South Leeds Life Magazine Issue 3

Free! South Leeds

LifeSouth Leeds

LifeIssue 3 - May 2012

www.southleedslife.com

Covering Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet & Middleton

On the ballfor equality!

See page 18

Olympic torchin Beeston andHunslet!

On the ballfor equality! Olympic torch

in Beeston andHunslet! Pages 6-7

Issue 3 - May 2012www.southleedslife.com

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South Leeds Life May 20122 www.southleedslife.com

*Terms and conditions The ticket is for two adults, two children. The winners will be drawn at random after the closing date. No alternativeprizes will be offered. Tickets are subject to terms and conditions set by The Middleton Railway Trust

South Leeds Life has teamed up with the Middleton Railway Trust to offerTWO family day rover tickets as prizes in an exciting competition. To

have a chance of winning one of the tickets, simply tell us:

Win a family ‘day rover*’ticket on Middleton’s

historic railway!

It’s competition time...WIN!

Middleton Railway is the world'soldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from TheMiddleton Railway Trust Ltd for the past 52years. This year it celebrates 200 yearssince it became the world’s first railway touse steam locomotives in a commercial environment.

ABOVE: The Collier, an aquatint by Robert Havell 1814, showing aMatthew Murray steam locomotive (Salamanca) on the MiddletonRailway

In which year was Middleton Railway founded?And send your entries to Middleton Railway competition, South Leeds Life, Tenants Hall Enterprise Centre, Acre Close, Middleton, LS10 4HX or email themto [email protected] Closing date is June 15, 2012.

www.middletonrailway.org.uk

Tel: 0845 [email protected]

We’re open every Saturday andSunday ‘til the end of Novemberand every Wednesday in August

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Jewels in our crown

MP talks Middleton Railway, Park and Cottingley

Next month will mark the200th anniversary of theMiddleton Steam Railway.

It’ll be a great chance to cele-brate the extraordinary historyof railway engineering in southLeeds.

In this age of the internet, wecan all too easily forget howthat genius James Watt usedfire and water to create a tech-nology that transformed theface of our city and of theworld.

Leeds was the birthplaceof this engineering revolution- thanks to Matthew Murrayand John Blenkinsop - and itis why south Leeds can claimto be home to the oldestworking railway in the world.

In June 1812 the MiddletonRailway became the first to op-erate in a commercial environ-ment. The pioneeringlocomotives hauled coal fromthe local mine into Leeds tohelp fuel the industrial revolu-tion. Since then steam hasnever been far from the Middle-ton Railway, continuing to movecoal and then passengers.

There will be an all-steamgala to celebrate these greatachievements on the 23rd and24th June, with steam locomo-tives in action and the Engine

House building and Moor RoadStation site open for everyoneto come and explore.

All this heritage has beenkept alive - despite, incidentally,the idiots who have twice re-cently stolen some of their track(let’s hope they get caught) -thanks to the passion and com-mitment of the Middleton Rail-way Trust.

A visit to the museum and aride on one of the trains is to re-live the age of steam.

A few years ago when agroup of Land Girls (who tilledthe soil and milked the cows tokeep us fed during World WarTwo) were invited by me tovisit, I fulfilled a lifetime's ambi-tion by getting the chance toride on a steam engine andblow the whistle!

Talking of the jewels ofsouth Leeds, a couple ofweeks ago I got a sneak pre-view of the new visitors' cen-tre in Middleton Park, alongwith pupils from Middleton StMary's Primary School.

The architect, the council andthe builders all deserve ourcongratulations, and we can't

wait for it to be completed. As I left to walk to my car, I

spied the spring glory of thebluebells. As that old Children'sFavourites song went "If you godown to the woods today,you're sure of a big surprise".Yes, Middleton Park is full ofsurprises.

And finally, congratula-tions to the residents of Cot-tingley on their newcommunity open spacewhich was opened at the be-ginning of May.

The idea came from thecommunity. TRAC took it for-ward. The Lottery, Leeds CityCouncil and Aire Valley Homesprovided the money.

And because it is a true com-munity asset I am sure it will bewell looked after.

The next task on the estate isthe Post Office. Last Januaryram-raiders smashed it up andit’s been closed ever since. To-gether with residents I am cam-paigning to get it re-opened.

We all fought a long battle tosave Cottingley Post Officefrom closure a few years back,and we’re not going to give upthis time either.

Note: Thanks to the Mid-dleton Railway Trust for thefacts used in this article

South Leeds

LifeIssue 3 - May 2012

Summer’s just around the cor-ner, although with all this rain

we’ve been having recently youwouldn’t think so!

This issue we’relooking ahead tothe summer withour preview of theOlympic Torchcoming throughBeeston and Hun-slet - sure to be a big event - andpreviewing the summer galas insouth Leeds. Lots to look for-ward to!

We’re also launching our newanti dog fouling campaign ScoopIt Up!

Two final things: the nextissue of South Leeds Life will bea special issue tying in with theMiddleton Life local history proj-ect. It’ll be out in late June andwill focus on Middleton’s history.

Oh, and don’t forget to checkout our blog - www. life. com(yes, we have a new web ad-dress!) - for daily updates.

Enjoy!

John Baron

About usEditor: John BaronContributors: Rabia Bibi, Ju-dith Blake, Vikki Blake,Jonathan Bliss, Adele Bosworth,Leanne Buchan, PamelaClarke, Yvonne Crowther, DIYEsteem members Julie andLeonie, Wayne Dixon, LeanneDrinkall, Louise Drury, Dave Flo-rence, Angela Gabriel, Al Garth-waite, Deacon Al Henry, ChrisHeward, Farida Hussain, RobynHolland, Paul Ibbotson, PCSOKirsty Johnson, Phil Kirby, Den-nis Kitchen, Kushy Dil groupmembers, Richard Lancaster,Leeds Lily, Jeremy Morton,Mahboob Nazir, Alison Neale,Adam Ogilvie, Stephen Pea-cock, Ian Pickup, Gail Richard-son, Christine Robinson-Perkins, Ian Rodley, Alan Shaw,Jason Slack, Lynne Spirrett,Christine Thornton, EveTidswell, PCSO Johnny Wilson,Ada Winterbottom

South Leeds Life Magazine ispublished by the South Leeds

Information Project, a project man-aged by Health For All, a communityhealth development organisation.Any views expressed in this magazineare those of the groups/individualsconcerned and do not reflect theviews of Health For All and its staff. We are independent of all politicalparties and adhere to the Press Com-plaints Commission’s code of conduct.South Leeds Life blog - www.southleedslife.com - is run by an inde-pendent community organisation.www.southleedslife.com

Contact South Leeds LifeTelephone: 270 6903Write: John Baron, Health For All, Tenants HallEnterprise Centre, Acre Road, Middleton LS104HXEmail: [email protected]

Twitter: @southleedslifeBlog: www.southleedslife.comFacebook: Search ‘South Leeds Life’ Flickr photosharing: www.flickr.com/photos/southleedslife/

by Hilary BennMP for Leeds Central

HERITAGE: Middleton Railway has history Photo by John Baron.INSET: Hilary Benn MP

South Leeds Life May 2012 3www.southleedslife.com

HERITAGE: Middleton Railway has history Photo by John Baron.INSET: Hilary Benn MP

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Dog fouling is unsightly, un-pleasant and can occasion-ally lead to toxocariasis inhumans which can cause se-rious illness, even blindness.

Most dog owners are veryresponsible and do pick upafter their pets, but somepeople in south Leeds chooseto ignore the rules.

And that’s why SouthLeeds Life has launched itsScoop It Up campaign withthe support of a whole raft oflocal community groups, indi-viduals and politicians - in-cluding Hilary Benn MP.

Through our campaignwe aim to raise awarenessof the issue, educate andpersuade irresponsible dogowners to start cleaning upafter their pets in streets,parks and playgrounds.

Use the bins in the parks orscoop it up and take it toyour bin at home!

We also want to encourageresidents to report wherethere are problems and thedog owners responsible. Thisisn’t a campaign against dogs– or the many responsibledog owners who do clean up.


Time to crack downon dog fouling

Your South Leeds Life launches campaign to

by John BaronMagazine editor

by Adam OgilvieLocal councillor

Why it’stime toclear up!

Iam delighted to lendmy support to thiscampaign to keep our

streets and open spacesfree from dog fouling.

“It is fantastic too seelocal residents getting in-volved and doing theirpart to improve theircommunities. It is agreat example of com-munity spirit and localpeople taking pride inwhere they live.

“Although it must be

said that the majority ofdog walkers in the citydo clean up after theiranimals, the minoritythat do not create ablight on our communi-ties. The council hasmade great strides overthe last two years totackle this issue head onthrough legislation in theform of Dog Control Or-ders which are enforcedby our dedicated dogwarden team.

“It cannot be underes-timated just how impor-tant local campaigns likethis one can be in get-ting the message acrossregarding dog fouling.”

Iam backing SouthLeeds Life’s incredi-bly important

campaign to encour-age more poopscoopers!

“No-one likes dogfouling, including themany responsible dogowners in South Leeds,

and the campaign istrying to raise

awareness so thateveryone usesthat scoop andthe bins pro-vided.” Hilary Benn

MP

MP backs our campaign

Farida’s story

We have old people, a disabled girl in a wheel-chair and young children living in this street. Itis very hard to walk on the footpath as dogs

have always fouled in front of every house. No-one onour street has a dog. We need help to sort this problem.What can you do to help us? We are desperate.

So reads a report to democracy website Fix My Streetby Lodge Lane resident Farida Hussain.

If you know of someone whopersistently fails to pick up aftertheir pet, report them to thecouncil on 222 4407 or email [email protected] can also report problems tothe council through Fix MyStreet - www.fixmystreet.com

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The council says it isthe responsibility ofthe dog owner or theperson in charge of thedog to clear up anydog foul left by theirpet. A fixed penalty no-tice of £75 will be is-sued to those who failto clean up after theirdog. Failure to acceptor pay will result inprosecution actionthrough the magis-trates court, which car-ries a penalty of£1,000.

Those dog ownersthat bag the mess butdon’t bin it (for exam-ple they dispose of thebag in a hedge, a treeor a garden) could facean additional offencefor littering, a separatemaximum courtpenalty of £2,500.

tackle dog fouling in our parks & footpaths

Dog muck? We’reall just sick of it!

Dirt problems in Hunslet Cemetery

Friends of HolbeckCemetery & Voiceof Holbeck groups

Problems with dog fouling have beenraised by the Friends of Hunslet Cemeteryon their Facebook group.

Member Lorraine Paul posted a photo ofdog much in the cemetery and added:“Went to cemetery today - look what Ifound two graves away from my mam anddads. Absolutely disgusting.”

Fouling:the facts

Regular updatesabout our

campaign at:www.southleedslife.com/scoop-it-up-campaign

Tips for being dog savvy are:• Always bring a poop scoopor a supply of bags with you• Where possible dispose ofdog faeces in either a dogwaste bin or seal it well andcarefully place in a standardlitter bin.• Reduce any risk to the pub-lic by regularly worming yourdog.

“People just don’tseem to think it’s theirresponsibility to cleanup after their animal,”says Dennis Kitchen.“They think they canjust leave it for some-one else to clear up.”

South Leeds Lifecaught up with twolocal groups on alovely spring day - theVoice of Holbeck andFriends of HolbeckCemetery.

Dennis, of VoH,added; “We have themulti-use games areaon Holbeck Moor andthere are a number ofpeople who use it asan area to let theirdogs off the lead anddo their stuff withoutcleaning it up. It’s anarea used byteenagers and chil-dren for football andgames.

“I understand dogshave to do it some-where, but it’s irre-sponsible of theowners to let them doit there, or on foot-paths or on the Mooritself. Teams have ajob to clear the pitchesbefore a match some-

times. People justsend their dogs outand don’t care.”

Eve Tidswell, fromthe Friends, said:“Most dog walkers arevery good, but you geta small minority whoaren’t. It is upsettingfor people to go tovisit a loved one’sgrave to find a dog’smessed on it. It’shugely direspectful -it’s a cemetery at theend of the day. Peopleshould use the bins.”

Park group urgesmore respectThe situation has improved in the park, butthere are still problems, writes chair ofFriends of Cross Flatts Park and localcouncillor Angela Gabriel.We were planting our new edible garden theother day. A dog started squatting to its business, sothe man let it off the lead to do it and didn’t clear up.We called him back but he ignored us.Dogs are let into the multi-use games area,which is fenced off, and allowed to run around in it,leave a parcel and then the owners just go.It’s where youngsters come to play, it’s not a dogwalking facility. It’s also illegal because you’re notallowed to let your dog off the lead in play areas.Not only is it not very pleasant to have dog dirt onyour clothes and shoes, it’s potentially life-threaten-ing. There are bins in the park, but if you can’t findone, take it home with you and put it in your own bin- dog owners must take responsibility for it as it’s ablight on the community.I recently received a complaint from someone onBarkly Road. Sometimes the dogs can’t wait untilthe park and they mess in the streets instead. Imag-ine if a dog’s walked daily, that’s 350-odd piles ayear from just one dog. It’s not the dog’s fault.Owners must take responsibility.

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Olympic torch: are you set for June 25?South Leeds Life May 20126 www.southleedslife.com

Olympic torch set forBeeston and Hunslet

A group of campaign-ers fighting to reopenSouth Leeds SportsCentre in Beestonheld a mock Olympictorch run – and claima lack of sports facili-ties in the area willprevent local young-sters becomingOlympians of the fu-ture.

The campaignerswere provided withfree tee-shirts andtook it in turns to runa short section of theroute carrying themock Olympic torchwith Vangelis’ music –‘Chariots of Fire’ –blasting out from theaccompanying car.

Along the route, by-standers offered sup-port to the campaign.

At the sports centreitself two Gaelic foot-ball teams were wait-ing on the roadside tostart a game of foot-

ball on the pitches atthe rear of the build-ing. They had playedthere for severalyears and used to getchanged in the cen-tre; since its closurethey now have to getchanged on the road-side due to a lack ofchanging facilities!

The run (and walk,and car ride) endedback at the sportscentre a little behindschedule.

Full details of theroute the iconicOlympic Torch is totravel through Leedsthis summer as part ofits nationwide journeyhave been announced– and it includes partsof Hunslet and Bee-ston.

Local communitiesalong the route arebeing encouraged tohost their own cele-bration events to markthe flame passing,while thousands ofLeeds schoolchildrenwill also be celebrat-

ing the torch on itsjourney through the

city. Any group wish-ing to host or get in-

volved in any celebra-tions along the routecan [email protected] for more informa-tion.

Leeds City Councilexecutive member forleisure – and Beestonand Holbeck council-lor – Adam Ogilviesaid: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportu-nity for communitiesto put on an amazingparty, so we arecounting the days tothis incredible occa-sion for the city.”

Torch routeOn Monday 25 June, the flame’s journeytravels through the city centre before head-ing to the Royal Armouries. Then it goesover historic Leeds Bridge to Hunslet, alongBalm Road and Moor Road, and is thentaken on a lap of the John Charles Centrefor Sport’s running track. From the sportscentre it then it goes up to Dewsbury Roadfor a short stretch and through Beeston – in-cluding Tempest Road and Beeston Roadand passes Leeds United’s Elland Roadstadium before heading through Churwelland Morley and out of the city.

Sports centre campaignershold their own ‘torch’ run

Historyin themaking

We will be trying to 'linethe streets' on Monday25th June to support andwelcome the OlympicTorch as it proceedsthrough Beeston. Unfortunately it will bebetween 8am and8.45am.

I will be liaising withschools to see if we canget the kids and youngpeople out there and will

try to offer breakfast af-terwards.

If anyone would like tocome along and supportthis historic event withus, please feel free to doso.

If you require any infojust drop me a line orgive me a call on 07903360394.

I will be carrying theOlympic Torch at Pot-ternewton on Sunday24th June so am glad Iwill get to be with thekids and young peopleto line the streets andsupport another torchbearer.

Come along and sup-port the Beeston leg atleast, it’s history in themaking!

by Yvonne CrowtherCardinal estate

by Steve PeacockLocal resident

May 2012 South Leeds Life www.southleedslife.com

Why I’m readyto carry Olympic

torch for Cottingley Hall

My name is Vikki Blakeand I live in CottingleyHall. On June the 24th Iwill be carrying theOlympic Torch. I’vestarted my own blog:‘Vicky – Olympic Torch-bearer’ to highlight mytraining. Here is my story …

I moved to the Cottingley Hallestate in June 2001. I didn’tknow anyone at all. I got a jobat a local supermarket andmade some friends althoughnone of them lived here.

I got to know people to say‘hello’ to and maybe have achat with in the street, but noreal friends around here. I feltthere was no community spirit.

In January 2005 I had myfirst beautiful daughter. Afterhaving her I had a lot of supportfrom the health visitor. I askedif there was any child-par-ent places I could go to onthe estate she told me acouple in Beeston and Hol-beck but said there wasn’tany in Cottingley Hall.

In June 2007 I had mysecond beautiful little girl. Ifound the localchildren’s centrehad a morningfor new parentsand pregnantladies, so off I went withboth girls.

I met some wonderful peopleand I am still friends with themnow. This situation got methinking about what was onoffer on this estate as over the

years I hadn’t heard of any-thing. There wasn’t even a parkto take the kids to, only a skatepark for the older kids.

I attended a communitymeeting called TRAC.

The first one I attended Ivoiced my opinion about thelack of facilitates for the young

children. I got the reply: “wehave spoken to the chil-dren off the estate and

they wanted a skatepark which we have got

them. Also the lastpark was burntdown”.

I wasn’t happywith that and I

wanted to do some-thing for the kids, for the

new people to make it eas-ier to meet other people and

for the elderly at the residentialhome - something that wouldbenefit everyone on the estate.

My friend came to a TRACmeeting and it happened to bethe AGM. We both joined thecommittee and have now beenon the TRAC committee forfour years.

We have fought for a youthgroup and with the help fromthe church we have succeeded.

We organise and run a coffeemorning (helped by TRAC andAire Valley Homes) at the localresidential home. Now the resi-dents have organised their ownevening bingo sessions, aladies night, and a men’s night.

April was Autism Awarenessmonth. Last year for the firsttime my friend and I did a fewevents on the estate to raiseawareness of autism. The sup-port we got from residents wasoverwhelming.

Cottingley Hall is not a badestate.

I was nominated to carry theOlympic torch because of thevoluntary work I do on the es-tate. The clean-up is neverending, the trying to get peopletogether is neverending, andthe campaign for a park Justgoes on. But I will not stop try-ing all of these things andmore.

I am very passionate aboutCottingley Hall and will do mybest to improve it.

by Vicki Blakelocal resident

7

Olympic torch: excitement builds

Olympic torch: are you set for June 25?

Positivefor all inthe area

Hunsletbarbecue

by Mahboob NazirHardy Street Mosque

The Olympic torchcoming through ourpart of the city is veryexciting.

It sends out a posi-tive message aboutBeeston Hill and thegood things we’ve gotgoing on here. It’sprestigious for theplace we live.

Here at the mosqueand the communitycentre we’ll be doingall we can to welcomeit to our community.

The Olympic Valuesteach us aboutrespect, excellenceand friendship - they’regood, positive mes-sages for us all.

Olympic-themed eventbrings schools to-gether - page 18.

A breakfast barbecuewill be on offer outsideHunslet MethodistChurch, Balm Road,when the torch passes.

The church also plansto give bottled water tothose waiting near Trin-ity Methodist on Tem-pest Road and a groupwill stand near EllandRoad and also give outbottled water.

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Celebrating some verytalented youngsters!Trophies and medals galorewere handed out to the hun-dreds of talented arts groupmembers at the Hunslet Club,while the Performing Arts Sat-urday Club put on a fantasticstage show of highlights fromthe musical Annie! in front of asell-out crowd of over 300.

The pictures from the after-noon speak for themselves,

just look at the pride in theirfaces!

Every child who sings,

dances or performs at the clubwent away with a medal whilstthere were trophies for themost improved and best per-former in each category.

It was a wonderful presenta-tion, we’re already looking for-ward to summer shows andgala performances, newcom-ers to our breakdance, ballet,musical theatre, gymnastics,hip hop, cheerleading, Irishdance or performing artsgroups are always welcome.

BriefsGreat gardens inMiddleton contestMIDDLETON: Calling allMiddleton residents! Do youhave a great garden? Want towin prizes like £10 and £20garden centre vouchers?‘Middleton in Bloom’ wantsto hear from you!

The group is encouraginglocal people to enter theirgarden competition. Cate-gories include Best SmallGarden, Best Large Garden,Best Baskets and Tubs, BestKept Hedge and Best Veg-etable Patch.

More details from RichardLancaster on 07931659434or email [email protected].

New police HQSOUTH LEEDS: Work isexpected to start this sum-mer on a new divisional po-lice headquarters building onthe former Elland Road grey-hound stadium after thescheme cleared its final plan-ning hurdle. It will replace theexisting Millgarth and Hol-beck stations.

MIDDLETON: The zumbacraze has hit Middleton!Classes are held in MiddletonMethodist Church on Mon-days, 7pm and at Tenants HallEnterprise Centre on Wedn-esdays, 6.30pm. Entry £3.50.

by Jason SlackHunslet Club

SOUTH LEEDS


at your fingertips!The very latest news from Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet and Middleton

Written for South Leeds residents by South Leeds residents - it’s YOUR blog!

Comment and debate on every post - PLUS, take part in online pollsJoin us and become a blogger

Check outour

Middleton

Life section!

Celebratingour youngsters:Trophies werehanded out to the hundreds oftalented artsgroup members atthe HunsletClub.

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Salām shalom*


Briefs

BITMO raffle boostfor BroomfieldBELLE ISLE: Belle Isle ten-ant and chair of BITMOChristine Shepherd, alongwith BITMO Tenancy Serv-ices Manager Joanne Earn-shaw and Communicationsand Tenant Involvement Co-ordinator Lynne Spirrett, pre-sented Broomfield SpecialInclusive Learning Centre(SILC) in Belle Isle with acheque for £220. The dona-tion was raised throughBITMO's annual Christmasraffle. - by Lynne Spirrett

Cafe serves up treatBELLE ISLE: Belle IsleFamily Centre’s CommunityCafe is now providing hotmeals for BITMO, the 59Centre and sheltered housingat Broom Nook, Sharp Laneand Middleton Park Court.Details from Brian Pine on2706903.

Dazl at the HubBELLE ISLE: Workshops,live performances and a massdance event will be run byDazl at South Leeds YouthHub on Saturday 7 July. CallDAZL on 8879175 for info.

by Mahboob NazirHardy Street Mosque

The Muslim and Jewishcommunities havecome together to ex-

plore the similarities be-tween Arabic and Hebrew.

Younger members of theJamia Masjid Abu HurairaMosque in Hardy StreetBeeston and the Sinai Syn-agogue in North Leeds senta positive message to theircommunities by learningabout different texts and let-ters at Left Bank in Burley,the former St Margaret ofAntioch Church.

Our youngsters didn’t re-alise how similar the sacred

texts actually were!They took time out to

learn how to write the differ-ent letters and were helpedby art teachers from themosque and the synagogue.

Special hexagon-shapedwriting material was used towrite on. Each piece of ma-

terial will come together toform a large umbrella whichwill be sent as a peace mes-sage to Muslims, Jews andChristians in Palestine andIsreal.

There was also a displayof Islamic and Hebrew art.

More photos of the callig-raphy project can be foundhere: www.terra-project.blogspot.co.uk/

Celebration for Holbeck church

* ‘Peace’ in Arabic and Hebrew

St Luke’s Church, Beeston Hillcelebrated its 140th anniver-sary with a special service at-tended by the Lord Mayor,local councillors, the Bishop ofRipon and Leeds, and clergypast and present .

The church was also cele-brating the completion of a 5year project to ensure it was ina fit state to go on for another140 years.

The bishop brought with hima large portrait of his predeces-

sor, Robert Bickersteth, whoconsecrated the church on thesame day 140 years ago. Hispredecessor had said then thatthe Church would be judged byits works, and since that timeSt Luke’s had proved by itsworks its dedication and com-mitment to God and to theCommunities of Holbeck and

Beeston Hill.As well as its own activities,

St Luke’s Church is home tomany community activities, in-cluding St Luke’s CARES,which delivers services toyoung people, and HITbase, acomputer skills training base.

Renovation work has costmore than £500,000. Over£100,000 has been raised lo-cally by St Luke’s, the restcoming from an English Her-itage grant.

by Dave FlorenceSt Luke’s Church

Photos:MahboobNazir

I mygroup!

I am a member of theKoshish Asian WomenCarers group which helpscarers who look after familymembers with learning diffi-culties. I am a carer and thegroup has given me a lot ofemotional and practicalsupport, such as helpingme fill out forms, improvemy English, provide infor-mation sessions on healthyeating and the availability ofthe different services.These activities helped meto gain more confidence.

For more details contactAwaaz Network co-ordinatorShabana Mohammed on 07958742719.

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Money on offer tocommunity groups

An open day was held to coincide with thegrand unveiling of the refurbished HunsletLibrary.

Councillor Elizabeth Nash and her col-leagues Patrick Davey and Mohammed Iqbaltook the decision to spend £70.5k of InnerSouth Area Committee funding to refurbishHunslet Library, including repairs to the roofand the windows, internal refurbishmentsand new equipment. A special event saw oldphotographs of the area displayed alongwith a story time for children and a local his-tory quiz for adults.

Staff showed customers how to begin trac-ing their own family tree.


BriefsPCSOs take to theairwavesSOUTH LEEDS: Policecommunity support officersJohnny Wilson and DaveLythe have teamed up withSouth Leeds CommunityRadio to deliver the latestnews from the South LeedsNeighbourhood PolicingTeams over the air, writesPCSO Johnny Wilson.

Officers are on the radioevery weekday at 11am and4pm. They discuss the latestnews and give crime preven-tion advice.

Movie night is a hitBELLE ISLE: Belle IsleFamily Centre hosted its sec-ond movie night when fami-lies came together to watchThe Adventures of Tin Tin. Thefirst event which featured an-imated film Rio, also provedvery popular.

Arts and crafts MIDDLETON: WestwoodCommunity Association’s artsand crafts group meets Wed-nesdays, 12.30pm, at West-wood Primary School duringterm time.

COTTINGLEY: Two pizzanights, which encouragedmen to bring their friendsand family, were a success.They were run by Health forAll and NHS Leeds.

Hunslet boost:Residents examinesome old photographsof Hunslet at the library (left) while CllrsElizabeth Nash and Mohammed Iqbal arebelow.

Hunslet Library’s looking greatPhotographs by Paul IbbotsonLocal resident

Your sayon our blog

Reader Sue Gallowaycomments on where theboundaries of differentparts of south Leeds are:

At its best all theselittle villages areone large commu-

nity of South Leeds.That keeps it nice andsimple. Why divide it upit segments? We arenot in competition arewe? The resources inall the areas you havementioned are generallymeant to be for the ben-efit of the whole of com-munity of South Leeds.

Do you run a communitygroup in inner south Leeds?Well now’s the chance foryou to apply for some cash!

Community First is an £80million government-fundedinitiative which will run untilMarch 2015.

The programme will helpcommunities come togetherand identify their strengthsand priorities in order to planfor the future and becomemore resilient.

City and Hunslet wardhas been awarded a total of£237,370 from the fund,Beeston and Holbeck has

netted a total of £152,595and Middleton Park£118,685.

Grants from £250 to£2,500 are available fromthe next round of funding fornew and existing groups.

Groups don’t have to beregistered charities to applybut they must be able tomatch fund any grantawarded, either in volunteertime or with another grant.

ContactSouth Leeds Life haslinked up with with thefolks at CommunityFirst to encouragelocal groups in southLeeds to apply forfunding. For more information and how toapply, visit the specialCommunity First section of our blog:



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Middleton’s got life(and lots of history!)


BriefsCommunity groupcares about areaMIDDLETON: MiddletonCommunity Group is madeup of local residents whocare about where they live.The group meets at TenantsHall Enterprise Centre, AcreClose. on the second Satur-day of each month at 10 am. Why not come along and ex-press your views on YOURcommunity?

Voice goes quietBEESTON HILL: The Bee-ston Hill Residents Voicegroup, which started lastyear, cancelled its MarchAGM. At present there areno future meetings planned. Ifyou have any questions, con-tact [email protected].

Campaigning group BEESTON: Beeston Com-munity Forum is a non-politi-cal, non-sectarianorganisation which campaignson behalf of residents. It nor-mally meets the first Thurs-day of every month atBeeston Village CommunityCentre (7.30pm).

HUNSLET: The HunsletTenants and Residents Asso-ciation meets the firstWednesday of the month atthe Church of the Nazarene,off Lupton Street (6.30pm).

HOLBECK: Cross IngramsArea Residents Association(CIARA) meets in the IngramGardens Community Centre.Meetings are held in Septem-ber, November, January,March, May & July on thefourth Tuesday of the monthand begin at 7pm. Details on243 9220. Voice of Holbeckcovers the Tilburys, Eustons,Cleverleys, Recreations,Runswicks and the Crosbys.Details on 2191761.

MIDDLETON: ManorFarms Community Groupcan be contacted on 07763866431.We’ll feature more groups next issue!

New bins are a boost for Holbeck


Holbeck in Bloom contacted allthe groups of Holbeck to askthem to donate £100 towardsthree litter bins, the cost ofeach bin being £350.

We got such a good re-sponse that we can buy thebins and the council’s alsoagreed to supply three bins –so six in total – around the

parts of Holbeck where weneed them the most.

Holbeck in Bloom would liketo thank the following groupsthat donated:

Friends of Holbeck Ceme-

tery, Holbeck Christian Fellow-ship, Holbeck Area Residents’Association, Friends of Hol-beck Moor, Holbeck Elderly Aidand Voice of Holbeck.

Without their generosity thiswould not be possible - it justgoes to show how communitycohesion can make a differ-ence.

by Ian PickupLocal resident


A group of south Leeds resi-dents are unravelling the richheritage of their community.

Residents attending the Mid-dleton Life local history grouphave enjoyed trips to Middle-ton Park, Middleton Railway,Thackray Museum and theNational Coalmining Museumto research their project.

They’re focussing on familylife, working conditions and thechanges in health and medicalcare at a number of key points

in history. They’re design-ing panels to be hung at Ten-ants Hall chroniclingMiddleton’s history, are puttingtogether a film about Middletonand a special stained glasswindow for Tenants Hall withthe help of Cockburn School.Pupils from Middleton Primaryare also contributing a tapestry.

Pupils at Cockburn havealso interviewed members fora heritage radio programme.

Member Martin Bartholomewsaid: “We’ve had a really interest-ing time, researching Middleton’spast and gathering together peo-ple’s memories.”

The launch of the Tenants Hallpanels will be in June. It’s fundedby the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Goodbye MiddletonArms, old friendThe Middleton Armshas been demolished.

The 87-year-old pubhas been a real land-mark in the area.

The Arms had an up-stairs ballroom and wasinitially opened as ahotel in 1925.

But last Decemberplanning permissionwas granted for a newAldi supermarket. And a

matter of days later ar-sonists damaged thepub.

Claire Louise O’Haratold the Miggy ArmsFacebook page: “Soshe’s really gone, theold girl. Miggy won’t bethe same xx.”

Photos: DeaconAl Henry

The next issue of SouthLeeds Life magazine willbe a special Middleton

Life issue!

* More details from John Baron on270 6903 or [email protected]

Move over GordonRamsay, the LittleChefs are here!


Local youngsters have en-joyed fun in the kitchen - andthe chance to explore newfoods in a fun and educa-tional way.

Children enjoyed the firstsix-week session of the LittleChefs programme at BelleIsle Family Centre.

They made different mealseach week and parents havehad the chance to samplewhat they have made, whichhas given the children a realconfidence boost and en-couraged them to do more.

Mums said: “I have enjoyed watching

the kids smile as Pat isteaching them, all the staffworked really well with theparents and children’.

“It’s been great to watchchildren creating a meal andtasting it - they learnt how toprepare food and cook it’.

Children said:

“I love meeting newfriends at Little Chefs.”

“I really enjoyed this cluband I have learnt how tocook.”

Pat Boden, the cook said:“It’s been nice to see thechildren taking note of every-thing. Hopefully they will usethe recipes at home andkeep on cooking.”

Leanne Drinkall, specialistprogramme facilitator fromHealth for All, added: “Givingchildren time in the kitchenwith their parents has taughtthem about healthy foodchoices, safety, hygiene andother basic skills.”

BriefsTea dances to drawcommunity MIDDLETON: TenantsHall Enterprise Centre isnow hosting tea dancesevery Wednesday, 1pm-3.30pm, admission £3.

The tea dances are hostedby Stuart Jenner, who alreadyruns successful weeklyevents in Morley and Pudsey.For more information visitwww.dancewithstuart.co.uk.

The dances are not only agreat way of keeping fit andhealthy but also as a way ofbringing the community to-gether on a weekly basis. Thedances are open to anyone,under 14’s and carers arefree.

Aspiring to succeedSOUTH LEEDS: Elevencommunity organisationsacross south Leeds havecome together to form anew partnership – Aspire toSucceed.

Rachel Koivunen, Volun-tary Action Leeds projectmanager, said: “The Aspire toSucceed Partnership is a greatexample of how Third Sectororganisations in Leeds arebeing proactive in working to-gether to meet the ever chang-ing commissioning landscape.”

Members include ASHA,Hamara, Health for All, TheHunslet Club, Involve, Learn-ing Partnerships, SLATE,South Leeds CommunityRadio, St Luke’s Cares,Tiger11 and Vera Media.

Your sayon our blog

Reader Pamela Clarkcomments on a DiamondJubilee celebration insouth Leeds:

On the 4th June2012 there will beQueen’s Dia-

mond Jubilee themed‘revels’ and street partyfor Rainbows, Brown-ies, Guides from Bee-ston, Middleton andHunslet to be held atHunslet Parish Church2pm till 5pm.


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Youthsset foractivities

Our big trip to seeparliament!

The Cupboard is a youngpeople’s health and wellbe-ing project which offers funactivities and support foryoung people and theirfamilies in south Leeds.Here’s a list of its groups:

Healthy Young People Group,Holbeck Community Centre,Mondays, 5pm to 6.30pm. Try outnew sports and some oldfavourites, fun team games,healthy cooking sessions andmore. (ages 13-19).

Peer 2 Peer, Holbeck Commu-nity Centre, Mondays 5pm-6.30pm. A team of young peopledoing research, environmentalwork, training, delivering work-shops, the Cupboard magazineand other activities. (Aged 13-19)

Boys group – Holbeck Commu-nity Centre, Tuesdays, 4pm-6pmA group for boys in south Leeds.(Ages 13-16).

Lunchtime detached sessionsat Cockburn School, Beeston,and the South Leeds Academy,Belle Isle, Wednesday and Thurs-day lunchtimes.

G12 Girls Group – HolbeckCommunity Centre, Thursdays,4pm-6pm. (ages 13-16)

GOAL+ for boys and girls atSouth Leeds Youth Hub, BelleIsle, Thursdays 5pm-6pm. A foot-ball group for boys and girls,coaching and skills. Supported bya Leeds United coach.

For more information, call0113 2762720 or [email protected], 90a Elland Road, Holbeck or find us on Facebook!

Teacher Gail Richardsongave 33 years service toSouth Leeds before her re-tirement in April – and hercolleagues at New BewerleyCommunity School havewritten this article. AnnSimpson reports…

Gail qualified in 1979 as anursery nurse and workedfor a short time with ba-

bies at St James’ Hospital.In 1980 she started working

at Bewerley Street Primary

School, where she workedwith several teachers – sup-porting the welfare and learn-ing of many young childrenand families.

After re-organisation, Bew-erley Street closed and Gailcontinued as a nursery nurseat Greenwood Primary.

In 2005 Greenwood amal-gamated with Hillside Primaryand the year after that bothschools moved to the newbuild on the old site of Green-wood. The new school wasnamed “New Bewerley Com-munity School” and it was fit-ting that some staff like Gailhad a connection with the orig-inal Bewerley Street school.

She has taught and nur-tured the children of Beestonfor 33 years. Gail has alwaysput her heart and soul into herwork with the pupils.

Her dedication and commit-ment to ensuring positive out-comes for the children of thiscommunity is second to none.Everyone associated with NewBewerley Community Schoolwishes Gail the very best forher future as she now takesthe chance to focus on sup-porting her own family.

New Bewerley School thanks teacher for 33 years

“It was the best thing I’ve everdone,” says one member of theKushy Dil Bangladeshi WomensGroup of their recent trip to Lon-don and the Houses of Parliament.

Members of the Beeston Hillgroup, who meet at BuildingBlocks, off Tempest Road, enjoyeda trip to meet MP Hilary Benn, whogave them a tour, and RushanaraAli, the first Bangladeshi female MP.

Comments from the ladies in-clude:“Something I’ll never forget - thechamber’s a lot smaller than itlooks on TV”“Going to London’s like going toanother world!”“Rushanara Ali was inspirational”

They also enjoyed a trip toMadame Tussauds waxworks.

by Kushy Dil groupBangladeshi women

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South Leeds Life May 2012 1514

South Leeds Life puts the focus on girl power at International Women’s Day event in Belle Isle

There was a great show of girlpower in Belle Isle whenwomen of all ages and back-

grounds came together to celebrateInternational Women’s Day.

Over 20 ladies attended theevent at Belle Isle Family Centrefrom across south leeds.

They had the chance to be pam-pered – with henna, hair work-shops, straightening and curlinghair, mini manicures and pedicures,hand massage and files and polish.

The women also heard a presen-tation from Lynn and Fiona Chapelfrom Leeds University LifelongLearning Centre about inspirationalwomen and inspiring futures.

Women discussed who inspiresthem, and the conversa-tion went from the queento community membersand family members.

Some women enquiredabout further educationand starting a degree.

Pat and Janice in thecentre kitchen provided afantastic afternoon teacomplete with sand-wiches, scones and a va-riety of cakes. It was a

really lovely and relaxing morning.More information about similar

events from Leanne on 01132774819.

Women take the lead: Ladies doing afternoon tea in Belle Isle? You’d better believe it! (pictured above) whilethere’s a spot of beauty therapy for the ladies to the right and below. And below inset the women enjoy a talk offemale role models. Photographs by Leanne Drinkall

by Leanne DrinkallEvent organiser

A fun, relaxing daycelebrates femalerole models

Comments from theladies included:

I enjoyed the company and being pam-pered.

I learnt about how to possibly become a support worker and whatroute to take to get there. It was a supportive and lovely day forwomen.

It’s better to go out than stay homealone.

I liked having my hair styled it wassomething different to try. I learnt I can do anything no matter ofmy age!

It was nice to meet new women and bepampered for a morning

You’ve got to hand it to her: Hennahand art is shown off at the event

(below)


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South Leeds Life May 2012 1514

South Leeds Life puts the focus on girl power at International Women’s Day event in Belle Isle

There was a great show of girlpower in Belle Isle whenwomen of all ages and back-

grounds came together to celebrateInternational Women’s Day.

Over 20 ladies attended theevent at Belle Isle Family Centrefrom across south leeds.

They had the chance to be pam-pered – with henna, hair work-shops, straightening and curlinghair, mini manicures and pedicures,hand massage and files and polish.

The women also heard a presen-tation from Lynn and Fiona Chapelfrom Leeds University LifelongLearning Centre about inspirationalwomen and inspiring futures.

Women discussed who inspiresthem, and the conversa-tion went from the queento community membersand family members.

Some women enquiredabout further educationand starting a degree.

Pat and Janice in thecentre kitchen provided afantastic afternoon teacomplete with sand-wiches, scones and a va-riety of cakes. It was a

really lovely and relaxing morning.More information about similar

events from Leanne on 01132774819.

Women take the lead: Ladies doing afternoon tea in Belle Isle? You’d better believe it! (pictured above) whilethere’s a spot of beauty therapy for the ladies to the right and below. And below inset the women enjoy a talk offemale role models. Photographs by Leanne Drinkall

by Leanne DrinkallEvent organiser

A fun, relaxing daycelebrates femalerole models

Comments from theladies included:

I enjoyed the company and being pam-pered.

I learnt about how to possibly become a support worker and whatroute to take to get there. It was a supportive and lovely day forwomen.

It’s better to go out than stay homealone.

I liked having my hair styled it wassomething different to try. I learnt I can do anything no matter ofmy age!

It was nice to meet new women and bepampered for a morning

You’ve got to hand it to her: Hennahand art is shown off at the event

(below)


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Holbeck tocelebratejubilee

£2k boostin Hunslet

South Leeds hosts summer galasHere are some dates for yourdiary as south Leeds’ commu-nities prepare their big summerevents...

On Saturday 19 May theCottingley Summer Fayre willbe held at Cottingley Commu-nity Centre, with lots of stallsand fun activities for all.

Saturday 9th June 2012 willsee the great annual BeestonFestival returning to CrossFlatts Park, Beeston! There willbe an Olympic spin on the Bee-ston Decathlon, music, stalls,food and fun on this popularday. It opens at noon.

Belle Isle will host its sum-mer gala on Saturday, June 16,

11am-3pm, at Windmill PrimarySchool. There will be stalls,childrens’ activities, circusskills, inflatables, youth bus,dance and sports activities.More details from richard. [email protected]

Hunslet Gala - opposite thePenny Hill pub - will be runningon Saturday 30th June. Fun ison the agenda - and there’s stilltime to book stalls. Initial en-quiries on 0845 475 2041.

Middleton Gala runs on Sat-urday 14th July. Times TBC.

Volunteers are needed tohelp out at Holbeck Gala onSaturday 21st July, noon-5pmon Holbeck Moor. There will bemusic, dance, activities foryoung people, a range of stalls,food and entertainment.

If you would like a stall orcould help out either by joiningthe committee or volunteeringon the day do get in touch. Ad-ditional arts/performance activi-ties are also being sought.Contact Adam Ogilvie on07969 680 024.

Have we missed an event? [email protected] andwe’ll include it www.southleed-slife.com.

Holbeck is set to come to-gether to celebrate theQueen’s Diamond Jubileethis summer.

There will be a free ju-bilee party held at StMatthew’s CommunityCentre on June 2 from6pm.

Entry will strictly be byticket only and entranceincludes a buffet, enter-tainment, bingo and raffle.It’s open to all Holbeckresidents.

Ian Pickup, from theVoice of Holbeck commu-nity group, said:

“It is the first time wehave managed to get all13 community groups inHolbeck together.

“It didn’t make sensefor us all to do separatethings so we got a com-mittee together and havenow planned this eventfor all residents to get in-volved in. We are reallylooking forward to it.”

More details and ticketsfrom Ian on 07830665016.

by Ada Winterbottomlocal resident

SouthLeedsloves itssummergalas.Here’s aphoto fromHunsletGala froma previousyear.

DIY Esteem has givenus more confidence

JULIE: I had no confidencein myself before I went onthis programme. Thiscourse has been wonderfulfor me - it’s made me re-alise not to listen to whatpeople say about you andto just relax and be your-self. I’ve definitely becomemore assertive. When peo-ple ask me to do some-thing, rather than justsaying yes I feel I can sayno - people don’t walk allover me any more.LEONIE: That’s true, a lotof people have seen achange in me. It’s helped inmy home life, particularlywith the children - I don’tjust give in, I speak up.JULIE: I walk around with

my head held high. I don’tcare what people thinkabout me - I know that I’mme and I’m proud of that. Iask a lot more questionsand speak out a lot more.LEONIE: I’m a bit more for-ward than I was, too.JULIE: Yeah, it’s aboutstanding your ground.When you say ‘no’ it means‘no’!LEONIE: ... and not being

passive or aggressive, justbeing in between.JULIE: We’ve done relax-ation exercises. I writedown the problems that Iworry about and crumplethe paper up and throw itover my shoulder! I thenlook at the problem in a dif-ferent way and perhapsknow how to tackle it. It’sfantastic! The kids comehome and ask ‘what’s the

paper doing all over thefloor, mam’!LEONIE: I see my prob-lems in a different way now.I put all my problems in myown stress bucket.JULIE: I went to the Inter-national Women’s Dayevent in Belle Isle. It wasvery welcoming. I wasn’tbothered about what peo-ple thought. Before I wouldhave made an excuse andnot gone. I know now that Ineed to make some timefor ‘me’.LEONIE: I’m a lot more re-laxed now, definitely.More details on this andsimlar courses fromLeanne Drinkall on 01132774819

Hunslet Warriors rugbyteam are delighted tohave secured funding tocomplete the renovationof showers in both theupstairs and downstairschanging rooms.

Leeds FederatedHousing have come tothe club’s assistancewith a donation of al-most £2,000.

Belle Isle’sblooming!A new group has been setup to improve the BelleIsle estate through flowerpower. Belle Isle in Bloomgroup recently held itsfirst meeting. To take part,call Richard Lancasterfrom Health For All on0793 1659434.

Residents Julie, 36, of Middleton, andLeonie, 26, of Belle Isle, recently tookpart in a Health for All weekly assertive-ness group called DIY Esteem to boosttheir confidence. Here, they’re in conver-sation at Pavilion on Dewsbury Road....

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May 2012 South Leeds Life www.southleedslife.com 17

Estate’sspeedbattleby Adele BosworthCottingley resident

My name isAdeleBosworth. I’ve

lived on the Cotting-ley estate for almost40 years and for aslong as I can remem-ber speeding hasbeen a problem onand around the es-tate.

So myself andChristine Robinson-Perkins have started apetition to reduce thespeed on DulvertonGrove, which is alsothe school road.

At present it is a 30mph speed zone.

We were hoping toget it reduced to 10mph but it is morelikely to be 20 mph.

It’s a dead end sothere’s just no needfor them to go thatfast.

It’s virtually impos-sible to see cars com-ing up or down andcan be really danger-ous.

We have over 200signatures and arehoping to get more.

Relax anddance!Come and join a mix-ture of dance and re-laxation exercisesincluding zumba,salsa line dancingand tai chi.

It runs every Thurs-day, 1.45pm-2.45pm,at Health For All’sBeeston Village Com-munity Centre (theold Beeston Library).

Just come alongand join in - all wel-come to attend.

For more informa-tion, contact Lynn on07515851631

My daughter Amber is ahappy healthy little girlwho enjoys music and

always sleeps with herfavourite teddy Stitch. She en-joys playing outside and partic-ulary bouncing on thetrampoline!

I guess you could replaceher name with a hundred otherchildren’s names and this de-scription would fit well, al-though there is somethingdifferent about my little girl.

The world for her looks,smells and sounds com-pletely different than it doesfor the majority of us.

She has strict routines andhabits that she needs to com-plete everyday like having thekitchen light on constantlywhether its daylight or not, eat-ing crisps that only have cer-tain colour packaging. Havingher toys lined up and facing allthe same way in the middle ofthe landing floor.

These are only some of thethings she needs to do every-day. Now you may be readingthis thinking “why does it mat-ter what colour the crispspackets are…” indeed, shemight even sound a little spoilt.But this is not the case asthese behaviours are part ofAmber’s autism.

Interrupting any of the abovethings would cause her a mas-sive amount of stress, she willbecome afraid and maybereact violently.

Amber was diagnosed ashaving Autistic Spectrum Dis-order when she was two.

In her first two years I couldtell there was something thatwasn’t quite right. She didn’t

cry apart from when she wasplaced under the baby gymand she would scream asthough terrified. She didn’t re-spond to her name, she neverput anything in her mouth liketoddlers tend to.

Her speech didn’t developat all, not a ‘mama’ or ‘dada’,she didn’t even babble. I no-ticed she didn’t interact withanyone which was strange asshe had two older brothers.

She started pre school nurs-ery where again she didn’t in-teract with anyone. Amberdidn’t play like the other chil-dren either and she developedhabits there too - she would gointo the outside play area andrearranged the crates in ex-actly the same order everyday.

Amber has progressed a lotsince then and as we ap-proach her fifth birthday she

does have some speech andhas been calling me mummyfor the past five months!

She has become interestedin some people and has a bestfriend. She has basic handwrit-ing skills and can read thewords in her school book.

So why have I decided to tellyou all this? Well, April wasAutism Awareness Month.

Autism is a complex andcomplicated condition that af-fects people in so many differ-ent ways but for me the morepeople that even hear a littleabout it the less alien it is.

Autism is one of those “in-visible conditions”. If you lookat my daughter you probablywouldn’t know she was autisticand if you saw her kicking andscreaming you may well tutand wonder why am I not con-trolling my child. Would yourecognise that the lady whojust walked past us was wear-ing a kind of perfume mydaughter can't tolerate thesmell of and it has over-whelmed her senses so muchso it has caused her to be-come distressed?

No and I wouldn’t expectyou to recognise it, butmaybe next time you seethat reaction from a childout in public think twiceabout tutting at the mother -consider the possibilty thatthe child is like Amber.

by Christine Robinson-PerkinsCottingley resident

My daughter Amberand her autism

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Faiths unite in sport

26 yearsof helpingwomen

In bloom

by Helen KingAsha

The Asha NeighbourhoodProject first opened itsdoors in April, 1985.

Our customers aremainly South Asianwomen and children, pre-dominantly ofBangladeshi and Pak-istani origin.

We also work withother women who requirehelp because they havesimilar needs, and withmen as part of our familywork.

Having faced manychallenges throughoutthe years we can safelysay that we are one ofonly a few women’s vol-untary organisations thathave been open for over26 years in Leeds, andwe are very proud of ourwork. So if you have notheard of us and youwould like to find outmore then please don’thesitate to get in touch inthe following ways:

By mail: The Asha Neighbourhood ProjectAddress: 43 Stratford Street,

Beeston, Leeds LS11 6JGBy email: info@ashaleeds.

org.ukBy phone: 0113 2704600

Last issue we reportedhow Middleton St Mary’sC of E School added across filled with flowerbulbs to its communitygarden with the help ofaround 150 children an-volunteers from thechurch and the Friendsof Middleton Park. Dea-con Al Henry has nowemailed us with a photoof the cross in full bloom.Thanks, Deacon Al!

Inter-Active promotes racial harmony

Hunslet issues werediscussed at a recentmeeting of the HunsletTenants and Resi-dents Association.

About 20 people at-tended the tinyChurch of theNazarene venue tohear their fellow resi-

dents discuss topicsincluding anti-socialbehaviour, problemswith bin collections,bin bags and bins ingeneral!

Representativesfrom the local neigh-bourhood policingteam said that crime

‘was next to nothing inHunslet’ and that inthe past month therehad only been fiveburglaries, with all ofthem coming fromthieves walkingthrough unlockeddoors.

Untidy gardens on

Hunslet’s estates areset to be targeted in acrack down, residentswere told.

Hunslet Tenantsand Residents Asso-ciation meets thefirst Wednesday ofevery month. All wel-come to attend.

Hunslet TRA looks at local issues

Girls are on the ball in Hunslet!The Hunslet Club ispleased to announcethe start of footballtraining sessions forgirls in school years’5, 6 & 7 on Fridaysbetween 6 and 7pm,with a view to havinga team ready to com-pete in a girls league

in September, writesJason Slack.

Sessions will beled by an FA Quali-fied Coach.

Says CraigGilmore, Sports De-velopment Officer atthe club: “We havehad some fantastic

girls playing for ouryounger squads forquite some time, thedemand is there tobring them togetheralong with any othergirls who want tojoin in and hopefullybecome another win-ning Hunslet squad.”

Newcomers are al-ways made very wel-come.

Sessions cost just£1.50 per week.

For more informa-tion, contact 01132716489 or email usat [email protected].

Youngsters from Green-mount Primary School inBeeston were one of fiveschools that took part in anevent at Leeds MetropolitanUniveristy featuring a vari-ety of sports, team buildingactivities and dialogue.

All pupils received a cer-tificate and three teamswere presented with gold,silver and bronze medals bythe Lord Mayor and LeedsRhinos. One of the schools

won a Fair Trade footballSixth form media stu-

dents from South LeedsAcademy also took photosand recorded the event toproduce a DVD.

Values taught were respect,excellence and friendship.

The event was organisedby Inter-Active. For more in-formation go to www.inter-active.org.uk.

by Mahboob Nazir

Photos: Rachael Loftus

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Holbeck Elderly Aid celebrates its 20th birthday

Be a goodneighbourcampaign

All aboutElderly Aid

Holbeck Elderly Aid haslaunched its ‘Be a GoodNeighbour’ campaign.

The campaign is en-couraging all Holbeckresidents to look out fortheir elderly neighboursthroughout the year.

Chief executiveSonny Garewal said: “Ifyou’re going out for aloaf of bread or milk,just knock on your eld-erly neighbour’s doorand ask them if theyneed anything.

“Often it’s the sim-plest tasks which canmake a real differenceto people’s lives.

“I’d like the wholecommunity to get in-volved with helpingeach other and beingmore supportivethroughout the year.”

For more details onhow you can join thecampaign, contact 2455553.

Two lunch clubs runby Holbeck ElderlyAid are proving apopular lifeline witholder residents.

The clubs are heldtwice a week at StMatthew’s Commu-nity Centre and en-sure people getnutritious food - im-portant since Hol-beck’s main KwikSave supermarketclosed years ago.

They also prove alifeline for the lonelywho would otherwisestruggle to leave

their houses andprovide respite forcarers.

Lunch club regularDoreen Lund said: “Iam on my own and

during the day I liketo talk to people. I re-ally enjoy cominghere and class my-self as one of thecrowd now.

“I always look for-ward to Tuesdaysand meeting people.

“If I wasn’t here I’dbe at home potteringabout the house orjust reading. I wouldbe isolated, there’sno doubt.”

Volunteers at heart of Elderly Aid’s success

Bulala’s story

Michelle’s story

Lunch club is a lifelinefor many residents

“I arrived in this countryas a refugee from Zim-babwe three years ago.

As a volunteer here I have thechance to help the elderly andmake a difference, which I re-ally enjoy. I enjoy workinghard here. Without HEA eld-erly people might be in thehouse all by themselves.”

“I volunteer at the lunchclubs on Tuesdays servingdinner and selling raffle

tickets. I also help on trips andI’m a passenger assistant, help-ing people into the minibus. I doit because I really enjoy it, espe-cially helping others. It givesme a chance to put somethingback into the community”

For 20 years now Hol-beck Elderly Aid hasbeen looking after theolder folk of Holbeck.

HEA offers adviceand advocacy, garden-ing services, luncheonclubs, social groupsand clubs, shoppingtrips and a befriendingservice.

Worker Sonny Gare-wal said: “We exist tohelp older people to livein the community for aslong as they wish. Activ-ities are based aroundwhat service users want- it can be anythingfrom tai chi, an activitygroup or arts & crafts.”

Contact HEA on

245 5553

Tuesday: 12.15pm – 1.30pm3 courses tea & biscuits£3.50

Friday: Fish & Chips12.30pm -1.30pm, threecourses tea & biscuits £3.50Meals must be booked in advance by midday the day

before on 245 5553

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Ring Pat Boden on 2774819 email [email protected] Web www.healthforall.org.uk

Fabulous buffets at fantastic prices!If you are looking for delicious, affordable buffets delivered to your door, then whynot try the Belle Isle Family Centre Café? Savoury and sweet buffets start from aslittle as £4.50 per person and each ordercan be adapted to suit individual tastesand dietary requirements.

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ent

Fabulous buffets at fantastic prices!

Football club is run oncommunity spiritIt’s run on community spirit,goodwill and little money –but Middleton Park FC isproviding a lifeline for around170 players of both sexesaged from four to 47 yearsold in Middleton and BelleIsle.

Curiously for a club called‘Middleton Park’, its baseisn’t in the famous stretch ofparkland, but CranmoreDrive in Belle Isle.

Founder Wayne Dixonsays the club is named afterMiddleton Park High School

which used to be near theleisure centre, and also afterthe Middleton Park electoralward it covers.

Wayne started the club in1994 in a bid to get young-sters off street corners andgive them something to do.

He said: “I love football,and it all started when I washaving a kickabout on somefields in Middleton and some

kids asked if I would start ateam up. We were run out ofmy mum’s shed to beginwith, then we moved to a biggreen container. We’ve nowtaken over the Cranmoreand Raylands CommunityCentre as a base.

“We’re run solely by volun-teers, everybody gives uptheir time for free to run 11teams. We welcome peopleof all backgrounds – girls,boys both welcome. We’vegot around 30 different na-tionalities here. We make

this a community spacewhere everyone’s welcome.”

Coaching kids with specialneeds is in the pipeline. Theclubhouse is available to hire.

For more details aboutMiddleton Park FC, call0785 2311717.

Ambitious plans toopen a new communitycafe and a hairdresserson the Cardinal Estatehave been boosted byan unexpected source -Channel 4's The SecretMillionaire TV pro-gramme.

Community cam-paigner YvonneCrowther, who helpsrun the White RoseResidents Association,is looking to launch twonew social enterprises -the Me ’n’ U communitycafe on Cardinal Roadin June/July and a hair-dressing salon at theyouth club later in thesummer.

Yvonne exclusively

revealed to SouthLeeds Life blog lastweek that the initiativeshave benefitted fromthe major cash boostafter the estate fea-tured on the Secret Mil-lionaire programme,which was due to bebroadcast on Monday,

May 14, at 9pm.As South Leeds Life

magazine went topress, Yvonne, 55, wasunder strict orders fromTV bosses to remaintightlipped about thehow much money theenterprises receiveduntil after broadcast but

is urging everyone totune in to find out more!

She can, however,tell us more about theambitious plans for theestate: "With the cafewe're aiming to offertraining, qualificationsand part-time jobs tolocal youngsters.

“Work will includecatering, book-keepingand running a busi-ness. I hope it'll giveyoung people the confi-dence, qualificationsand social skills to lookfor work.

"With the new salonat the youth club we'regoing to be doing ex-actly the same thing -it's all about training

and qualifications andgetting people onto thejob market."

Yvonne, who will becarrying the OlympicTorch through Pot-ternewton along withCottingley's Vikki Blakenext month, says fund-ing has also come fromCash Leeds.

She also says thereare plans for a QueensJubilee celebration onthe estate on June 5and also to improve therun-down area behindthe bus shelter on theestate. "We're going totry and fill it withmarigolds for theOlympics," Yvonneadded.

Secret Millionaire boosts Cardinals


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BriefsBelle Isle’s still gotBright IdeasBELLE ISLE: Local com-munity groups in Belle Islewere invited to a recentpublicity workshop to teachthem how to publicise theirgroups better and how towrite press releases. Theevent, run by John Baronfrom Health For All, was heldat Belle Isle Family Centre.

Eight community projectshave been successful in theirapplications for fundingthrough the Belle Isle Con-necting Communities 'BrightIdeas' Initiative.

The £10,000 pot supportslocal projects that benefitthe wider community.

Funding for groupsSOUTH LEEDS: Last yearAire Valley Homes sup-ported more than 30 localinitiatives and projectsthrough the Inner SouthArea Panel, writes Carla Yeo-mans. Events such as Hol-beck Gala and HunsletFestival received funding, aswell as the new ‘Welcome toMiddleton sign’ and the cof-fee mornings at Cross In-grams Community Centre inHolbeck. To apply for fund-ing contact Carla Yeomanson 214 1936.


I SouthLeeds Life

On behalf of TRAC (theTenants and Residents As-sociation of Cottingley) Iwould like to express thepositive impact that both theSouth Leeds Life magazineand blog have had on ourgroup. John has kindly pro-moted our organisation andgiven a wide spectrum ofpeople our information. Themagazine had a range of in-formation on Cottingley ...and was read by a lot oftenants and residents. Theblog also provides a basefor communication, includ-ing the minutes of our meet-ings and targets all areas ofsociety when combined withthe magazine. - Robyn Holland, TRAC chair

Over the past fewmonths we have beenusing Tenants Hall En-

terprise Centre and the fantas-tic dance studio so much it’sbeen a dream come true.

We have worked with theNorthern Ballet Theatre withthe DAZL Boys, backed SportsRelief 2012 and their cam-paign to get people running aSports Relief Mile.

Having a space like this hasenabled DAZL to branch outand create two new YouthDance Companies. Thesecompanies are made up ofgifted and talented young peo-ple from Middleton and BelleIsle. They meet each week onTuesdays at Tenants Hall, thehome of Health For All.

The DAZL Junior YouthDance Company is led byDAZL Youth Dance LeaderHope Sellers.

They have been creatingwork and addressing thetheme of what it’s like being ayoung person today and the is-sues they face.

The group is made up ofeight young dancers aged be-tween nine-12 years,

They recently performed atthe centre as part of the DAZLShowcase event.

The DAZL Youth DanceCompany has been created byYouth Dance Leader VickyMawson, selecting six of thebest young dancers aged 13-16 years from Middleton andBelle Isle to work as a profes-sional company towards creat-ing a performance forYorkshire Dance FRESH 2012.

The group have created apiece which they have beenshowcasing across the cityabout the London riots.

They have been going downa storm and really surprisingnot only the community butprofessional organisationsacross the city. Vicky andHope are bringing somethingnew to DAZLand it makesa changefrom thehigh-energystreet andcheerdancewe are usedto seeing.

It’s refresh-ing to beable to workin such a fan-

tastic space which makes theyoung people feel like a pro-fessional company, raisingtheir aspirations with danceand encouraging them to see itas a career choice.

DAZL will be auditioning fornew members in September2012. We recently hosted ashowcase event at the centrewhich was completely sold outto 150 members of the com-munity. We had 120 dancersperform and really could havedone with two shows to re-spond to the demand.

The parents and all theyoung people were extremelyimpressed with how fantasticthe space was.

We are planning to do an-other event later in the year.

Contact DAZL on 0113 2706903 extention 175.

by Ian RodleyDance Action Zone Leeds

Dancers aregoing fromstrengthstrengthto

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We’re all just one bighappy family here!

Empty homesconference

Inspiredin Leeds

Leeds-based social entrepre-neurs Gill Coupland and RobGreenland are aiming totackle the number of emptyhouses in Leeds with an eventat Beeston’s The Green-house.

Gill and Rob were inspiredto start the project after mov-ing to Beeston.

On their new ‘Leeds Emp-ties’ blog, they write: “At atime when thousands of peo-ple in our city live in homesthat don’t meet their needs,we think this is unacceptable.And we want to do somethingabout it.

“Our Call To Action – on16th May at The Greenhousein Leeds – will bring together100 people who can help tobring hundreds more homesback into use.”

To sign up for the event,go to http://calltoactionemptyhomes.eventbrite.co.uk.

Beeston Action For Families offers

Mum Sarah’s story

Beeston Action For Families startedover ten years ago and helps familieswith children who have learning disabil-ities.

The group, which has 50 people onits books and boasts MP Hilary Benn asits patron, is run by a steering groupand is supported by 11 volunteers.

It meets at Beeston Village Commu-nity Centre and is about having fun andraising confidence and self esteem. Ithas about 80 people on its books, 50on a Wednesday for family fun ses-sions.

Worker Lynn Bailey says: “Not onlyhave the people with learning disabili-ties got more confidence and self es-teem but also us as carers have donethe same thing.

“Our families have grown up aroundthe group and they’re not strangersanymore and support each other.”

Activities include Playstation, Wii,arts and crafts, jigsaws, cooking, com-puters, speakers, bingo, salsa and facepainting.

Charity Health for All has helpedBAFF to get funding and supported thegroup.

Details from Lynn on 0113 2717231.

Support for Beeston residents

I come here every week to the Wednes-day family fun session and really enjoyit. You come and talk to people and makefriends which is better than being stuckat home - I’d feel isolated otherwise.I’m in the house 24/7 so coming hereis just great. I have two children and assoon as they come home from schoolI’m getting them ready to come. Theyenjoy drawing, colouring and thePlayStation. While they play I can just sitand talk.I’d say to anyone: come and give it atry. Everyone’s really friendly and nice.

Heart of the community: BeestonAction For Familiesmembers have fun ata Wednesday nightsession.


Leeds Inspired is the city’scultural programme thatcelebrates arts, sport

and heritage events through-out the year, writes CllrAdam Ogilvie.

It brings together Leeds’ bigannual events alongside com-munity projects and fleet-of-foot DIY quirkiness to create afabulous cultural calendarbursting at the seams.

The Olympics provide thebackdrop to the first year ofLeeds Inspired and our pro-gramme will feature events in-cluding the Olympic TorchRelay Evening Celebrationevent and the Leeds LovesSport festival.

We have created the newLeeds Inspired online eventscalendar for the city -www.leedsinspired.com - awhat's on guide which fea-tures a range of differentevents and we’d love to hearfrom anyone who wants to in-clude their information.

We also have a smallgrants pot that will runthroughout the year.

You can find out moreabout what kind of things wefund in the Grants section ofthe website.

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support for parents and carers

Why we really love BAFF...

We’re up for the cup!Members of BAFF’s Monday night exercise

class recently enjoyed a photo session withLeeds Rhinos’ Super League trophy. BAFF also

runs a Thursday ‘Dancercise’ class.

Philip’s story Hayley’s storyI’ve been coming to Beeston Ac-tion For Families for a long timeand really like it. I like IT so I goon the computers, play gamesand use the worksheets. I likegoing on the kids’ games andthe internet, but I’ve also madesome new friends.

Suzanne’s storyI started coming just before Christ-mas, I bring my two kids. Whilethey go on the Playstation andstuff I can sit down and relax andhave a cup of tea and a chat withthe other adults. I’ve made newfriends and been able to share myproblems with others in a similarposition.

I like it because it’s just fun tocome to and you do learn a lot ofnew stuff. The people are reallyfriendly here - it’s like being in afamily here.You end up doing something dif-ferent each week - I do arts andcrafts and computers usually.

Naseem’s storyWe are like a massive great big family! My son isdisabled and we have been coming here for a lot ofyears now. It’s an environment that’s geared to our

needs as parents and carers. We try to make peo-ple feel comfortable and welcome and make themaware of things that are happening.

Middletonhas a newcouncillor

Kim tweets

Former Pudsey MP PaulTruswell is the new citycouncillor for Middleton Parkward.

Cllr Truswell (picturedabove) is a graduate of theUniversity of Leeds and wasa Leeds City Councillor be-fore becoming MP for Pud-sey in 1997. He stood downfrom Parliament ahead ofthe 2010 general election.

He succeeds Geoff Driver,who has retired after 35years as a councillor.

Results: Middleton Park ward• Paul Truswell Lab 2,696• Kevin Meeson BNP 893• James McFarland Cons 412• Sadie Fisher Lib Dem 191

Beeston & Holbeck ward• Angela Gabriel Lab 2,389• Robert Winfield Cons 443• Wilfred Woodhouse UKIP 349• Ian Gibson Eng Democrat 298• David Smith Green 256• Rory Laing Lib Dem 113

City & Hunslet ward• Elizabeth Nash Lab 2,402• Matthew Wharton Cons 473• Jahangir Aziz Lib Dem 357• Neil Seepujak Green 331

Middleton Park councillorKim Groves has joined so-cial networking site Twitter.

You canfollow CllrGroves on@groves_kim.

She joinsBeeston andHolbeckcouncillorAdamOgilvie(@adampoglivie) and MPHilary Benn (@hilarybennmp) on Twitter.

SLL - May p23_sll - May p23 09/05/2012 15:04 Page 1

Plans for a council park andride are the hot topic withthe forum at present.

We think that the pro-posed site off Elland Road iswrong as it’s too near thecity centre.

We’re also concerned thatmore traffic will be comingonto Elland Road from both

directions - Elland Road isjust a normal road, it’s not adual carriageway.

We fear it will bring moretraffic congestion and pollu-tion into Beeston.

We feel it has been cho-sen as the first park and ridesite simply because thecouncil owns the land whereit will be based.

They’ve said that it’s a‘quick win’ and would becheap to implement.

The people of Beestonought to be listened to.


Beeston’s park and ride concerns

Cottingley celebratesnew Sphynx Square

HeartHealthfor men

The 11th to the 17th ofJune is ‘InternationalMen’s Health Week’ andthis year’s theme is‘Heart Health.’

In Leeds, Leeds Men’sHealth Network (LMHN)is promoting a number ofactivities to improvemen’s health - and theirhearts - in south Leedsand across the city:

Tuesday 12th June10am General Men’s Walk -Middleton Park. Meet Car Parkin Middleton Park. A shorteasy one-hour walk aroundgood paths in the park.1-3pm Health for All LearningDisabilities Men’s WalkingGroup.

Wednesday 13th June10am-noon Allotment Morning.Lady Pit Lane Allotments, Bee-ston. Have a look at this inner-city allotment and the foodbeing grown; taste some of thefood being grown; try yourhand at growing seeds andstarting your own salad in apot; help out with some allot-ment tasks such as weeding,preparing seeds, watering andgrass cutting; general allot-ment information.

Wednesday 13th June2pm Leeds Men’s Health Net-work’s Meeting, Room RB 262,The Rose Bowl, Leeds Metro-politan University with twoguest speakers! At 2pm wewill hear about ‘Heart Health’and there will be time for ques-tions and at 2.45pm we willhear about ‘Eye Health’ andagain there will be time forquestions and the meeting fin-ishes at 3.30pm.

Thursday 14th June 10am General Men’s WalkRoundhay Park. Meet atRoundhay Park Café car park.An easy one hour walk aroundWaterloo Lake on good paths.

Saturday 16th JuneBelle Isle Gala – Men’s HealthWeek Information.

For events in SouthLeeds contact RichardLancaster on 0113 2762720. To join LeedsMen’s Health Networkcontact Barry Ewart on0113 343 4358, or [email protected].

Cottingley has seen somechanges over the pastfew months.

The management committeeat TRAC (Tenants and Resi-dents Association of Cottingley)has seen an overhaul at theAGM in March.

Long-serving members havestepped down to make way forsome new blood and I havevery happily taken over the roleof chair. We’d like to thankthem for their dedication overthe past 12 years and theircontinued support.

Our first project was tolaunch the newly landscapedarea to the rear of Cottingleyshops named ‘Cottingley Sph-ynx Square’, a community

spaces project.The launch event

took place on Satur-day the 5th of Mayand was a huge suc-cess. The area wasopened by HilaryBenn MP and Cllr AngelaGabriel, followed by a familyfun day which was held in Cot-tingley Community Centre.

This included free food, in-flatables, a DJ, wonderful face-painting, performance fromDazl Dance and special guest‘Aire Bear’.

The project was co-fundedby the Big Lottery CommunitySpaces programme and AVHOuter South Area Panel. Iwould also like to thankGroundwork, Leeds City Coun-cil, West Yorkshire Fire service,Holbeck NPT, TRAC membersand everyone who has made

this project a success.It was a fantastic way to

bring the community togetherto celebrate the positivechanges that have occurred onthe estate recently.

Cottingley pharmacy is nowunder new ownership whichwill have positive implicationsfor residents of the estate. Itwill offer a fully stocked chemistand be run in a friendly but pro-fessional manner.

The next TRAC Meeting willbe held on Wednesday the23rd of May at 7pm in Cotting-ley Primary School’s main hall.Your support is appreciated.

by Robyn HollandTRAC chair

by Christine ThorntonBeeston Forum chair

From this....

To this....

Sll - May p24_Sll - May p24 09/05/2012 13:10 Page 1


Edible garden isfood for thoughtat Cross Flatts

Continuing our campaign to encourage people to use their local park

Local primary school pupilsgot green fingers while plant-ing a new edible garden at apark in Beeston.

The planting in Cross FlattsPark was organised andfunded by the Friends ofCross Flatts Park group, andis part of the Edible Citiesproject aimed at engaginglocal people in the sustainablegrowing of food and healthyeating.

Local councillor, AngelaGabriel, is chair of the Friendsgroup and is fully supportiveof the community project inone of her local parks.

Three planting beds havebeen prepared by the coun-cil’s Parks and Countrysidedepartment, ripe for sowing aselection of fruit trees, fruitbushes and shrubs such asstrawberries, blackcurrantsand gooseberries.

The planting was timed tocoincide with the onset ofspring, which will hopefullyallow the plants to flourish.

Children from two local pri-mary schools, Cross Flattsand Hunslet Moor, will be onhand on the day to help withthe planting and will continueto oversee the ongoing care ofthe garden.

Local residents have alsobeen invited to bring their gar-

dening gloves and shovelsand get involved.

Angela Gabriel said: “Theedible garden is an excellentidea as it will engage localchildren and residents alike inthe growing of healthy, tastyand organic food.

“It is fantastic that local chil-dren are going to be stronglyinvolved in a project that willencourage healthy eating andself-sufficiency.

“I have no doubt it will be

highly rewarding for them tosee the garden progress andflourish in the months andyears to come.

“The garden will be an im-portant addition to the commu-nity, providing produce forlocal people, a chance to learnnew skills and will improve theaesthetic value of the area, notto mention being a great recre-ation space for relaxation dur-ing the summer months andjubilee celebrations.”

ParksParks

PridePride

June events in Middleton ParkThe 2012 summerseason of SundayEvents in the Parkstarted on Sunday 6thMay, with the popularBluebell Walks in thewoods.

The Old LakesideCentre has been de-molished, and the newLakeside Centre isnow being built.

However it won't beready until August thisyear at the earliest, sothe Friends of Middle-ton Park are having toimprovise many oftheir events.

Remember, everySunday up to 29thSeptember, theFriends will be in thePark, from 2-4pm.

For more informa-tion on FOMP email:[email protected].

Sunday, June 3Circus Skills Workshopwith Professor Fiddle-sticks - 2pm to 4pm.Excellent fun for kids of allages!

Sunday, June 10 Tenderloin Ragtime Or-chestra - 2pm to 4pm. Lis-ten to a jazz quartet.

Saturday, June 16Bird Survey, 7am-9am.

Come along to help surveythe birds in the park.

Sunday, June 17Wildlife Photography Day- 2pm to 4pm. Join theFriends and a countryside

ranger as we tour the parklooking for wildlife.

Tuesday, June 19Oddsocks: Julius Caesaroutdoor theatre show, 7pm

Saturday, June 2310am to noon - guidedstroll in the park to seehow the park improve-ments are coming along.

Sunday, June 24Help celebrate MiddletonRailway being 200 yearsold! There will be a seriesof activities, including ashort walk in the park high-lighting the shared heritagewe feel with the railway.

Middleton Park bluebells -photo by Alex Smith More details on

the FOMP website:

http://www.fomp.co.uk/html/events.

htm

SLL - May p25_SLL - May p25 09/05/2012 15:39 Page 1

South Leeds Life reader Louise Druryused to work at Health for All manag-ing its children’s project and has sinceworked with disadvantaged kids inSouth Africa. She writes here aboutthe differences...

I have been living and working in SouthAfrica for over two years now, the cultureand people being a far cry from the expe-riences I have encountered in the sub-urbs of South Leeds.

Children and young people in SouthLeeds have access to schooling, extracurricula activities, holiday programs,counselling support and free health care,all of which are government funded.

There are many voluntary organisa-tions working in partnership offering addi-tional services which address morespecific needs such as anger manage-ment, confidence and self-esteem andsafe places to play.

Three years ago I was working atHealth for All Leeds managing a projectthat serviced 375 children and young

people per week. As children and youngpeople’s health and welfare were high onthe government agenda funding was plen-tiful and multi-agency working enabledmany disadvantaged children to benefit.

The service was free to communitiesand enabled vulnerable children to buildconfidence, self-esteem, learn to play, behealthy and socialise in a safe and se-cure environment.

It was amazing to see these childrengrow and learn over time.

In contrast, the government and volun-tary organisations in South Africa workvery differently. The Government has ahealth agenda which until recently mainlyfocused on the HIV and Aids, and TB. It isonly in the past 12 months that the healthand welfare of children and young peoplehave become more of a national priorityas they have recognised that millions of

children and young people are living onthe poverty line and have little or no ac-cess basic health education.

Schools also take a back seat wherehealth is concerned.

Parents are poor, uneducated and liv-ing in squalor so survival is more of a pri-ority to them.

There are a number of voluntary or-ganisations setting up initiatives inschools and communities but with littlefunding, programs tend to be short termand only reach a small percentage of thechildren in need.

I worked for an organisation calledSCORE here in Cape Town that serveschildren and young people across South-ern Africa.

Young people aged 16 years+ areplaced on a voluntary exchange programand work as sports coaches in rural com-

munities. Their focus is to teach childrenabout HIV and Aids, confidence building,gender equality and leadership usingsport as a working tool.

But there are no infrastructures inplace within these communities. There isone volunteer per community servingover 200 children so this distinct lack ofcapacity makes it near impossible to buildanything sustainable.

In the UK children and young peoplehave more of a fighting chance as thereis more money being invested in them. InSouth Africa funding is still scarce andmany voluntary organisations struggle toserve the millions in need.

There is hope that more money will beinvested in schools, teachers, communi-ties and of course the children and youngpeople of South Africa so we can startbuilding them a healthier future.


City and Holbeck PCSOKirsty Johnson writes thefirst part of an article on herlife as a police communitysupport officer, dealing withanti-social behaviour, youthsand a whole host of othercommunity issues. You’d besurprised what she dealswith! Read on…

Generally, the first question weget asked when someonespeaks to a PCSO (Police

Community Support Officer) for thefirst time is “So you don’t get paid forthis then?” But, no, that’s not us…it isthe Special Constables who work vol-untarily and have the same powers asa police officer.

To explain more of what our job in-volves I would have to ask “Which hatwould you like me to wear today?”The only sure thing I can tell youabout being a PCSO is that no twodays are the same.

The main priority in our role is to beout in the community and as visible aspossible… not difficult with thosebright yellow jackets!

One of the regular parts of our jobwhich most people will have seen usdoing is ‘scene guarding’ which in-volves us protecting a crime sceneuntil all of the forensic work has beendone and the necessary investigationis complete.

Naturally, many of the neighbours/

locals want to know what has hap-pened so it’s always a challenge tofind something to tell them…withoutgiving any details at all!

As being in the community is alarge part of our role, anti-social be-haviour (ASB) is one of our main prior-ities. It may be youths in the streetcausing a disturbance or it may benuisance neighbours allowing all &sundry to use their house as a meet-ing point.

More often than not, ASB is the waythat you first get to meet the localyouths so if you can deal with the situ-ation whilst being reasonable, you willoften get them on your side straightaway and have a good chance of

them listening to you in future.Neighbour disputes are another

common issue – thankfully when youhave a discussion with both parties,there has often been a silly misunder-standing which has just escalated outof control and is rectified by just beingthe catalyst for a discussion. Now andagain though the disputes continue,one or both parties refuse to discussthe issues, and it is a case of justtelling them to ignore each other.

One of my favourite parts of the jobis visiting the primary schools in myarea. Most of the high schools nowhave their own PC based there so wecan concentrate on helping out withthe little ones, which is always fun!

I usually get asked to go speak tothe children about ‘people who helpus’ as well as doing assemblies wheneither myself or the school think thereare issues that need to be covered.Part two of this article can be foundin issue 5 of South Leeds Life.

My job as a PCSO in southLeeds

From South Leeds to South Africa

Kirsty Johnson is PCSO 0244Holbeck Neighbourhood Policing

Team: 0113 2414629 In Emergency: 999 /Non Emergency: 101

Contact us

Police com-munity support officersJohnny Wilson andDave Lythehaveteamed upwith SouthLeeds CommunityRadio topass onsafety tipson air.

My job as a PCSO in southLeeds

SLL - may p26_sll - May p26 08/05/2012 16:26 Page 1


Showcase ofpositive photos online

Photography project captures best of area

You’re lookinggood, Beestonand Holbeck!

www.lookinggoodleeds.org.uk/holbeck-beeston

Different landscapes:The city skyline at dusktaken from theviewing pointat HolbeckCemetery byJonathan Blissand ‘Beestonsnowscape’ byChris Heward.

Picture perfect: Holbeck cemetery at dusk - photo by Leedslily on Flickr

The Looking Good Holbeck and Bee-ston project is continuing to gatherpace with some lovely scenic photos ofthe area submitted by readers.

The Looking Good blog - www. lookinggoodleeds.org.uk/holbeck-beeston showcases positive photogra-phy of the area and its people and asyou can see from the photos aboveand to the right, local residents havetaken some stunning photos of thearea.

It’s run by Beeston resident PhilKirby, John Baron at Health For All andLeanne Buchan of Holbeck Urban Vil-lage. To take part in the project, con-tact John on 270 6903.

Next event will be a free photohuntaround Holbeck Cemetery and Beeston Festival on Saturday, June 9.Meet at cemetery main entrance, Beeston Road, 1pm. Join us!

You’re lookinggood, Beestonand Holbeck!

SLL - May p27_SLL - may p27 08/05/2012 16:06 Page 1

WritingPhotographySocial media

VideoMore &CONTACT: South Leeds Information Project

Tenants Hall Enterprise Centre, Acre Close, Middleton, Leeds LS10 4HX0113 [email protected]@southleedslifewww.southleedslife.com

is written by local residents for residents. Would YOU like to be apart of it?

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LifeSouth Leeds

LifeIssue 2 - February 2012

www.southleedslife.wordpress.co

We can help you become a community journalist

Learn how to write for our magazine or blog with our community journalists training course. Learn

the tricks of the journalist and all the basic skills you need to contribute to South Leeds Life, improve

your own newsletter or blog or just learn for interest.

We’ll also show you how to take decent photographs, how to use a digital camera and brush up on

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SLL - May back page_SLL July back page 08/05/2012 16:04 Page 1

South Leeds Life Magazine Issue 3

Documents

hilary benn

deacon al

south leeds

south leeds

middleton

st lukes church

cross flatts

middleton