Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
Let me take you back to September 1956. There was a queue of young children waiting to start their school year, but it was not just the first year’s intake who felt nervous and excited about starting at a new school, it was all of them, as well as the teachers and even the Headmaster,…
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It is not every day that I get to go to the world premier of a classical music piece but on Sunday, 23rd February I had just that privilege. The setting was Huddersfield Town Hall and the piece in question was Arya by Jasdeep Singh Degun. It is described as A Concerto for Sitar and…
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To take us through the spring Opera North have a varied selection of events throughout the county catering for all ages and tastes. First up is Street Scene which continues at the Leeds Grand Theatre until 28th February when it moves to Theatre Royal Newcastle, The Lowry at Salford Quays and ends at Theatre Royal…
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A governess is hired to look after mischievous brother and sister by their rich father, no, not Mary Poppins but Turn of the Screw. It would take more than a spoonful of sugar to make this opera go down in a most delightful way. That is not to say that it was bad, far from…
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There is an old saying that a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience. If that is true I must be an incurable optimist as on Friday I had my second marriage in less than a week. After seeing The Marriage of Figaro by Opera North at the Grand Theatre on 1st February…
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At my time of life the only invitations I receive to social events are retirement parties, birthday bashes when someone has hit a year with a zero at the end and an unfeasibly large first digit, or funerals. Imagine my delight, therefore, when I was asked if I would like to go to a wedding.…
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Green Eggs and Ham. No, not the latest environmentally friendly brunch fad but Opera North’s performance for all the family based on the Dr Seuss book of the same name. The performance lasts for 45 minutes and will be staged at Room 700, Leeds Central Library on 15th February at 11.00am and 2.00pm. The piece,…
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It is never too early to plan for the run up to Christmas especially so this year as from 24th November until 5th December the Grand Theatre is staging the hit musical Mamma Mia! The reason I am letting you know this early is that tickets go on general sale this Wednesday, 29th January and…
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Friday 31st January, 2020 is not just the most anticipated date this year so far, being the first payday since the Christmas holiday, but also because there is a new Premium Sports Bar opening in Ilkley, called Hub-Vybe at 30A Brook Street in the building which used to be The Yard. The logo displays the…
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For some reason the radio reception in my bathroom limits my listening choice to Radio 2, Stray FM or Classic FM. The first two are rather frenetic for first thing in the morning so my ablutions are usually carried out to the strains of the more well known pieces of the classical canon. I do…
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Tyke It To The Limit 