Our latest Newsletter is here, along with inserts detailing some upcoming activities and special get-togethers:
Issue-95-Spring-2022
Virtual Choir – Weekly 2nd to 24th March
For more details and how to book: https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/from-couch-to-chorus-2022
Opera North’s Virtual Choir is back. Join together with a community of like-minded singers, from complete beginners to experienced choir-goers – everyone is welcome.
From improvements in memory and pain relief, to a boost in confidence and the release of ‘happy’ chemicals… singing is really great for you! Find out a bit more about some of the benefits to both your mental and physical health. https://www.operanorth.co.uk/news/10-reasons-singing-is-good-for-you
Leeds Lit Fest starts today and runs until 6th March. The city’s award winning festival of words and thought returns for its fourth year and there is a mixture of online and in person events. Many of these are free or pay as you feel.
It will include author talks, a literary quiz, songs from the commoners choir, storytelling, writers workshops, movie nights and lots more
You can see all the events here https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/collection/leeds-lit-fest-2022 or visit the website for lots more information www.leedslitfest.co.uk
The next online event from M&S is tomorrow
Friday 25th February at 12.30-1pm
M&S on Film: Marketing M&S! Adverts, adverts and more adverts, looking at how cinema and TV were used to market products. Exploring the history of M&S advertising through archive film collection, from Swinging Sixties cinema adverts to iconic food campaigns.
Online Event
This is a pre-recorded talk featuring original archive images introduced by the Archivist, who will be available to respond to questions during and following the talk.
Running time – 30 minutes.
Click here to join the event, the talk will start automatically at 12.30pm.
Visit the M&S Archive website https://marksintime.marksandspencer.com
A free event from Leeds Libraries at the Compton Centre – Harehills Lane, LS9 7BG. And after the storms of the last week or so, it looks like the weather might be nice on Wednesday 
Part of LBGTQ+ history month, Leeds City Museum are hosting a full day live and free event.
OUTing the Past is an international celebration of LGBT+ history and includes an excellent programme of speakers covering a wide range of LGBT+ topics.
The event is free to join via Zoom, you need to register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/outing-the-past-2022-tickets-244338772847
You can also find other events going on this month https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/collection/lgbt-history-month-leeds
OUTing the Past: Leeds Event Programme
Saturday 12 February 2022
09:50-10:00 Welcome and Introduction to Outing The Past – Leeds.
Councillor Hannah Bithell
10:00-10:30 Alex Holmes (she/her)
The Secret Lives of Scientists. LGBTQ+ representation and inclusion in the sciences has historically been erased or kept separate from the work and knowledge. This continues now with calls to keep science away from politics and topical conversation, but identity- either those doing the science or those having science done unto them – is key in the scientific process, interpretation of results and how they are fed into the wider community.
Interlude
10:40-11:10 Luna Morgana (she/her)
The Gallus of Catterick. The Gallus of Catterick was an ancient roman trans woman whose remains were discovered in 1982. Join us for a journey through how she would have lived in 4th Century AD Britain.
Interlude
11:20-11:50 Tilen Kolar (he/him)
Queer Memorials: disrupted space-time. Queer memorials bring past, present and future together – they disrupt heteronormative public spaces. This presentation will reveal some of the reflections from the fieldwork in Amsterdam – how activists and everyday users experience the Homomonument and how they interact with it. I will also share my personal feelings from the fieldwork.
12:00-12:30 Henry Kyem (he/him)
Growing up gay in Ghana. A personal story about growing up gay in an African country (Ghana). Having to come to terms with contracting HIV later in life and fleeing to the UK to avoid persecution from family and society for my sexuality.
12:40-13:00 LUNCH
13:00-13:30 Freya Stancliffe (she/they)
LGBTQ+ Archives. How can we move towards a more inclusive community history? I’ll be presenting my findings so far on a project looking to increase the visibility and accessibility of LGBTQ+ voices in the internal archives of the University of Leeds. The archives cover reports, correspondence, meeting minute notes and society materials. The presentation will also discuss the next phase of my work, which will be focused on outreach and community engagement, attempting to fill some of the gaps that we found in the archives and change the framing so that there is a more present narrative voice from communities themselves.
Interlude
13:40-14:10 Aleks Fagelman (they/them)
Presentations of gender in the ancient world: A discussion of the Dresden Satyr and the Hermaphrodite statue. I shall discuss the Dresden Satyr and Hermaphrodite statue, as well as comparing it with other examples of hermaphroditic statues in the ancient world. I shall use this to highlight how the history of intersex and transgender identity is something that is not a modern invention but exists for several thousand years.
14:15-14:20 Final comments and end of the event
Our local councillors for Headingley and Hyde Park ward – which also covers most of Woodhouse will be holding their monthly Woodhouse advice surgery at our premises.
They will be at Caring Together on Charing Cross shopping centre (Woodhouse Street, LS6 2PY – across from the Londis shop/Post Office) from 5pm – 6pm on the second Tuesday of the month starting from next Tuesday – 8th February.
Any resident who needs help or advice from the councillors is welcome to come along at this time.
Friday 28th to Sunday 30th January
The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch long weekend is here! There’s still time to sign-up and take part. Just spend one hour between Friday 28 and Sunday 30 January counting the birds, and help monitor how birds are faring. It’s free, fun, and a great way to keep an eye on your local wildlife. Wherever you are, whatever you see, it counts!
For all the information, how to sign up and tips on attracting birds to your garden https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/
Or you can watch the live bird feeder cameras from across the UK on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RSPBLoveNature
The RSPB say “Taking part is as easy as 1,2,3
1. Watch the birds around you for one hour
2. Count how many of each species of bird lands on your patch
3. Go online and tell us what you saw”
‘One Day’ is the theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day which, due to the closure of Leeds Town Hall for refurbishment, will be held at City Varieties Music Hall.
As well as a a live in-person commemoration event, following the success of last year’s live stream, members of the public are also invited to join the event online from the safety of their homes to remember those who lost their lives.
This international day of remembrance focuses on the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust, and millions more people killed under German Nazi persecution, and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
The Lord Mayor of Leeds will open the event followed by a keynote speech by Dr Stefan Hördler, Lecturer at the Institute for Economic and Social History, University of Göttingen, and Visiting Professor within the School of Arts & Humanities at the University of Huddersfield.
Leeds Heritage Theatre’s, Leeds Actors in Training (LAIT) have created a performance for the event inspired by Emmanuel Ringleblum and the Oneg Shabbat Archive. The piece dedicated to his legacy. There will also be music by the UHC choir and a tribute to the late Rudi Leavor BEM who was part of the event for many years.
There will be also be a reading of the seven statements of commitments with candles lit by representatives of the different groups persecuted, including Holocaust survivors, people with additional needs, the LGBT+ community and Remembering Srebrenica.
For those wishing to attend in person the event is free but spaces are limited and so you should book either at https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/holocaust-memorial-day-2022/ or by calling the box office on 0113 243 0808
The live stream can be seen here at 2pm on Sunday 23rd https://youtu.be/Hq_2QSCOdyo
This Thursday 6th January is our first ‘Online Elevenses’ for 2022. It is a virtual catch up for anyone wishing to join us online? We meet once a month online to catch up from the comfort of our own homes and natter in a warm friendly space. We would love to see you.
If yes, just message me lisa@caringtogether.org.uk or call 07436 530073 and I can send you an invite.
