Current Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves has been re-selected as Labour’s candidate at the next General Election.
Ms Reeves received the support of all six branches in the Leeds West constituency. She said:
“In a process that has really energised our party members to get involved in Leeds West Labour Party, I am really pleased that once again the local party has put its trust in me.
“The results of the trade union and affiliated societies ballot come out next week but in the meantime, thank you to ALL our brilliant party members for your support.
“An election is imminent, so let’s now reach out and campaign to win a mandate to govern the country.”
Ms Reeves retained her seat for Labour at the 2017 General Election with 64% of the vote.
West Leeds Dispatch community reporters enjoyed a training course at New Wortley Community Centre
A new batch of West Leeds Dispatch community reporters ‘graduated’ at New Wortley Community Centre today.
The community reporters successfully completed the six-week course, which looked at photography, writing, ethics, sources, law, video and podcasting.
They’ll be telling stories about what’s happening across West Leeds, reporting on events, what’s on and local issues. Congratulations to everyone who completed the course!
Successfully completing the course were Sam and Amelia Stewart, Nancy Pike, Sarah Jacques, Sarah Pearson, Cherril Cliff, Teresa Milligan and Gemma Gates.
They join people from courses held in Bramley, Armley and Kirkstall (which finishes next week). Check out all their work here.
Our community reporters’ course in Armley earlier this year.
Sign up for our free Pudsey course
Would you like to tell the story of your community or a local group? Or perhaps you’d like to celebrate the achievements of others?Or highlight an important community campaign?
Our latest West Leeds Dispatch community reporters course could be for you! Our practical courses are free, friendly and fun.
The six-week Pudsey course is being held at Pudsey House, opposite the leisure centre, on Friday November 1 (6.30-8.30pm) until Friday, December 6.
In the latest of a series looking at Bramley rugby league legends, Paul Abraham puts the spotlight on Peter Lister …
Having signed from Leeds to obtain regular first team rugby, Peter made his debut at right centre in a 9-28 defeat at Hunslet on the 20th September 1981.
The following week saw him play his first match at McClaren Field and celebrated with his first try for the club in a 15-10 victory against Dewsbury.
Peter finished the season with seven tries, including his first brace in the 16-11 home victory against the Cardiff Blue Dragons.
Due to Bramley having a very settled and mainly injury free first team during the following season Peter was restricted to just 8 starting appearances and 8 substitute appearances, however he still crossed for six tries, including two in the 21-6 home win against Doncaster.
The 1983/84 season was a troubled season for Bramley as a one point they looked like going out of existence, the one bright spot for Bramley supporters was seeing Peter playing on a regular basis in the first team.
In his 20 appearances he crossed the whitewash on 13 occasions including a spectacular try against red-hot favourites Wigan in a 10-10 draw at McClaren Field in the first round of the RL Challenge cup, he also scored Bramley’s only try in the replay when the villagers lost 3-34.
In the early part of the season he had scored tries in five consecutive matches including two tries at Carlisle (22-6) and two at home in a 32-0 drubbing against Doncaster and near the end of the season he crossed for another two tries in the 22-28 defeat at York.
By now he was becoming a massive hero among the Bramley followers with his unpredictability and sublime skills often doing something outrageous to seal a Bramley victory.
In 33 appearances, including two at full-back, Peter ran in 15 tries during the 1984/85 season, also adding a goal (in a 32-4 home thrashing of Whitehaven) and three drop-goals for good measure!
The season of 1985/86 will always be remembered as “The Peter Lister season” as Peter was at his dazzling best throughout the season and smashed the clubs tries in a season record.
A try after coming on as substitute in the 14-13 home victory against Batley in the first game of the season was the start of a lightening start to the new season as Peter crossed for 13 tries in the opening 12 fixtures including braces of tries against Doncaster (league and Yorkshire Cup), Fulham and Runcorn.
His second try at Runcorn secured a very late 31-29 victory and could only have been scored by “Twister” Lister.
After going through a “lean” spell Peter hit the try line in three successive games including two in one of Bramley’s greatest ever victories when they defeated high-flying top of the table Whitehaven 38-14 at the Recreation ground.
The performance of the Bramley team – and especially Lister and Mason – is still talked about by Bramley fans who had made the long trip that day.
The 22-14 defeat at home to Barrow was quickly forgotten as Peter crossed for his 20th and the new record breaking 21st try of the season, and to celebrate he scored another two in the 46-10 home drubbing of Keighley the following week.
With the record now secured Peter then went up another gear and crossed the whitewash nine times in four matches (all at McClaren Field) including a hat-trick at home to Runcorn (36-22) and two in each of the matches against Doncaster (14-10) Mansfield Marksmen (46-20) and Workington (32-22).
After scoring in the first match of the season Peter completed his try scoring feats for the season with a try in the last match of the season, a 14-8 win at home to Whitehaven.
An incredible season ended with Peter topping the try-scoring list with 34, amazingly 18 tries ahead of club recording signing (at that time) Andy Mason.
The following season was always going to be an anti-climax after the unbelievable events of the previous season, however Peter still finished top of the charts but this time with only 11, in what was a disappointing season for the Bramley club.
Highlights for Peter that season were a double of tries against Swinton away (12-54), Sheffield at home (20-14) and at Fulham (20-24).
1987-88 started in great style as Peter scored six tries in the first four matches of the season including a stunning hat-trick whilst playing loose-forward against Doncaster in a 39-12 victory in the first round of the Yorkshire Cup, a performance which earned him a standing ovation as he was substituted in the final minutes of the match.
A productive season saw him finish with 17 tries as he crossed twice against Dewsbury (14-19) York (18-27) at home and Batley (20-13) away.
His eighth try of the season scored in the 18-26 home defeat to Fulham brought his career total to 93 and so became Bramley’s record try scorer of all time beating Jack Austin’s career record of 92, while his dive over the whitewash in the 16-36 home defeat to Oldham provided Peter with his 100th Bramley try and still remains the only player in Bramley’s 140-year history to score a hundred plus tries for the club.
For the fourth consecutive season Peter scored a try in the first match of the season, this time in a 10-13 defeat at Sheffield Eagles, he then scored a classic Peter Lister hat-trick in the 32-0 away victory against Mansfield Marksmen, while another hat-trick was scored later in the season as Bramley defeated Batley at home 22-8.
He finished with 28 tries in the season just in front of Peter Lewis who crossed for 25.
1989/90 brought just eight tries, but he still finished the club’s top try-scorer for the season with the pinnacle of the season being when he scored for a very understrength Bramley side as they won at top of the table Rochdale Hornets 25-18.
Peter’s final season was to be the 1990/91 campaign when he started just 11 matches and came on as sub 3 times including his final appearance when he replaced former GB international Henderson Gill in the 10-17 home defeat against Swinton,
His 140th and final try in the amber and black came in an 18-30 defeat at Hunslet. Peter did play one match under the coaching of Ray Ashton after coming out of retirement approximately three years after his last match, he still showed glimpses of his unique style of play, but sadly wasn’t selected again and so retired for good this time.
Legend is one of the most over-rated words used in recent years but Peter Lister can be called a legend and no-one who saw his magical skills whilst at Bramley would disagree.
Don’t miss out on tickets for this year’s Trailblazer Trick or Treat Trail, writes Josie Armitage.
This year’s event will take place from 7pm-9pm on Saturday 26th October at Hanover Square Park, Burley, just behind Leeds City College, Park Lane Campus off Burley Road.
The last one attracted 600 people, families and children who all came together to have a magical Halloween night.
“Five years ago I had another one of my crazy ideas. Instead of kids going trick or treating knocking on strangers’ doors, why don’t we get hundreds of families together on one little park and celebrate Halloween together to give the kids a night to remember, to add some magic to Halloween. And that’s what we did!”
The trail will include amazing structures and games,
all created by volunteers. There are too
many to mention but here is a taster:
Spider wall’ between the trees
that people can stand in front of for a photo opportunity.
‘Bat cave’ with handmade bats
hanging from the branches. Families are
encouraged to make bats to support the volunteers to be able to create the
cave.
‘Spider tunnel’ covered in web
and spiders. Children will be invited to
walk through in order to receive sweets at the end for their bravery.
‘Zombie battle zone’ with an assault
course set up so children can run, climb and crawl through avoiding being
caught by the zombies.
The ‘Graveyard’ with tombstones
hand crafted by volunteers. There will
be bones lying around and children will search amongst the leaves and bones for
hidden sweets.
Fairground type activities including:
‘Spooky Hoopla’ where children
have to throw glowing rings around the glowing bottles.
‘Tin can alley’ where children
have to knock down all of the spooky painted cans with beanbags for sweet
prizes
‘Witches stew’ which will be a
huge tub of green goo and gloop (spaghetti) for children to roll up their
sleeves and dig around to find eyeballs which they will be able to trade in for
sweets.
There will be new attractions this year as
well! This includes ‘Sweet operation’
(go along to the trail to find out), best Halloween costume and best decorated
pumpkin.
Antony said:
“The kids absolutely loved the last trail. Everyone was dressed up in their favourite Halloween costumes and we decorated the full park.
“We didn’t just decorate the park, we wired up a sound system around the park to play spooky background music. We had spot lights and lighting around the park to give it an authentic spooky feel.
“This year is going to be even better! We will be adding more attractions for the kids, more fun and more games and we promise that it is going to be the best Halloween ever for the kids… and adults too of course. “
You are invited to get involved in helping make this
event a success:
Volunteers are needed to help
set up on the day and look after the activities on the night.
Families are invited to decorate
their own pumpkins at a pumpkin carving workshop before the event or bring
these along to the event. There will be
a best pumpkin competition.
Families are encouraged to make
bats for the ‘Bat Cave’.
Provide donations of sweets
Danielle Middleton, fitness instructor at
Trailblazer Fitness said:
“We need sweets!!!! We rely heavily on donations of sweets, Halloween decorations and pumpkins to keep ticket costs down and make this event as accessible for people as possible.
“There will be a big sweet donation bin down at Underground Fitness Club for you to bring a bag of sweets down on your next visit or you can arrange a separate time with me, Antony or Bradley for a time that’s convenient for you to bring them to us or for us to collect them from you.”
A West Leeds care home is helping people suffering with dementia to take part in daily activities, rebuild their sense of purpose and have meaningful conversations with the help of doll therapy.
Residents at Paisley Lodge, in Armley, now benefit from a specialist doll therapy are, thanks to the ongoing support of a partnership with Nestlé Professional which enhances the 45-bed home’s specialist dementia care.
A form of reminiscence therapy, doll therapy is designed to revive memories of parental responsibility in those living with dementia.
As many as 60-90% of older people experience the distressing symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia, and therapy dolls have been shown to be extremely effective in helping to reduce this.
Doll Therapy was first introduced at Paisley Lodge when one of its residents had regressed into childhood and did not recognise that her children had grown up.
Her behaviour become erratic and she was hostile to staff and her loved ones when they tried to explain that her children were now adults.
Home manager Pat Woellner knew of the immense benefits that doll therapy can provide and introduced the resident to a life-like baby doll, who she was able to hold and care for.
The new sense of responsibility and identity recreated the resident’s memories of being a mum and enabled her to share precious memories with family, staff and fellow residents. She became content and happy with her surroundings.
Doll therapy can offer a chance for them to regain a sense of purpose, caring for their charges and chatting to fellow residents and staff about their daily routines.
It can also provide comfort and safety for residents experiencing grief from a loss of their partner. Ms Woellner said:
“One of our residents lost her husband, and the doll helped her to go through the grieving stages.”
Ms Woellner, who has worked in the care sector for over 30 years, added:
“People with dementia are often anxious about their surroundings, the people with whom they interact and their own abilities. This can often result in agitation, poor appetite, loneliness and boredom.
“We have seen the dramatic changes that this therapy brings to our residents. In one case a lady who had been receiving treatment by specialist mental health services for challenging behaviour was discharged by her consultant after just three months because the doll therapy had made such a positive change to her behaviour.
“It’s not just women that benefit from doll therapy. Two of our male residents have enjoyed looking after them too.
“Now it’s a regular occurrence to see them pushing prams along the corridors, stopping to chat to staff and fellow residents about their “baby” and reliving their memories of bringing up their own children.
“I often hold a doll on my hip when doing my walk around the home to check everyone is happy, as it is a great way to start a conversation with residents who may otherwise not wish to engage.
“We now have 15 dolls in the home that are being used by residents and each doll is unique, to suit various individual’s needs. We have changing stations, pushchairs, feeding equipment and highchairs.”
Books for children and adults have been appearing in all areas of Bramley, thanks to a new initiative, writes Josie Armitage.
Bramley Look for a Book is a creative way for children and adults to enjoy books donated by Bramley residents who want others to enjoy the books they have read.
The activity was set up in August by Dawn Fletcher, a Bramley resident who works the twilight shift in Tesco so she can spend quality time with her children.
Keep your eyes open in Bramley – there’s no telling what you’ll find! Photo courtesy of Bramley Look for a Book Facebook page
The Facebook group she set up is growing rapidly, with almost 800 members who are celebrating their finds and the enjoyment they and their children are having reading books together.
They are also having fun re-hiding the books for others to find. Dawn has hidden around 500 books so far although her partner estimates it is nearer 800!
Dawn set up the activity after seeing a news article about similar activity set up by a teacher in Lincolnshire. She said:
“Bramley could do with something like this to help bring the community closer. You hear a lot about mental health. Reading is something so simple and helps to block out the real world and rest your mind properly. Let’s all read a bit more. Our activity also helps with recycling used books.”
Bramley Look for a Book provides books for both children and adults. Dawn added:
“Other groups focus on children’s books. Why should children have all the fun?
“Adults don’t read as much as they used to. Let’s get the books that we’ve read and are sat on our shelves and get them back out there for other people to read.
“To make it a nice thing or a treat for adults, I put coffee/tea and a biscuit with the book. Adults can make this a ‘me time’, open their new book with a cup of coffee and a biscuit and get the chance to read a book. “
Bramley residents are invited to join the Facebook group so they can share the joy of finding and reading books. Dawn asks that when people find the books, they post their finds with a photo on the Facebook page for all to share.
Dawn would like others to get involved in collecting donated books and hiding them. People are asked to put the books in a zip lock bag to protect against the weather and add a note to invite people to take the book, enjoy reading it and re-hide once they have finished.
Lucky Faith Green with one of her finds. Photo: Fiona Green
Other residents like Fiona Green and her seven-year-old daughter have started to do this. They started to find books and enjoyed reading them together. Fiona now helps Dawn with collecting donations of books and has started hiding them herself with her daughter.
Fiona said:
“We’ve just been shopping in Tesco. While out Faith found quite a few books. We left most of them. Faith picked two up – one for each of us to read. She’s had fun. Faith loves hiding the books. We normally get out twice a week with them to different areas of Bramley.”
Park Spring Primary are taking part in Bramley Look for a Book with the children to bag up and hide books that they do not use any more. They have donated over 160 books which the children are starting to hide in the local area for children to find and share at home before re-hiding.
From time to time, Dawn needs to raise money so she can keep the
activity going and buy extras to put in the bags with all the books. Dawn said:
“In the adult books I like to put coffee/tea with biscuits. For the children’s books I like to include a soft toy (donated by our fabulous members) and a hot chocolate so that the book can maybe be read at Bedtime as part of a routine with the hot chocolate treat. I
“n order to be able to provide these “Special books” we need help to cover the cost as buying these items, the bags and the ink and reams of paper gets quite expensive. “
Community members are being urged to volunteer to help tidy and maintain a wildflower meadow in Burley.
The Friends of Burley Mills and St Anne’s Wood and Wildlife group are holding their next volunteer day on Wednesday 9th October, from 10am to 3pm.
The event is the group’s first corporate day with Direct Line and the park ranger and volunteers will be working on St Ann’s wildflower meadow. Organisers said:
“I am aware it may look like hardly anything gets done on this meadow and paths.
“We are a small team and have been working hard over the years trying to tackle the many invasive plants in the meadow. Team Kirkstall have also joined us on many days at St Ann’s clearing the paths, but the vegetation seems to just grow and grow! “
Pudsey is getting ready for multiple travel disruptions over the coming weeks as several road works are scheduled to take place in the town, writes Keely Bannister.
Busy Swinnow Lane will be closed at Stanningley Road from 6am on the morning of Monday 7th October for three weeks until 6am on Monday 28th October to allow City Fibre to carry out essential telecom works.
Traffic signals are also set to remain in place further down Swinnow Lane until Wednesday 9th October as City Fibre carry out works at the ring road junction with delays likely.
City Fibre are currently rolling out infrastructure across the city which, according to their website, will provide full fibre connectivity meaning residents will benefit from gigabit speeds, near unlimited bandwidth and consistent reliability.
Other notable road works in Pudsey during October include Northern Gas Networks carrying out essential works to replace ageing piping at Galloway Lane and highway maintenance works in Lowtown.
For details of all road works throughout West Leeds visit the One Network website.
Up for auction: Historic Armley Grange. Photo: Mark Stevenson
Armley Grange, which was built for Squire John Wilson and his family in the early 1800s and was formerly used as a day centre, will be sold at an online auction on October 30.
A description of the property on the auction site Bid X1 says there are 26 rooms, including a library:
“The property sits in mature grounds of approx 1.26 acres with a long curved and securely fence and hedge boundary to Armley Grange Drive. To the rear of the property is hardstanding car parking for circa 25 cars.
“The principal rooms in the main house have high ceilings with decorative cornices, leading off a large hallway with the formal of three staircases having a decorative balustrade and illuminated by a large stained glass window. “
Armley Grange. Photo: Google
Armley Grange also comes with 1.26 acres of land and a 5,060 square foot annexed office building, which was added in the 1960s.
Striker Jimmy Spencer has left Farsley Celtic. Photo; Simon Cullingworth
Jimmy Spencer started his career as a youth player at Huddersfield Town. He signed for Huddersfield as a seven year old in 1998, writes Simon Cullingworth.
Last season he was voted into the team of the season as Farsley gained promotion to the Vanarama national league north.
He scored 10 goals in 22 appearances last season, and his hold up play and his prowess in the air have been a big factor in Farsley’s great start to the current campaign.
