Light on Leeds

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I learned a lot about the history, culture, fashion, music and dance of flamenco with this week's guest, Vanessa Matthews. She was a fascinating guest and I was glad to learn more about something I knew very little. 

"Flamenco de Leeds was started in 2015 after looking for local Flamenco workshops and events and found they were few and far between. Since then, they are providing regular workshops, events and performers across Leeds and further afield.

The ethos of Flamenco de Leeds is very much focused on enthusiasm and ensuring everybody feels welcome to participate in any way they can. If you can clap your hands, stamp a foot, bang a stick or shout Ole you can get involved!"

Vanessa chose to feature the track "Solea" by Samuel Moore - it's really beautiful!

See the links below to get involved and check out  their Live Flamenco Event at Seven Arts on 12 & 13th March:

http://www.sevenleeds.co.uk/event/flamenco-de-leeds-live-flamenco-at-seven-arts/

https://flamencoleedsweb.me/

https://www.facebook.com/flamencodeleeds/

https://www.instagram.com/flamencodeleeds/

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

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I had a grand old chat with Deby Jackson who is the creator, editor, all-round-everything of That Leeds Mag, an independent printed Leeds magazine that goes out to 19,000 homes across North Leeds.

It provides advertising for local businesses, has great editorial features and the cover art work is really beautiful too.

Deby tells  me about how and why she got started and what she thinks of Leeds as a relative newcomer to the city. I had been interviewed by her for That Leeds Mag the previous week so it was good to be able to turn the tables too!

Do check out That Leeds Mag social media (links below) and get in touch with her if you'd like to advertise:

 https://thatleedsmag.co.uk/

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/thatleedsmag

https://twitter.com/thatleedsmag

https://www.instagram.com/thatleedsmag/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thatleedsmag/


Deby chose to feature "Ocean Floor" by a Leeds pop-collective called Sea's Cape and any proceeds of the song raises money for the Marine Conservation Society.

"The Leeds band members and comprise Spencer Bayles - music producer, and musician,  Nicky Bray - musician, and curator of longstanding Leeds open mic night 'Tower of Song', and Emma Gatherer, singer and former member of Leeds Sea Shanty group 'Ocean Loiners' - a Loiner being an old term for a resident of Leeds. 'Ocean Floor' has been recorded over several weeks with elements of social distancing at times, while fitting the project in around day jobs. Sea's Cape hope their resulting catchy pop song with upbeat folk undertones will inspire enough interest to raise funds for and awareness of the Marine Conservation Society.  The Society campaigns and takes action for a cleaner, better protected ocean, to care for coastal habitats and raise awareness of the challenges of Climate Change on our oceans."

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/seas-cape-fundraiser

https://seas-cape.bandcamp.com/track/ocean-floor-fundraiser-for-marine-conservation-society

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

Where to begin?! Testament is a rapper, a spoken word poet, a world record holding beatboxer, a writer, a theatre maker, a workshop facilitator, a husband and a father...

We spoke about his perfomance for Desmond Tutu, how he came to write Orpheus in the Record Shop and performed it with seven members of the Opera North orchestra, how his First Word record label was voted Label of the Year and how he had to keep Idris Elba off the stage at an event.

It's a brilliant conversation that traverses many things!

The featured track is the DJ Vadim remix of “I Don’t Even Know” by Homecut ft Corinne Bailey Rae & Soweto Kinch (Homecut being another alter-ego of Testament's) - it's a fantastic track and I am sure you will love it...

https://www.testamenthomecut.com/

https://twitter.com/testamentonline

https://www.facebook.com/testamenthomecut/

https://www.instagram.com/testamenthomecut/?hl=en

https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/orpheus-in-the-record-shop/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vbtx

http://www.firstwordrecords.com/

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

I had such a fabulous time chatting to Amy Sanderson, Head of Communication at Leeds Heritage Theatres.

Leeds Heritage Theatres encompasses Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House.

Amy tells lots of great facts and stories about the three, how hard the last 18 months have been and about their Learning and Engagement Programme and Leeds Actors in Training.

Amy chose to feature the beautiful track "Northern Time" by the force of nature that is the band Hope & Social - the link to the video is included below.

https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/

https://twitter.com/leedstheatres

https://www.facebook.com/leedsheritagetheatres

https://www.instagram.com/leedstheatres/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-heritage-theatres/

https://www.hopeandsocial.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/hopeandsocial

https://twitter.com/hopeandsocial

https://www.youtube.com/user/HopeAndSocial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S5tBlYW8XY

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

I had a good time chatting to Denham Hill, the Community Manager and Skateboard Coach at LS-Ten Skatepark.

LS-ten is situated in South Leeds and provides alternative provision for pupils who are close to, or have been excluded from school.

The skate park covers 25,000 feet and has a wide selection of professional and bespoke ramps and a huge street section open to all kinds of rider.

Do check out Denham's YouTube videos in the link below.

The featured track this week is "Friends" by the excellent Leeds band "Silverlode"

https://www.youtube.com/c/DenhamHill

https://ls-ten.org/

https://www.facebook.com/LSTENCharity/

https://www.instagram.com/ls.ten/

https://www.facebook.com/silverlodeband/

https://silverlode.bandcamp.com/

https://twitter.com/silverlodeband

https://www.instagram.com/silverlodeband/?hl=en

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

"The Leeds Salon is a discussion group founded in early 2009 by Michele Ledda and Paul Thomas, inspired by similar initiatives they had attended and, in particular, their participation in the Academy of Ideas sixth-form Debating Matters competition.

The Salon organises public discussion around political, cultural and scientific issues, with the aim of challenging any orthodoxies along the way, defending and developing the legacy of the Enlightenment and, above all, providing a space where free speech can take place.

Writers, academics and experts in their field are invited to present their ideas and to have them debated and held up to scrutiny by the audience. The Salons are lively, informal and open to all — but please let us know you intend to come along by e-mailing us at [email protected].

Leeds Salon also runs and helps organise debating competitions and debate training in schools and colleges in Leeds and beyond."

The featured song on this episode is "The Boor" by the briliant (and excellently named) Priest of Beards.

https://www.leedssalon.org.uk/

https://twitter.com/theleedssalon

https://priestofbeards.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3MhdwPGSnldHyA4aesNkRX?si=qh2VvQ2wTj-kTs__Zvx3dQ&utm_source=copy-link

https://twitter.com/priestofbeards?s=09

https://www.facebook.com/priestofbeards/

https://www.instagram.com/priestofbeards/

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

I had a great time chatting to Rebecca about Young Musicians for Social Justice, how they began, their ethos and what their plans are for the future:

"Founded by a group of students at the University of Leeds, our mission is to mobilise young musicians for sustainable social justice solutions. We aim to establish a community of musicians who care about social justice, find creative ways to advocate for the relationship between music and social justice, and empower young musicians aged 18-25 to establish their own bespoke, grass-roots projects through events, networks and training. What do we mean by social justice? We have put together a comprehensive document which you can find here, however we want to allow space for our projects to be shaped by the people we work with. We are open for all musicians of different backgrounds, abilities and professions to join our community."

Do listen along to their podcasts or access their Word Press link (below) to read more.

The featured track on this episode is the brilliant "Half as Good" by Jumbo Chords.

https://anchor.fm/ymsj

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/young-musicians-for-social-justice/id1549687055

https://www.facebook.com/Young-Musicians-for-Social-Justice-106275814663707/

https://open.spotify.com/show/2qRVr9jEs7DgFRIFRQwc64

https://twitter.com/ymsjuk

https://youngmusiciansforsocialjustice.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Jumbochords/

https://soundcloud.com/user-659636309

https://www.wharfchambers.org/

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

I had an illuminating chat with John Crouch all about Leeds Fencing Club.

The club is about to celebrate it's 50th aniversary and is recruiting new members. 

The Club can cater for fencers of all abilities from the age of 12 years.

It meets every Monday (except for the month of August and Public Holidays):

• Beginners                                  - 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
• Intermediate & Advanced        - 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

The club runs regular beginners courses for those new to the sport. There is group coaching available for intermediate fencers as well as individual coaching for intermediate and advanced fencers.

The featured track on this episode is the wonderful "Free Now" by Thomas John.



http://www.leedsfencing.co.uk/

https://active.leeds.gov.uk/findacentre/kirkstallleisurecentre

https://www.facebook.com/thomas.johnmusic.1

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

It was great fun chatting to Adam about Quantum Sauce and how it aims to break down barriers between university researchers and the public.

Quantum Sauce is a blend of fascinating science facts that keep you curious - it's science meets stand up!

The featured track is gorgeous -  "You Gotta Move" by Nick Cody and The Heartache

The next event Is Dr Who and The Tardis:

SCIENCE + ART + BEER = MIND EXPANSION!

Thursday 18 November

Doors 7pm - Commences 8pm

Three experts talk for 30mins each on:

The Next Doctor: Regeneration, Reincarnation and Personal Identity Problems - Dr Mikel Burley

The Impossible Planet: Planets, Stars, and What Happens when Gravity goes Wrong - Dr Adrian Barker

Daleks in Manhattan: Lost (and Found) in Translation - Dr Sara Ramos Pinto

Tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/quantum-sauce-doctor-in-the-tardis-tickets-162160218579

You can check out the Quantum Sauce social media and view past talks on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkNQIvvGlvXXYvPQDTlGQDA

https://www.facebook.com/theconstitutional

https://twitter.com/quantum_sauce?lang=en

https://twitter.com/FConstitutional

https://www.facebook.com/nickcodymusicprojects/

https://www.nickcody.co.uk/

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

I spoke to Kim and Adam Strickson about the charity 6 Million Plus and the Friendship Through Puppets project they run.

It was an illuminating and fascinating conversation.

If you are available, do go along this weekend to their Weeping Sisters Parade (featuring 12 foot puppets!) this Saturday 6th November beginning at the Market Place in Dewsbury from 11am and the Batley Market Place at 2pm.

Adam and Kim chose to feature the beautiful song "Sbrenica" by Bosnian musician Sanya Chin.

https://www.6millionplus.org/

https://www.facebook.com/6MillionPlus

https://twitter.com/6millionplus

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3P5--UHuY1QNI3IQuMKhKQ

I make no money from this podcast and all I ask is that you enjoy it, tell your friends and if you could leave me a review I would be most grateful.

If you know of someone you think would make a great guest, do get in touch - [email protected].

Do send an mp3 or a wav if you would like your track featuring on an episode.