Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
Leeds is staging its inaugural Jazz Festival this year at various venues throughout the city. I got into the swing – literally – at the Free Stage on Cookridge Street on a sunny Friday afternoon. The whole shebang started on 1st June, so I had arrived fashionably late, but there are still a lot of…
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Should you ever meet Richard Wagner in another life I suggest that you greet him by just saying ‘Hello’. I get the feeling that if you ask ‘How are you?’ you will spend a couple of days listening to his answer. He is the Cecil B DeMille of opera, taking as much time as he…
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Last Saturday we were treated to a programme of classical music performed by violinist Tai Murray and pianist Martin Roscoe. Tai Murray is an American violinist who made her professional concert debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the tender age of nine! She went on to study at Indiana University and the Juilliard School…
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On Saturday 14th May I went along to what must have been Leeds’ best kept secret. I had stumbled across mention of this event when looking on-line for something else, but when I tried to find out more there was scant information. I couldn’t even find the original source. I had recalled that the do…
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This is the second time I have seen Chicago, the first being in the West End in 2002. I mention this because it somewhat affects my judgement of the show. From the opening number, All That Jazz, I became a bit misty eyed as my companion in London was my late mother, so the memories…
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It is amazing how one small act of kindness can lift your mood in a spectacular way. Last Saturday night I was booked to see the above concert in Leeds and so, as I have had some disastrous experiences with Harrogate Bus Company’s 36 recently, I set off ridiculously early to get there in time.…
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Can’t get to Glastonbury or afford Glyndebourne but still crave music in an exotic location with an open air element this summer, then fret not, there is a feast of live concerts in and around Leeds, and best of all they are free! The ones at Lotherton Hall and Meanwood Valley Urban Farm require that…
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On a fairly sunny but chilly evening in Leeds it was great to be transported to the more balmy climate of Havana for a magical evening of music from Roberto Fonseca and his fellow musicians; Yandy Rodriguez on electric bass and double bass, and Ruly Herrera on drums. Despite the music taking us to the…
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2022 sees Mikron Theatre Company celebrate their 50th Anniversary, and what better way to get things rolling than by reviving the 2015 production of Raising Agents, a play marking 100 years of the W.I. The company specialise in performing in venues not normally associated with theatre, although Holbeck W.M.C. is no stranger to putting on…
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Weather forecasters take 1st March as being the first day of Spring whilst the official kick-off is the Spring Equinox around 21st March when there are an equal number of daylight hour to night hours. In Leeds we know that the real beginning of the season is the opening of Chow Down at Temple Arches.…
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Tyke It To The Limit 