Oracle Bar Leeds

Picture of Oracle Bar at Brewery Wharf Leeds.

Oracle Bar is perhaps the first place that catches ones eye as you cross the footbridge over the River Aire from the Calls over towards Brewery Wharf. Oracle is I think distinctive, if only for the shape of the building.

I have never been to Oracle and having read the review by Katie over at Leeds Grub, where she describes it as a bit footballers wives, I think I will pass by. That said, if the words stylish and trendy float your boat then perhaps Oracle Bar on the Leeds waterfront is just the place for you.

Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011 - 4

Picture of this years winners of the dragon boat racing held at Clarence Dock, Leeds.

The above picture is yet another one from this years Leeds Waterfront Festival held along the Leeds waterfront.

The team of engineers calling themselves Cowering Tiger, Sinking Dragon won the final race of the weekend in a very close finish against Roundhouse Rowers a team from Leeds Commercial. The engineers are holding their winners medals and also the 2 glass trophies they took away with them.

Picture of Roundhouse Rowers racing in a dragon boat at Clarence Dock, Leeds.

The team Roundhouse Rowers are in the above picture, this being a photo from one of the earlier heats. This team get their name from the red brick Victorian railway roundhouse on Wellington Street where the company is based here in Leeds. I have yet to feature this interesting old building here on the Leeds Daily Photo, but I will try to visit it sometime soon. Also in the picture is a banner from the nice people at Welcome to Yorkshire.

Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011 - 3

Picture of dragon boat racing at Clarence Dock on the Leeds waterfront.

Another picture from this last weekends Leeds Waterfront Festival and it shows two teams taking part in dragon boat racing at Clarence Dock, Leeds. The race is one and they have turned around and are returning to the end of the dock where the starting point is.

Another win for the team on the left of the photo, the engineers of the Cowering Tiger, Sinking Dragon team. I only know this from their distinctive outfits.

Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011 - 2

Picture of Dragon Boat crews racing at Leeds Waterfront Festival.

Like last year the dragon boat racing proved popular and there were 24 teams taking part over the two day of the festival.

Looking around a few of the teams, some went for brawn and others for the look of it there being an award for the best dressed team.

The team at the top of the above photo were called Cowering Tiger, Sinking Dragon (who were a team of (environmental engineers) not sure who the opposition were in this heat of the races on Sunday. The dragon boat teams were made up of people from a company or others who had some other connection.

There will be more pictures from this weekends Leeds Waterfront Festival over the next few days.

Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011

Picture of a water taxi at Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011.

This weekend here in Leeds it was the Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011, held along the Leeds waterfront from Granary Wharf to Clarence Dock.

The festival is great fun and really encourages people to discover the Leeds waterfront, but I always look forward to the dragon boat racing.

Todays picture is a small boat that was operating as a water taxi between Granary Wharf and Clarence Dock, adjacent to the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds.

There will be more from the Leeds Waterfront Festival here on the Leeds Daily Photo tomorrow.

Trinity Development Leeds Skyline

Picture of the Trinity Development Leeds one evening.

I took this photograph of the Trinity Development in Leeds city centre early one evening last November.

To get the photo I held my camera over my head, because the hoarding was blocking the view from street level. I was standing at the bottom end of Briggate Looking towards Holy Trinity church, the tower of which is in the centre of the picture.

Clock on Leeds Corn Exchange

Picture of clock on Leeds corn exchange building.

This clock above the main entrance of the corn exchange building in Leeds is one of 2 clocks installed by W Potts & Sons of Leeds in 1862, the other one is inside the building.

Time on Woodhouse Lane

Picture of church clock on the former Blenheim Baptist Church - Woodhouse Lane, Leeds.

This large clock is on the former Blenheim Baptist Church - Woodhouse Lane in Leeds.

The building is no longer a church and now houses the offices of the Leeds branch of UNISON. The church dates from around 1858, a time when the local populace would have found this large clock a useful timepiece in the days before universal watch ownership.

Leeds Waterfront Festival 2011

Picture of dragon boat racing during Leeds waterfront festival.

This coming weekend the Leeds Waterfront Festival and Dragon Boat Spectacle takes place on 25 and 26 June 2011.

The above photo was taken by me during the festival last year and I hope to attend the waterfront festival again this weekend.

The Leeds Waterfront Festival features live music, local bands, arts and dance, on the water fun, canal boats, boat trips and much more, all at the coolest waterfront venues in Granary Wharf, Brewery Wharf, Clarence Dock and Thwaite Mills Watermill here in the city of Leeds.

The Leeds waterfront festival programme is here

Swans on Leeds Canal

Picture of swans on Leeds canal.

It is late, I need to post some picture for today, argghh!

OK swans, Leeds - Liverpool canal.

Leeds Roller Dolls - Pulp Friction 2011 - 2

Picture of Florence Lightning Trail #222 Royal Windsor skater.

This weekend the Leeds Roller Dolls entertained the Royal Windsor Rollergirls on their first roller derby visit to Yorkshire.

One of the things I really like about flat track roller derby here in Yorkshire is that although there is a scoreboard and some teams win bouts it is I think more about a community spirit than in some other sports.

The above picture is one of the Royal Windsor Rollergirls, Florence Lightning Trail #222 who is an angel of mercy in her career but something else on skates.

I sometimes spend longer editing pictures of people, like the photograph shown here than I would if it was a photo of a building or a cat. One thing about any kind of portrait photography in general, I find I try to show the subject sympathetically. This is at least to me not an easy process being rather detached from the subject, by only encountering the majority of them when I am looking for subjects for the LDP.

Leeds Roller Dolls - Pulp Friction 2011

Picture of a fan of the Leeds Roller Dolls cheering them on.

I was invited to go and see the Leeds Roller Dolls in action in Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon in a double header involving Royal Windsor Roller Girls and the LRD Whip-Its vs Wakey Wheeled Cats.

My picture today is a fan spotted shouting support for the Roller Dolls, turns out her sister is Roller Doll using derby no 53.

Picture of Leeds Roller Doll team mates discussing tactics.

I snapped the above photo during a bout while the team were in a huddle discussing their game plan.

Birthday Bash

Picture of group of young people in Leeds city centre in fancy dress.

Having been over to Huddersfield this afternoon to catch up with the Leeds Roller Dolls I was coming out of Leeds station early this evening when I noticed these young people in fancy dress.

I was curious so I asked them what it was about and the young woman in the yellow bug outfit said it was her 24th birthday and they were out in Leeds to celebrate dressed with a theme of bugs. I suggested a photo and here they are on an island between the Queens hotel and the Park Plaza hotel in the background.

More on the Leeds Roller Dolls bout at Huddersfield tomorrow.

Yellow Flag at Victoria Quays

Picture of flag iris at Victoria Quays Leeds.

This picture was taken in almost the same place on Victoria Quays on the Leeds waterfront as yesterdays photo looking towards calls landing from Navigation Walk.

I have always loved Iris pseudacorus which is a species of Iris, native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Common names include yellow iris and yellow flag. This iris is commonly found here in the UK, is a plant of wetlands found in ponds and at the edge of streams, rivers and canals.

Navigation Walk Leeds

Picture of Victoria Quays Leeds looking towards Calls Landing on the Leeds waterfront.

I have never lived in Leeds city centre, I think the nearest I have been over the years was a couple of years living in Hyde Park a short time after I was a student here in the city.

I would not mind living here on Navigation Walk at Victoria Quays down on the Leeds waterfront, close to Brewery Wharf and a short walk to Briggate and the heart of the city. There are ducks, yellow flag iris, bullrushes and water lilies here in this old dock, the buildings around which have been converted to modern apartments.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Picture of Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera on police ARV in Leeds.

Brig brother is here right now in Leeds and other towns and cities across the UK. I was talking to a police firearms officer on Briggate about the ARV that he and his colleague were using when I noticed the camera fixed to the roof.

I knew a little about the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) having seen it on TV and knew that many police traffic cars had it installed. As can be seen in the above photo it is also installed on some of the West Yorkshire Police ARV cars too.

Now I am quite sympathetic the the idea that the police need all the help they can get to catch the various baddies that exist in our country. ANPR is a great tool enabling the police driving around to be alerted when they pass a car flagged by the system.

ANPR can also be used to monitor car parking, not by the police but by private companies like ASDA the supermarket. Many cities across the UK have ANPR cameras fixed and watching main roads and motorway access and exit roads. Bradford has ANPR cameras across the city and it was using this network that the police were enable to track the getaway car used in a hold up at a travel agents in the city where police constable Sharon Beshenivsky was shot and killed and her colleague Teresa Millburn was seriously wounded.

Put the public (police and security service) and the private (car parks) ANPR cameras together and anyone with access to the information can build up a pretty good picture of the movements of a vehicle and its owner.

The Nazis and the various regimes of the communist run countries of the former Eastern block would have loved a system like ANPR. I suggest anyone interested in how a state can monitor and control its subjects should get and watch the film The Lives of Others (German: Das Leben der Anderen). A drama about the devastating effect of the secret Stasi police force on ordinary citizens in East Germany. I saw this film at the cinema on release and it is a good movie and regardless of the subject I would recommend it.

None of the above is meant to imply that our police here in west Yorkshire are in any way comparable to the the STASI or the GESTAPO, they do not make the rules or policy.

Armed Police

Picture of ARV in Leeds city centre and crew member.

Another photo from the Leeds City Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) Open Day held on Saturday on Briggate in Leeds city centre.

This police officer was one of several crew members who were on duty with their armed response vehicles (ARV) talking to members of the public about their vehicles and also their work. Each ARV has a crew of two Firearms Officers and they are armed with hand guns in this case Glock 17 semi-automatic pistols, they also have a safe on board the car, where they keep further firearms which are I think Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns.

These police officer also carry the standard issue items of kit including handcuffs, radio/phone but also have a Taser and I think spare clips for the Glock. Whilst these officers are routinely on patrol and armed on the Streets of Leeds I must add that it is very rare for a member of the force to open fire apart from on the range.

I had long thought that armed police were on the streets, but the vast majority of police officers are not armed except with a baton and some have CS or pepper spray.

This particular officer and her colleagues spent the afternoon mostly showing young children how the sirens and blue lights worked. This PC was camera shy so I was happy to not show her face.

Should any of my readers like to get a taste of police work at the sharp end I do recommend the blog of a serving police inspector.

Police Armoured Land Rover

Picture of Police Armoured Land Rover on Briggate in Leeds city centre.

On Saturday the Leeds City Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) held an Open Day on Briggate in Leeds city centre. It was an opportunity for members of the public to meet the police and find out more about West Yorkshire Police.

There were police officers and PCSOs from the NPT and also members of the various specialist departments of the local force. The specialists I was most interested to meet were crew members of a couple of the ARV Armed Response Vehicles that were on hand during the day, more of that I will post tomorrow.

The Land Rover in the above photograph reg H946 HWR was parked up on Briggate and although I had not before seen this one I knew of them and indeed had spent quite a bit of time riding around in earlier versions. This vehicle is I think one of the 6 armoured Land Rovers acquired by West Yorkshire Police from the PSNI after the Bradford Riots. This is the latest version of the various armoured rovers used by the the RUC and then the PSNI and is based on a Land Rover Defender 110 civilian chassis.

Not sure why but when I saw this rover I thought of Lieutenant Howard Hunter from the TV show Hill Street Blues, he would have loved this vehicle.

Meet Archie the Airedale

Picture of Archie an Airedale Terrier on Briggate, Leeds in Yorkshire.

Yesterday there was a meet the police day in Leeds city centre held on Briggate but my picture today is of a civilian dog, Archie.

Archie is an Airedale Terrier and he is 3 years old and of a curious and friendly nature. The Airedale Terrier is a local breed of dog from Airedale not far from Leeds here in Yorkshire. The owner of the Airedale told something I did not know and that was that before the German Shepherd became the dog of choice the Airedale was commonly used as a police dog. As Airedale Terriers go Archie is smaller than some of the larger dogs of the breed.

I choice this frame because it gives an idea of how busy Briggate was on Saturday, as seen from a dogs view.

Leeds Parish Church

Picture of Leeds Parish Church.

This view of Leeds Parish Church is not the one that most people would think of. I took this photo looking at the side of the church from the West. Because of the proximity of nearby buildings you cannot get further away which would enable a bit more of the tower to be visible.

This current church was built by the then Vicar of Leeds Walter Farquhar Hook (13 March 1798 – 20 October 1875) and it was consecrated on 2 September 1841 with Florence Nightingale in the congregation.

Leeds Parish Church - Interior

Picture of the interior of Leeds Parish Church.

I called into Leeds Parish Church for a coffee in the cafe and before I left the building I wandered around and took a few photographs.

The above photo shows a view of the interior of the church looking down the nave, past the choir towards the altar and the East window.

Leeds Parish Church, or the Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a large Anglican, Church of England Parish Church of major architectural and significance.

Granite Setts in Leeds

Picture of granite setts being re-laid in Leeds, Yorkshire.

This afternoon whilst walking back from Leeds parish church towards Briggate I noticed some minor construction taking place. The builders were relaying a stretch of granite setts on some railway property adjacent to railway arches just across from Cross York Street at the junction with Kirkgate.

The above photo shows some setts having been laid and bedded in so the paved area will be more or less flat. To achieve this they are using some basic tools a shovel, spirit level, lump hammer, bucket and an iron bar (bit like a flat jemmy).

Setts are a bit like cobblestones but the stone is quarried and cut to either a square or rectangular shape as opposed to naturally occurring shapes.

The photo was a little awkward to get because I had to put my camera between some iron railings to get the picture. Nearly all construction in cities like Leeds is now done behind hoardings or some other barrier to protect the public.

Just Married

Picture of just married couple in Yorkshire.

I first met this young couple on the evening that David proposed marriage to Amy at the City Inn hotel at Granary Wharf in Leeds.

By chance I was admiring a car that was parked near a church, it was I thought a wedding car and the driver told me he was just waiting for the service to finish and the newly married couple to be ready for him to whisk them away. When the happy couple appeared, I was very surprised, I had already met them once before for it was Amy and David, now husband and wife. They were happy to let me get a few photos for this blog before they left for their honeymoon.

I wish Amy and David a long and happy life together.

BBC Building Leeds - Evening

Picture of BBC Yorkshire building entrance seen after dark.

I took this photo of the entrance to the BBC Yorkshire building here in Leeds shortly before Christmas, as can be seen by the Christmas trees. If you look closely just to the left of the revolving doors a picture of Paul Hudson the weatherman can be seen on the wall.

Millenium Square Leeds

Picture of Millenium Square Leeds.

I walk across Millenium Square in Leeds city centre quite often, the afternoon I took this photo was warm and sunny and I had gone into the square to get this picture for a project about a month ago. I will post more of that shortly, when it is posted out.

Holy Trinity Church Leeds

Picture of Holy Trinity church on Boar Lane Leeds.

Holy Trinity on Boar Lane, Leeds is an Anglican church built 1721-27 by William Etty. The church had sometime later a wooden spire which was blown down, this being replaced with a stone steeple of three diminishing stages by R D Chantrel.

Holy Trinity Church also known locally as the Church of the Holy Trinity is now surround by construction work and has a hoarding across the front of the building. The crane behind the tower is some distance from the church but from this view it look quite close.

In 1881 Holy Trinity was described as the living being a freehold incumbency, but without the cure of souls, yearly value £500 with residence in the gift of the vicar and the Recorder of Leeds and the vicar of St Johns and held by the Revd James Henry McCheane MA, late scholar of Lincoln College, Oxford.

Today the church of Holy Trinity is a listed building this being Grade I. Grade I: buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".

Holy Trinity Church Tower

Picture of Holy Trinity Church tower Leeds.

Here is a view of the tower of Holy Trinity Church in Leeds city centre. Not sure how I managed to miss posting a photograph or 2 of this old Leeds landmark in the nearly 900 posts that so far make up my photographic journey through the city of Leeds.

I took this photo about a year back in June of last year whilst standing in the small lane that leads to Trevelyan Square, somewhere else yet to feature on the Leeds Daily Photo. At the time I took this photo a large retail development called Trinity Leeds was in progress adjacent to the church. The developers have installed a webcam looking down on the Trinity Leeds development that also includes the church tower in the picture. The development is due to be completed in 2013.

I was playing with the image of the church tower and quite like this version, because it looks rather arty and yet you still get an idea of the structure.

I will post further about Holy Trinity shortly.

Mad Shopper's Tea Party at VQ - 4

Picture of Shopping event at VQ Leeds.

Another picture from the Mad Shoppers Tea Party event at VQ here in Leeds.

Mad Shopper's Tea Party at VQ - 3

Picture of shop staff at VQ Leeds during Mad Shoppers event.

Another photo from the Mad Shoppers Tea Party at VQ Leeds recently. This picture of some of the staff at Thomas Sabo getting into the spirit of the thing, here we have Ella, Laura, Matthew and Sara.

Picture of shop staff at VQ Leeds strike a pose!

Same group as before but in a more considered pose!

Mad Shopper's Tea Party at VQ - 2

Having not seen the film, missed it despite being both a Johnny Depp and Tim Burton Fan I knew who this guy was meant to be right off, but I would have struggled without the Alice theme at the recent event at VQ Leeds.

I would name him, but have mislaid my notebook since yesterday, I do know he works in mens grooming at the Kiehl store at the VQ.

Update: found notebook and also Jay emailed me. I am jay and I work for the Kiehl's family, a new skincare and body range within the VQ in leeds that has been around since 1851.