Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
How did that happen? I am sure that we have been through a time warp as it only seems like a couple of months ago since I was at the opening of last year’s Christmas Market. I honestly don’t recall putting my hands on my hips or bringing my knees in tight, and, as for…
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Thursday, 29th September sees the start of the 2022-23 Opera North Season with a staging of La traviata at Leeds Grand Theatre. I have taken my posh frock to the cleaners in anticipation. This is the first of six operas being staged between now and next March with a mixture of classic and less well…
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When I walked into Howard Assembly Room on Sunday afternoon I thought that I had accidentally stumbled into a yoga class, with mats laid on the floor. It then dawned on me that this concert was part of their Wellbeing Weekend, so any thoughts of being made to squeeze this rather ample body into lycra…
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A few weeks ago I was invited to the press launch of Kino, the cool new wine bar/restaurant in the Howard Assembly Room building, so when I saw Penguin Cafe I thought that they were now catering for uncool people like myself who just wanted a pot of builders’ tea and a chocolate biscuit. Not…
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Well, who would have thought it, another new experience just days short of my 73rd birthday – my first ballet. I have watched them on television but, as with any art form which is not specifically made for that medium, the live experience is something else. I am fortunate that Northern Ballet’s winter programme has…
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I would like you to ignore the text on this featured image. ‘Why has the old fool put it on the article then?’ I hear you ask. The answer is simple. This amalgam of two Leeds institutions has been so popular that extra dates have been added so, as well as 23rd and 24th September,…
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I must admit that Joan as Police Woman is not someone I had come across before. I put that down to getting most of my new music from the TV, my ablution-accompanying radio in the bathroom being tuned to Radio 3 nowadays, and I don’t recall her being on Jools Holland’s Later. When I delved…
Read MoreWe are coming to the time of year when Opera North gets into full swing with its major productions. Once again they will be at Leeds Grand Theatre so ambiance will not be found wanting. There is a theme this year with, not only a ‘reimagined’ version of Monteverdi’s Orpheus, but also a performance of…
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During the 1940s when times were more innocent, there was a phenomenon known as Sweater Girls. They were female film stars who wore tight-fitting jumpers in order to accentuate their figures for publicity photographs. When I was invited to see Jersey Boys I thought that the days of gender inclusivity had caught up and there…
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Just over a week ago I went to a lunchtime concert by the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North entitled Summertime. On Sunday I went to another called Opera In The City in Millennium Square which should really have been named Singin’ in The Rain. The concert started at 5.30pm, about half an hour after…
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Tyke It To The Limit 