Leeds Student Protest

Picture of Leeds students protesting against an increase in tuition fees.

I think this banner held aloft by two students says it all... You got a free degree, What about ours.

Students here in Leeds again protested about the UK governments proposal (that will only apply in England) to substantially increase tuition fees.

I think that there is a strong feeling that the proposal is really a case of I got my degree, with a grant and no fees so I am OK now lets pull up the drawbridge.

Considering the very cold weather here in Leeds this afternoon, with snow on the ground there appeared to be around 400 people at the protest.

I think if this carries on Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg should start making plans to either jump to the Conservatives or look for another career. Because if I was a Lib Dem MP right now I would be beginning to look for alternatives to losing my seat at the next election.

One comment on the protest, I love the above banner, it spells it out and it does so without expletives.

I thought this when I took the photo and later chatting to a photographer from the Yorkshire Evening Post he said he wished they did not use swear words because it makes his job more difficult.

Saint Wilfrids Church Calverley - Snow

Picture of the church of Saint Wilfrid, Calverley, Leeds with snow.

I revisited the church of Saint Wilfrid in Calverley and took a photo of it in the snow.

We now have a fair bit of snow here in this part of Yorkshire, around parts of Rawdon and Horsforth I found today there were parts with around 4-6 inches. There was a only a couple of inches or so here in the churchyard of Saint Wilfrid in Calverley, Leeds.

Penguin 75th birthday celebration

Picture of writer Blake Morrison.

This week I was lucky enough to catch a part of the Penguins books 75th birthday celebration held at Leeds central library.

Incredibly it is 75 years since Allen Lane, MD of Bodley Head Publishers, stood on a platform at Exeter railway station looking for something good to read on his journey back to London. His disappointment led him to found Penguin books and the paperback book has never looked back. You can also get rather nice Penguin books mugs these days.

From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Scenes from Provincial Life by William Cooper
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse

The above books were all published by Penguin in the 1950's and I think I have read all of these except Scenes From Provincial Life. Over the years penguin books have brought us some of the best writing. Here in Leeds who could forget Billy Liar by Leeds born writer Keith Waterhouse.

Yorkshire born Writer and poet Blake Morrison was here in Leeds to discuss the Penguin books on the above list in conversation with James Nash - poet and writer and last but by no means least writer and poet Joolz Denby.

I had never before been to an event at the Leeds central library and indeed did not know that they held them. The next literary event here at Leeds central library is in December and I will get further details on this.

Blake Morrison was kind at the end of the evening when I produced my camera and asked for a photo of him to put up on this blog.

Church of Saint Wilfrid - Calverley, Leeds

Picture of the church of Saint Wilfrid at Calverley, Leeds.


I visited the church of Saint Wilfrid at Calverley here in Leeds a couple of days back, it was quite a bright and sunny but pretty cold day.

Like many churches locally, Saint Wilfrids church is open with a Coffee Shop in the Church, this being 9am-12 noon on Fridays.

Monopoly Leeds Edition

Picture of Monopoly board game, Leeds edition.

I was passing through Leeds train station and there were a couple of girls selling Leeds related items including the Monopoly game in a Leeds edition. Apparently this has been in existence since 1989, but it passed me by. I would have featured the girls with the board game box but they were camera shy.

I used to play this game, the UK version published here by Waddingtons of Leeds as a boy with my brother and sisters, it was great fun and simple too.

Phoenix Dance Theatre - Frankenstein's Wedding - 2

This is another picture from the promo event for Frankensteins Wedding... Live In Leeds at Aspire here in Leeds city centre featuring some members of the Phoenix Dance Theatre.

In the photo are dancers (from left) Ryu Suzuki, Talitha Luke-Eardley, Philip Sanger, Sara Silva, Chihiro Kawasaki and Josh Wille.

Also in the picture (jacket left) is Peter Salmon, Director, BBC North, who said: "Frankenstein's Wedding... Live In Leeds promises to be a truly unique event both for the live audience in Kirkstall Abbey and for viewers across the UK. Not only will the audience be able to get involved on the night itself, but in the weeks leading up to the event they will be encouraged to rediscover this classic novel."

Phoenix Dance Theatre - Frankenstein’s Wedding…

I was invited along to an event at Aspire in Leeds city centre this week, thank you Selina at the BBC.

This event was a taster for the main event to be held here in Leeds at Kirkstall Abbey in March 2011. The main event Frankenstein’s Wedding… Live In Leeds is a collaboration between BBC Wales, BBC North and local organisations in Leeds, the spectacular live event will be broadcast on BBC Three.

Frankenstein’s Wedding… Live In Leeds is a bold re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s much-loved masterpiece, Frankenstein. Set against the Gothic magnificence of Kirkstall Abbey in the city, this one-of-a kind performance will bring the passion, emotion and horror from the classic tale to a live audience.

The two dancers in the photo above are Talitha Luke-Eardley and Ryu Suzuki from the Phoenix Dance Theatre. Talitha and Ryu were just two of several dancers giving us a sample of the the companies ability on the dance floor.

This pan-BBC project is being supported by key organisations within the city, including Leeds City Council, Marketing Leeds, Phoenix Dance Theatre and last but by no means least the award winning Welcome to Yorkshire team.

Full ticket details and cast will be announced early next year, alongside further information about the event and how people can be part of it.

Phoenix Dance Theatre recently moved into a purpose built building alongside Northern Ballet, in the Quarry Hill area of Leeds not far from the BBC Yorkshire building.

Now that I know some people at Phoenix Dance Theatre, I will hopefully visit their new home and get some photos for the Leeds Daily Photo.

Churchyard Cross Calverley

Walking around the churchyard of the church of Saint Wilfrid at Calverley here in Leeds I passed by this broken off stone cross.

The carving is nicely done and from the part of the churchyard it was in I would think at least 100 years old. I suspect the cross was broken through a fault in the stone, unlike some other churchyards around Leeds there is no sign of the vandalism that is all too present these days.

I had intended to post some pics from Frankenstein’s Wedding…Live in Leeds featuring some dancers from Leeds very own Phoenix Dance Theatre, but I was struggling with photoshop, having updated something and it stopped working. So hopefully there will be more about the promo event tomorrow.

Churchyard Spiders Web

Picture of a spiders web on a fence at the churchyard of Saint Wilfrid in Calverley, Leeds.

I always admire the industry that spiders put into their flimsy webs. There always appears to be more about at this time of the year, there were quite a few in this old churchyard.

Misty Yorkshire Churchyard

Picture of a misty Yorkshire churchyard at the Church of St Wilfrid, Calverley, Leeds.

These last few mornings have been quite misty here in this little bit of Yorkshire. I have often driven through the village of Calverley on my journey into Leeds but until recently I had never explored the village.

The Church of St Wilfrid is perhaps the best known building in Calverley there has been a church here since the time of the Normans and most likely there was one here in Saxon times.

But on this misty day I was more interested in the misty churchyard, there are many gravestones in the oldest section of the churchyard with mostly 17th, 18th and 19th century headstones. I showed this picture to a friend and she asked if I was scared, I replied no all the graves are just long dead and gone people.

For some time after we die, we live on in the thoughts and memories of our family and friends. But after 100 plus years all that people leave are the words on a headstone in the graveyard. This churchyard has many headstones both large and small and some of them are over 300 years old.

I took photos of a few of the, to me at least, interesting gravestones and will post a few of them in the next day or so.

Whose Foot Is This?

I came across the statue, a part of which is in the above photo, of a well known Leeds resident from the past recently. The statue is in a large public building within the city of Leeds and even if you know little of him you will most likely know his name.

I had never before been into the building where this statue is, although I had passed nearby a few times over the years.

A clue.. I have had for many years a music cd recorded in this building.

Any ideas?

Remembrance Sunday Leeds - 5

Picture of Chelsea Pensioner laying wreath at the Leeds city war memorial at Remembrance Sunday memorial service

I never thought that I would see a Chelsea pensioner here in Leeds, but there was one at the recent Remembrance Sunday memorial service and parade.

A Chelsea pensioner is an in-pensioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. Until recently all pensioners were men but recently 2 ladies have joined the ranks at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.

Remembrance Sunday Leeds - 4

Picture of 2 members of the West Yorkshire Police mounted section riding past the Leeds town during the remembrance parade.

I spoke with these two officers before the service and parade started so I know that the officer on the chestnut is called PC Jesson and she is riding Fimbar who is 10 years old. I was going to use another photo that I took earlier with just Fimbar and PC Jesson, but I think I prefer this later shot. Because of this I have no idea who this officers colleague is, but due to the name tag that the police horses have attached to their bridle I know that the other horse is called Marley.

The mounted section not only are available for operational policing duties but they also provide officers for ceremonial roles like this one.

I may be wrong but I think the officers of the mounted section are the approachable face of modern policing. Maybe it is because they are not in a car speeding by, but I think it is more to do with working with horses.

Remembrance Sunday Leeds - 3

This picture shows members of the Leeds University Officers Training Corps (LUOTC), at least that is who I think they are. OK I should have checked but during service difficult to chat to people and afterwards I wanted to catch up with some other people at the reception in the Leeds civic hall.

In the background is the Oxford Place Methodist Church which was one of my early posts on this blog.

Remembrance Sunday Leeds - 2

Picture showing 3 members of the crew of the Ark Royal at Leeds Remembrance service.

These two pictures are both from the city of Leeds Remembrance memorial service and parade.

I did not realise it until after I had taken these photographs but this will be the last time the crew of HMS Ark Royal visit Leeds. The aircraft carrier will be decommissioned by the end of the year, this being part of the recent defence cuts, sorry review. Just announced on the BBC, Ark Royal will berth in North Shields on Friday for the five-day farewell visit. If anyone from Leeds wants to catch a final look at the Ark Royal this will be the nearest and last chance.

Picture of the Commanding officer HMS Ark Royal, Capt Jerry Kyd alongside Lt Col from the Parachute Regiment lays wreath at the Leeds war memorial.

If anyone from Ark Royal reads this please ask LA(Phot) Abbie Gadd if she would email me on this blog re: her photo from this Sunday, thanks.

Remembrance Sunday Leeds

Picture from the Remembrance Sunday service in Victoria Gardens at the cities war memorial.

The man on the left is I think a fire service officer and on the right also laying a wreath is Honorary Recorder Judge Peter Collier QC.

On the left in the photo is something I never thought I would see here in Leeds, a Chelsea pensioner.

Picture of old soldiers marching along the headrow in Leeds after the remembrance sunday service, the Lord Lieutenant for West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid Roscoe took the salatue outside the Leeds town Hall.

I will post more from this tomorrow.

Gray Squirrel

Picture of gray squirrel eating fallen acorn.

I saw this gray squirrel rooting about under an oak tree then he climbed up on the fence to enjoy the snack he had found.

There will be pictures from the Remembrance Sunday 2010 parade here in Leeds tomorrow here on the Leeds Daily Photo.

War in Wood - Royal Armouries Leeds

Picture showing one of two display panels showing hand carved pieces in wood with images from the two world wars.

A new display was opened here in Leeds this week at the Royal Armouries museum by Prince Michael of Kent. The display by members of the West Riding Woodcarvers Association (WWRA) consists of 95 wood panels carved into scenes of the two world wars by hand.

The 95 panels depict various scenes including the home front, life in the trenches, a bomber over a dam and many more. I liked a couple showing parachutists, my uncle was a para in WW2.



The above panels show from the left a nurse, a mason carving a CWGC portland stone headstone and a Memorial Death Plaque carved by the great nephew of the man named in the original bronze plaque.

Poppy for Remembrance

Even in midsummer, when I saw the above poppy growing wild on some waste-ground near the back of the Royal Armouries museum here in Leeds, I think of the poem and the association with the trenches of the great war.

Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I and a surgeon during the battle of Ypres. He wrote the famous poem "In Flanders Fields".

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row

My grandfather was a tommy in the Great War and was gassed at Ypres and hospitalized in England, it is possible he passed through No 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) commanded by Lt Col John McCrae. They are both now long gone, but this week I feel we should remember them and those like them.

Autumn Leaf on Leeds Pavement

Picture of an autumn leaf on a pavement in the city of Leeds.


I saw this leaf lying on a pavement last week and thought how transient they are, got my camera out and now it lives on..

At the Going Down of the Sun

Picture of just a few of the names on the Armley war memorial, city of Leeds, Yorkshire.

On this the 11th day of the 11th month there will be ceremonies at war memorials across Leeds in the towns, villages and suburbs of the city of Leeds. As today on Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day, we remember the fallen of the Great War (WW1), WW2 and the more recent conflicts since then.

I Visited Armley Park, better known as Gotts Park recently and photographed the war memorial there, but what really struck me was the list of names on slate panels around the sides of the memorial. In the above photograph there can be seen a small section of the W's, of which there are 60.

listed below the names of some of the mostly young men named on the memorial..

Walton J E
Ward E G
Ward G C George Cecil
Waterhouse E
Watkins F
Watkinson J
Watkinson R
Watson J
Watson W

Also on the Armley war memorial is the name of a young Leeds woman from Armley, Gertrude Mayne who served in Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps the QMAAC. Gertrude Mayne died 9 April 1918 at the age of 29 and is buried in the churchyard of the parish church of Saint Bartholomew in Armley. I was by chance inside this church today talking with the priest and taking a few photos of the large Victorian place of worship.

The title of the post is from Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen" part of which is below.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Tree Bark at Burley Park

This is the bark on a (I think) Sycamore tree standing tall at Burley Park, Leeds.

View From Burley Park

Picture of the view from Burley Park, Leeds with Armley Gaol in the distance

I had forgotten until I saw this view, that you can see Armley Gaol as it used to be called and still is locally, from Burley Park, Leeds.

Built by the Victorians and completed in 1847, it was built in the then modern radial style and was a place built to be grim. Even as a boy I had read about the grim goings on at Armley Gaol. This was due to the hanging at the prison on February 25th, 1879 of Charlie Peace. Charles Peace was a notorious and violent career criminal who had been convicted of two murders and he was hanged in his own words "For that I don but never intended".

Armley Gaol is now HM Prison Leeds and still houses those jailed by the courts across the North of England.

Cricket at Burley Park

On Saturday afternoon I found myself wandering around Burley Park, Leeds. I have not walked through this park since I was a student living in this area of Leeds many years before.

The park at Burley, is quite a pleasant public park with a bandstand, bowling green, tennis courts a children's play area and an all weather cricket pitch.

In early November I was surprised to see some young men playing cricket in the park, amongst the many fallen leaves. I spoke to a few of them in between balls. They were a group of Indians and they play here quite often, it being more of a knockabout than a match. But like most Indians I have met they were enthusiastic about their cricket.



I have been working on a replacement on wordpress of Leeds daily photo, it is now up and running, but needs a little more work.

Kirkstall Abbey Autumn

Picture of the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds in the autumn time.

Today I passed Kirkstall Abbey on the other side of the valley and parked up to get a few photos. There are not too many spots where you get an unrestricted view, to get this I had to climb between some barbed wire on a fence. I am always tempted to photoshop the overhead cables, but they are part of the view.

I have been working on a replacement on wordpress of Leeds daily photo, it is now up and running, but needs a little more work.

City of Leeds in Iron

Picture of City of Leeds cast iron drain cover.

I walked by this drain cover a while back, it is located on a road at the rear of the Royal Armouries museum, Leeds.

I think it has city of Leeds on it because a while back there were many heavy metal covers like this one stolen across the country for scrap metal.

Mystery Field Revealed

Picture of wildflower meadow in autumn at Rodley Nature Reserve, Leeds.

Had I known about this a few months earlier, I would had dropped by and photographed the meadow at the time when the wildflowers were in flower. Perhaps next spring...

Mystery Field - Leeds

Picture of a field in Rodley, Leeds, Yorkshire.

I know what is so unusual about this recently mown field of grass at Rodley a village on the outskirts of Leeds in west Yorkshire.

I will reveal all tomorrow.

Any ideas?

Sloe Gin on a Shrub

Picture of sloe berries growing wild, Leeds.

As a boy growing up in rural W Oxfordshire the hedgerows near my home would at this time of the year have an abundance of sloes. These small dark fruits, similar to but smaller than a plum are the fruit of the blackthorn or sloe a common shrub of hedgerows across Britain.

I was walking around the Rodley Nature Reserve when I spotted some sloes in the hedging at the fields boundary. So I captured these small fruits on my camera for this blog.

Sloes can be used to make sloe gin and if not turned into an alcoholic drink wild birds like the fieldfare or redwing eat them which is fine by me. Whilst not a birdwatcher our countryside would be the poorer without our feathered friends.

I have been working on a replacement on wordpress of Leeds daily photo, it is now up and running, but needs a little more work.

Hawthorn Berries

Picture of Hawthorn Berries at Gotts Park in Armley, Leeds.

The fruit of the Hawthorn, the berries in the above photo, ripens to a deep red by the autumn when many birds feed off them, these include blackbirds, the various varieties of thrush, starlings, greenfinches and many others.

I have been working on a replacement on wordpress of Leeds daily photo, it is now up and running, but needs a little more work.