Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
My second helping of LIFI25 was a panel discussion concerning the plight of the hospitality industry in a swiftly changing world. Obviously the word ‘hospitality’ includes a multitude of sectors and there were top representatives from a selection of them on the stage this lunchtime. The travel industry was represented by Joanna Reeve, the UK…
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Here we are again. Another year, another eclectic range of guests and topics for discussion. Due to other commitments I am only able to attend two presentations this year, but what a couple of crackers. Both of them had special relevance to me, so, thank you LeedsBID and Chapter81 for scheduling them on the days…
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I’m a bit late to the party with this one. Nothing new there, then. Harrogate BID’s contribution to your sanity by keeping the family occupied this summer, is a trail of Lego sculptures depicting jungle animals. I donned my Pith helmet, safari jacket and long, khaki shorts – only metaphorically as I didn’t want to…
Read MoreDo you feel that the world is turning into a place that is going downhill fast? If so, why not take a trip to Leeds to experience Wonderland for a few hours, or even days. No passport or visa required as everyone is welcome. Getting here is a breeze; you have a choice of train,…
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Transform is a festival of powerful international performance, it says on their programme, and, judging by the contents, it certainly lives up to the claim. The 2025 event marks ten years of the biennial, this, being number six, shows that they must be doing something right. That is a feeling reinforced by the way in…
Read MoreI realise it is a bit early to be promoting an event in October, but anything emanating from the partnership between LeedsBID and Welcome to Leeds is bound to be in great demand. They also don’t mess about by cutting corners as can be seen from the Christmas spectaculars and the Summer Holiday specials, details…
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It’s not often that I spend a Tuesday tea time dancing to the beat of two African drummers, in fact I can’t remember it ever happening before, but this event was to change that. I was at the amazing Hyde Park Picture House for the launch of the 2025 Leeds International African Arts Festival, but…
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Sadly, I missed last year’s inaugural mega animation using Queen’s Hotel in City Square as a screen, so was excited to be at the launch of the 2024 version. The weather was drizzly but good enough for the gathered crowd to enjoy the spectacle in reasonable comfort, especially the people ambling round the Christmas market…
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As you can see from the feature image, LeedsBID and The Queens Hotel have got Christmas all wrapped up and tied with a bow, or they will have from 12th to 22nd December. After last year’s spectacular light projection which saw the Gingerbread Man work his way round the hotel to give those in City…
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What a brilliant way to get children into opera. My first experience of live classical music was back in the Sixties at grammar school, when the second form was herded into a building in Rossington Street, just opposite where the Merrion Centre stands today, and made to shut up and listen to a string quartet…
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Tyke It To The Limit 