Light on Leeds

Garance Rawinsky connected to tell me about the Little Woodhouse Street Art Project run by the Little Woodhouse Community Association in conjunction with Leeds Civic Trust - they worked together to promote positive action in the community. Fed up of graffitti and "tagging" they worked together with taggers, teaching them new skills and allowing them to legitimately create street art in Little Woodhouse to brighten up the area for residents. Please check out the links below that show their...

Jo Ritchie remotely connected to tell me about Projecting Grief which explores how creativity can help people through the grieving process. Jo is a photographer and developed this project with Faye Dawson (of episode 36 fame!). Together they have created a beautiful website with stunning photographs and stories of people who used creative processes to help them through a difficult time. In their own words: "We believe this project to be not only beneficial to those who have lost – but...

I loved to hear about the work Keziah and others are doing at Mafwa Theatre. Keziah is a theatre maker, who works with the theatre group who are made up of female refugees, asylum seekers and settled Leeds communities. Keziah chose to feature some beautiful singing by Cecilia who is the theatre group's longest-standing member and is from...

Nicky and Sarah remotely connected to tell me about Musicultural Conversations which are fun and interactive English, music and drama sessions for refugees, asylum seekers and migrant communities. Nicky chose at track she wrote and perfomed herself "Live and Learn" it's a brilliant song and the lyrics are really clever and funny. Musicultural Conversations: http://www.musiculturalconversations.co.uk/ Leeds Church Institute: https://lcileeds.org/ Bringing It All Back Home (music & mental...

Faye Dawson is a fantastic story teller and was a brilliant guest who remotely connected to tell me how she got involved in the world of public relations. She chose the fabulous track, Plastic Fox by her friend Mik Artistik. https://fayedawsonpr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/fayedawsonpr/?hl=en https://twitter.com/FayeDawsonPR https://www.facebook.com/faye.dawson.359 https://www.projectinggrief.com/ https://www.anetelusina.com/ https://www.mikartistik.com/

I had a great chat with Robb from Scalarama Leeds. Scalarama Leeds is run by volunteers for the love of cinema. Robb tells me about the events they organise and the service they can provide for people wishing to put on a film screening. Robb chose a song to feature by his band Roman Empire called "Hyding in the Dark". It was written to commemorate the centenary of the Hyde Park Picture House in 2014. You can buy this song from Band Camp and all the proceeds go to the HYPH - a worthy...

Shreena Gobey is a Senior Youth Work Officer at Leeds Playhouse. She supports young people, refugees and assylum seekers. She was a lovely person to chat to and it was great to hear about the various and brilliant initiatives that are going on at Leeds Playhouse. Shreena chose the beautiful track by Peakes "Will Talk" to feature on this...

Tessa Smith is a band leader, singing teacher and runs community choirs. She tells me about her work and the unexpected bonuses gained from online singing practice. Tessa chose a track she’s sung herself called “Can He Dance”. https://www.tessasmith.com https://tiny.cc/tessamaillist

Joe Williams of Heritage Corner Leeds runs Leeds Black History Walks celebrating African history and diversity in Leeds. Joe has the most mesmerising voice and tells me some amazing stories. If you would like to book yourself onto one of his walks, you can do by clicking the link below: https://www.gcfoundation.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/Leeds-Black-History-Walk-435822270295768/ https://www.instagram.com/leedsblackhistory/ https://twitter.com/HeritageWalker Music this week is the...

Rob Pyke from Veritas Paranormal UK run ghost hunts that make lots of money for charity. Rob and his wife Ann-Marie host ghost hunt events up and down the country and between them they have over thirty years experience in the world of the paranormal. You can join them online ofr a real time ghost hunt. Rob told me lots of ghostly stories and was a great guest! The featured track this week is "Are You Gonna Get Away" by the excellent The Light Show, an indie punk band from...

Alan Lyddiard runs Performance Ensemble which is a theatre company of performers aged 60 and over. Alan believes older people have valuable contributions to make to society. As we age, we can become invisible to others and that must change. Alan is a great story-teller and has the most fantastic voice. Alan chose the featured track for this episode and it's by a very famous Leeds punk band Mekons and is called "Where Were...

I had a fantastic time chatting to Lee Murtagh about Bethlehem Boxing in Richmond Hill. Lee is a real character and I loved hearing about the movie “Straightner” and am very much looking forward to seeing it. The brilliant featured track on this episode is by Honeycub and is called “Nothing...

Carrieanne Vivianette is the CEO of CVIVArts, a group of creatives who were due to stage a performance of “A Hunger Artist”, Sadly cancelled due to COVID. Carrieanne tells me about being a performance practitioner and a fine artist, how she came to be doing what she’s doing and much, much, more. The track this week is the beautiful “Christabel” by Duncan Evans. This episode has been edited by Gethin...

Sam Fish is the Director of Rolling Social Events and is the co-founder of Leeds Rum Festival and Leeds Gin Fair. Sam is the Head of Food and Beverage at The Tetley. She runs Sip Along events for those struggling to get out and about. The featured track this episode is “The Ballad of Jenny Horne” by Chichilla Death Cult. www.rollingsocialevents.com www.facebook.com/rollingsocialevents www.facebook.com/chinchilladeathcult

Vicky Ackroyd runs Totally Inclusive People which offers consultation and interactive disability awareness and equality training. They aim to give as many people as possible the skills to communicate confidently and compassionately with anyone they meet. Vicky is also an audio describer at theatres and writes for stage and radio The brilliant track this week is “Online” by Vicky’s daughter Annie Griffiths. www.totallyinclusivepeople.com

Alison McIntyre and Liz Stirling are the Art Doctors. They remotely connected to tell me about prescribing art and how it encourages audience engagement; the zoom videos they’ve been creating during lockdown and lots more. The song this week is provided by the band Liz is a member of F= with their track “It’s Easy Being in a Band.” http://artdoctors.org.uk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udYocd2RUeY www.facebook.com/art...

D3 is a spoke word atist who has created her own genre Ra-poetry. She remotely conncted to tell me about her work educating young people, her time as a radio presenter, performing on BBC's Live Lounge and much more! The track this week is of coures, by D3 herelf and is called "Nutter". She is currently working on her debut album "Product of Society". D3 was a fantastic guest, please do check out her work in the links...

It was great to speak to Tasha Grant who owns Flavour Like Fancy, an independent gift shop which supports local artists. Tasha tells me about the shop, how she’s feeling about reopening and her art as Loon Moon Jewellery. The song this week is by Carmen McClean and it’s called “Slow Down”. www.flavourlikefancy.co.uk www.facebook.com/FLFGiftshop www.instagram.com/loon_moon_jewellry/ www.instagram.com/flavourlikefancy/ www.instagram.com/carmenmusician/ www.facebook.com/carmenmcclean97/

Lily Craig is an Arts Facilitator and connected to tell me about the work she has been doing to reduce social isolation and loneliness. She is a trained Dementia Care Mapper and helped to develop Young at Arts where she worked closely with Yorkshire Dance, Northern Ballet and Opera North. Lily works alongside two previous guests, Chris O’Connor and Anna Turzynski on Fragments - a multi sensory project for dementia care. Lily provided the music track by a friend of hers. The band are Dreuw...

Gill and Rob from Zero Waste Leeds remotely connected to tell me about them building a movement to make Leeds a zero waste city by 2030. ZWL use social media to share ideas and top tips on waste reduction. https://twitter.com/zerowasteleeds www.zerowasteleeds.org.uk/ www.facebook.com/zerowasteleeds/ www.instagram.com/zerowasteleeds/ www.youtube.com/channel/UCD4AOnL4OuGUnxHqDi_5ghQ The track this week is “Orion II: Reactionary” by Progressive Metal trio Divided by...