South Leeds Roundup: Engines; exhibitions and environment

Here’s your regular roundup of what’s making South Leeds tick on other websites, blogs and across Facebook and Twitter.

Middleton Railway Hunslet 150 posterWe start this week with a question. Did you or a member of your family work at Hunslet Engines? If so Middleton Railway want to hear from you as they prepare for special 150th anniversary event later this year. They’ve also been getting ready for regular services which re-start at the end of the month.

We spotted on Leeds Reads, the library service blog, that Tony Harrison has won another award for his poetry. Harrison is famous for writing the poem V about graffiti on his parents’ graves in Holbeck Cemetery.

There’s lots of news at The South Leeds Academy including a positive Ofsted report, a leadership day and Service Above Self Awards. We’ll be covering these in more detail on the blog.

Meanwhile pupils at Middleton St Mary’s primary school have been studying cams, gears and pulleys to make moving animals in Design & Technology lessons.

Those of you that use Twitter might be interested to follow some of Health For All’s project feeds.

You are invited to the launch of two exhibitions at The Tetley art gallery on Friday (6 March 2015) from 6pm. They also host a contemporary art book fair over the weekend.

Leeds GATE are celebrating their advocacy service for the gipsy and traveller community being receiving a positive evaluation.

Good to see Belle Isle TMO offering help to tenants with an income and expenditure review in with this year’s rent increase letter. Their GATE centre also has an International Women’s Day event on Monday 9 March and a construction apprenticeship event on Thursday 12 March.

Work is underway on flood defences at Knostrop including the removal of the island. It’s good to see resident Happy Park sharing his knowledge of the scheme with fellow residents at H2010 in Hunslet.

The campaign group Save Our Beeston, who are opposed to large scale developments in the area have set up a Facebook group. They also cover good news stories, activities and events.

Ivy Benson was a great band leader of the 1940s and she was born in Holbeck – there’s a blue plaque on Cemetery Road. Holbeck Neighbourhood Plan have posted a video of Ivy and her band in their heyday.

There are video invitations from both Cllr Adam Ogilvie and Cllr Angela Gabriel to the next Inner South Community Committee which will debate environmental issues on 25 March.

There’s a Sportsman Dinner coming up at the Hunslet Club on Saturday 14 March, they are also promoting their Box-Teq sessions at the Hamara Centre in Beeston.

And finally, volunteers from Participate Projects and staff from White Rose Centre helped the Friends of Stank Hall Barn make a start on their community garden. The next build day is Monday 16 March if you fancy lending a hand.