their School Route Audit last month on Wednesday 3 May. Pupils from the school joined Living Streets on the audit and made suggestions, such as some artwork and better lighting in the underpass, more bins to tackle litter problems and cutting back shrubbery where it has overgrown.

The partnership will also see

schools benefit from WOW – the walk to school challenge from Living Streets. WOW sees pupils record how they get to school using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker with those who walk, wheel, cycle or scoot awarded collectable WOW badges. WOW schools typically see walking rates increase by 23 per cent with a 30 per cent reduction in cars at the school gates.

Stephen Edwards, Chief Executive, Living Streets said: “May is Living Streets’ National Walking Month, a time to celebrate the many benefits of walking and wheeling. However, we know that many families are denied the joys of walking to

school because they are concerned about unsafe walking routes.

“It’s great to be working with National Highways to help identify the barriers these schools are experiencing, so that more families can start to enjoy the health and happiness benefits of swapping the school run for a school walk.”

Simon Boyle, National Highways Regional Director, said:

“Making sure that everybody gets to their destination safely is always National Highways’ top priority, whether by vehicle, bicycle or on foot, so we’re proud to work in partnership with Living

Cockburn John Charles A performance round up

Y10/11 Basketball at CJCA

Themuch-awaited Year 10/11 basketball finals competition took place at Leeds Becketts University.

The tournament brought together several high schools, all vying for the coveted trophy. Cockburn John Charles Academy finished second putting on a fantastic performance throughout the tournament, showcasing their incredible talent and teamwork. Despite their best efforts, the school team was unable to overcome their opponents, Cardinal Heenan who ultimately won the game by a narrow margin.

However, the school team's performance was nothing short of remarkable, and they left the court with their heads held high. Maxwell and Javier, in particular,

Focussed: the Y10/11 Basketball team

Lane End staff and pupils with Living Streets’ mascot Strider, National Highway

St Philip’s Catholic Primary School U11s have won the Outer South League, having beaten Middleton Primary 1-0. They play Shadwell next for the Champion of Champions.

Wellspring’s executive team (l-r) Dave Whitaker, Mark Wilson, Natalie Hardman, Josh Greaves and Mark Wood

St Luke’s rated Good by Ofsted Primary

Streets to help develop safer routes to school. Together, we will listen to communities and welcome this important feedback about how we could potentially improve walking routes for everyone in the future.”

Jane Hopwood, Headteacher at Lane End Primary School said: “Our children want to be safe out and about with their friends and family. Travelling by bike, scooter or on foot can be tricky in such a busy part of the city. We hope Living Streets can help make changes to our local area and plan a better future of our community.”

Cottingley kids get online safety talk from FBI Special Agent

It’snot every day that you receive a visit from an FBI Special Agent, but pupils at Cottingley Primary Academy, Leeds, have welcomed Miguel Clarke, a former FBI Special Agent for a session about online safety.

The visit was organised by Andrew Firth, MD of Leedsbased digital marketing agency Ascensor. He explains:

“Miguel is visiting the UK to address businesses on cyber crime, and we are supporting this by holding business briefings and webinars. We couldn’t miss the opportunity to enlist his expertise by visiting one of our local primary schools.”

During his visit Miguel met 32 Year Six pupils with a programme of activities looking at online safety, including discussions, informative videos, questions and answers, and rules to help stay safe online.

Commenting on Miguel’s visit, Cottingley Primary Principal, Kelly Bentley, says:

“We were thrilled to welcome Miguel to chat with our pupils. Online safety is an important element of our children’s education and his visit provided an exciting and engaging session.”

“One of our values at Cottingley Primary Academy is

place in the JR NBA Conference Finals.

‘Be Unusually Brave.’ We encourage our pupils not to be afraid of challenging wrongs, of making the right call, even when it’s both unusual and difficult to do so.

“Miguel emphasised the importance of bravery and speaking out to their teachers and parents about online dangers they may encounter. Our pupils were very excited by his visit and I’m sure his session will prove memorable to them.”

Miguel says:

“Online safety is a key topic for children, and I was very happy to be invited to Cottingley Primary Academy. The pupils were

engaged and intrigued about my FBI cyber security background, and I hope that my visit has been helpful in the stressing the importance of online safety for our children.”

Andrew Firth adds:

“We’re delighted that Miguel found time in a packed schedule to visit Cottingley Primary. He is in the UK with Armor, a cyber security advisory firm, in partnership with Digital Craftsmen, as an evangelist for cyber security, and has also delivered business cyber security briefings, webinars and conference speeches during his whirlwind visit.”

Beeston Hill St Luke's CofE

Primary School has been rated ‘Good’in all areas in its latest Ofsted inspection report published on Tuesday (23 May 2023).

Ofsted grades schools on a four point scale from Outstanding, to Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate. Primary Schools are graded across five categories:

confidence in leaders to deal with any type of bullying incident if it were to happen."

were standouts throughout the tournament, showcasing their incredible skill and leadership both on and off the court. They were deservedly named as the school team's MVPs.

Mr Burnell said, "The academy team's performance throughout the basketball finals competition was nothing short of outstanding. They played with heart, determination, and skill, and they should be proud of everything they achieved."

KS3 Basketball at CJCA

In a thrilling clash at Trinity, the CJCA Mavericks displayed their dominance and high energy to defeat the Trinity Kings convincingly with a final score of 32-10.

With this commanding victory, the Mavericks booked their

From the very beginning, the Mavericks showcased their intent to control the match. Their relentless pressure and disciplined defence made it difficult for the Kings to find their rhythm on offence.

The first quarter set the tone for the Mavericks' dominance, as they quickly established a comfortable lead. Their solid defensive efforts restricted the Kings to a mere 2 points, while the Mavericks capitalised on their opportunities to secure a 12-point lead by the end of the quarter. The second quarter witnessed a similar narrative as the Mavericks continued to assert their authority on the game. Despite being faced with a significant deficit, the Trinity Kings refused to give up. They showed great determination and resilience, attempting to mount a comeback in the third quarter.

Mrs Roberts, Head of School, said, "The basketball provision at the academy is incredible and due to this, students are

thriving."

The final is to be played on 28 June at Leeds Beckett University. We hope they'll be able to bring the trophy!

well-deserved bronze medal!

Mrs Roberts said, "Our academy is a community and we celebrate the successes of students. It was fantastic to see the school get behind Connie and we are thrilled about her achievements."

We look forward to seeing Connie compete in more competitions throughout her time at CJCA.

Dance Sensation at CJCA

An extremely talented Year 7 student, Connie, travelled across the world to compete in the Allstar World Dance Championships in America.

With her dance group, Leeds Dynamite TNT, she competed against a number of people from around the world (see page 24). Incredibly, they came third in the World Championships, earning a

CJCA

The quality of education

• Behaviour and attitudes

• Personal development

• management

• Leadership and

The school leadership is praised for its ambitions for the children to achieve academically and the promotion of a love of reading across the school. However, Inspectors say that they are not checking often enough with children who are struggling to read or with their maths. The report also says that behaviour isn't monitored closely enough to spot patterns or trends, but recognise that this is only a small minority of pupils.

Early years provision

• St Luke's was rated Good in all five areas. Inspectors start their report by saying:

"Pupils in this school show a love for learning. This is a happy and safe place for pupils to learn.There are strong relationshipsthroughout theschool.Adults set high expectations through an ambitious and interesting curriculum."

Further on they report:

"Pupils understand bullying. They recognise the difference between bullying and‘falling out’.They have well-placed

National Theatre festival that gives young people the opportunity to perform.

After months of hard work, the student travelled to York to deliver an awe-inspiring performance of ‘Is My Microphone On?’ at York Theatre Royal.

Miss Johnson said, "Each member of the cast was incredible. The play deals with some sensitive issues and they tackled these with maturity which helped to elevate their

The school hadn't been inspected for 12 years having been rated Outstanding in 2008. Schools rated Outstanding are not inspected as often as schools with a lower rating. In that period the Ofsted framework for inspections has changed several times and it is generally thought to be much harder to get an Outstanding judgement under the current regime.

The school was approached for comment but hasn't responded so far.

To read the full report go to: bit.ly/OfstedStLukes

performance. We have some extremely talented performers and I can't wait to work with them on another piece."

Miss Roberts added, "Our students love to perform. They did an exceptional iteration of We Will Rock You, they did an incredible performance in York and the upcoming MADD Fest is bound to blow us away.

“We value the arts at the academy and aim to give the students as many opportunities as possible."

Perform at York Theatre Royal Students in Year 9 and 10 took part in Connections, a

CJCA Mavericks

Stateside: Connie

CJCA students performed in York

ys and Leeds City Council

Former FBI Special Agent Miguel Clarke, talks to pupils about online safety at Cottingley Primary Academy

In our view

Leeds’ First Citizen

There is a a lot of pomp and flummery around the position of Lord Mayor of Leeds which lead some people to think it doesn’t really matter in the real world, but we chose to put it on our front page. Behind the robes and the bling, the position is elected by our 99 councillors and the Lord Mayor will chair their meetings throughout the year. Much of the year is taken up with vists to organisations and events around the city. The Lord Mayor’s attendance means a lot to the organisers of each event, often volunteers. It means the city has recognised their effots to make Leeds a better place in whatever way. Al Garthwaite and Angela Gabriel are both do-ers and will no doubt modernise some of the outdated and frankly sexist customs associated with their roles. We can’t wait!

Summer’s here at last

The weather is finally improving and we can all get out and enjoy our parks and greenspaces. There are three big community celebrations coming up with Galas in Hunslet and Holbeck and Beeston Festival. Make sure you get along and enjoy everything that is on offer. Please also stop and thinkcould I help the organisers by lending a hand for an hour or two?

Print dates

We usually print on the last Monday of the month, but we have made some changes over the summer. Our next newspapers will be available from:

Wednesday 5 July

Wednesday 6 September

Your letters and comments

Local elections

It is not a great sign of the health of our local democracy when only two of the candidates were able to commit time to join the Middleton Park Ward hustings session live.

Mike

At least we've got two councillors now who live in the Middleton Park area, not like back in the day when they live elsewhere and never see them.

Rob Sykes

Just to note that Labour Councillor Sharon Burke lives in the ward to put the record straight.

Karen Bruce

The thing is, none of the candidates in the Beeston and Holbeck ward were worth voting for going by what I read in leaflets (lack of them in many cases), and heard in the hustings. I didn't see nowhere near enough fight and aggression when it came to tackling anti social crime, the area has a massive police station within it, yet anti social crime is an unacceptable and ever increasing issue. Bus and train services locally are as dire as ever.

Andrew Scopes and co should not have allowed First to put into place that beyond ridiculous new timetable for the 51 and 52. The station at Cottingley does need to close, there are two stopping services per hour that serve that line on the common shared section of route between Leeds and Mirfield, it may mean a through express has to wait a few minutes but who cares, it's not carrying locals, it's just a few minutes, it's one additional station on this stopping service. Andrew Scopes and Co, fight to keep this station open for the people you represent or are you too busy cosying up to the useless Labour Mayor?

Joseph Lynch

Joseph Lynch says Cllr Scopes should not have let First Bus introduce the new timetable but that is exactly the problem. Leeds City Council has no control over the bus companies. That power was removed from them when Thatcher privatised the buses in the 1980s. Until we get democratic control back over bus services, as they have in London by the way, the service will never improve and we won’t be

Top Tweets

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:

@LeedsDads

Hey #Leeds have you seen the lineup for #DadstasticDay 2023 yet? We've got sports, music, dance, maths, science, storytelling, arts and crafts suitable for babies, toddlers and children up to 11. Book your free ticket and find out more at: leedsdads.org/dadstastic/

able tempt motorists out of their cars and reduce traffic congestion.

Jon Hands

St Luke’s Primary School

For me and for both my girls, this school has been outstanding. So much so, that my daughter who is about to go into year 9 at high school, still comes back to help out when her school has inset days.

Nigel Johnson-Hartlebury

The school is so caring, committed to the pupils and nurturing. It’s been exceptional for years and its value is above any Ofsted grades.

Amelia Kosciuch

That's great news! All my sons went to St Luke's as did I and my mum. My mum was there in the late 1930s, I was there from 1958. Obviously we were at the old St Luke's

Denise Greenwood Golden

Closing Junction 2a

Your Leeds City Councillors

Beeston & Holbeck ward Includes Beeston from Cross Flatts Park to the Ring Road, Cottingley and Holbeck. The three councillors are:

Gohar Almass (Labour) 07445 878 333 gohar.almass@leeds.gov.uk

Annie Maloney (Labour) 07554 969236 annie.maloney@leeds.gov.uk

Andrew Scopes (Labour) 07860 400645 andrew.scopes@leeds.gov.uk

Hunslet & Riverside ward Includes the city centre, Beeston Hill and Hunslet.

The three councillors are:

This is bad for Beeston dwellers. All the proposals brought forward for ‘Consultation’ had the closure of 2a in them. So, discussions on that were never possible. Now traffic is going to build up on Elland Road and Beeston Road (via Wesley Street, which will get worse) bringing more pollution as well, plus inconvenience for those who live close to junction 2a who use it to exit M621 there.

John Leckenby

Ed Carlisle (Green) 07738 921277 ed.carlisle@leeds.gov.uk

Mohammed Iqbal (Labour) 0113 226 8796 mohammed.iqbal@leeds.gov.uk

Paul Wray (Labour) 07528 512649 paul.wray@leeds.gov.uk

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

Sharon Burke (Labour) 0113 378 8814 sharon.burke@leeds.gov.uk

Wayne Dixon (SDP) 07852 311717 wayne.dixon@leeds.gov.uk

Emma Pogson-Golden (SDP) 07794 577586 emma.pogson-golden@leeds.gov.uk

This was a flawed consultation from Highways. The closure of Junction 2a was not offered as a choice. Nothing local people could say about the decision. It’s going to make Wesley Street very busy indeed.

Eve Tidswell

Clare Brookes

I have known Clare for a long time. She is a wonderful person with a huge heart. Good luck in the future Clare.

Kathleen Turner

Middleton Woods

I remember as a child, walking from top of Beeston down to Dewsbury Road and up over the tram tracks to the Clearings, through the bluebells.

Muriel Rogers

Surgery consultation

How cynical are Leeds City Medical Practice? They are consulting their patients until 11 June, but the surgery is already shut, boarded up and fenced off. The ‘consultation’ was clearly just a box ticking exercise and would have had no effect on their decision.

Sue Talbot

Join the debate

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

Letters may be edited for publication.

@stjosephhunslet

So so proud of the football team, who came away from the Catenian Cup as this year’s runners up! Brilliant work by the players and staff involved!

@HunsletClub

We love seeing the progress our dancers make each session with their routines!

@RachaelLoftus

There’s a reason it’s called City View Medical Practice. View of Leeds from Beeston Hill.

@LightNightLeeds

Want to volunteer for Light Night this year? We're teaming up with @LEEDS_2023 for the festival this October. By applying you will not only have the chance to volunteer for Light Night but ALSO the many Leeds 2023's events! Apply here by Friday 2nd June: leeds2023.co.uk/volunteerwith-leeds-2023

@WYP_Cadets

South Leeds cadets assisting at the Rob Burrows Marathon yesterday. They had a fantastic day, thank you for letting be a part

Counting votes in the local elections at the First Direct Arena

The recent council elections

– and congratulations to all those elected in South Leeds and to Al Garthwaite from Beeston on becoming our city’s new Lord Mayor – was the first after a new law came in requiring us to show voter ID.

In Leeds, 601 residents were initially turned away from polling stations on 4 May, and more than a third of those –225 – didn’t return to vote. Whether those 225 did not have voter ID or just gave up we will never know, but that is still a lot of people who were denied the chance to exercise their democratic right.

This was bad enough, but the figures take no account of the people who never even tried to go and vote in the first place because they didn't have suitable identification. I don’t think this is acceptable and, in my view, the current law should be scrapped.

I was moved to read in South Leeds Life about the recent commemoration at Holbeck Cemetery organised by the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association to remember the women who served during the Second World War. As you reported, on 11 May 1943, twenty-six servicewomen were killed by bombs dropped on Great Yarmouth, and one of those who lost her life was 22 year old Private Vera Mann who was from Beeston Hill. She now rests in Holbeck Cemetery.

Women played a hugely important role in the war effort from transporting planes to active airfields to making weapons and munitions, tending to the sick and injured and so many other jobs including the remarkable contribution of the Women's Land Army (WLA) and the Women’s Timber Corps (WTC).

Founded originally in World

War One, women were recruited to help farmers produce food and cut timber because so many men had been called up to the front. For many years, the service of the Land Girls and Lumber Jills - as they were affectionally knownhad never been recognised, until one day - when I was the Environment Secretary - I received a letter from an MP about one of his elderly constituents who asked whether something could now be done to acknowledge what they had contributed.

It was one of those occasions when being in government meant that you could do something, so I decided that we should produce a badge to honour all those who had served in the WLA and the WTC who was still alive.

We were astonished to discover that over 30,000 women wrote in, and I

remember going to see the team dealing with the applications surrounded by sacks of mail, which included memories and photos. For many of them, it was the first time they had been away from home and quite a few met their husbands-to-be where they were posted. We held an event at 10 Downing Street where the Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented the first 50 badges, including to the woman who had started it all off by writing to her local MP.

On the subject of wartime service and loss, as 23 June approaches each year, my thoughts turn to my uncle Flt Lieutenant Michael Benn - an RAF pilot and holder of the DFC - who was killed when his Mosquito crashed three weeks after D-Day. Among his possessions that were lovingly returned to the family by the RAF was a letter he had written to be read in the event of his death.

In it he said, “To you all, I say ‘au revoir’. It was my dearest wish to see us all united after the war. I wanted to settle down to do what I could to prevent the suffering of another war from descending on the lives of

our children. How I longed to see a world where people could be as free and happy as we were in our family.”

Had he lived, he intended to go into the Church of England and become a vicar. His death was a terrible loss to the family including to my father who got the news in a telegram in Rhodesia where he was on RAF pilot training. When I was little, my grandmother would take me to the Field of Remembrance by Westminster Abbey to place a cross and a poppy in memory of Uncle Mike, and I recall feeling a terrible sadness because I was never able to meet him. So many families on all sides in that war went through the same experience,

which is why continuing to remember is so important.

And finally, on a happier note, while election campaigning recently, I came across Champions Community Sport and Health who, every Saturday, run football training on Hunslet Moor. As well as offering exercise and ball skills, they also provide lunch and a sense of pride and purpose for the large number of young people who take part. I was really impressed by the wonderful work they are doing. One of the great things about our community is the large number of people who give so freely of their time to help others. We owe them all a big debt of gratitude.

Hilary Benn is our Member of Parliament

He represents the Leeds Central constituency which covers South Leeds as well as other parts of the city

Contact: hilary.benn.mp@parliament.uk, www.hilarybennmp.com

Constituency office: Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds, LS7 1AB; Tel: 0113 244 1097

with Hilary Benn MP

Local

history

with Ken Burton

Matthew Murray

Murray had charge of this and introduced several minor improvements to this.

In 1793 Murray took out Patent 1971 for ‘Instruments and machines for spinning fibrous materials, etc’, it included a Carding Engine and Spinning Machine. He also introduced ‘Sponge Weights’ and the process of ‘Wet Spinning’ of flax, which created a revolution in the trade.

Murray had been with John Marshall for about 12 years when he was approached to join James Fenton, David Wood, and William Lister to start a works for repairing and making machinery and engines because Leeds at this time had no facilities for doing this.

Immersing himself in designing more efficient engines and components and taking out Patents on numerous of these, one of these was for parallel motion which depended on the principle that a cycloidal curved formed by one circle rolling in another became a straight line when the diameter of the outer circle was twice that of the inner. Murray passed this to James White who in 1801 was residing in France he submitted it to Napoleon Bonaparte who gave White a medal and this then became White’s Parallel Motion.

from Bowling Green to Braydon.

1812 was also the year that Murray built engines for John Blenkinsop but this was covered last month in the Blenkinsop article.

MatthewMurray is believed to have been born in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1765 but little is known of his early life.

His father, when he reached the right age had him apprenticed to a Smith, more probably a Millwright or a Mechanic in his native town. He married a girl, Mary Thompson (1764-1836), from Whickam, County Durham, before his apprenticeship was completed.

He then went to Stockton-onTees where he finished his apprenticeship before working as a journeyman mechanic in the flax mill of John Kendrew in Darlington, where the mechanical spinning of flax had been invented. Trade became bad and he heard that there may be a chance of better employment in Leeds so packing a few articles and with his kit of tools he left his wife behind and set out to walk the roughly 60 miles to Leeds.

Arriving, he hadn’t enough money to pay for a bed at the Bay Horse Inn. Telling the landlord that he was hoping to work for John Marshall he was put on trust by him. The morning after his arrival he went to Scotland Mill, a water mill in a picturesque valley at Adel where John Marshall was in the flax manufacturing business. Marshall required assistance and set Murray to work firstly as a handyman doing odd jobs about the

machinery. Later, finding his abilities useful, he made him Chief Mechanic and as such he made several suggestions and improvements for which he was given £20.

Murray, now finding his prospects improving sent for his wife and they took a cottage on Black Moor near Adel. Business improved and the old water mill at Adel became too small for all the work. In 1790

Marshall decided to move to larger premises nearer the Leeds manufacturing area and in partnership with a Mr Benyon he started a mill in Holbeck.

The mill was at first driven by a waterwheel the water being supplied by a Savery steam engine and probably from the Hol Beck. It was about this time that Murray took out his first Patent No.1752 of 1790 for ‘A machine for spinning Flax, Cotton, Silk, etc’. In 1793 a Boulton & Watt steam engine of 28hp driving 900 spindles replaced the waterwheel.

Fenton found most of the capital, Murray was in charge of the engine and building environment, Wood saw to the design of the machinery, while Lister, although his name appeared on contracts, etc appears to have been a sleeping partner. They took the name of Fenton, Murray & Wood. Their first workshop was at Mill Green, Holbeck but this turned out to be too small and they soon moved to a site near Camp Field in Water Lane, Holbeck.

It was here on this new site that he constructed among the other buildings a large circular workshop that was known as the “Round Foundry” and it was here that Murray devoted his energy to making improvements to the steam engine and machine tools.

Murray built himself a house close to the Round Foundry and heated this by a steam system and it was known locally as “Steam Hall”. The house had an exciting episode when a party of Luddites visited the various works with a view to stopping the use of machiner., Murray was not at home but his wife, Mary, refused to talk to the leaders and brought out a pistol and fired, although nobody was hurt they immediately left and caused no more trouble in the area.

It was about 1803 that Murray was seen as a threat to Boulton & Watt who took him to court on charges that he was using their ideas in his engines, the court found against Murray and to try and stop Murray expanding they bought land in Camp Field at the side of Murray’s works. Instead of being discouraged by these rebuffs Murray now devoted more time and energy to the business, orders flowed in and in 1804 he commenced sending work abroad and an engine for Sweden was amongst the first of these foreign orders. During 1807 several large size beam engines were turned out, two going to London water works while others went to various places in the Midlands. Murray brought out his 1809 Flax Heckling machine for which he received the Gold Medal of the Society of Arts and presented to him by the Duke of Sussex.

In 1811 Murray appears to have been working with Trevithick because he produced one of his highpressure engines which was fitted to a boat in 1812. The vessel in question was originally a French privateer Lugger of 52 feet and propelled by three long sails and 20 oars called the “L’Actif” it was captured and brought to Yarmouth where it was bought by a Quaker, John Wright. It was brought to the Canal Basin in Leeds near Murray’s works and fitted with a steam engine with an eight inch cylinder diameter and a 2 foot 6 inch stroke and a wrought iron boiler with cast iron ends driving paddle wheels. She was renamed “Experiment” and had her first public trial on the River Aire before she went under steam back to Yarmouth where on the 9th August 1813 she made her first public trip with passengers

In 1813 Murray designed and built some large beam engines, one of which was built and put to work at the Water Hall Mill, Holbeck, where it worked until 1885, a period of 72 years. The years 1815-16 saw Mr Francis B Ogden, United States Vice-Consul in Liverpool, and afterwards engaged in various business projects in America come to England and order from Fenton, Murray & Wood several engines for steam boats, one of which was fitted on board a steam tug on the Mississippi River and it is said to have frequently taken against the stream a ship of 300 to 400 tons on each side and two smaller vessels, Brigs or Schooners towed astern.

Fenton, Murray & Wood were pioneers in the supply of engines, machinery and mill work on the Continent. The Emperor of Russia in recognition of Matthew Murray’s services presented him with a valuable diamond ring and he also received a gold snuff box from the King of Sweden.

He was the first in Leeds to

have his works lit with coal gas, and he was largely responsible for getting the authorities to consent to the construction of works for supplying the town with gas. He also acted as a consulting engineer to woollen mills, dye houses, oil mills, and coal mines. Several prominent engineers were trained at the Round Foundry; these were Benjamin Hicks, Charles Todd, David Joy, and Richard Peacock. He earned the right to the title Father of Leeds Engineering.

Matthew Murray died on 20 February 1826 in his 61st year; he was interred in a vault in St. Matthew’s Churchyard, Holbeck where a cast iron obelisk made at the Round Foundry marks his resting place. His wife Mary died in Holbeck in 1836.

Matthew and Mary had four children, three girls and a boy.

Margaret born 1786 died 1840 married Richard Jackson; Anne born 1790 died 1874 married Charles Gascoigne Maclea; Matthew born 1793 died 1835, he served his apprenticeship at the Round Foundry then went to Russia where he founded an engineering business in Moscow where he died aged 42; Mary born 1797 died 1864 married Joseph Ogden March (1799-1888).

Matthew Murray (1765-1826)

The Round Foundry Memorial to Matthew Murray in St Matthew's Churchyard, Holbeck

Holbeck Lodge (Steam Hall)

Leeds Town Hall

by Hon Ald Elizabeth Nash

Likeother towns, Leeds was hit with the Cholera outbreak in the early 1830s.

At the time it was believed that people contracted the virus through breathing in contaminated air. But local Dr Robert Baker made the connection between insanitary living conditions in poor areas and the higher prevalence of the disease compared with more affluent areas of Leeds.

The poor areas had dirt streets which were littered with human excrement, polluting local water supplies. He campaigned for the Council to bring clean water to the town, to build sewers and to pave the streets and he was successful.

The Leeds Town Council

created a corporation to do this and when the second wave of Cholera hit the Country in the 1850s, Leeds suffered less than other areas including London which suffered badly.

Dr Robert Baker eventually became a town councillor (Leeds did not achieve city status until 1897). The Corporation then started creating other public services such as a gas producing company and an electricity producing company. Leeds was the first town in the Country to run an electric tram service.

Older readers will recall that council houses were called “corporation houses” and our buses corporation buses.

In 1870 when the Government introduced

compulsory education for children aged between 5-14, local authorities, mainly corporations, were in place to supply the school buildings and train the teachers. And, of course, much later when the NHS was formed in 1947, the corporations were in place to deliver all medical services outside of hospitals such as employing district nurses, running an ambulance service, supplying medical equipment to residents, supplying free home helps for elderly or incapacitated residents and even building local doctors surgeries.

I was the last Leeds City Councillor who had served on the Leeds Corporation for its last two years 1972-1974. It saddens me now that all those services which the Corporation provided at a low cost to residents have been taken away from local government.

Pathways for positivity with Shannon Humphrey Mindfulness Bingo!

Read or listen to a book that is totally different to your usual style.

Have a family night off the technology. Dig out an old board game or a pack of cards instead.

When you wake up, hit snooze for five minutes. use those five minutes to send loving thoughts to someone you care about.

Mindful meals. Eat at least one meal a day without focusing on something else, tv, phone, gaming etc. Chew more slowly and savour the taste.

Before you go to sleep, either write down, or think about the 5 best things to happen that day.

De-clutter your home of last season's things you no longer want or need. Donate to charity, gift or resell them.

Enjoy local parks and greenspaces. Look out for community events.

Beeston Festival 24.6.2023

Look into your own eyes in the mirror for at least a minute, then say something nice. It might feel weird at first, but give it a try.

By the 1850s Leeds Town Council had become very busy and its existing accommodation in the Moot Hall at the bottom of Briggate was not big enough to not only accommodate the councillors but also the senior employees carrying out the work. It held a competition for a new town hall, which was won by Cuthbert Brodrick who also designed the City Museum and the Leeds Corn Exchange.

In 1858 150,000-200,000 people turned out to watch Queen Victoria open Leeds Town Hall. The building housed the council chamber (situated in what is now known as the Albert Room), the Assize Courts for serious criminal cases and the Quarter Session Courts for less serious crimes, a major police station, and a prison in the basement called the Bridewell.

With the City’s increasing

population there were more wards and more councillors and, unfortunately, there was more crime and pressure on court accommodation. This led to the Council moving out in 1933 to the newly built Civic Hall.

removed to restore the original circulation areas.

How many of these simple mindful ideas can you do this month to boost your wellbeing?

Deliberately welcome the sunrise/ sunset.

Sit quietly for 10 minutes (daily if you can) Focus on your breathing. Steadily in through your nose, out through your mouth.

Make time for mindful conversations. Give the person you're with your full, undivided attention. Simply listen without interruption or distraction.

Cuddles are great for lowering stress, anxiety and worry. They also boost your happy hormones, so give and receive as many hugs and cuddles as you can!

Eat seasonal fruit or vegetables in a recipe you've never tried before.

Make the most of the lighter nights. Take an evening stroll instead of sitting in front of the TV (Yes, this is a note to self!)

Appreciate your feet! Take some time to thank your feet for all the hard work they do with a pedicure and massage.

Wild Card - Do something that makes you feel special.

The courts moved out relatively recently to new accommodation. Leeds has the legacy now of a premier performance space and many arts and sporting organisations already use it. The Council was successful in obtaining two Heritage Lottery grants. The first grant was for the restoration of the huge pipe organ – thought to be the biggest in Europe with 4,000 pipes, most of which are stacked behind those decorated pipes displayed in front in view of the audience. Many of the organ’s pipes had deteriorated to such a state that they have had to be replaced. The only company making such pipes in the country is the Leeds firm Shire Organ Pipes in Bramley and they have been engaged.

The second grant was to restore and refurbish the building to be fit for community use. The Town Hall exterior has been improved by the installation of new doubleglazed windows, a new ground floor entrance has been provided giving wheelchair access to the lift, and a central handrail to the front steps. The Courts had fitted plasterboards everywhere to give them more office and court space and this has been

An exciting discovery was made when a hidden staircase was revealed. This led to a small balcony, a replica of the main one in the Victoria Hall. The downstairs had a plasterboard ceiling so the balcony could not be seen from below. That ceiling has now been removed to reveal a beautiful stained-glass ceiling and other architectural features. An additional access staircase to this balcony will be installed and new comfortable seats to cover the Victorian theatre-style balcony benches will be provided creating a delightful small performance area.

New toilets space has been created commensurate with the increased use by the many organisations. Unfortunately, because of the increase in the cost of materials, the grant will not cover total redecoration although much will take place based on illustrations held at Temple Newsam and also by scratching the existing paint to see what lies beneath.

It is difficult to imagine how ghastly life was for most people 150 years ago. Our Town Hall is a monument to those dedicated councillors who strove to make life better for all of us. Our Town Hall is already nationally and internationally famous for its magnificent external architecture but will undoubtedly become famous as a magnificent setting for community, local, national and international events.

Photo: Shutterstock

Audiences

in

Football Freddie’s coming to a community venue near you Review: A Passionate Woman at Leeds Playhouse

neighbourhood venues across Leeds will be having a ball this summer when Leeds Playhouse takes Fidget Theatre’s ‘Football Freddie’ on a two-week Community Tour, kicking off on 5 June.

Ten community venues, including Jamyang Buddhist Centre in Holbeck, the Hamara Centre in Beeston and Middleton Parochial Hall, will be hosting the show on its (referee’s) whistle-stop tour of the city, giving their friends and neighbours the chance to see a fun family show by a professional company, with tickets costing just £3.

Luke Dankoff, Participation Producer at Leeds Playhouse, said:

by Christine Brathwaite

Kay Mellor – the beating heart of Leeds’ writing scene? A major artery at the very least, so the showing of A Passionate Woman which debuted in the same playhouse (then West Yorkshire Playhouse) and same Courtyard theatre 30 years ago was very apt.

As the title would suggest the theme is love – a mother’s love for her son, a wife’s dying love for her husband and a woman’s buried love for a past fleeting paramour. All those women are embodied in the main character Betty (Katherine Dow Blyton) who we meet in the attic on the morning of her only son’s wedding. She is distracting herself from the perceived loss of Mark (Tom Lorcan) to his wife-to-be and has retreated into past memories including “Craze” (Michael Bijok) who resided in the basement flat under her and husband Donald’s (David Crellin) first home.

Despite being newly wedded Betty embarked on an intense affair with Craze. His “reappearance” and Mark’s impending move to Milton Keynes makes Betty face the realities of where middle age has taken her.

All – let’s not forget the voice talents of Everal A Walsh and Martelle Edinborough who played the unseen Fireman and Margaret (Betty’s sister) respectively – put in competent, solid performances. Dow Blyton who

bears a passing resemblance to Mellor really resonated with the audience and from the first word she uttered to the last, she evoked laughter and even a semi standing ovation during the curtain call. This highlighted how much the audience related to the script which bore all the hallmarks of the Mellor formula and transitioned seamlessly through the genres of soliloquy, comedy, ghost tale, melodrama and the fantastical.

The set was as lively as the audience and the usual attic paraphernalia had a healthy dusting of grey which was transformed during Betty’s supernatural reunion with Craze with the switching on of some strategically placed old lamps and a Christmas tree. It was ironically reminiscent of a fairground which the real-life Craze worked in (the play is based on Mellor’s own mother’s affair). One pivot of the set took us to the exterior of the roof (who’d have thought slates would make such a smashing back drop) which also managed to incorporate a hot air balloon which not a lot of plays can lay claim to.

Based on the audience response alone, all of whom seemed to connect to the characters and plot from opening of the curtains, I would recommend A Passionate Woman.

A Passionate Woman runs at Leeds Playhouse Courtyard Theatre until Saturday 10 June.

Full details at: leedsplayhouse.org.uk/event/ a-passionate-woman

“It’s important for us as an organisation that we can take work outside the theatre and make connections with so many new and returning people across the Leeds City Region.”

‘Football Freddie’, presented by Leeds-based Fidget Theatre, is the story of a little girl with a big heart, who loves the beautiful game. Walking –running, kicking and tackling –in the footsteps of her professional footballer GreatGreat-Great Uncle, she learns valuable lessons in teamwork and the joy of joining in. She also enjoys a good old fashioned kickabout.

Fidget Theatre, said:

“The community tour has been an integral part of Leeds Playhouse’s programme for many years. It has been a privilege to speak to so many representatives of community venues who are embedded in their area for us to work together to deliver such a wonderful show.

Uncle Fred – based on real life footballer Freddie Farren who played for Bradford City in the early 1900s – takes his namesake Great-Great-Great Niece on an unforgettable adventure back in time to relive his glory days, inviting the audience to join in the fun too with chants, cheering and even a few keepie-uppies.

Ruth Cooper and Andrea Heaton, Co-Artistic Directors of

“It’s coming home! Football Freddie, our new family theatre show, will be touring our home city of Leeds this June. We can’t wait to share Freddie’s infectious love of the beautiful game with children and families as we gear up for a summer of football fever supporting the Lionesses. Come and join Freddie’s friendly team and catch us in local community venues from 5 June.”

This magical new show features playful storytelling, friendly audience participation

and integrated audio description alongside original sound design and vibrant set and costumes.

Monday 5 June, 6pm, • Jamyang Buddhist Centre, Ingram Road, Holbeck, LS11 9RQ

Wednesday 14 June, • 6pm, Hamara Centre, Tempest Road, Beeston, LS11 6RD

Saturday 17 June, 4pm, • Middleton Parochial Hall, North Lingwell Road, LS10 3SP

Book tickets at leedsplayhouse.org.uk/event/ football-freddie-communitytour

The Metaphorical Museum and The Underworld comes to Beeston

by Bruce Davies

Jeffrey Knopf is a Manchester based artist who uses technology to create artworks.

This exhibition features sculptures made from digitally scanning objects and printing them in 3D. One of the sculptures in this show features a Beeston landmark that you will definitely recognise!

The other objects may also seem familiar, but after the process of digitising they are rendered almost abstract. Our minds are left to fill in the detail in the same way as the scanning technology has to fill in what it does not understand.

Come and join us for the opening night on Thursday 1 June 5:30-8:30pm. Meet the artist and enjoy a glass of wine two with us.

The exhibition then runs until Thursday 6 July. Check the website for opening times: basementartsproject.com

“The act of stepping over a threshold and down is what intrigues me, it’s the space under, The Underworld” -

Jeffrey Knopf

The Underworld revisits themes from his basement exhibition at Manchester’s Mirabel Street Gallery in November 2022, whilst The Metaphorical Museum presents a new body of work.

Knopf’s vision of The Underworld is not one of tortured souls or Elysian fields,

but one that is playful yet precarious, a metaphor for the current times we are living in. The Metaphorical Museum on the other hand, looks at studio practice and museum display; figuration abstracted by technology and presented as incomplete and substituted memories.

“My sculptures are blurred

and have an air of digital archaeology about them, because of this they are able to encompass the past, present and future” - Jeffrey Knopf BasementArtsProject is located at 28 Back Burton Terrace, Beeston, LS11 5JH. Phone: 0750 672 1504; email: basementartsproject@gmail .com

Community Galas and Festivals

The start of summer means it’s time for communities to celebrate with Galas and Festivals.

Over three weekends at the end of June and start of July, first Hunslet, then Beeston and Holbeck will each hold their annual events.

Although a Feast has taken place in Hunslet for centuries, the current Gala dates back to 2003. The event will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on Saturday 17 June on the recreation ground by Church Street and Grove Road.

As usual the event will run from 11:30am-4pm with a range of stalls ranged around an arena that will see an array of local talent perform through the afternoon. Punch and Judy, fairground rides, inflatables and refreshments will also on the field.

A week later it’s the turn of Beeston Festival, which will take over Cross Flatts Park on Saturday 24 June, 12-5pm.

Live music will be provided on two stages featuring reggae band Love Generation and indie rockers Alfie Blue, as well as spoken word artist Danetta Copeland aka ‘D3’ and rapper Blackson.

Children and young people can enjoy Breeze inflatables, a climbing wall, sports, arts and crafts. There will be live farmyard animals, donkey rides and birds of prey. 100 stalls make up the Bazaar including a range of food stall in the central food court.

Once again Marshall Waddington brings his fun fair to the park and watch out for roaming entertainers as you make your way around the site.

Finally in the Arena, which moves to the games courts this year, you’ll find a wide range of dance acts co-curated with Leeds 2023 Year of Culture.

Holbeck Gala rounds off the treble on Saturday 1 July, running from 12-4pm on Holbeck Moor.

Expect live music, refreshments, a beer tent, stalls and lots of activities for children of all ages.

All of these events take a lot of organising which is all done by volunteers. If you enjoy the

BME Carers Roadshow

events and would like to see them continue why not give up a little of your time to help? There are lots of different roles and you won’t be asked to do anything you are not comfortable with. To find out more email: info@hunslet festival.org.uk, beestonfestival volunteers@gmail.com, or holbeckgalainfo@gmail.com

Friends unveil summer programme of events in Middleton Park

The Friends of Middleton Park have unveiled their summer programme of events for 2023 and as usual it includes live music, dance, history walks, some Shakespeare and the Great Middleton Park Show.

Live music on the bandstand includes the Corpus Christi Band (Sunday 4 June, 2:304:30pm), Phoenix Brass Band (2 July), Wakefield Big Band (3 September) and The Friendly Band once again closing the season on Sunday 24

September.

Middleton Park will host the ward’s contribution to Leeds 2023 Year of Culture when the Friends welcome back the Balbir Singh dance company along with lots of local groups from Belle Isle and Middleton on 6 August.

A highlight for many will be Oddsocks Theatre’s return on Tuesday 11 July. This year they present Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, but don’t worry about it being high brow. This is the Bard’s work retold

as family-friendly pantomime. The free show starts at 7pm, and goes on whatever the weather. Bring a picnic, chair or rug and maybe an umbrella just in case.

Guided walks will reveal various aspects of the park through the summer. Recreation and Sport is the subject for the walk on Sunday 25 June. Meet at the Visitor Centre at 1:30pm, please wear suitable footwear and dress for the weather. That’s followed by a Woodland and Nature walk

Carers Leeds and Hamara are delighted to be hosting a BME Carers Roadshow for unpaid carers from across Leeds’ diverse communities. This event, on Thursday 8 June, 10:30am-1:30pm, aims to raise awareness of unpaid caring and the information, advice and support that is available in Leeds.

There will be information stalls to help you learn more about: Finance, grants and benefits

• Your health & wellbeing

• Local services that can help

• Access to social groups

• Support available for care

• And much more!

• Free food and refreshments will also be available.

Employability Motivation workshop

Hunslet Rugby League club are hosting an Employability Motivation Course on Sunday 2 July, 10am-1pm at the South Leeds Stadium. The course is free of charge and key advice will be given on writing CVs, on interview techniques, on public speaking and on enterprise.

The event has been organised by the Hunslet Foundation, and those who attend will be invited to stay behind for the Doncaster match – for just £5 admission. Places can be booked by emailing michael.nuttall@hunsletrugbyfoundation.co.uk

Repair Cafés need volunteer fixers and hosts

(30 July), South Leeds Golf Course which is now incorporated into the park (20 August) and finishing with The Brandlings and their Legacy (17 September). The Brandling family owned the estate, lived at the lodge and developed coal mining and the railway. Other events include a fun Dog Show on Sunday 11 June. Find the waggiest tails and the best doggie smiles. Run with your dog through a dog agility course and meet local dog friendly businesses who could help with everyday tasks. Register for free from 12pm on the day.

There will also be a family picnic (27 August) and of course The Great Middleton Park Show (10 September). The show includes a craft and produce competion as well as stalls, food, live music and dance and live animal displays.

All of the events take a lot of organising which is all done by volunteers. If you enjoy the events and would like to see them continue why not give up a little of your time to help? There are lots of different roles and you won’t be asked to do anything you are not comfortable with. To find out more contact Friends of Middleton Park by emailing info@fomp.co.uk

Full details of all the events can be found at: fomp.co.uk

Leeds Repair Café landed in south Leeds last month, with new events in Belle Isle and Holbeck – but they need our help to continue! Repair Café is an international volunteer-led movement for people to fix up broken household items together, rather than throw them away. BITMO (belleisletmo.co.uk) in Belle Isle have further events between 1pm-4pm on Saturdays 17 June and 15 July; Cloth Cat (clothcatleeds.org.uk) are holding theirs at The Holbeck club, also 1pm-4pm, on Saturdays 24 June and 29 July; then both organisations hope to continue their events for the long-run. However, the events are wholly dependent on local people, willing to volunteer as fixers or hosts. To find out more, contact the organisations direct, or visit ‘Leeds Repair Café’ on Facebook. Note that volunteers are welcome to help out regularly or just occasionally.

Slung Low presents ...

Performed as a 12 track album, The Gods The Gods The Gods is an exhilarating weave of big beats, heavy basslines, soaring melodies and heart-stopping spoken word.

The 65-minute show weaves together 4 stories: two kids meet out dancing, they’re set to fall hard; a woman is on a beach, alone at night, looking at the stars; a bloke is on a bridge, thinking about jumping, just before dark. It’s a show about what we continually look for outside of ourselves, and what we might find in those people who surround us.

Performed on the outdoor stage Slung Low at Temple, 131 Water Lane, LS11 9UD (so dress for the weather) on Sunday 4 June at 7:30pm.

Music hall, theatre and drag king cabaret erupt as Modest brings you Elizabeth Thompson – megastar of the Victorian art scene. Performed by a cast of actor-musicians, this punk-spirited show will break your heart and start a revolution.

At Slung Low’s Warehouse in Holbeck, Crosby Street, Holbeck, Leeds LS11 9RQ on Friday 23 June at 7:30pm.

Book pay what you decide tickets for both shows from www.slunglow.org/shows

Crowds at Hunslet Gala last year

12 months of success for Holbeck Moor JFC

Sam’s a ‘Move More Hero’

SinceGet Set Leeds Local (GSLL) began, we have loved meeting the huge number of people across the South Leeds communities taking part, volunteering and leading a huge variety of activities each week which get themselves or others moving in some way.

We feel these people are all ‘heroes’ and an inspiration to us and others. With the help from some GSLL friends, every month we are meeting and sharing a little about some of these ‘Move More Heroes’.

by

Success comes in many forms, from the number of children playing football with friends to the teams winning cups and leagues with on field success.

But for Holbeck Moor JFC success has been giving the community a football club that has allowed their children the opportunity to play football.

It’s bringing people together, seeing children and families smiling and rejoicing in their children playing football. It’s walking through Holbeck and seeing children wearing the club colours, being proud with a sense of belonging.

In our first 12 months we have done many things as a club. We ran a school competition where the students had to draw a picture to name our mascot which was eventually named ‘Holby’. We became a foodbank drop off point for the local community foodbank. We donated shoe boxes filled with gifts at Christmas to some local children.

We ran our first football camp in the summer of 2022 which was free to families with many more positive actions throughout the year. With upwards of 150 children now involved with the club the

growth of the club has been exceptional.

This year we have already launched our Holbeck Moor Swap Shop where families can exchange boots or clothes for other items free of charge. We have launched our low cost subs to make it affordable for all. And we have many more plans lined up for 2023 and beyond.

Success can be seen in many forms, but for us as a club it’s giving children the opportunity to lace up a pair of boots and step onto the pitch and play football, make new friends and learn life skills.

We would like to thank all those people that have supported us and believed in our project through the first 12 months. On to the next 12 months as we grow even more.

For the upcoming season 2023/24 we will have teams at Under 7, Under 8, Under 10, Under 11, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 15 and maybe at other age groups.

If you have a child who is interested in playing football please get in touch. If you could be someone interested in coaching then please get in touch.

Contact via Facebook Page fb.com/HolbeckMoorJFC or email us at holbeckmoorjfc@outlook.com

This month we caught up with Sam, who was put forward by DAZL dance, due to being the inspiring young person they see Sam as.

Can you tell us a little about yourself Sam?

My name is Sam Lawrence, I’m 15 years old currently doing my mock GCSEs. I’ve lived in South Leeds my whole life. I started dancing at the age of 4, so have been doing it now for about 11 years. I did a little bit of football too when I was younger, but I realised that my passion was with dance.

What got you into dance? Is it something you’ve always done?

I think I’m the only dancer in my family, so I’m not sure where my joy for it came from. It feels like something I’ve always done. I used to dance around the house, so I think my parents always recognised I would be a dancer one day. I joined an after-school dance club at primary school, and my love of dance has grown since then.

Do you have a favourite style of dance?

I’ve got two main favourite styles of dance, which are Contemporary and Commercial Hip Hop Mix.

What training do you do?

I’m currently returning after injury. Not dancing is taking a toll, but I have been given some exercises to get back dancing fully soon again.

Typically in a normal week I’ll train with different dance groups four nights per week after school, and then do a full day on a Saturday at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

Training is busy. I’ve been with DAZL about 4 years. I’m part of the DAZL Excel programme, which supports advanced training [Excel is a performance programme for talented dancers to support their progression into further dance opportunities]. We do lots of technical training and

get lots of performance opportunities.

I’m also part of Kick Off, which is an all-boys contemporary dance group. I also train on the Northern School of Contemporary Dance on their CAT scheme (Centre for Advanced Training) where we really dive into technique, but also helps with things such as nutrition for dancing.

I have also studied dance in school which has given me a good non-physical knowledge of dance, insight into performance and technique.

What’s your favourite dance?

What do you think you get out of it?

I feel the physical side helps

me quite a lot of performance opportunities –things like on stage performances, video and flash mobs. It helps me become more of a versatile performer. Through DAZL I’ve become exposed to so many different forms of dance, I feel it’s helped me to be a better dancer.

Have you had any moments which feel the most rewarding?

Performing on the main stage of FRESH, which is a Yorkshire Dance showcase performance of youth dance, definitely stands out as one of those moments.

I’d also say winning a sportsmanship prize at a DAZL awards night helped prove I was a supportive person, and has shown how dance has helped me become a better person than I already am.

Has anyone else supported/inspired you?

I would say my mum. She’s been there in the moments when I’ve questioned whether to continue, to support me to see why I do it and inspires me to continue.

Any advice for someone considering giving dance a try?

Dance is a really accessible sport. It can be modified for whatever your physical ability. The best part of dance is the positive affect on your mental health, and the massive positive benefits to your physical health.

I’d say to anyone to just get stuck in, people may think its not for them, but when they try it they usually realise they enjoy it.

How do you find the school/dance balance?

keep me healthy, it keeps me physically well. I feel like dance is a form of expression. Dance helps you communicate the words that you can’t necessarily say out loud. It keeps me happy.

There’s a sense of community around dance as well. I go to dance, and I feel there’s always people there to support me, people like Mason one of my tutors (from DAZL), but there’s also the people around me. I feel it influences me to be a better version of myself.

Do you do performances as well as training?

I do quite a few performances. I feel DAZL give

I’m practicing for GCSEs this year, ready to do them properly next year when I go into Year 11. The people at dance are great at helping me with revising, which I really appreciate.

With school stress, I feel dancing helps me balance the stress of school and helps me relieve the stress through the physical movement.

Any aspirations?

I want to pursue both dance and musical theatre. Musical theatre mixes up all the training of dance and drama and puts it into one. I’ve done some musical theatre through school, Sister Act was really fun, Adams Family and I had a main role in Rock of Ages.

My main dream would be to perform in the West End one day.

The U9s won the Garforth Junior Football League Dual Europa Cup

Holbeck Moor U14s won the league

Russ Mellor

South Leeds gets moving

them:

Parkrun parkrun.org.uk

by Karen Peck

OnSaturday 13 May the very first Let’s Move: South Leeds event created a great vibe in Cross Flatts Park.

Many thanks to all the partners who supported to develop the concept, and those who put on some great free activities, and to residents who attended. Along with activities from youth services and breeze, we had Dewsbury Road Hub supporting with a very popular treasure hunt with a dip in the Wonder Bag and a snack bag (kindly donated by Morrisons). Many thanks to the Inner South Community Committee for their support. Thanks also to Mark Hodgkinson and the team (via Space, Salvation Army) for cooking up some delicious pizzas to be enjoyed by many.

We’re already planning next year’s event, which is likely to be end of April 2024. If you’d like to get involved helping develop next year’s event or would like your group to be a part of it, then get in touch.

The event was developed in part to showcase some of the good stuff happening across South Leeds, so whether you were able to attend on 13th May or not, we thought we’d share a quick lowdown on some of the groups who provided activities, and how you can find out more about

Walk, jog or run it - Cross Flatts parkrun is a free, fun and friendly 5km community event every Saturday at 9am. Anyone new attending is guaranteed a warm welcome. A junior 2km parkrun for 4 to 14 year olds takes place every Sunday at 9am.

Yoga4Leeds yoga4leeds.com

Every Saturday at 10am in Cross Flatts Park for all abilities, all genders, for all ages (ideally 12+). Options for all whether you’re a beginner or more experienced. Weekly fee.

Playstreets in the Park leeds.gov.uk/campaign/playstreets kidzklubleeds.org.uk

Kidz Klub Leeds can help you set up a Play Street where residents apply to the council to close the streets outside their homes to traffic for a few hours. This allows children to play and neighbours to come together and relax and have fun on their street.

South Leeds Valkyries

An inclusive local women’s basketball team, fun, active and inclusive that women of any ability can join in with. Sessions take place weekly through the summer on Thursday evenings at Lane End Primary School.

Cross Flatts Bowling Club

The Bowling Club have taster sessions throughout summer for all ages and abilities. First session is free, then just £2 a session. These take place Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays 1 – 4pm. The club would also love to welcome groups along to have a try.

Hunslet’s May treble

Continued from page 24 Adam Ryder on his way to the try line.

Eventually the excellent Ciaran Walker made a break and set up Sean Sabutey who dived spectacularly in the corner. Walker converted and it was game on 20-18.

Matty Beharrell extended the lead to 22-18 with another penalty Workington broke in added time and two try Sean Sabutey looked all on to put us all square with a kick to come, but the winger did a theatrical dive and lost the ball in the act of scoring, giving Hunslet chance to run the clock down and grind out the win.

After the game Coach Alan Kilshaw said “Despite producing our worst performance of the year, we found a way to win; and I never felt we would lose.

“Even if Sabutey had scored

Good Deeds gooddeeds.org.uk

Good Deeds currently deliver weekly multi-activity sessions for teenage boys, giving them positive experiences.

Adult Learn to Ride cyclenorth.co.uk

Cycle North utilise our Cross Flatts Cycle Hub to deliver free adult learn to ride sessions for anyone to register and join in with. Saturdays 10am– 12pm and 12:30–2:30pm. Bikes and helmets provided.

Holbeck Together holbecktogether.org

Creating activities and opportunities for all ages. including a new box fitness class every Tuesday 9–9:45am at St Matthew’s Community Centre.

Hunslet RLFC Foundation

The Foundation runs ParkPlay sessions at Brickfield Park (Lady Pit Lane) all year, every Saturday 10:30am. Its free and for all ages.

Leeds Dock Paddleboarding Club leedsdock.com

The club run introductory sessions for both adults and juniors at Leeds Dock throughout summer (for a small fee - £20 inc all kit, or £10 if you have your own board). Check out their Facebook page for session dates and times.

Parkroll ls-ten.org

This weekly roller skating session is back outside at Cross Flatts Park for summer. Free coaching and free skate hire (pre book before sessions).

Leeds United Foundation

Weekly KICKS sessions for children continue in Holbeck and Beeston Hill. No booking

required, but contact the KICKS lead to find out more and to complete a registration form before attending the first session kicks@leedsunited .com. Contact ATF@ leedsunited.com to find out more about existing adult sessions, or to see if they can enable a new session to grow.

Yorkshire Cricket Foundation

Weekly free Street Cricket for ages 8 – 15 years takes place every Saturday at Old Cockburn Sports Hall. All abilities welcomed, with no specialist equipment required. Everything provided.

8-12 years 10-11:30am; 1315 years 11:30am-1pm.

Contact Khizar Hussain on 07904 190780 re:establish reestablish.org.uk

Through their work with 7–19 year olds re:establish create positive connections and positive experiences through

both open drop in sessions, targeted closed work.

Your Back Yard yourbackyard.org.uk

Tai Chi is just one of their free online classes. Your Back Yard has a range of other projects which enable young and old to move more. If you have ideas for anything that may help others move more get in touch. Get Set

Leeds Local is a Sport England funded project, covering Holbeck and Beeston and Hunslet and Riverside, which is led by Active Leeds (Leeds City Council).

Collectively we work with residents, community partners and council colleagues to explore how we can create active communities. Funding and support is available. Follow us on social media, or get in touch via karen.peck@leeds.gov.uk / 07891 274130

that try, and even if the subsequent conversion had been successful, I still feel we would have found a way to win.

“We have experienced players in our side with immense resolve, and I’m sure they would have come up with something in the closing stages.”

The Parksiders third win came on 28 May at home against Rochdale Hornets. Both sides started poorly, but Hunslet’s nerves were settled by Nathan Conroy who scored from an Aaron York pass half way through the first half. That was followed by two tries from Jonny Campbell, catching kicks to the corner. Campbell, on loan from Batley Bulldogs, was Man of the Match.

Josh Jordan-Roberts completed the first half scoring and Hunslet went in 22-0 up.

Jonny Campbell completed

his hatrick three minutes after the restart and it looked as if Rochdale might crumble. But the Hornets scored next, before Matty Berarrell dummied his way over and Jack Render scored in the corner to seal the victory .

However Rochdale weren’t done and with a lucky bounce of the ball and some unexplained refereeing decisions they scored two more tries in the final ten minutes to make the score a more respectable 36-18.

Hunslet seem to have some momentum now and have a serious chance of promotion this season. Their match at Oldham on 3 June will be important as they attempt to stake their claim. Their next two home matches are on 18 June against Cornwall and 2 July against Doncaster.

South Leeds Life carries full match reports of all Hunslet’s games online at southleedslife.com

Some of the many people who attended Let’s Move: South Leeds

Dynamite TNT bring back Bronze from USA Happy fifth birthday to Middleton Woods parkrun

by Ken Ingram

Middleton Woods parkrun

celebrated their fifth birthday on Saturday 6 May with 102 people taking part in the 5km run, jog or walk.

Commenting on the day, the organising team said:

“Firstly we want to say a massive thank you to everyone who brought cakes and treats, and to the volunteers who were out early setting up the course and then stayed to clap every runner, jogger and walker across the finish line. We appreciate it so much and it shows what a great little community event we have going on.”

There was a sea of red, white & blue from both runners and volunteers as people dressed to celebrate the Coronation. There was even a Queen Bee out on the course.

There was even a visit from Royalty before their big day (I’m not sure it was really themEd).

Congratlations to Graeme who completed his 100th parkrun on the day with Monty.

Four first time runners joined in as Brook, Hannah, Sharon, Kenzie & Nikki were welcomed to The Parkrun family for the very first time.

The event was made possible by 14 volunteers: Rachel Wright, Karen Head, Charlee Roney, Neil Wright, Josh Dixon, Martin Kaye, Linda Featherstone, Roger Burkill, Mark Bowman, Kirsty Johnson, Maggie Credland, Russ Vickers, Ewan Johnson and Kenneth Ingram.

Organisers appealed for people to volunteer at next

week’s event (13 May) as they are currently a few short on the roster. They suggested any runners resting ahead of next Sunday’s Rob Burrow Marathon might ‘give an hour back’ on Saturday morning. parkrun is a free, weekly, timed, 5km run, jog or walk. Middleton Woods parkrun starts at 9am every Saturday at Leeds Urban Bike Park on the Ring Road. You don’t need to book, just turn up, but do register and get your barcode at www.parkrun.org.uk/register before your first visit.

NLeedsDynamite’s TNT group won Bronze medals at the World Dance Championships in America last month.

They were competing in the All Star World Dance Championships at Universal Studios in Florida, USA.

They were competing in the Junior division, which is the biggest in the competition, and they were one of the youngest teams. The TNT dancers range from 10-14 years, but were up against 16- and 17-year-olds. They are the first ever Hip Hop

Bronze in this division.

A spokesperson for Leeds Dynamite said:

“We are still speechless but so proud of our dancers. They are just 9 children and two coaches Danielle and Lauren Watkins from Middleton Leeds 10, who are the best of friends.

“They train in local church halls no fancy studio once a week. The hardest working kids and they are living out their wildest dreams with the support of their coaches, parents and families.

“We are so proud of them for

taking the biggest step up to the Junior Division at Worlds to make sure they could compete as the original ‘Super 9’. They held their own and just blew us away. World Champions – we are proud beyond words of these kids.”

Leeds Dynamite run many different teams across ages from 4 years old through to young adult. They hold classes Monday to Friday from 4:308pm at the Ark Family centre in Middleton. To find out more go to their website at: leedsdynamitedance.co.uk, or find them on Facebook.

Hunslet’s May treble

Cup runneth over

Middleton FC were crowned Yorkshire Amateur League Cup Champions on Wednesday night (26 April 2023) after a 2-1 win against Farsley Celtic Juniors. Goals came from Scott Jones and James Law. Their third game in five days, this was a fantastic achievement as the club lifted a staggering 13th trophy in just 5 years

by Ian Pickles

RLFC have moved up to fourth in League 1 after winning all three of their May fixtures.

Hunslet

In what has been a stop start season the Parksiders had a four week lay off before making the long journey to face Cornwall on 13 May. Coach Alan Kilshaw had a strong squad for a game that was a potential banana skin, and his team didn’t let him down with a dominant second half performance.

The Choughs pulled back at 0-12 lead to a narrow 10-12 at half time. A further eight different Hunslet players crossed the whitewash in the cond half to give the Parksiders a 10-54 win.

Hunslet’s Man of the Match Steve Crossley put it best when he said Hunslet “won ugly” against former Championship side Workington Town in the sun at the South Leeds Stadium a week later on 21 May.

It was a real nail biter and had Workington’s Sean

Sabutey grounded the ball correctly in the final moments the Cumbrians may have taken the win and broken Hunslet hearts.

Workington were still on the bus as Hunslet scored twice in the opening 6 minutes through Sean Croston and Steve Crossley.

The Cumbrians levelled, but Hunslet went in 18-12 up at the break.

Beharrell stretched Hunslet’s lead to 20-12 with a penalty after Adam Ryder was felled by Continued on page 23

Hunslet Captain Steve Crossley scores against Workington Town Photo: Paul Johnson Phoenix Photography

Runners and walkers assemble at the start line