Friday, 15 August was a significant day for the ever-innovative Mill Gallery as they launched “The People’s Gallery” – a new free space dedicated to accessible, inclusive and community-led creativity.
The evening proved to be a massive success as it brought a broad range of ages who soaked up the intoxicating works of art from a diverse collection of artistic styles. Each piece delivered a powerful story.
The first-night attendees were treated to the collection titled “Gestures”, the debut exhibition from the Resilient Artist Cohort: six Leeds-based artists embarking on a year-long journey of artistic growth and collaboration.
Check out the slideshow of photos from the event below:
This live, evolving show explores how movement, mark-making, and intention shape creative practice.
From emotionally layered landscapes and vibrant strokes alive with energy, to abstract compositions rooted in memory and heritage, Gesture invites you into a space where process and possibility meet. It’s an open-ended experiment — and just the beginning.
The first exhibition in the Peoples Gallery is the amazing and thought-provoking “Protest & Pride” which is a celebration of LGBTQIA+ creativity, protest and radical joy. This powerful show brings together artists using their work to speak up, resist, and connect, from political movements to personal acts of defiance.
The exhibition is about anger and celebration, resilience and visibility because art can be protest, and joy can be resistance too.
It runs alongside the Mill Gallery’s workshop “Art of Protest: Creative Solidarity with the Trans Community”, and together they open a new chapter in the venue’s mission to make art more accessible, inclusive, and shaped by the local community.
The exhibition runs from 15 August until 5 September at Swinnow Grange Mills, off Stanningley Road, and shows again what an important role the gallery is in providing in promoting art in all its forms to the West Leeds community.
The People’s Gallery space is funded by the Postcode Lottery.
Leeds Civic Trust have announced that the founder of the TV Harrison Sports Ground in Wortley – Thomas Vernon Harrison – and the much-loved ground itself will be recognised with a prestigious blue plaque.
The plaque will be placed at The Queen public house, on Oldfield Lane, Wortley. This will be the 203rd plaque for the city of Leeds and the fifth in Leeds 12.
The event will take place on Saturday, 6 September from 10.45am at the TV Harrison ground. On the day there will be guest speakers, including former football players and campaigners and the unveiling of the plaque.
As previously reported in WLD, the TV Harrison Sports Ground was originally privately owned by the local Ingham family and was used for sports from around 1850. In 1928 headteacher Tom Vernon Harrison discovered that the ground was due to be sold to developers.
Harrison, along with two colleagues, launched an appeal to purchase the ground. Being a supporter of school sports, he had covenants put in place to ensure it would always be used by the school children of Leeds.
After Harrison died, the ground was named after him and the Leeds School Sports Association was formed. In later years the ground was referred to as “The Wortley Wembley” after it became the home ground of Leeds City Boys, where future Leeds United stars played, including David Batty, Alan Smith, Noel Whelan, Brian Deane, Paul Madeley, Paul Reaney, Rod Johnson and David Harvey.
Sadly the ground suffered from vandalism and became abandoned and overgrown. In 2006 the LSSA opted to sell the ground and Leeds City Council started the process to change the site’s designation to housing. The local community were alarmed at this change of use and an action group was formed in 2019.
This group transformed the grounds and brought it back to life, where it is now used for regular football matches and for the community to use this green space. After a long series of High Court battles the ground was designated as an “Asset of Community Value” to give it additional protection and the council later formally withdrew its planning application.
More recent developments have seen Leeds United Football Club purchasing the ground, more detailed plans will become available when they apply for planning permission. It is expected to be used for junior or women’s football.
The blue plaque will be the icing on the cake after such a long battle to retain its use for the local community and a permanent sign of the importance and great history of this iconic sports ground.
Tickets for the event are free, but to find out more and register your attendance please follow this link. More information about the TV Harrison campaign can be found here.
WLD yesterday reported on the opening of Bramley’s new Community Café – and now we’ve had a chance to sample their wares.
Arriving at that weird mid-morning spot where breakfast merges into lunch – there’s a word for it, brunch – I had missed the official breakfast cut-off time of 11.30am. But chef Dermot was more than happy to build me the full monty breakfast.
Some of the team behind the new cafe in Bramley. Photo: Keef Williamson
For £9 you get: a mug of tea or coffee; two slices of buttered toast; two well-cooked sausages with a nice snap to the skins and a tasty meaty filling; two (possibly three) thick rashers of back bacon; two fried eggs, sunny side up with a bit of laciness to the edges; some baked beans (didn’t count them, sorry); a small gravy boat with some canned chopped tomatoes (not my favourite thing); and, maybe because we’re veering into lunchtime, a small pile of sautéed potatoes.
The newly-decorated café is clean, spacious and free of any hint of pretentiousness.
The staff go out of their way to be friendly and helpful. There are five four-seater tables and if it happens that there is someone sitting at each table then you’re going to have to share and maybe strike up a conversation. There could also be banter going on between people at separate tables and it all makes for a convivial atmosphere.
If that doesn’t appeal there are tables and chairs outside where you can entertain yourself watching the denizens of Bramley Shopping Centre go about their business.
The café is currently open 9.30am to 2.30pm (kitchen closes at 2pm), Monday to Friday.
A Pudsey climbing centre is holding a fun-themed bouldering competition to raise money for Andy’s Man Club, a group which supports men’s mental health.
The event, on Saturday, 23 August, at Depot Climbing, Richardshaw Lane in Pudsey.
A spokesperson said: “Climbing has been shown to have a positive impact on our mental health, helping to boost confidence and self-esteem as well as improving communication and problem-solving.
“Following a morning of free family taster sessions, we’ll be hosting a fun, challenge-oriented bouldering competition with some special bonus boulders, all to raise money for the Andy’s Man Club peer-led charity and the important work they do in our communities.
“There are awesome prizes up for grabs by submitting your scorecards, and we also have a bumper raffle bursting with big prizes from some of Pudsey and Leeds’ biggest and best local businesses.”
Andy’s Man Club will be at the event to highlight the work they do in our communities. Leeds-based Vegan Spice food truck will provide food. The competition runs 1-7pm. The event will raise money for Pudsey’s Andy’s Man Club Group.
Andy’s Man Club runs at Leeds Trinity University in Horsforth every Monday 7-9pm (excluding bank holidays) for any man 18+. It also runs at G&H in Pudsey at the same time.
It’s a free, safe and non-judgemental space for guys to have a brew and a chat.
Visit the website to find your nearest group or email info@andysmanclub.co.uk.
Where the entrance to the new library will be at Calverley Mechanics Institute. Photo: Anne Akers
By John Baron
Plans to transform Calverley Mechanics’ Institute into a new village library have been submitted to council planners.
WLDreported last month that Calverley Library was to move in a bid to save Leeds City Council money.
£200,000 plans have been drawn up to relocate the library, which the council says currently has some of the lowest footfall, book borrowing and computer usage figures across the city.
This week a formal planning application has been submitted to the council to change the use of the Mechanics to a library. External alterations including raising the level of the pathway and removal of a section of railings to allow level access to the building; new external lighting and replacement of existing front door with glazed door.
The relocation will include upgraded accessible toilets and redecoration of the library areas to provide a safe and welcoming environment.
A planning statement submitted with the planning application states: “The proposed alterations to the building are minimal, with the proposal to lift the path level to match the internal finished floor level, removing a small section of railing to allow access from the public footpath, and installing a powder coated auto door to all a level access to the building without steps and ramps.”
A public consultation into the future of the existing library in Thornhill Street was launched in April – 70% of respondents were in support of the proposal, with many commenting that the proposed building would be more suitable and have potential to be a more usable community space.
As a boy, Tom Palmer didn’t like reading unless it was about football, but he went on to write 60 children’s novels, including three series about football, and some prize-winning historical fiction.
He was at Truman Books in Farsley on Tuesday to read and talk about War Dog, his new book for four to eight-year-olds, billed as ’one for all the family, especially animal lovers and those intrigued by true tales’. War Dog is Tom’s first non-fiction picture book and this was only his second storytelling session with it, so he was a bit nervous.
The War Dog was Judy, a ‘furry, four-legged hero of WWII’. When Tom set up a life-size cut-out of Judy, a child commented that she had nice eyes. It’s a measure of illustrator Carolina Rabei’s talent that this cardboard cut-out had a genuinely reassuring presence.
While Wendy (the regular storyteller) brought extra chairs, Tom asked Annie and Jay if they had a dog. They do, and not just one! How had they got them? The children quickly warmed to this fellow dog lover, and the nerves faded. When we were sitting comfortably, Wendy began. Why had Tom chosen to write this story now?
“Well, I’ve done books for older children, like D-Day Dog. Then another publisher said, ‘We’re looking to do some picture books, particularly about difficult subjects like war. Would you be interested?’ I was, absolutely!
“So, I did a two-book deal with them, and the second book is going to be called War Cat. It’s about a cat called Pyro, who used to fly with the men in the aeroplanes when it was really cold. Pyro used to sit inside one man’s jacket and keep his hands warm while he was flying!”
Though once a reluctant reader, Tom is a born storyteller – and he takes his craft seriously. At one point, he said: “It’s quite hard, you know, writing about warfare for children? I’ve read books to do with war with my daughter, like picture books, and I think it helped, you know, that she was hearing it from me.”
It’s clearly important to him to create tools for parents and teachers to help children understand this frightening aspect of human life.
Before we sat down, he had said to Zach, Annie and Jay, “It’s nice to have someone to talk with when you’re looking at a picture book, isn’t it?” They had all agreed.
I think every adult in the room quickly recognised that Tom Palmer, father and writer, knows his readers and his listeners, i.e. ‘children with a reading age of four to eight and the teachers and parents who will be reading this book with them.
For example, he came prepared with pictures of his dog, Finn, relating Judy’s significance for the crew to Finn’s place in his family, and perhaps encouraging reflection on the place of the pets in our own families.
At points in the story where Judy had to warn or protect the crew, or when she was anxious or in danger, Tom paused and put the children in the driving seat – getting them to consider her predicament and speculate about what abilities or options she had to work with.
He asked his listeners what they thought words meant, admired their reasoning if they were wrong, and encouraged more thought. He invited questions and thought out loud before offering his conclusion and checking whether they concurred.
It might sound longwinded, and you might think that the only thing keeping the kids on the floor awake was a numb bum or a nudge from Mum, but it actually felt like a story with a conversation running through it. No-one got shushed, or mocked for a thoughtful response that didn’t quite fit. And even though Tom was the most easy-going ‘tutor’ imaginable, it was a masterclass in reading about a difficult subject with children.
Tom Palmer’s clear, spare prose conveys danger, action, and the importance of Judy’s courage and sense of duty, but avoids drama or direct emotion. He has structured this war story for young readers in an undulating pattern of jeopardy and relief, jeopardy and relief.
Thus, we see: an attack on the ship, and Judy raising the alarm; Judy trapped in the hold, then rescued; Judy saving the stranded crew again by locating drinking water; the crew being detained, but smuggling Judy into the POW camp; Judy getting ‘wobbly’, then having puppies; the guards being ‘mean’ to the crew and Judy scratching them; the guards being ‘mean’ to Judy, but the commandant –
Tom:Does anyone know what a commandant is?
Jay/Zach/Annie?: Yeah, the big boss.
Tom: Yeah, the person in charge, like the prison governor.
… the commandant smiles to see her. I shall make Judy an official prisoner of war,”he says to Frank. “Now, she will be protected.”
In this telling of Judy’s story, Tom Palmer has left gaps which, as a parent observed, readers will fill according to their knowledge and maturity. Reading War Dog with a five-year-old, my mind’s eye sees aspects of life in a 1940s POW camp that text and illustrations only hint at.
The little one beside me takes it at face value: a true story of a dog who faces up to no end of trouble and gets a medal for her courage and resourcefulness. Still, for a modern fable, isn’t Judy’s example an encouraging one for any dog, boy or girl, growing up? Especially when one of the sailors takes her home after the war, because she’s his friend.
Listening to Tom’s voice, we heard apprehension in his low, slow delivery, and increasing tension as his pitch rose and fell, rose and fell; his words kept pace with Judy’s paws as she ran to alert the men below decks; but he respected his material and his audience: creating atmosphere, not drama.
“So, about Judy: Judy was a real dog in the Second World War. She was – Do you know what a prisoner of war was?” Zach shook his head. Annie said no. “A prisoner of war was – if a soldier or an airman or a sailor got caught by the enemy in the war, they were kept as a prisoner for the whole of the war, and then released at the end. Judy was the only animal ever to be made an official prisoner of war.”
Tom had brought a replica bronze medal on a striped ribbon, the PDSA Dickin Medal, which was awarded to 32 pigeons, one ship’s cat, 3 horses, and 18 dogs in World War II for “conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty”. Judy was one of them.
Tom told the children about his research and showed them an A4 notebook full of “notes on everything I need for the story. “And then what I do is – without the artist – I do a first draft, and this -” (swapping the notebook for typed sheets, heavily annotated in pen) “This is like the fifth draft. Do you know what a draft is? Have you got a teacher who makes you rewrite things?” (Nods and wry faces from the floor) “When you think you’ve finished, yeah?” He put down his fifth draft.
“Now I’ll read a bit and then I’ll stop about a third of the way through, and if you’ve got any questions or anything like that…?”
Holding up the first illustrated spread, he asked the dog lovers “What kind of danger do you think dogs can listen for?” … “Yeah, the bombers, like five minutes before the people heard them, and the alarms went off. So… what else are they good at, as well as hearing?” “Smelling.”… “Yeah, like the smoke: they smell it. And that’s why they’re useful to us, certainly.”
He started reading.
And right now, Judy’s job is even more important than ever. The world is at war, and HMS Grasshopper is part of that war. It’s fierce and frightening, and Judy tries to remind her crew of their lives. Of home. She tries to give them hope…
“I’ll show you.”
These were the photos of Finn “and he’s lovely. And when things are not going quite right at home, he’s really loving, and he gives us hope. And then, like we were talking about dogs earlier, they’re lovely, aren’t they?
“So, that’s the beginning. And remember, this is all completely true. Everything that happened to them.”
Once the enemy have reached Singapore, HMS Grasshopper must escape. She steams out into the open sea. At first, the skies are quiet. Judy watches for enemy aircraft, and hearing it before any of the sailors, barks a warning. The men get in position. There is fear and fury as the enemy attacks.…
Judy smells fire. The men are in danger! She has to warn them. That is why they want her here. She runs through the dark corridors, barking, warning men to abandon the ship. The sailors scramble for the lifeboats….
Tom: So, she’s already saved them twice. Does anyone know the two things she’s done for them so far?
Annie: She’s barked and told them to evacuate.
“That’s right, brilliant. So that’s two different things she’s done, isn’t it? Who’s got a dog who barks, to help them?”
Jay: My grandma!
“So, the next pages – and look at these pictures. Just beautiful, aren’t they? The colours are lovely.” … “Carolina said she did them on an iPad. But they look a bit like watercolours.
An hour later, the survivors wash up on the beach of an island. “Where’s Judy?” One man asks. They look across the water at HMS Grasshopper burning, but still afloat. As the men search the island for water, they’re worried.…. Judy must be somewhere and she saved them, so they should save her.…
… It is dark inside the belly of HMS Grasshopper, where Judy is trapped, alone … but then she hears a new sound. Clang! Clang! Clang!
“What do you think that new sound is that she can hear?”
“Gunshots?”
“No, but there would have been gunshots around, so that was a really good answer. Yeah, any others? What do you think the clang clang clang might have been?”
“Men climbing down ladders.”
“Yeah, well done, very good. Someone coming down the metal ladder, clang clang clang. It’s kind of a dangerous situation, but hopefully someone’s on the way to rescue her.”
Annie: Why doesn’t she just like come off the ship and just jump into the water if she could swim?
Tom: That’s a really good question. As far as I remember from my research, she was trapped, down in the hold of the ship, and the only way out was – I’ll show you the picture…. There’s the ladder. A cat can climb, and I bet some sorts of dogs come to that point. Judy couldn’t, so she was trapped.
He read on, to the point when Judy became an official Prisoner of War, then gave us a synopsis of the rest. Although it isn’t in the book, he explained that Frank adopted Judy after the war, and took care of her for the rest of her life. “and when she died of old age, she was buried in a little grave, which is lovely, isn’t it?”
Truman Books in Farsley offers stories and songs for under-5s every Tuesday and Thursday morning, 10.30am-11am.
Some of the team behind the new cafe in Bramley. Photo: Keef Williamson
By Keef Williamson
Regular visitors to Bramley Shopping Centre may have noticed the gradual transformation of the former B.E.S.T (Bacon Egg Sausage Tomato) café into the Bramley Community Cafe.
Bramley Elderly Action has taken over the lease on the unit and WLD spoke to their CEO Lee Ingham.
WLD: “What is your aim with the café?” Lee: “It’s a roundabout way, I suppose, of increasing happiness, increasing engagement with our activities. Where we have cafés in our community centres, a lot of people won’t use them. But they are happy to come here and we can let them know about things BEA is doing that might interest them.”
WLD: “BEA seems to be everywhere in Bramley” Lee: “Well we’re in our 30th year. Bramley Elderly Action was set up by local people to support elderly people coming out of hospital and facing loneliness. In 2006 we set up a social enterprise with the idea of making money to put back into the charity.” BEA now operates Bramley Lawn on Rossefield Approach, Bramley Community Centre on Waterloo Lane, the Bramley Community Shop in Bramley Shopping Centre as well as the Community Café and OWLS on North Lane, Headingley.
WLD: “How did you finance the development of the café?” Lee: “We borrowed some money and we’ve had some support from the local councillors, the Inner West Area Committee, to pay for building an accessible toilet.” Lee stressed that café is a commercial operation, paying full rent to the centre owners and it needs to make a profit to support other activities.
WLD: “When I came here a few weeks ago the menu was a little limited – are you planning to expand it?” Lee: “Certainly. In the first few weeks the kitchen didn’t have enough power so that limited what we could do. Now we’ve got full three-phase electricity so we can do hot sandwiches, cooked breakfasts and a daily special. Today we’ve got bangers and mash, yesterday it was macaroni cheese, last week there was bubble and squeak. It’s all good, simple home- cooked food.”
WLD: “Do you have any plans for the future?” Lee: “We’ll be opening on Saturdays from September and be looking at afternoon opening for tea and cakes, and maybe hiring the space out in the evenings for clubs to use.”
Dermot and Lee at the cafe. Photo: Keef Williamson
The café is managed by Dermot, who also does the cooking. His career includes working for major hotel chains Hyatt and Intercontinental, followed by 10 years running a community café in east Leeds. He likes to use fresh ingredients and makes food from scratch where possible.
WLD: “Do you have all the staff you need?” Dermot: “Pretty much. I’m paid and so is my assistant manager, but everything else is volunteer-led, bringing people from the community to get experience in here and engage with the people of the community.”
WLD: “What do you think is the role of the café?” Dermot: “So the whole premise of this for me is, during the day, that it’s a community café. People from all walks of life – you don’t have to be a member of Bramley Elderly Action – can come in and have a wholesome meal, all cooked freshly, and we can rest assured that someone’s got something healthy and decent in their belly. And long term – once we get up and running – we want it to be more than a café, we want it to be a community hub, say. “When the food finishes this could be a meeting place for various clubs. That’s the goal. And we’ll be looking to streamline the operation so people don’t have to wait more than five minutes for their order. We have to compete with Greggs next-door-but-one and Costa further up. It’s a big ask but we offer something they don’t – it’s freshly made and prepped. The mash is made from actual potatoes peeled and cooked that day!”
At the moment the Community Café opens from 9.30am to 2pm Monday to Friday. They will be holding an Open Day on Saturday, 27 September with a free cup of tea or coffee for anyone who attends.
New Wortley Community Centre brewed up a storm with their charming afternoon tea for Breast Cancer Now, raising an impressive £1,011.29.
This achievement was made possible thanks to the incredible support from the community from baking and donating cakes to spending money on the day and donations kindly given to the charity.
During the event, attendees enjoyed a variety of activities, including:
Tombola
Breast Bingo
A presentation from a local GP
Handmade goods crafted by their very own Women’s Group
Name the doggy
One fortunate winner even took home a brand new air fryer from the raffle!
Fun was had by all, and participants learned the significance of self-checking while coming together as a united community.
New Wortley Community Centre would like to express their heartfelt gratitude and thanks to every attendee and donation and please enjoy their gallery of the day!
Pudsey-based theatre group, Fulneck Dramatic Society, enjoyed a highly successful evening at the recent Wharfedale Festival of Drama Awards, held at Yeadon Town Hall.
Their winter 2025 production of ‘Home Before Dark’ written by ‘Coronation Street’ scriptwriter, Jimmy Chinn, came away with six awards including ‘Best overall production’.
Awards included:
Best director: Dave Robbins
Best actor (male): Joe Braham
Best actor (female): Louisa Morris
Best supporting actor (female): Helen Chesterman
Chairman’s special award for use of live music within the show: Dick Porter, Justine Massie and Dominic Adams.
The play’s director, Dave Robbins, said: “Home before Dark’ is a lovely play which makes you laugh and cry in equal measures. We loved performing it.
“It was also a real community production with a brilliant cast of over 20 actors – some of whom were making their first-ever stage appearance.
“Whilst individual awards are to be celebrated, I was particularly pleased that we won ‘Best overall production’. This is a recognition of the talents of everyone in the team both on stage and backstage and speaks volumes about the quality of the production.”
Bramley woman Emma Allard is planning to walk 26 miles between Leeds and Skipton along the canal to raise money in memory of her sister.
Emma is fundraising for the Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, who planned her sister’s wedding in just 24 hours for her sister who had only weeks to live.
Emma Allard is making preparations along with her family and a close group of friends known as ‘the valkyries’ to embark on a staggering 26-mile fundraiser walk in honour of her younger sister Victoria Shaw.
Emma described Victoria as “an amazing soul that she was a force of nature and one of the kindest person. I miss her dearly”.
Victoria Shaw – nee Allard – passed away recently at age 44 from cancer. Victoria came from a big family, being the middle sister, she had an older sister and was a loving aunt to three nieces and nephews.
Emma plans to embark on this giant walk from Leeds to Skipton along the canal with only a few stops at Cross Flatts and Keighley.
She set up a fundraising page asking for just £400 to donate to the hospice which card for Victoria and to a surprise within a matter of days she raised over £1,400.
The fundraiser is still open and people are able to donate and it is now running into the thousands.
Emma recalls Victoria suddenly seeming unwell before Christmas. She said: “We all worried about her because she seemed very suddenly to be unwell.
“Victoria had been saying she felt something wasn’t right before Christmas as she had not been eating properly and was tired and lacked her usual energy.
“Victoria was the kind of person that would just keep pushing through though and didn’t grumble or complain and her attitude was just to get on with it.”
Victoria had visited the doctor and they thought her symptoms could be the peri-menopause and so nobody realised how unwell Victoria actually was until she was so poorly that she had to go to hospital.
Victoria started telling them that she was unable to keep her food down and at the hospital they started doing scans, blood tests and biopsy.
Following all their tests, Victoria was diagnosed with bile duct cancer.
It was so aggressive that there was no chance for Victoria to have chemotherapy and within a few weeks of her being diagnosed she passed away.
“I hope other people will read this and act on how they feel and seek help from a doctor sooner. How many people will put their symptoms down to something else and just carry on like my sister did thinking it was a peri-menopause and, in fact, she had cancer.”
Victoria used to live on a narrowboat and loved being outside in nature. She lived with her partner Dan who has his own business which kept them busy. Dan is one of Yorkshire’s largest independent engineers for servicing caravans and is lovingly known as “Caravan Dan”.
Soon after diagnosis Victoria was moved to a hospice where she was made more comfortable.
Emma said: “I wanted to honour my sister’s memory by doing a special fundraiser and give what we raise to the Sue Ryder hospice Moorlands who cared for her in the last three weeks of her life.
“They did so much for Victoria, and us they were professional, caring and wholesome, they made us feel welcome as her family even accommodated family dogs. Victoria and Dan wanted to get married and staff at the hospice pulled out all the stops and within 24 hours, made a wedding happen!
“They managed to get a wedding dress, make up, wedding cake, suits for the men and flowers. It was quite incredible.”
Victoria married Dan within the hospice gardens with all her family sharing in that magical moment.
Since Victoria’s passing, Dan helped set up a summer festival fundraiser at Airedale boat club on July 26 in aid of Sue Ryder. All proceeds from the walk were in aid of Monorlands Hospice managed by Sue Ryder.
If you want to join the walk, you can come along for the walk and bring your dogs. You can find out more here.
Pudsey firm G&H has secured two significant maintenance contracts within the construction and property management sectors following competitive tender processes.
SIG, a leading pan-European provider of specialist construction and insulation products, has agreed a three-year maintenance deal with G&H for 120 locations across the UK, including trade centres, distribution centres, and its Sheffield-based head office.
UK property specialist, CEG, has also appointed G&H to deliver a three-year maintenance programme for 12 commercial offices across the south including Bristol, Milton Keynes, London, Colchester and Ipswich.
G&H, based on South Parade, was awarded these planned and preventative maintenance contracts following competitive tenders.
Each client will benefit from a dedicated G&H maintenance team ensuring all sites are fully compliant and operational. The approach will reduce call-outs and breakdowns through thorough inspection and maintenance of plant rooms, heating and cooling systems, fire alarm systems, lighting, power generation, and sanitary and waste water systems.
David Ridsdale, maintenance director at G&H, said: “We’re looking forward to working with SIG and CEG to ensure their buildings are safe and productive spaces for their occupants.
“Our dedicated UK-wide experienced engineers are adept at delivering long-term, planned and preventative MEP maintenance across a wide range of sectors, reducing breakdown and call outs.”
Paul Greenhalgh, FM quality and procurement manager at CEG said: “We needed a reliable partner who we could trust to maintain all offices and keep them operating smoothly for the comfort of our tenants. G&H clearly demonstrated their vast experience and proven ability to fulfil our brief.”
Founded in 1998, G&H is a leading MEP provider. Its 200-strong team designs, manages, delivers, and maintains every aspect of mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) service provider schemes across the UK.
Gestures of Protest and Pride at Mill Gallery
By Paul Abraham (www.paulabraham.info)
Friday, 15 August was a significant day for the ever-innovative Mill Gallery as they launched “The People’s Gallery” – a new free space dedicated to accessible, inclusive and community-led creativity.
The evening proved to be a massive success as it brought a broad range of ages who soaked up the intoxicating works of art from a diverse collection of artistic styles. Each piece delivered a powerful story.
The first-night attendees were treated to the collection titled “Gestures”, the debut exhibition from the Resilient Artist Cohort: six Leeds-based artists embarking on a year-long journey of artistic growth and collaboration.
Check out the slideshow of photos from the event below:
This live, evolving show explores how movement, mark-making, and intention shape creative practice.
From emotionally layered landscapes and vibrant strokes alive with energy, to abstract compositions rooted in memory and heritage, Gesture invites you into a space where process and possibility meet. It’s an open-ended experiment — and just the beginning.
The first exhibition in the Peoples Gallery is the amazing and thought-provoking “Protest & Pride” which is a celebration of LGBTQIA+ creativity, protest and radical joy. This powerful show brings together artists using their work to speak up, resist, and connect, from political movements to personal acts of defiance.
The exhibition is about anger and celebration, resilience and visibility because art can be protest, and joy can be resistance too.
It runs alongside the Mill Gallery’s workshop “Art of Protest: Creative Solidarity with the Trans Community”, and together they open a new chapter in the venue’s mission to make art more accessible, inclusive, and shaped by the local community.
The exhibition runs from 15 August until 5 September at Swinnow Grange Mills, off Stanningley Road, and shows again what an important role the gallery is in providing in promoting art in all its forms to the West Leeds community.
The People’s Gallery space is funded by the Postcode Lottery.
Sponsored content