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Issue 5 | March 2015
What’s happening in Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Middleton & Stourton
Asda needs Hard Hat at Forum
In this issue:
Running for Skye
page 2
Garnets’ artists in residence
page 3
Holbeck winter magic
page 7
by Jeremy Morton Representative of Asda seemed underprepared when they addressed the Beeston Community Forum on Thursday 5 February. Representatives from Asda and their PR company, the appropriately named Hard Hat, had come to inform residents that work was underway on the new store on Old Lane which is due to open on 13 July this year. However, members of the Forum are still upset about ‘broken promises’ made by Asda and its representatives when they first applied for planning permission for the new store. Asda originally stated that opening hours at the new store would be 7am to 10pm. Beeston Forum withdrew its objection to the store on the promise that these hours would not be extended. Having gained planning permission on this basis, Asda
submitted further applications to extend the opening and deliver hours and add a petrol filling station. Although their request for 24 hour opening was refused, store hours have been increased to 6ammidnight, Monday to Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sundays. Delivery hours will be 6am-11pm Monday to Saturday and 7am to 10pm on Sundays. One resident said “We can’t do anything about the petrol filling station now, but will Asda please reconsider these operating hours?” Other residents threatened to boycott the store and it was pointed out that Asda boss Andy Clarke had recently been appointed an ambassador for ‘responsible business’ by the Business In The Community organisation. It was suggested that Mr Clarke should attend the Forum and explain his company’s actions. Cllr Adam Ogilvie said he was “flabbergasted” that the Asda representatives were unaware of the
strength of feeling. He said had met Asda on several occasions and told them that the planned changes were opposed by local people. Laura Harrison from Hard Hat and Andrew Gowler,Asda’s regional manager, said they “could only apologise” for the poor communication and promised to take the Forum’s issues back to Asda for a formal response. They did clarify that the existing store will close from 31 May and that the route of delivery lorries would be via the Tommy Wass junction and not from Town Street. Asked if they were putting in a pedestrian crossing as part of the works on Old Lane they said they weren’t aware of a crossing in Asda’s plans. Closing the discussion, Chair Christine Thornton said she “hoped for a better working relationship with Asda in the future.”
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Hawks finding it tough
page 12
NEWS
OPINION
YOUR!STORY
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WHAT’S!ON
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SPORT!
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LOCAL!HISTORYp11
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South Leeds Life | March 2015
2 News
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About us South Leeds Life is written by and for local people. People who live and work in the LS10 and LS11 areas of South Leeds. The blog and newspaper are produced by the South Leeds Life Group, a constituted community group with elected officers. Our aims are: To inform people of events, activities, issues and opportunities taking place in the South Leeds community; To encourage the involvement of the wider community in communicating their experiences; To foster community spirit and involvement; and To provide a platform for local people to contribute and respond to community life more fully. South Leeds Life started as a blog in November 2010 and still posts news every day at: www.southleedslife.com
Where should the new houses we need go? by Hilary Benn MP It’s a pretty straightforward question, but the answer is sometimes anything but. Leeds City Council has just completed its consultation to identify sites around the city but, perhaps understandably, not everyone is happy. And yet, if we don’t provide homes for our children and grandchildren, neighbours and friends and work colleagues then we are going to have a big problem in the future. House prices will be even more unaffordable and rents higher for those who can’t or don’t want to buy. What do I think? I think we should put as many homes as possible on previously developed – ie ‘brownfield’ – land. We should give communities greater powers to ensure that once they have identified housing sites, the homes
that are needed get built in the places they want and go to the people who need them. We need more affordable homes for the large number of people on the council waiting list. And we need to get small and medium-size builders back building homes by assisting them with access to land and finance. And then there is a specific question for South Leeds. What kind of development do we want to see happen locally? The area around the former Carlsberg Tetley site just south of the river is a really good case in point. For the moment the owners have decided to turn parts of it into a car park, but we really ought to have much more vision for the future of this important part of the city. If you look at the residential development that has taken place in the city centre over the last 20 years, almost all of it has been one and two-bedroom flats. And yet the
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greatest need in Leeds is for three and four-bedroom family homes. Why should people who like living near the city centre have to move out because there’s nothing suitable in the neighbourhood for their growing families? I, for one, would like to see three and four-bedroom family homes built in this area, including genuinely affordable homes for rent, partownership and for sale. I also support proposals for a new park; there is not enough green space in the centre of Leeds and not enough trees and here is a chance to do something about this. And we also need jobs and new businesses. A number of exciting developments are already taking place in the area, with the establishment of The Tetley arts centre, the Printworks Campus for Leeds City College and the new building for Leeds College of Building to name but three. Deciding the future of this important part of Leeds should not just be left to developers. Instead, we ought to have a partnership with the local community and the council, and that’s where neighbourhood planning comes in. It’s really great that in two areas of South Leeds – Holbeck and Beeston - local community organisations are working on developing their own
neighbourhood plan. I would love to see more communities doing the same, because for me this is all about getting stuck in and helping to shape the future development of the place in which we live and work and call home. And a theatrical postscript…… I recently got the chance to visit the Slung Low Theatre Company based in five railway arches in Holbeck. They describe themselves as making “adventures for audiences outside of conventional theatre spaces… shows that reexamine how audiences go and see a piece of theatre.” If what people tell me about their performance of Moby Dick last year at New Dock is anything to go by, they certainly live up to their aims. Check out their website to discover more: http://www.slunglow.org/
300 join Valentine’s Day run for Skye
Nearly 300 people from all walks of life joined together at Middleton Park on 14 February 2015 to Run for Skye and raise money for cancer charities. The charity 5K run, which was put together fantastically by Skye’s grandparents Amelia and David Sockett, supported the charities Delete Blood Cancer UK and Candlelighters.The event managed to raise approximately £2,000 for these charities from tickets sales for the event, fund raising, raffles and t-shirt sales. Even people passing through the park were placing donations into the bucket when they saw the group set up at the band stand. What made the event perfect was that baby Skye herself made an appearance later on in the day. She was joined by her parents Amie Mills and Damion Sutcliffe, and her two older brothers Riley and Harvey. Cousins, uncles, aunties, nieces and nephews were also there, to support Skye. Amelia told me that Skye is doing really well: “Skye has been running around like a loony, running and stomping. She’s got her sparkle back in her eye. We have our cheeky pie back.” This is fantastic to hear; especially given that just over a month ago Skye could barely walk and was on constant morphine. The sight around the park during the run was something to behold. Olaf, Harry the Hawk, kids
dressed as superheroes, parents pushing kids in prams, teenage girls, experienced runners, a rugby team and even two pregnant women, were the highlights as the participants completed the 5K run around the park. All these people had their own reasons for running. Some were to support the family, others because of the causes and some who knew someone that had been affected by cancer. It also had a knock on effect, Sheila who was new to running stated: “I will definitely be doing more running from now on. I’ve really enjoyed myself today, and hope to push on.” An exhausted but ecstatic Amelia spoke to me and couldn’t hide her joy: “So amazing, I can’t believe it. I’m overwhelmed with everyone coming together.” Family and friends
have given everything, to not only support Skye, but to also raise the awareness of this disease. Their work to collect money to fund these charities who are trying to eliminate this illness is something they should look on with great pride. To make a donation to the charities go to Skye’s Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/SkyeSutcliffe.
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South Leeds Life | March 2015
News 3
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Hunslet Club Review of the Year awards be made in the following categories:
It is 75 years since The Hunslet Boys Club, as it was then, was set up. The club is planning a year of celebrations kicking off with a Review of the Year gala evening on Friday 24 April 2015. Andrea Edwards, the club’s Operations Manager said: “This will be a glittering occasion celebrating all things that make The Hunslet Club the place to be for young people in Leeds. “The Review of the Year will showcase our evening and weekend activity provision as well as providing an opportunity to recognise those individuals who play a vital role in making the Club such a success.” Nominations are now open for Awards, which will
* * * * * * * *
Open Age Member of the Year Club Ambassador of the Year Coach of the Year Volunteer of the Year Young Volunteer of the Year Young Member of the Year (Male) Young Member of the Year (Female) Special Achievement Award
Club members are encouraged to pick up a card from reception and place their nomination in a special post box in the club. Nominations will close on Friday 13 March.
Community Committee debates unemployment Unemployment amongst older men was the topic of the workshop discussion at the recent Inner South Community Committee meeting on 11 February. There was an opportunity to discuss issues around mental health, volunteering, physical activity and local services. People talked about the pain of unemployment and fear that they were being fobbed off with volunteering instead of real paid work. Others had positive experiences of using volunteering to gain new skills that led to a proper job. It was good to hear that the real barriers to getting back into work once you’ve been out of work for a period of time were recognised. Agencies such as Leeds City College and the council as well as Job Centre Plus are actively working on programmes to help people over these obstacles. There was realism that the economy of South Leeds had changed from manufacturing to services, but also anger about the prevalence of Zero Hours Contracts. A need for services to go to existing job club groups was
also identified. Getting men together and talking, about anything, was seen to be the first step to breaking barriers and helping people move on. In the formal part of the meeting councillors approved a number of grants including £12,000 to Woodhouse Hill Allotments who are planning to reclaim an overgrown plot of land and work with nearby Hunslet Carr Primary School.
Other grants were made to fund extra litter bins in Belle Isle and Middleton; well-being packs for vulnerable older residents; and a befriending service for people suffering low level mental health problems. Issues raised by residents in the Open Forum included the issue of litter following refuse collections; dates for green bin collections; the state of paths in Cross Flatts Park; the design of Lane
Councillors present a cheque to Kenny Saunders, Margaret Harper & Andrew Price from Woodhouse Hill Allotments Project
David’s on the radio David Garland was unemployed and going through a hard time when he signed up for a media course with Leeds Fed’s Express Yourself. Afterwards, he started work as a volunteer with South Leeds Media’s community radio station and today, he hosts his own weekly radio show. Express Yourself is a programme of fun, creative activities designed for Leeds Fed customers which take place at different venues across
the city. Customers can choose from a wide range of exciting activities from radio and media, to arts and crafts, and even bushcraft skills. David Garland said: “I am so grateful to Leeds Fed for the opportunity they gave me through Express Yourself. It gave me something to get out
End Primary School by the motorway; and concerns about parking outside a garage on Dewsbury Road. All these issues will be looked into by the Area Support Team. The next meeting of the Committee will be on Wednesday 25 March at Middleton Leisure Centre.There will be a workshop discussion about health and isolation issues from 5:30pm with the formal meeting taking place at 7pm.
of bed for and has led to me doing my radio show. I’ve also found a job now and my life has changed for the better in so many ways.”
News in brief Cottingley plans Easter event
Organisations in Cottingley are planning an Easter Extravaganza - or should that be Eggs-travaganza? Taking place on Tuesday 14 April, the event will feature a treasure hunt, Easter bonnet competion, craft stalls and cream teas.Anyone wanting to book a stall for £5 should contact Nicola Ramsden on 07944 657419 Nicola.Ramsden@groundwor k.org.uk
St Andrew’s Spring Fair
St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Beeston will be hosting their annaul Spring Fair on Saturday 14 March 2015 from 10am – 12 noon. As usual there will be a variety of stalls including bric -a-brac, books refreshments and of course the delicious locally baked cake and bun stall. Get there early because the best cakes always sell fast. All welcome.
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South Leeds Life | March 2015
4 News
Come on Holbeck: Make some noise! Slung Low want the people of Holbeck to make some noise! As part of a new scheme funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Slung Low are calling out to the Holbeck community to see what they can create together. If you’ve ever wondered how a choir works, or what goes into making a successful piece of writing, then now is your chance to find out! And best of all – all sessions are free, with a warm welcome, a brew and a biscuit! Writers Mark Catley (Call the Midwife, Eastenders) and Aisha Khan (DCI Banks, Casualty) will be running weekly writing sessions at Slung Low’s Holbeck Underground Ballroom on Bath Road. The sessions will run on Monday evenings starting on 11 May. A new choir will start singing on Tuesday evenings starting on 9 June. Tessa Smith will be running the weekly vocal workshops.Tessa has a relaxed but productive approach to choir leading. Her main focus is that singing is enjoyed, no matter the style tackled or the experience of the singers. No experience is needed or expected to join either group. Becky Taylor from Slung Low said: " We're really excited to get more people down to the HUB! Not everybody realises Holbeck has its own theatre, run by an award winning theatre company. We want to give the community the chance to use the space to learn and develop their skills in a friendly and creative environment, and the support from Paul Hamlyn is allowing us to do just that. This is a fantastic opportunity to bring people together with professional writers and musicians and see what they can create.” To sign up or for more details, visit www.slunglow.org, or contact Becky Taylor: becky@slunglow.org tel: 07796 527488.
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Meet the Garnets’ own artists-in-residence
Two people have recently moved into a house in the Garnets area of Beeston. Nothing unusual there, except that Toby Lloyd and Andrew Wilson are ‘artists in residence’, employed by East Street Arts to work with local residents over the next year. Here they introduce themselves by summarising a few key elements of their working methods. Artists are not (ahem) a waste of space* – well not these two The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well. Psychotherapist Alfred Adler observed that the only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well, suggesting that our notion of ‘normal’ is a concept projected upon another. We’re not ‘drag and drop’ artists. We’re not interested in producing static objects, painting or sculpture, etc. and moving them from one place to another for people to simply look at them. We have built spaces and hosted events that encourage people to talk to
one-another, to open-up common and conflicting experiences of everyday life. We have a romantic view of the ‘Public House’ where once a visitor has bought or been bought a drink they are in an environment where they are a participant rather than a spectator. We often borrow familiar features of the Public House within our working practices. Despite brewing our own beer it is not a key factor and often doesn’t appear. In a number of previous projects we have opened galleries for breakfast serving Tea + Toast from 7am. Surprisingly these breakfast sessions often attracted more visitors than the regular opening hours. People are often mystified by ‘art’ and the ‘art world’. Marcel Duchamp once gave up painting for a period and became a librarian because he was frustrated that art was only talking to itself. He said ‘it came from several things, firstly rubbing shoulders with artists, the fact that one lives with artists, talks with artists, displeased me
a lot’. We have no fixed Ideology. We are more interested in talking to people and finding how they agree and disagree with one another and how this changes the way we think and act. Art can be magical. But we’re not magicians. Toby Lloyd and Andrew Wilson have recently moved to Leeds from
‘Missing Councillors’ poster maker revealed
Back in November we reported on our website that posters, claiming that the City & Hunslet Councillors were “Missing”, had been stuck up overnight across Beeston Hill, and Hunslet. Beeston resident Ed Carlisle has now announced that he was behind the posters and is standing against Patrick Davey in the May elections. Ed will be standing for the Green Party, but says he wasn’t a member when he produced the poster. On his website, Ed says: “I did it because I’m totally fed up with our out-of-touch councillors, and wanted to get people talking about the poor state of local politics in our community. “When I did the posters, I was just a fed-up citizen taking action. I had no organisation behind me, wasn’t the member of any political party, and wasn’t planning to stand in the election. But when I saw the response, and got talking to people, it felt like I needed to act – and so I find myself here, working to get elected.” Ed’s community activities
Newcastle upon Tyne, will be working closely with East Street Arts. If you see them in the street do say hello or if you want to contact them directly you can do so by email at: admin@lloydwilson.co.uk or view their website: www.lloyd-wilson.co.uk. * Toby and Andrew suggested a briefer, more Anglo-Saxon term.
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including writing for South Leeds Life, and he is on our committee. It’s perhaps slightly embarrassing that we didn’t know he was behind the posters, but he chose to remain anonymous at the time. South Leeds Life has always stated that we do not support any political party. We still don’t and we are not supporting Ed’s candidacy. We encourage readers to vote and
we give a platform for all candidates to say who they are and what they stand for on an equal footing. The South Leeds Life committee have made it clear that Ed has stood down as Chair for the duration of the election campaign and we are monitoring his articles to ensure we don’t breech our own rules about political neutrality.
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South Leeds Life | March 2015
News 5
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Coffee is Brew-ing in Beeston
Lord Mayor and local councillor, David Congreve cut the ribbon to officially open the Brew coffee shop on Tuesday 10 February. The café has created five new jobs including an apprenticeship. Commenting on the shop he said: “It’s great to see an upmarket coffee shop in Beeston. It looks good, it looks professional and it looks tempting. The coffee and scone I’ve just had were delicious.” Cllr Angela Gabriel has been hoping to open a coffee shop in Beeston for some time. Unable to secure premises
locally, she opened the Brew Tea Rooms in Rothwell three years ago, it is run by her sonin-law Ade Hartley. The Beeston premises, which were previously occupied by a florist, became available towards the end of last year and have been refurbished and stocked with vintage items from Leeds’ second hand shops. Ade Hartley who manages both the Beeston and Rothwell shops said: “Brew is a coffee shop with
Cllr Angela Gabriel, Lord Mayor David Congreve, Janet Harper, Ade Hartley
SPACE marks 10th birthday
On Saturday 31 January the Beeston SPACE youth project celebrated its tenth birthday with a celebration at St Luke’s Church. In that time, the group has touched the lives of over 300 youngsters through 2,000
hours of youth work, including 130 trips and 25 residentials. Over 50 volunteers have been involved, who have together made more than 25,000 home visits and driven 11,000 minibus miles transporting kids to and from the activities. Over 150 people, SPACE members past and present and their families, attended the event and shared in the fun. There were photo displays of the activities enjoyed over the years, tables laden with food, short films, quizzes and games, inflatable jousting and a photo booth to record who was there. There were a few speeches, but we also heard young people share how SPACE has impacted their lives, and met parents who had been affected by the compassion and care shown by the team over the years. One mum, Claire, spoke of her appreciation of all that SPACE had done for her family. Since the beginning, five of her children have been part of
SPACE and the sixth is waiting to join in September. When asked what SPACE had done for her children, she said: “It supports them with any problems they have, builds their confidence and gives them experiences that they wouldn’t have otherwise. They’ve experienced the diversity of our area and mixed with a variety of people. When they come back and tell me what they are doing, that has made me want to be a better person. But mostly the staff are amazing. The care and attention and love they give is what makes SPACE so special. It wouldn’t be what it is without those people.” When the young people were asked about SPACE, this
is what they said: “SPACE is fun” “SPACE is a safe place” “SPACE helps influence my decisions” “SPACE will cheer you up” “The leaders talk to you and will give you advice” “SPACE is like one big, dysfunctional family” Asked about their favourite
memories of SPACE, the young people responded: “residentials” “when we worked at clearing up the streets in different areas of Leeds” “going to Alton Towers” “my first residential, when I became a Christian” “meeting people – I’ve made some really good friends” Volunteers were also asked about why they volunteer: “I really want to invest in the lives of these children but I get something back from them as well” “I went to SPACE and now its time to give something back” SPACE is a network of youth groups across several of Leeds’ inner city communities. Run by volunteers from across a wide spectrum of churches, SPACE (leedsspacenetwork.co.uk) seeks to build relationships
with young people and their families, to share faith them, and to help to transform communities. It’s a project within Leeds Christian Community Trust (www.lcct.org.uk). Please get in touch if you wish to volunteer, set up a group, donate, or find out more.
the personal touch.We hope to make sure that all our customers from 6 months with our child friendly menu and toy box, to 63 years with our fabulous coffee and cakes enjoy their time in Brew. “We have free WiFi, book exchange and want to be a hub of the community. We offer a varied menu from a full breakfast to homemade soup and sandwiches including a wide range of coffees and teas. “Beeston deserves a good coffee shop and hopefully we are here to provide them with one!”
New flats for older people in Holbeck
Newly refurbished sheltered accommodation offering an independent lifestyle was officially opened on Tuesday 10 February. Ingram Court in Holbeck has benefited from a substantial make-over by sc4L as part of the council’s housing regeneration project. Built in 1976, the building has now undergone a major transformation to provide 23 modern apartments for over sixties.Tenants are taking up residence in one of three wheelchair accessible, assisted living two-bedroomed flats, 13 one-bedroomed apartments or seven twobedroomed flats.
want more independence in their homes and the new flats at Ingram Court will offer just that. “I am glad that local people have been given the opportunity to move into Ingram Court, meaning that they can stay in the heart of their community. Holbeck is transforming before our eyes and it is absolutely right that local people are the centre of this change.” Jon Hinchliff, sc4L General Manager, said: “One of the most rewarding aspects of working on a scheme like the housing regeneration project is making a positive difference to the neighbourhoods and communities living here.
Ingram Court residents (from right) Ian Nutton, Kevin Bradley and Jack Layfield were joined by Cllr Peter Gruen and housing regeneration project tenant representatives Irene Smith and Anne Hopper (left) for the official opening ceremony.
Offering a caring and supportive environment, Ingram Court will help people over 60 maintain an independent lifestyle for as long as possible. Speaking at the opening, Cllr Peter Gruen, executive member for neighbourhoods, planning and personnel, said: “It’s not just important to provide council housing but housing that supports people’s needs. “The total remodel of Ingram Court means that we now have a bright, modern, comfortable environment that will give people their independence with the reassurance of help should they need it. “Central to our housing regeneration project is the drive to improve the lives of local residents which Ingram Court will undoubtedly deliver.” Cllr Adam Ogilvie (Beeston & Holbeck) said: “This is a great day for people in Holbeck. It is the moment we have been working towards for many years. We know that older people
“It’s been lovely to welcome residents moving in to Ingram Court and we wish them well in their new home.” Ingram Court’s revised layout now houses 23 self-contained flats that benefit from new kitchens, windows and doors, heating system, roof and newly installed security system. Flexibility is also built in with each flat having a wet floor shower room that can be adapted with a bath and hoist if needed in the future to suit peoples’ needs. Residents can enjoy the landscaped gardens with raised beds for planting their own vegetables. Inside they can join friends in the communal sitting area or take time out in the quiet room. The flats at Ingram Court are being let through the Leeds Home scheme. To be considered, you must have an application registered on the Leeds Homes Register and express an interest by placing a bid for an Ingram Court flat.
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6 Reflections
South Leeds Life | March2015
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March 2015 | South Leeds Life
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Reflections 7
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Real life at the St Andrew’s Foodbank by Lucy Potter As I walked past St Andrew’s Church along Old Lane I noticed a sign which read: ‘Food Bank’ pointing towards an open door. So I went inside to find out more.
Parking my own bags of shopping down I am welcomed by Helen Ingleby, food bank volunteer, account manager and Methodist lay preacher. She explains that the food bank at St. Andrews has been going for approximately six weeks since moving from their other base they shared at St John & St Barnabas Church in Belle Isle to Beeston. They are open every Monday from 11 am till 1pm. The city church network is affiliated with the national charity The Trussell Trust who help provide food parcels for people who find themselves in crisis. Helen and all other volunteers have their badge with the food bank logo on it. The church trust first started out in central Leeds a few years ago, including St George’s Crypt rolling out food banks in all corners of Leeds. I take a seat at the inviting table and chair and get offered a coffee and biscuit by one of the friendly volunteers. A man walks in through the door holding a red voucher. He is here to collect a bag of food. The voucher is issued from the council’s ‘One Stop’ on Dewsbury Road. Helen explains, all the people who walk through
the door have already been referred to the food bank in some way. You have to be referred in order to get a voucher . This can be through a G.P. Health Visitor, Family Support professional, Social Worker or any professional identifying a need with a person or family. The church offers more than a pit stop. It’s a chance to help, chat and signpost people to other services for support. “Because we are volunteers we are not here to judge. Sometimes people just want to offload their problems, so we sit and listen” I look at the leaflets on the table, there’s one for the second hand Slate furniture, Archway and CAP offering debt advice. As a mum of two, I know how hard it is to be creative with half an onion and a jar of salsa sauce for an evening meal. But how bad does have to be when you can’t provide a basic balanced meal for your family? Actually, it is surprising how easily people can find their financial circumstances change, sometimes overnight. For all those questions there’s a plethora of answers linked to individuals circumstances. Take for instance finding a job and coming off Job Seeker’s Allowance. The last day of your claim can be nearly a month before you get paid by your new employer. This leaves you with a
big gap in income. Then there’s the ‘zero hours’ contracts.Wages might fluctuate making it difficult to budget properly and there’s also the lack of job security. Also, rising costs of living and paying for energy weigh heavily on bank balances. Some people’s wages are so low, there’s no chance for saving which means there’s no personal financial safety net. I’m
told one family receiving support notified the Job Centre of the a change of address.Then, because it wasn’t properly internally filed, an appointment was missed and the benefit and was stopped for two weeks. One man walks in and helps
“We are not here to judge” pack and carry a couple of bags and then leaves. I’m told he is a social worker working with male prison leavers. The food bank is a temporary measure – you can only access it 3 times in 6 months by one family. However, Helen says we don’t turn people away, we try and help everyone somehow.
The food is stored in a built-in wardrobe in the small side room to the main church. Volunteers are helping to bag up various items, such as tins of fish, soup, cereal, meat, vegetables and pasta. Helen says as well as looking for volunteers, plastic bags are always handy too. It’s because they have to double bag everything due to the weight. Helen also shows me four food allocation forms to help the volunteers provide the correct amount of food. This is a list of nutritional items giving the quantities of which vary depending the recipient, ranging from a single person, couple/single parent with child, family with children and family with three or more children. There is one warehouse to store food for the whole of Leeds. Helen mentions the project managers name: Linda Jackson, she is the force behind the of the food banks for the
churches. They are looking to apply for a lease on another warehouse behind the Garnets in Beeston to store the food because they are receiving so much. The main suppliers are Tesco and Asda, but they receive lots of food from Morrisons too, and independent grocers. They are currently looking into donations for a van. At the moment food is transported back and forward by car, it would be much easier if they had a van to leave the warehouse and go straight to both Belle Isle and Beeston. Volunteer Dale tells me that last week they shifted 8.8 tons of food. Helen also says she has never known a cause be so ecumenical in the community. It has helped create a working partnership
between the Methodists, Church of England and Catholic churches in a way they have never worked before “Each time someone leaves, we ask them if they’d like us to say a little prayer for them. Whatever religion or non religion they are, they are happy for us to do that.” The food bank is always looking for volunteers. They offer good work-based training programs for young people in the warehouse, or helping to pack bags. They are also looking for volunteers who will sit and chat, lend an ear and spend a bit of time with people who need to talk.
Holbeck winter magic
by Frederik van Zyl
In the first week of the new year we went for a lovely walk down Cemetery Road, east through lower Beeston and then Holbeck where they are building new flats. To Bridge Road and the Slung Low theatre company. Back up towards St Matthew’s where we had sandwiches in the cemetery. Beautiful, quiet, green and the sun was fast going down behind the church from where we were sitting, still brightly illuminating the beautifully redecorated Meynell Heights. The soon-to-be-enveloped-in-grey Kings Arms was dappled with gentle light and shade, what an attractive building. It was so clean and tidy and lovely to be there.
Not many people around. A diminutive Yorkshire terrier approached and when he saw us he ran back to his human companion, cringing in his arms. He doesn’t like people the man said when he passed us, the black and tan cradled against his bosom. The way he looked at us and the way he said it clearly showed how the doggy had developed its dislike for people. On to Venus to drool over all the exotic fare, glad we had had something to eat earlier. Some Turkish tea for Diane and for me the brown mud (coffee), as always briefly leaving that what-is-that-taste? lingering on the palate.The alluring pictures displayed in the restaurant, my favourite the Ishak Pasha palace with Trabzon manastiri
following close on its heels. I positively stare at them every time I go there, finding something new in the haunting pictures – longing for something lost – to gape at. What on earth can be missing? When we got outside the dusk had settled in and the moon had risen in the east, full and orange, its effulgence blemished by the haze in the distance – the pictures I took not doing justice to the beauty of the scene. A jet liner vaping orange was streaking westwards through the pink sky. Over the Evangelical church the azure sky was sandwiched between the pink streaks of cloud – itself threatened by the darkening sky from above – and the yellow-orange of nautical twilight. Jack Frost was slowly
spreading his ice and it was cold. When we passed the City View Surgery the moon, smaller now, had climbed a fair distance into the sky. Turning into Beeston Road an alarmed Blackbird chuddered anxiously before he broke into song, the first such rhapsody of the winter for us. Through the park we went on our way, the moon following us illuminating the underlining streaky cloud, bathing the park in a surreal setting as clear winter nights would have it. At the fading of the light ice was starting to form at our feet and we couldn’t get home soon enough out of the strengthening icy breeze and into a warm lounge and the promise of hot chocolate.
All photos: Frederik van Zyl
South of the River - Culture Club by Jeremy Morton
What is culture? This is a question that is increasingly being asked around Leeds. The reason the question is being asked at the moment is that Leeds is about to bid to become the European Capital of Culture for 2023. All very interesting you might be thinking, but will this really have anything to do with South Leeds? I was at the opera on Tuesday night (ooh, there’s posh!). Actually the community choir I sing with in Belle Isle were given free tickets as part of Opera North’s community engagement programme. Opera is clearly a cultural activity, but no more so than watching Leeds United (or Middleton Park Ladies for that matter). There’s a misconception that culture is just opera, theatre, visual art. It’s not helped that the government department responsible for all this is called the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. In what way are ‘media’ and ‘sport’ not cultural? I don’t have a snappy definition of what culture is, but surely it’s about what we do
after we’ve done the things we need to survive. Animals spend all their time surviving: finding food, finding shelter, avoiding predators. What makes humans different is that we’ve developed to a stage where we have spare time and energy to do other things. Of course some people have more spare time than others, but collectively as the human race we have made space to create language, entertainment, science, sport, etc. So culture is all the things that make life worth living. Putting it that way makes it clear that access to culture or enjoyment of culture is not evenly spread through society. Some people’s lives are barely worth living. If you’re afraid of putting the heating on or wondering where your (or your children’s) next meal is coming from, then it’s pretty hard to find space to appreciate Mozart. There is a relationship between culture and wealth, although I know many very cultured people who are as poor as church mice and a few rich people who just don’t appreciate culture. Having said that, humans are such amazing creatures that the poor and dispossessed have always created their
own culture in spite of their situation. Have you come across a South American dance called Capoeira? It was very trendy in contemporary dance circles a few years back. It was created by African slaves in Brazil. It is a ritualised form of martial art, stylised and choreographed to music so that the slaves could practice their fighting skills right under the noses of their masters. Brilliant.
So what will being the Capital of Culture mean round here? From the few discussions I’ve had, I think it’s still all up for grabs. The point I always make in such discussions is that it mustn’t be all about what happens in the city centre. The answer I hear is that if the bid was written around the city centre and ignores the less trendy parts of the city, it will fail. The judges, I’m not sure who they are, are looking for involvement, or ‘buy-in’ from the whole of the city. If we shout loud enough I believe we can influence how 2023 shapes up. Hell, we can help Leeds win the bid! Which of our local cultural gems should we see included a year of cultural celebrations? Here’s a few of my favourites to kick off the discussion: Windmill Primary School at Leeds Town Hall The Garden Gate pub Photo: Jeremy Morton in Hunslet. A beautiful
building, where they’ve always looked after the beer, plenty of Rugby League heritage and I think they still do darts and doms nights. The Kop. I haven’t seen a match at Elland Road for some years now. I bet there’s plenty of stuff shouted from the Kop that I would find offensive, but there’s plenty of wit too and it’s leeds Elland Road Kop through and through. Photo: John Seb Barber via Creative Commons Middleton Railway. Hunslet gave railways to the world, best. There’s loads more: wrestling at The everything from coal trucks to Pullman coaches and the cathedral-like stations: St Holbeck, children from Windmill & Low Pancras, Gard du Nord, Grand Central Road primary schools playing in their string Station. Brief Encounter, Casablanca, Murder orchestra, or The Outsiders a disabled rock band working out of The Old Chapel.What’s on the Orient Express – need I go on? Panto. Two shows that pack ‘em in every your nomination for a South Leeds cultural year are the am-dram St Andrew’s gem? I write a column every Friday on the Pantomime who have just finished another sell out season, and the wonderfully silly website www.southleedslife.com with my treatment of Shakespeare that Oddsocks views from South of the River. If you’re on you can follow me: Theatre provide for free, outdoors in Twitter, @BeestonJeremy. Middleton Park. Accessible culture at its
www.southleedslife.com
6 Reflections
South Leeds Life | March2015
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March 2015 | South Leeds Life
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Reflections 7
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Real life at the St Andrew’s Foodbank by Lucy Potter As I walked past St Andrew’s Church along Old Lane I noticed a sign which read: ‘Food Bank’ pointing towards an open door. So I went inside to find out more.
Parking my own bags of shopping down I am welcomed by Helen Ingleby, food bank volunteer, account manager and Methodist lay preacher. She explains that the food bank at St. Andrews has been going for approximately six weeks since moving from their other base they shared at St John & St Barnabas Church in Belle Isle to Beeston. They are open every Monday from 11 am till 1pm. The city church network is affiliated with the national charity The Trussell Trust who help provide food parcels for people who find themselves in crisis. Helen and all other volunteers have their badge with the food bank logo on it. The church trust first started out in central Leeds a few years ago, including St George’s Crypt rolling out food banks in all corners of Leeds. I take a seat at the inviting table and chair and get offered a coffee and biscuit by one of the friendly volunteers. A man walks in through the door holding a red voucher. He is here to collect a bag of food. The voucher is issued from the council’s ‘One Stop’ on Dewsbury Road. Helen explains, all the people who walk through
the door have already been referred to the food bank in some way. You have to be referred in order to get a voucher . This can be through a G.P. Health Visitor, Family Support professional, Social Worker or any professional identifying a need with a person or family. The church offers more than a pit stop. It’s a chance to help, chat and signpost people to other services for support. “Because we are volunteers we are not here to judge. Sometimes people just want to offload their problems, so we sit and listen” I look at the leaflets on the table, there’s one for the second hand Slate furniture, Archway and CAP offering debt advice. As a mum of two, I know how hard it is to be creative with half an onion and a jar of salsa sauce for an evening meal. But how bad does have to be when you can’t provide a basic balanced meal for your family? Actually, it is surprising how easily people can find their financial circumstances change, sometimes overnight. For all those questions there’s a plethora of answers linked to individuals circumstances. Take for instance finding a job and coming off Job Seeker’s Allowance. The last day of your claim can be nearly a month before you get paid by your new employer. This leaves you with a
big gap in income. Then there’s the ‘zero hours’ contracts.Wages might fluctuate making it difficult to budget properly and there’s also the lack of job security. Also, rising costs of living and paying for energy weigh heavily on bank balances. Some people’s wages are so low, there’s no chance for saving which means there’s no personal financial safety net. I’m
told one family receiving support notified the Job Centre of the a change of address.Then, because it wasn’t properly internally filed, an appointment was missed and the benefit and was stopped for two weeks. One man walks in and helps
“We are not here to judge” pack and carry a couple of bags and then leaves. I’m told he is a social worker working with male prison leavers. The food bank is a temporary measure – you can only access it 3 times in 6 months by one family. However, Helen says we don’t turn people away, we try and help everyone somehow.
The food is stored in a built-in wardrobe in the small side room to the main church. Volunteers are helping to bag up various items, such as tins of fish, soup, cereal, meat, vegetables and pasta. Helen says as well as looking for volunteers, plastic bags are always handy too. It’s because they have to double bag everything due to the weight. Helen also shows me four food allocation forms to help the volunteers provide the correct amount of food. This is a list of nutritional items giving the quantities of which vary depending the recipient, ranging from a single person, couple/single parent with child, family with children and family with three or more children. There is one warehouse to store food for the whole of Leeds. Helen mentions the project managers name: Linda Jackson, she is the force behind the of the food banks for the
churches. They are looking to apply for a lease on another warehouse behind the Garnets in Beeston to store the food because they are receiving so much. The main suppliers are Tesco and Asda, but they receive lots of food from Morrisons too, and independent grocers. They are currently looking into donations for a van. At the moment food is transported back and forward by car, it would be much easier if they had a van to leave the warehouse and go straight to both Belle Isle and Beeston. Volunteer Dale tells me that last week they shifted 8.8 tons of food. Helen also says she has never known a cause be so ecumenical in the community. It has helped create a working partnership
between the Methodists, Church of England and Catholic churches in a way they have never worked before “Each time someone leaves, we ask them if they’d like us to say a little prayer for them. Whatever religion or non religion they are, they are happy for us to do that.” The food bank is always looking for volunteers. They offer good work-based training programs for young people in the warehouse, or helping to pack bags. They are also looking for volunteers who will sit and chat, lend an ear and spend a bit of time with people who need to talk.
Holbeck winter magic
by Frederik van Zyl
In the first week of the new year we went for a lovely walk down Cemetery Road, east through lower Beeston and then Holbeck where they are building new flats. To Bridge Road and the Slung Low theatre company. Back up towards St Matthew’s where we had sandwiches in the cemetery. Beautiful, quiet, green and the sun was fast going down behind the church from where we were sitting, still brightly illuminating the beautifully redecorated Meynell Heights. The soon-to-be-enveloped-in-grey Kings Arms was dappled with gentle light and shade, what an attractive building. It was so clean and tidy and lovely to be there.
Not many people around. A diminutive Yorkshire terrier approached and when he saw us he ran back to his human companion, cringing in his arms. He doesn’t like people the man said when he passed us, the black and tan cradled against his bosom. The way he looked at us and the way he said it clearly showed how the doggy had developed its dislike for people. On to Venus to drool over all the exotic fare, glad we had had something to eat earlier. Some Turkish tea for Diane and for me the brown mud (coffee), as always briefly leaving that what-is-that-taste? lingering on the palate.The alluring pictures displayed in the restaurant, my favourite the Ishak Pasha palace with Trabzon manastiri
following close on its heels. I positively stare at them every time I go there, finding something new in the haunting pictures – longing for something lost – to gape at. What on earth can be missing? When we got outside the dusk had settled in and the moon had risen in the east, full and orange, its effulgence blemished by the haze in the distance – the pictures I took not doing justice to the beauty of the scene. A jet liner vaping orange was streaking westwards through the pink sky. Over the Evangelical church the azure sky was sandwiched between the pink streaks of cloud – itself threatened by the darkening sky from above – and the yellow-orange of nautical twilight. Jack Frost was slowly
spreading his ice and it was cold. When we passed the City View Surgery the moon, smaller now, had climbed a fair distance into the sky. Turning into Beeston Road an alarmed Blackbird chuddered anxiously before he broke into song, the first such rhapsody of the winter for us. Through the park we went on our way, the moon following us illuminating the underlining streaky cloud, bathing the park in a surreal setting as clear winter nights would have it. At the fading of the light ice was starting to form at our feet and we couldn’t get home soon enough out of the strengthening icy breeze and into a warm lounge and the promise of hot chocolate.
All photos: Frederik van Zyl
South of the River - Culture Club by Jeremy Morton
What is culture? This is a question that is increasingly being asked around Leeds. The reason the question is being asked at the moment is that Leeds is about to bid to become the European Capital of Culture for 2023. All very interesting you might be thinking, but will this really have anything to do with South Leeds? I was at the opera on Tuesday night (ooh, there’s posh!). Actually the community choir I sing with in Belle Isle were given free tickets as part of Opera North’s community engagement programme. Opera is clearly a cultural activity, but no more so than watching Leeds United (or Middleton Park Ladies for that matter). There’s a misconception that culture is just opera, theatre, visual art. It’s not helped that the government department responsible for all this is called the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. In what way are ‘media’ and ‘sport’ not cultural? I don’t have a snappy definition of what culture is, but surely it’s about what we do
after we’ve done the things we need to survive. Animals spend all their time surviving: finding food, finding shelter, avoiding predators. What makes humans different is that we’ve developed to a stage where we have spare time and energy to do other things. Of course some people have more spare time than others, but collectively as the human race we have made space to create language, entertainment, science, sport, etc. So culture is all the things that make life worth living. Putting it that way makes it clear that access to culture or enjoyment of culture is not evenly spread through society. Some people’s lives are barely worth living. If you’re afraid of putting the heating on or wondering where your (or your children’s) next meal is coming from, then it’s pretty hard to find space to appreciate Mozart. There is a relationship between culture and wealth, although I know many very cultured people who are as poor as church mice and a few rich people who just don’t appreciate culture. Having said that, humans are such amazing creatures that the poor and dispossessed have always created their
own culture in spite of their situation. Have you come across a South American dance called Capoeira? It was very trendy in contemporary dance circles a few years back. It was created by African slaves in Brazil. It is a ritualised form of martial art, stylised and choreographed to music so that the slaves could practice their fighting skills right under the noses of their masters. Brilliant.
So what will being the Capital of Culture mean round here? From the few discussions I’ve had, I think it’s still all up for grabs. The point I always make in such discussions is that it mustn’t be all about what happens in the city centre. The answer I hear is that if the bid was written around the city centre and ignores the less trendy parts of the city, it will fail. The judges, I’m not sure who they are, are looking for involvement, or ‘buy-in’ from the whole of the city. If we shout loud enough I believe we can influence how 2023 shapes up. Hell, we can help Leeds win the bid! Which of our local cultural gems should we see included a year of cultural celebrations? Here’s a few of my favourites to kick off the discussion: Windmill Primary School at Leeds Town Hall The Garden Gate pub Photo: Jeremy Morton in Hunslet. A beautiful
building, where they’ve always looked after the beer, plenty of Rugby League heritage and I think they still do darts and doms nights. The Kop. I haven’t seen a match at Elland Road for some years now. I bet there’s plenty of stuff shouted from the Kop that I would find offensive, but there’s plenty of wit too and it’s leeds Elland Road Kop through and through. Photo: John Seb Barber via Creative Commons Middleton Railway. Hunslet gave railways to the world, best. There’s loads more: wrestling at The everything from coal trucks to Pullman coaches and the cathedral-like stations: St Holbeck, children from Windmill & Low Pancras, Gard du Nord, Grand Central Road primary schools playing in their string Station. Brief Encounter, Casablanca, Murder orchestra, or The Outsiders a disabled rock band working out of The Old Chapel.What’s on the Orient Express – need I go on? Panto. Two shows that pack ‘em in every your nomination for a South Leeds cultural year are the am-dram St Andrew’s gem? I write a column every Friday on the Pantomime who have just finished another sell out season, and the wonderfully silly website www.southleedslife.com with my treatment of Shakespeare that Oddsocks views from South of the River. If you’re on you can follow me: Theatre provide for free, outdoors in Twitter, @BeestonJeremy. Middleton Park. Accessible culture at its
South Leeds Life | March 2015
www.southleedslife.com
8 Opinion
In our view
Not good enough Asda
People will have mixed views about late night opening, but the supermarkets need to come clean. Either they don’t really care about what the community thinks, or if they do they have to respond to what they hear. Asda have been told repeatedly that local residents were not keen on long hours. So turning up at Beeston Forum and pleading ignorance is just not good enough.
Art in the community
There’s lots of culture in South Leeds, but there’s always room for a bit more. Artists-in-residence aren’t usually sited in down-atheel neighbourhoods like the Garnets, but this is where they can have the greatest impact. Art can really help a community bond and grow. Well done East Street Arts for bringing us this project.
Generous spirit
It was good to see little Skye Sutcliffe and her family receiving such support from local people at the recent sponsored run. It’s said that people show their best in the worst of circumstances. The money raised for two excellent charities will be much appreciated, but the empathy and solidarity shown to this Middleton family really shows the true generous spirit that typifies South Leeds.
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Your letters and comments
Top Tweets
Voting for change
I agree in principle that people should vote, however I think a significant percentage of the public have been turned off politics, both at a local and national level. Why? Because people feel it doesn’t matter how they vote, nothing ever changes. Either that or the seat they live in – either a ward or constituency, is perceived to be so safe, the incumbents have such large majorities that their vote won’t make any difference. This is even true in by-elections, where the governing party call the by-election and issue the postal votes so quickly that the residents don’t get to see election addresses or meet the canvassers of the other parties. I mean, is there any real difference between the three so-called main parties, other than the colour of their rosettes? Labour criticise the Tories for supposedly destroying the NHS, when it was Labour who greatly expanded the PFI deals which have left the taxpayer with an enormous bill to pay – when it’d have been much cheaper to raise funds on the bond markets. The Tories criticise Labour for ruining the public finances and claim they are ‘paying our debts’ – so why are we still running a deficit of £90bn+ p/a, and throwing money into the EU and foreign aid like there’s no tomorrow? Politics needs change – be it UKIP, the Greens, even TUSC. Just something, to give people the motivation to go out and mark their X on a piece of paper. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and
expecting a different result. Therefore – DON’T vote Labour, DON’T vote Conservative, DON’T vote Lib Dem.You’ll only be let down and lied to if you do. Luke Senior
Asda
I fear that Asda will do whatever is most profitable irrespective of the views of local residents. The planning process and consultation was supposed to be about addressing these local issues and protecting residents. Whether it is true or not, the perception is that Asda entered into this as a PR exercise making promises that they had no intention of keeping. All leaves a very bad taste… Rich Bell
Your Councillors and MP Beeston & Holbeck ward
Includes Beeston from Cross Flatts Park up to the Co-op, Cottingley, old Holbeck. The three councillors are:
David Congreve 0113 277 7389 david.congreve@leeds.gov.uk Angela Gabriel 07946 632 468 angela.gabriel@leeds.gov.uk Adam Ogilvie 0113 247 4578 adam.ogilvie@leeds.gov.uk
City & Hunslet ward Includes the city centre, Holbeck Urban Village, Beeston Hill and Hunslet. The three councillors are:
Patrick Davey 0113 261 0465 patrick.davey@leeds.gov.uk Mohammed Iqbal 0113 294 1049 mohammed.iqbal@leeds.gov.uk Elizabeth Nash 0113 275 8594 elizabeth.nash@leeds.gov.uk
Middleton Park ward Includes Belle Isle and Middleton. The three councillors are:
Judith Blake Kim Groves Paul Truswell
0113 395 1735 judith.blake@leeds.gov.uk 07891 741 832 kim.groves@leeds.gov.uk 0113 247 4472 paul.truswell@leeds.gov.uk
Leeds Central MP – Rt Hon Hilary Benn Hilary Benn is our MP. He represents the Leeds Central constituency which covers Hunslet, Belle Isle, Beeston, Holbeck, Cottingley in south Leeds as well as the city centre, Woodhouse, Little London, Lincoln Green, Richmond Hill, Osmondthorpe, Halton Moor and New Wortley. Contact: hilary.benn.mp@parliament.uk, www.hilarybennmp.com Constituency office: Suite 7, Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds LS7 1AB; phone: 0113 244 1097
Matthew Murray site
It sounds as though the council are up to its usual tricks regarding the old Matthew Murray school site. First, it pretends to involve the community in its decision making by consulting with the people; then, it ignores the community views and does exactly what it wants. Perhaps it wants to make the site available for the travellers? How can the neighbourhood plan have credibility if this site is excluded from it? Steve Peacock
Old Holbeck Photos
A friend and I are interested in any old photos of Holbeck, particularly of Holbeck Working Men’s Club, Jenkinson Lawn, Leeds 11. When we say old we mean anything from the 1980’s back to its start in 1877! Help! John Leckenby
Middleton Friends
Where have all my school mates gone? I left Middleton
Seniors in the late 50s but have been unable to contact any of them. John Pemberton, Peter Lambert, John and Bernard Mahew,Tony Pears to name a few. I’m sure that they have not all passed away. Brian Hetherington
Water fountain
I remember the water fountain on Hunslet Moor but don’t remember one on Holbeck Moor. My niece who went to a high school nearby remembers Hunslet Moor fountain was there when she left in 1961.There was also a horse water trough that was moved to Low Road. Barbara Appleby
Keep up to date, up to the minute, by following South Leeds Life’s Twitter feed: @SouthLeedsLife. Twitter is the 140 character ‘micro blogging’ site. It’s free and you can sign up at twitter.com. It’s a great place to find the very latest news. Here are some of our favourite recent tweets: @edleeds What would it take for #SouthLeeds to crack dog fouling? Ideas anyone? @thelightoutside How about low cost 'bin it' bags on sale in corner shops, followed by an info leaflet delivered to every home? @groves_kim have run campaign for over year with signs, enforcement # culture problem @bethkwilson Filming for @madeinleeds at St Luke's Church which is sending donated clothing to Iraq. #Leeds2Iraq
Memories of times past
It’s one of my favourite parts of my job speaking to older people who have such different memories of growing up. I’m no spring chicken, but it makes me want to be able to go back and quiz my grandparents about everything that happened to them. You don’t realise how valuable those memories are until it’s too late! I think we need more events in the area to bring older and younger people together so these amazing things are not forgotten. Kirsty Johnson
Holbeck winter magic
What a lovely story. The picture of the moon from city view is great. The author is clearly a masterful wordslinger. Thank you for sharing. Max Wow! A beautiful picture captured and painted with words that I felt I was sitting right beside you. Thank you for sharing. Charmaine Join the debate.
@CarlTSpeak @SouthLeedsLife @hilarybennmp @BiteTheBallot A tough sell for those in one of the safest seats in the country. Not a fan of pure FPTP :( @johncbaron Good to see #Hyperlocal @SouthLeedsLife featuring in #betweenthelines on @madeinleeds discussing the latest headlines @C4CJ Great developing story from @SouthLeedsLife - man behind mystery 'missing councillor' posters stands for election bit.ly/1z5g2GS @speedied72 @SouthLeedsLife Perfect day for dog walking in Middleton Park today #middletonpark #walkies
Comment online, email your letter to info@southleedslife.com, or post to: 224 Cross Flatts Grove, Leeds, LS11 7BW. Letters may be edited for publication.
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@culturevultures Lovely list of cultural places @SouthLeedsLife I'd find it enormously beneficial to read about people who 'make culture' in South Leeds
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My Life in south Leeds 9
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A Beeston childhood Amanda keeps on running
horse out of his stable, cleaned the railways they could travel it out, put fresh straw down for free. Holidays were spent in and held the party there. “camping coaches” old railway Lillian remembers sledging in carriages converted into a I had a fascinating chat with Mrs Lillian Turner (nee the snow on the Brickfield, or holiday chalet.The family, seven Sykes) recently. She had got “Brickie Hill” and collecting tea children, mum, dad and in touch about the drinking chests from Rington’s tea grandma, went all over the fountain on Holbeck Moor, factory for bonfire night. They country for their summer but we spent most of the went to the Saturday matinee holidays. She performed at the Leeds time talking about her show at the Malvern Picture childhood growing up in House for 5d (5 old pence – Children’s Day celebrations in about 2p) and raised the Roundhay Park four years in a Beeston and Hunslet. money by row in the 1950s. Brenda ‘donkey Hines, a fellow pupil at stoning’ Bewerley Street was chosen as people’s Queen for the day in 1956 or steps. The 57, so Bewerley Street were at donkey the front of the gymnastics stone was a display that year. yellow “Every family went to sandstone Children’s Day. I did and gymnastics, maypole dancing, everyone skipping and we all formed used it to ourselves into a tableau at the Photo: www.leodis.net scrub the end, one year it was a soldier Copyright West Yorkshire Archive Service front step of and I remember a train too.” their house. Having left school at 14, She was “born and bred in The children would offer to Lillian’s first job was at Petty’s the middle of the motorway!” scrub old people’s steps for a the printers on Whitehall Road. She worked on a More precisely at 1 Busk penny. Then there were the trips to conveyor belt putting leaflets Street, but that is long demolished and lies Middleton Woods, up past into magazines, but she lived for dancing at somewhere under the central the Mecca just reservation of the M621. off Briggate. At school, Bewerley Street Lillian and her Juniors off Hunslet Hall Road friends would and also demolished, she got be pressed into trouble for mentioning against the that they had a bathroom doors waiting when writing about her home. for them to be Most homes then didn’t have a opened at 6pm. bathroom, a tin bath would be They didn’t go filled with kettles of hot water, near the bar, it but Lillian had a plumbed in was coffee and bath in its own room. She Photo: www.leodis.net dancing to ended up taking eight Copyright West Yorkshire Archive Service skiffle and classmates home with her rock’n’roll after school to prove she Clarksfield, across Farmer records (the DJ was one Jimmy wasn’t lying. They could afford a Josh’s land and over the Savile). Lillian even went bathroom because her mum “Cuckoo Steps” footbridge to dancing in her lunch hour, ran the fish and chip shop on cross the railway. They would rushing to get back on time. Lillian remembers her Coupland Terrace. They also nick some rhubarb stalks from bought a television for the the allotments and dip them in childhood days fondly: coronation of the Queen in the bag of sugar and cocoa “We played in the street, 1953. Lillian remembers powder that they had cadged we knew every family and watching the event through from mum. every woman on the street As Lillian’s father worked on was your ‘auntie’.” the legs of her grown up neighbours who crammed into their sitting room. She still has the commemorative New Testament that was given to all the children at West Hunslet Central Mission Sunday School that week and the special edition of the Yorkshire Post. They were due to have a street party, but it rained all day. Photo: www.leodis.net Instead they moved Dobbin Copyright Leeds Library & Information Services the coal man’s giant shire
by Jeremy Morton
South Leeds Life | March 2015
by Amanda Binns
In September 2013 I gave my good friend Harry Hawk a lift to make a personal appearance at the 5k run at Middleton Park.Running was never something I had considered for myself but I was trying to increase my fitness and lose some weight. The atmosphere at the event was lovely and the people were so friendly, I got chatting to one of the runners who also is a member of the South Leeds Sisters running club. She encouraged me to go along and join them. After some internal debate I bit the bullet and went. I found that I actually loved running but soon had a knock back in the form of injury.With the help of the Hunslet Hawks team physio, I was soon up and running, literally. At this point I felt I needed something to aim for so I signed up for the Jane
Tomlinson Leeds 10k. One of the ladies from South Leeds Sisters works for the Stroke Association so I signed up to raise money for them. I finished the run in 89 minutes 55 seconds with an ankle injury, so I’m hoping to beat that this year. My friend Hannah Midgley ran with me and we decided that it would be a good idea to run for a different charity each
year. As community nurses we both feel that health charities are important and this year decided to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. Last year I raised £650 and am hoping to beat that this year. I have a Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/AmandaBINNS or I will accept cash donations. I can be contacted on 07950 817512.
Dave: Super-volunteer by Linda Stanley
“I’m always busy, and that’s what I love!” And since becoming a volunteer in Beeston that is certainly true for Dave! He’s had a busy working life and retired 18 months ago. Living in Beeston for 17 ½ years Dave gave his neighbours Sarah and Ben a hand with work in their bin yard and since then he’s never looked back! Following the work in the bin yard he’s become good friends with Ed Carlisle and his work with the ‘Love Beeston/Clean Beeston’ campaign. Dave worked on the project to put up hanging baskets in the Harlech Road area, and met me, Linda Stanley, secretary of Beeston in Bloom. I never miss the opportunity to recruit a willing pair of hands and following a chance meeting while Beeston in Bloom were working in the park, Dave joined in and I’m happy to say that he’s never missed a working party since. His membership of one group led to contact with many others in the area, and in the last year Dave has worked with: Friends of Cross Flatts Park and Bands in the park – attending all 6 Sundays last year; Holy Spirit community garden – working on his own on a few , occasions to help clear the overgrown site; Cardboard den building with Ed – shifting mountains of cardboard stored in Holy Spirit Church;
Helping Groudwork and the Green for Go team at the Rowland Road planter, which led to him helping out at Lady Pit Lane allotments; He was part of the volunteer group who helped at St Luke’s church bagging 72 cubic metres of clothing bound for Iraq; He’s even given a hand to our rival competitors in Holbeck in Bloom. Dave agrees that he has learned new skills, met a lot of new people and is always busy. Well, Beeston in Bloom certainly appreciates his participation and am sure that other groups will agree.
South Leeds Life | March 2015
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10 What’s On
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What’s On
Fitness Classes
Your guide to events and activities across South Leeds in March Monday 2 March Beeston in Bloom AGM 5pm Watsonian Pavilion, Cross Flatts Park Friends of Stank Hall Barn 7:30pm Tommy Wass pub Dewsbury Road Tuesday 3 March Employment Skills 10am-12pm Holbeck Community Centre, Elland Road Fun at Family Tea 3:30-5pm Belle Isle Family Centre, Belle Isle Road Music At The Hub 4-6pm South Leeds Youth Hub, Middleton Road, Belle Isle Wednesday 4 March CAP Job Club 10am-12pm Two Willows Children’s Centre, Cardinal Square, Beeston Hunslet Memories 12-2pm Garden Gate pub Hunslet Tenants & Residents Association 6:30-8pm Church of Nazarene, Grove Road Thursday 5 March Older Persons Day 10:30am-3:30pm Leeds Civic Hall Banqueting Suite Beeston Community Forum 7:30pm Beeston Village Community Centre Friday 6 March South Leeds Life News Cafe 10am-12pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle In Harmony Community Choir 12:30-1:15pm Windmill Primary School, Belle Isle
Friday Night Project 6-9pm Middleton Leisure Centre Saturday 7 March Drop In Cycle Maintenance 10am-12pm South Leeds Youth Hub, Middleton Road, Belle Isle Sunday 8 March The Call of Cthulhu – Michael Sabbaton 5-6pm Slung Low Theatre, Bath Road, Holbeck Monday 9 March Cottingley In Bloom 1:30pm Cottingley Heights Community Room International Women’s Day drop in for info and pampering 3-5pm BITMO’s GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle
For up to date event information make sure you go online to
www.southleedslife.com and check the What’s On Calendar
Beeston Local History Society 8pm Beeston Parish Centre Tuesday 10 March Employment Skills 10am-12pm Holbeck Community Centre, Elland Road Fun at Family Tea 3:30-5pm Belle Isle Family Centre, Belle Isle Road Music At The Hub 4-6pm South Leeds Youth Hub, Middleton Road, Belle Isle Wednesday 11 March CAP Job Club 10am-12pm Two Willows Children’s Centre, Cardinal Square, Beeston Cottingley Hall TRAC 6:30-8pm Cottingley Primary Academy Friday 13 March South Leeds Life News Cafe 10am-12pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle In Harmony Community Choir 12:30-1:15pm Windmill Primary School, Belle Isle Friday Night Project 6-9pm Middleton Leisure Centre Saturday 14 March Drop In Cycle Maintenance 10am-12pm South Leeds Youth Hub, Middleton Road, Belle Isle St Andrew’s Spring Fair 10am-12pm St Andrew’s, Old Lane, Beeston Help paint Matthew Murray memorial 11am-1pm St Matthew’s Church, Holbeck Spring Craft Fair 1-4pm Beeston Parish Centre Monday 16 March Tracks and Trails 11am-3pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre
Tuesday 17 March Employment Skills 10am-12pm Holbeck Community Centre, Elland Road Fun at Family Tea 3:30-5pm Belle Isle Family Centre, Belle Isle Road Music At The Hub 4-6pm South Leeds Youth Hub, Middleton Road, Belle Isle Wednesday 18 March Bulb Planting 10am-12pm Central Park, New Forest Village, Middleton CAP Job Club 10am-12pm Two Willows Children’s Centre, Cardinal Square, Beeston Friday 20 March South Leeds Life News Cafe 10am-12pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle In Harmony Community Choir 12:30-1:15pm Windmill Primary School, Belle Isle Friday Night Project 6-9pm Middleton Leisure Centre Saturday 21 March Leeds Young Archaeologists Club 10am-12pm Middleton Park Visitor Centre Sunday 22 March Ablutions by fellswoop 5-6pm Slung Low Theatre, Bath Road, Holbeck Tuesday 24 March Fun at Family Tea 3:30-5pm Belle Isle Family Centre, Belle Isle Road Music At The Hub 4-6pm South Leeds Youth Hub, Middleton Road, Belle Isle Wednesday 25 March CAP Job Club 10am-12pm Two Willows Children’s Centre, Cardinal Square, Beeston Friday 27 March South Leeds Life News Cafe 10am-12pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle In Harmony Community Choir 12:30-1:15pm Windmill Primary School, Belle Isle Friday Night Project 6-9pm Middleton Leisure Centre Saturday 28 March Drop In Cycle Maintenance 10am-12pm South Leeds Youth Hub, Middleton Road, Belle Isle Middleton Railway 11am-4:30pm Moor Road, Hunslet Sunday 29 March Middleton Railway 11am-4:30pm Moor Road, Hunslet
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Mondays: General fitness for the over 55's 11:30am-12:30pm St. Andrews Community Centre, Beeston. Keep Fit 4:15-5pm BITMOs GATE, Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle Tuesdays: General fitness over 55's 10-11am St Anthony's church hall, Beeston Chair based mobility session 11.30am - 1pm tea and chat after session Cottingley Community Centre Social Running with South Leeds Lakers 7pm from Beeston Co-op Wednesdays: Chair mobility 10-10:45am Trinity network, Belle Isle Over 55's Nesfield church hall community room. Male only Sports Sessions 4-5pm Old Cockburn Sports Hall General fitness 6-7pm Belle Isle Family Centre Clubbercise 7:15-8pm Dance and get fit in the dark with disco lights and glow sticks Cranmore & Raylands Community Centre Thursdays: Chair based mobility group and games group 11:15am-12:30pm Beeston Village Community Centre Mashed up fitness session aerobic dance 1:45-2:45pm Beeston Village Community Centre Cheer Fit 5:30-6:30pm South Leeds Youth Hub General fitness 6-7pm Beeston Parish Centre Clubbercise 7:15pm-8pm Beeston Parish Centre Saturdays: Cross Flatts Parkrun 9am Run or walk 5km Watsonian Pavilion, Cross Flatts Park Sundays: Circuit Training 4:30-5:15pm Beeston Parish Centre Clubbercise 5:15-6pm Beeston Parish Centre
Publicise your event with South Leeds Life Send full details of your event to: info@southleedslife.com, or post to: 224 Cross Flatts Grove, Leeds, LS11 7BW
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Website: www.southleedslife.com
South Leeds Life | March 2015
Local history 11
Email: info@southleedslife.com
Friends’ Stank Hall paving slab appeal
Photo: Jeremy Morton
Have you got any old paving slabs hiding in a corner of your garden or garage? If so the Friends of Stank Hall Barn would like to hear from you! The Friends set up two years ago after South Leeds Life called a public meeting to draw attention to the poor state of the buildings. Their aim is to protect the historical site - Stank Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Leeds - and find a long term use for the barn and associated buildings. Having run several open days to show people around the site and inside the cathedral-like barn, they are now starting on their first permanent project. They are creating a community garden next to the barn.
The garden, which will be built in raised beds so as not to disturb the archaeology, will follow garden designs from the 15th century when the barn was built. The group plan to grow fruit and vegetables, including older or heritage varieties and give away the produce to volunteers and local residents. In order to construct the garden they are appealing for residents to donate paving slabs so that they can create a safe working area that doesn’t compromise the archaeology. If you can help please contact the group via their Facebook page by email at: info@friendsofstankhall.org.uk. Stank Hall Barn is located across Dewsbury Road opposite the White Rose
Centre. The barn dates back to the 15th Century, but Stank Hall itself is much older. It is thought that King John had a hunting lodge on the site and recent work has uncovered evidence of a Norman building. New Hall, which was built later, was seriously damaged by fire a few years ago. A spokesperson for the group said: “We are working closely with Leeds City Council, who own the site, and English Heritage, but we remain very concerned about the state of the buildings. These are irreplaceable gems right here in South Leeds and they need urgent attention to protect them.” Ideas for longer term uses for the buildings include a museum, restaurant, community centre and wedding venue, but there are are no firm plans at this stage. “The garden will give us a permanent presence on the site and show that it is being cared for. We would love more local people to get involved and will be advertising work days in the garden. We also have a meeting on the first Monday of the month at the Tommy Wass pub which is open to everyone.”
Photo appeals
Have you got any photos of Holbeck Working Men’s Club? or the Hunslet Club? or the Garden Gate pub? Get in touch or send them to: 224 Cross Flatts Grove, Leeds, LS11 7BW
Remembering the Workhouse by Martyn White
I’ve lived all my life in South Leeds. During school holidays I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, as both of my parents worked. My grandfather and I went for walks on most fine days. One of the places that we sometimes used to pass was the site of the old workhouse at the bottom of Beeston Hill at Lane End Place. My Grandfather hated the place. He was born in the 1890’s and as a child knew someone who had finished up there. The Workhouse was set up as a place for the very poor, homeless and out of work. It was feared by many. People lived and worked there, not as families, but were split up. On entry people were stripped, bathed and issued with a workhouse uniform. There was often a feeling of doom. Work was the operative word. The government, terrified of encouraging “idlers” (lazy people), made sure that people feared the workhouse and would do anything to keep out of it. Though it was better than living rough.
Ripon Workhouse Museum Photo: Martyn White
Women did “housework” such as laundry, sewing etc. Men did hard work such as breaking rocks. Oakum picking kept people busy, but was hard on the fingers and hands. Children could find themselves “hired out” (sold) to work in mines and factories. Dr. Thomas Barnardo felt that workhouses were the wrong places for children and from 1867 onwards led the way in setting up proper children’s homes. The workhouse system slowly died out, many of them were put to other uses, the
one at Lane End Place was still in use as “social housing” for many years. Some of the buildings still exist. The Medical Museum at St. James’s Hospital used to be a workhouse. If you want to see what a workhouse was like, then Ripon Workhouse Museum is worth a look. Hush-a-by baby, on a tree top When you grow old, your wages will stop. When you have spent the little you made First to the poorhouse and then to the grave Would it work these days or would there be too much of an outcry from the “do gooders”? Not as rigid and harsh as the workhouses featured in the Charles Dickens book Oliver Twist, but a more humane, gentler system.
Rugby legend Harry Jepson celebrates 95th birthday
Harry Jepson, Laurie Baker (author of “Shanks”), Frank “Shanks” Watson, Jimmy Brogden.
by Pat Benatmane They came through the doors of the Garden Gate pub in Hunslet in twos and threes, filling the corridor with cheeky banter and grabbing a spot in front of the open fire in the Hunslet Heritage room. They were here to celebrate the 95th birthday of Harry Jepson OBE in the Hunslet RL way – a good chinwag over old times, a few jokes, a pint, and pie and peas. Harry was given the best armchair by the fire and players now in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s squeezed past to give him their best wishes and shake his hand. His memory is as sharp as ever and his tales of Hunslet RLFC where he was secretary for many years need writing down for a best-seller. Now President at Leeds Rhinos, Harry doesn’t forget his roots as a Hunslet lad who trained as a teacher after war service in North Africa, becoming assistant Head at Clapgate School and using his spare time to work for Hunslet Schools RL Association. There’s now a trophy named after him and played for by the RL Conference.
But back to the Garden Gate celebrations: Ray Abbey and Peter Jarvis, both former Hunslet players, presented Harry with a framed picture of the 90+ year-olds still associated with Hunslet RL:Harry himself, Ginger Burnell, Shanks Watson and Jimmy Brogden. Jimmy had been one of the first to arrive, Shanks in his flat cap one of the later arrivals. The crowd of players sang a rousing chorus of the Hunslet war cry, “We’ve Swept the Seas before Boys,” to finish off the official proceedings and then they broke into little groups, admiring the newly installed Hunslet RL timeline and Hall of Fame boards. Fixture lists were handed out for newly-promoted Hunslet, now in the Championship, and notice was taken of the Memories drop-in once a month before fans and players began to drift off home after an afternoon of happy congeniality at the Garden Gate. Hunslet Hawks RLFC’s first home match is on Sunday 22 February against Batley, kick off 3pm. The Hunslet Memories drop in meets the first Wednesday in the month at noon at the Garden Gate – all welcome.
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South Leeds Life | March 2015
12 Sport
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Hawks’ unsteady season start in the opening stages. However Featherstone took the lead on 16 minutes when they capitalised on Two games, two defeats but two their first decent field position of the very different performances sum night as Ian Hardman went over for up the start to the Kingstone Press the first try of the night, Paul Sykes Rugby League Championship converting to make it 6-0 to the hosts. season for the Hunslet Hawks. With Featherstone’s Tim Spears in Nobody believed that the return to the second tier of the Rugby League the sin bin for an off the ball incident, ladder was going to be easy for Barry Hunslet built up a head of steam Eaton’s men, and the fixture list against the 12 men and finally turned certainly wasn’t kind in sending the their pressure into points when Andy Hawks to last season’s beaten Grand Kain, signed from Rovers in the close Finalists, Featherstone Rovers, for the season, intercepted a pass and raced down the field. Although he was opening game of the 2015 campaign. Hunslet went into the game in good denied a try against his former club by heart after a decent pre-season, and some fine cover defence, a quick play would certainly have been well rested of the ball saw Callum Casey go over for the curtain raiser to the season to open the Hawks 2015 account, after their final pre-season friendly at Simon Brown’s conversion levelling Rochdale had been called off due to a the match. Just before half time, some more frozen pitch. The Hawks also got an Rovers indiscipline handed Brown the opportunity to give Hunslet the lead and he slotted over the penalty to put Hunslet 8-6 ahead to the delight of the travelling faithful. Featherstone roared back into the game at the start of the second half, Sykes placing a grubber kick into the corner for Jack Bussey to touch down for a converted Photo: Stephen Gaunt / Touchlinepics.com try. However Hunslet additional day’s rest as the match was responded in kind, with Liam Mackay moved to Monday evening and played going over for a converted try to at Wakefield Trinity’s Belle Vue ground restore the Hawks two point due to some issues with the pitch at advantage. Hunslet defended manfully against Post Office Road. The Hawks were not overawed by the slicker Featherstone play but their illustrious opponents and both succumbed to another clever kick, sides struggled to assert themselves this time by Remy Marginet, saw Ben
by Stephen Clark
Lakers run and chat
South Leeds Lakers is a new social running group offering “a sociable run at a conversational pace”. Twenty hardy souls turned up at Beeston Co-op to take part in the inaugural run on 10 February. Newly trained run leader Ewan Mitchell explained that the group was for new runners and experienced runners. It builds on the Cross Flatts
Parkrun which takes place every Saturday morning and sees up to a hundred runners and walkers complete the 5km course. Runners are encouraged to chat, get to know each other, swap running tips and pet peeves. Funding has been provided by Run England and the Hunslet Rugby Foundation and the group has three trained
Blackmore touch down to put Rovers back in front, Sykes missed conversion meaning the home side led 16-14. As the match entered it’s final quarter, Featherstone’s experience at this level began to tell as the Hawks tired. With just 10 minutes left Paul Sykes squeezed through a small gap in the Hunslet defence to score, and the veteran added the extras to put Rovers 22-14 ahead. With just three minutes remaining Ben Blackmore grabbed his second try of the night and with Remy Marginet converting, Featherstone completed a 28-14 win. Performing so well against a side expected to be in the shake up for the top 4 places in the division and a shot at promotion to the Super League should have given Hunslet plenty of confidence for the first home game of the season against Batley Bulldogs. Unfortunately, a dismal second half showing at the South Leeds Stadium on Sunday 22 February saw that self belief severely dented. The opening quarter of the game was a real arm wrestle as two evenly matched sides struggled to make any real inroads into opposition territory. Hunslet had slightly the upper hand with the kicking of Simon Brown proving more effective in early stages. It was the visitors however who opened the scoring on 19 minutes as James Craven scythed through the Hawks defensive line to score the first try of the match, Scott Leatherbarrow failing to convert from the touchline. Hunslet's response was immediate as a dropped ball by Batley's Tom Lillycrop handed Hunslet possession. The home side drove towards the Bulldogs line and on the last tackle a clever reverse kick by Andy Kain allowed Jimmy Watson to dive on the ball over the try line for the equalising score. Brown converted to give the
leaders. If the group grows as hoped, it will be possible to have separate groups running to different paces or distances. For the first run the group agreed that a 5km run was about right and set off in hi-viz vests down Old Lane, Dewsbury Road, Hunslet Hall Road and back up Beeston Road. The group run every Tuesday night from Beeston Co-op meeting at 7pm. Just turn up, there’s no need to book and it’s free. For more information ring Ben Fraser on 07824 302927 or email: ben.fraser@wysport.co.uk.You can follow South Leeds Lakers on Twitter @SthLeedsLakers.
Hawks a 6-4 lead. Five minutes later Hunslet doubled their lead as substitute Brad Brennan barged over under the posts. The powerful prop forward had made a series of barnstorming runs since his introduction to the action and this try Photo: Stephen Gaunt / Touchlinepics.com was just rewards for his effort. Again Brown knocked opportunity, they seemed to gift over the simple conversion and the possession straight back to the Bulldogs. A litany of missed passes and Hawks led 12-4. Batley soon reduced the arrears as knock-ons saw the Hawks unable to some weak Hunslet tackling allowed build any pressure, whilst in defence Mitchell to break through the they started to fall off tackles and defensive line, setting up a try in the allow Batley to take territorial corner for Shaun Squires, his fifth of control. It was no surprise when Batley took the fledgling season. The closing stages of the first half the lead on 57 minutes. Alex Rowe saw things get a little spicy with Shaun was held up over the line, but from Ainscough and Watson involved in a the very next tackle a high crossfield minor fracas, and Watson was then kick was taken by Ainscough and he over in the corner, caught with a head shot moments went later. From the resulting penalty, Leatherbarrow adding insult to injury Brown put the Hawks in great field by kicking the conversion from the position and when Batley were again touchline to make it a 6 point penalised, this time for a ball steal, he ballgame. Hunslet were devoid of ideas in slotted over the goal kick to give attack and after Leatherbarrow had Hunslet a 14-8 lead at the break. Once again though, the hard work extended the lead with a 63rd minute of the first half was undone by a slack penalty, the game was put to bed in second period. Rather than tiredness, the dying seconds when Wayne Rettie this appeared to be a loss of focus capitalized on some quick hands to go both in defence and attack. Batley’s over in the corner for the final score Anthony Nicholson breezed through of the game. Things don’t get any easier for the Hawks defensive line on 44 minutes to score close to the posts, Hunslet in March with home matches allowing Leatherbarrow to kick his against Dewsbury and Doncaster first goal of the afternoon and level sandwiching a trip to fallen giants Bradford Bulls. The Hawks will be proceedings. Both sides struggled in the cold hoping to enter the Spring with a first conditions as the game wore on, but win under their belts, otherwise it every time Hunslet were given an may be a long hard summer.
Middleton Park FC gala
Middleton Park FC will be holding their annual community gala on Saturday 6 June. The event takes place on the Leeds Corinthians RUFC and Middleton Leisure Centre pitches. There will be many attractions to run alongside the football, including our Club’s café and Bar which will offer the usual refreshments. The football tournament will be six-a-side teams playing 7 minute matches.The entry fee is £25 per team. Clubs are encouraged to enter teams in the following categories: U7, U8, U10, U12, U15, U16, Adult Men and Women. For entry details and more information contact club secretary Wayne Dixon on 07852 311717 or email him at wayne.dixon@middletonparkfc.co.uk.
All of Stephen’s match reports are published at www.southleedslife.com and follow his live tweets during each game @SouthLeedsLife
University of Leeds:
Invitation to participate in a phone interview about financial difficulties after age 65. Have you experienced financial difficulties since turning 65? Researchers at the University of Leeds are doing confidential phone interviews to learn about financial difficulties of people aged 65 and over. Please give us a call at 0113-343-4597 (C Loibl). We pay £25 for each phone interview (cash cheque).