Dear all,
To conclude this web series on our nature writing workshop with Caring Together, we are very pleased to be able to share a downloadable curated booklet, which includes the handwritten pieces and typed transcriptions, for everyone to enjoy.
We are especially grateful to the workshop participants for giving us their permission to share their fantastic work online. To download the PDF booklet, click the link below!
From Here To Eternity
This weekend’s musical performance is a remembrance special and Sir Tim Rice’s musical adaptation of From Here To Eternity!
Pearl Harbor, 1941, where the girls sing “don’cha like Hawaii”, the men of G Company sing the blues, and where even on an army base, love and desire are never very far away. Sir Tim Rice’s epic new musical is adapted from one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century; a gripping tale of illicit love and army life which translates into a breath-taking, romantic and excitingly original show.
Available from 7pm Friday 6th November and for 48 hours
Being Shakespeare with Simon Callow
This is the first of a series of performances showcasing some classic Shakespeare plays – and shows inspired by the legend. It is available to watch until Monday 9th November (when there will be a new one to see)
Featuring a tour de force performance from Simon Callow, Being Shakespeare is a one-man show about the life and work of the world’s greatest playwright. Written by the renowned scholar Jonathan Bate, and taking its cue from Jacques’ famous ‘Seven Ages of Man’ speech in As You Like It, the drama traces Shakespeare’s life from his birth in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 to his burial there fifty-two years later. Weaving together this story with extracts from many of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Simon Callow presents a vivid and very human portrait of the man and of the Elizabethan world in which he lived. Recorded before an audience during the play’s triumphant London run, Being Shakespeare is both a wonderful introduction to the author and a richly nuanced, funny and fascinating study for those who already love his plays.
Dear all, see below a message from Leeds City Council – note the dates below
Our annual Remembrance Sunday commemorations will look very different this year, due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Due to the risks posed there won’t be the usual service or military parade at Victoria Gardens in Leeds. People are being urged to undertake their own acts of remembrance at home by observing the national two minute silence, displaying an image of a poppy in their windows and watching the pre-recorded Act of Remembrance and wreath laying ceremony with the Lord Mayor, Lord-Lieutenant and Royal British Legion.
Residents can download an image of a poppy from the Royal British Legion website to display in your windows to remember those who died. You can also donate to the poppy appeal as a one off donation or a regular gift. https://www.
Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Eileen Taylor said:
“Remembrance Sunday is a time when our city comes together to honour the heroic efforts, achievements and sacrifices made by so many of our armed forces during times of conflict.
It fills me with great pride to still be laying a wreath as part of a pre-recorded event on behalf of the city as part of this year’s commemoration. I would like to encourage the people of Leeds to take the time to remember from the safety of their own homes the ultimate sacrifice paid by those to whom we owe so much.
I am immensely disappointed not to be able to gather in person this year, but I am sure you will understand that the protection of all those who would usually have taken part or supported the event is our highest priority.”
Cllr Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council said:
“This year has seen the marking of the 75th Anniversaries of VE and VJ Day through virtual events as well as marking Armed Forces Day virtually too.
Our priority in the current climate is to prevent the rising spread of infection and even though there will be no public event in the city centre, we would encourage people to pay their respects at their local memorials at any time during Remembrance Week while maintaining social distancing.”
Our council buildings will be lit up in red from Friday 6 November in honour of our brave service personnel who have lost their lives in times of conflict and the gates to the war memorial on Victoria Gardens will be open throughout the week of Remembrance (Friday 6-Thursday 12 November) for individuals or families who wish to lay a wreath.
Leeds Libraries
The following libraries/hubs will be open from Fri 6 Nov The following libraries/community hubs will be open from Friday 6 November providing limited services throughout the lockdown:-
Central Library (opening hours: Monday to Saturday 11am – 3pm)
Community Libraries:
• Armley
• Compton Centre
• Dewsbury Road
• Headingley
• Reginald Centre
• Seacroft
Opening hours for the libraries listed above are: Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm, Saturday 10am – 1pm
Please check https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/libraries for full details.
Dear all,
A final reflection on our Caring Together Nature Writing Workshop. In this piece, Dr Lucy J Rowland considers how the group’s writing reflects on the challenges of Climate Change in fascinating and creative ways…….
Click on the link below to read more:
https://landlinesproject.
Always wanted to learn how to sing opera?
Now’s your chance! Join Opera North for a five-week series of festive workshops where you’ll learn all the best singing tips and tricks from a professional choral director. By the end of the course, you will be able to sing excerpts from Puccini’s famous opera La bohème, as well as Humperdinck’s Evening Prayer from Hansel & Gretel for sopranos and altos, or Sullivan’s ‘The Marquis de Mince Pie’ if you’re a tenor or bass.
Dear all,
Remember, remember the 5th November – well, we’ll certainly remember this one! Going into Lockdown 2, Bonfire Night will be vastly different from those we’ve known before. I don’t recall celebrating ‘Halloween’ as a child, probably because we didn’t.
Preparations for Bonfire Night started, however, I suppose from early October. Any old furniture destined ‘for the bin’ would be saved then the chumping would start. Planks of wood and broken tree branches would be dragged along the streets to join anything which would burn. Alongside, we would be buying fireworks, usually two or three at a time and storing them in a biscuit or ‘Quality Street’ tin.
The local shop ‘Collinson’s’ sold Standard Fireworks but some shops sold the ‘Lion’ brand; always being displayed in a large tray with glass lid. As the day drew nearer, checking of the tin to see what was still needed was a regular occurrence. Should I buy a ‘Mount Vesuvius’ with its changing colours or yet another brilliant white ‘Snow Storm’? One or two rockets were bought too and we always had to ensure an empty milk bottle was to hand for its launching pad. Looking back, the rockets were very feeble by today’s standards but at least they were silent, bar the initial ‘whoosh’. Often we didn’t even see them explode as they disappeared behind a house. I suppose there was always a ‘Guy’ on display, accompanied by a request for “penny for the Guy please”, although it would have only been sitting near to our houses, never outside shops. ‘Raiding” occurred and kids from the ‘Beechwoods’ or ‘Norwoods’ in Burley/Headingley would descend and run away with whatever they could get their hands on. We would be devastated, so much so we took it in turns to do ‘guard duty’. Had they had arrived on my watch though, I would have been terrified and would have had to have let them take what they wanted!
The 4th November was ‘Mischief Night’ and harmless pranks were played on our neighbours. We ‘d plan to tie door knobs to the dustbin lids with string and smear doorknobs and garden gates with treacle. In reality I don’t think we did carry out anything as ambitious and probably settled on simpler tricks such as door knocking, making noises and running away. My Mum certainly said “You’re not taking our Golden Syrup!” not to mention a prior reprimand about leaving some “poor soul” having to clean up the mess.
‘Bonfire Night’ was such an occasion though, and in my case, the fire was built and lit on nearby waste ground, known as The Woodyard. An event when parents met up to chat and offer round parkin, toffee apples and bonfire toffee which would often result in a dental appointment soon afterwards. There may have been pie and peas but if so, I would have been warned by Mum beforehand not to eat them, their origin unknown and Mum only trusting those made by ‘Newtons’ on Kirkstall Road! Potatoes were roasted at the edge of the fire and sometimes forgotten about so we would see their charred remains the following day when we children would look for any unused fireworks. On the walk to school we would see rockets in the gutter and could only guess how far they must have travelled – not far I’ll wager. Of course Bonfires were enjoyed not just on waste land but at the end of many a street, being cobbled in those days.
One of my earliest bonfire recollections was when I would be around six years of age. Keith who lived next door but one, and in the same school class, experienced the horror of a ‘Jumping Jack’ cracker landing in his wellington boot! Keith was rushed to Casualty – probably the Public Dispensary on North Street where he was cared for. I clearly remember Keith wearing those slippers which reached the ankle and seeing the heavily bandaged leg above when I visited him at home. Curiosity from myself, coupled with his bravado, he showed me the terrible burns which have left me frightened to this day of certain fireworks. A lesson learnt.
When I moved to my apartment close to Woodhouse Moor, it was only a short walk to the Council’s Bonfire and Firework Display. Most years I have enjoyed the display from the comfort of home and could even see the top of the fire over the tops of high buildings. A mini Woodhouse ‘Feast’ was also on site for the evening, having disappeared by next morning. This year we will have nothing. but I hope children will be able to enjoy some fireworks (at hugely inflated prices these days!) with accompanying tasty treats. I’m sure we will still be rocked with loud explosions from somewhere around and see the occasional firework trail but nothing on the scale of yesteryear with the current restrictions. I feel blessed to have the memories of those simple and fun times.
Thank you once again Maureen, until next time…
Image sourced from pinterest
