Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
I think that I have found my favourite opera so far, and this is it! OK, the work itself is the usual bonkers story which is so daft as to make you wonder what exactly Mozart was on when he wrote it, but the music, staging, singing and acting were so amazing that I could…
Read More
We are fortunate in this country, to be able to go about or daily lives without much chance of being caught up in a gun battle. There are obviously exceptions, thankfully rare, where criminals have acquired firearms and used them with devastating results, usually against one another, but sometimes, tragically hitting the wrong people. Most…
Read More
Before I begin this review I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and explain why my site has lain fallow for such a long time. For the two weeks before Christmas I was on an all-inclusive theatre trip. The food was not up to much and the accommodation a bit basic,…
Read More
I knew that the higher education system was in need of further funding, but when I was invited to view some books donated to the University Library I assumed things were more serious than I thought. I was contemplating taking along my old Jeffrey Archer novels or well-thumbed paperback copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover from…
Read More
The cat is out of the bag, Flat Iron is opening its new branch on Lands Lane, Leeds at noon on Thursday, 30th November. The launching of a new enterprise takes meticulous planning so I am sure that, as one of their specialities is Scottish bavette, it is no coincidence that the doors will be…
Read More
Last Thursday saw the latest in the Distilled series of concerts. Sadly we didn’t get a complimentary dram to see us through the evening, but something just as intoxicating in Mahler’s 4th Symphony. The name of the event signifies that the work has been distilled into a chamber piece using a much smaller group of…
Read More
Boy bands come and boy bands go but Take That seem to last forever, albeit in truncated form, with two of the original members having left – one of them twice! They were formed in 1990 in Manchester and have had 28 top 40 singles, including 12 number ones, as well as eight number one…
Read More
The Queens Hotel in City Square has occupied part of City Station since 1937, replacing one built by the Midland Railway in 1863. In those days most large termini had hotels constructed by the railway companies which served the respective town or city. The decision to erect this beautiful art deco structure was made when…
Read More
Of all the types of events I write about, I find art exhibitions to be the most challenging. When I look at a painting, sculpture or any other item in a gallery I resist the temptation to read the explanatory notice next to it until I have made my own interpretation. Invariably my take on…
Read More
I feel as though I can now regard myself as a seasoned theatre writer after my visit to this show. It is the first one where I have been to both the world premier and the second version, which is described in the programme as, ‘featuring a re-imagined book and new music.’ The difference between…
Read More
Tyke It To The Limit 