Emma Purshouse: The Consequences of a Snatch and Grab
I don’t suppose Donald Trump was living in Wolverhampton in the 90’s. And I don’t suppose, even if he was there, he went dancing in The Web with his blonde Lego hair.
Author: Jimmy Andrex
Jimmy is a Wakefield poet who performs all over the UK. Co-founder of Red Shed Readings, he is a presenter on ELFM’s Love the Words, where he writes and produces the Jimmy Andrex Outside Broadcast, as well as co-curating their Writing on Air Festival.
Pie of the week: from GG’s Artisan Bakery, Denby Dale
Jimmy Andrex reviews our pie of the week – a mushroom and leek pie from Denby Dale, West Yorkshire. “It’s warm, it’s got a crust and it tastes comforting and fabulous.”
Culture wars: the Brexit sellout for touring musicians that makes us all poorer
“t’s not just musicians who’ll suffer if they can’t tour Europe. It’s the sound engineers, the lighting engineers, the backline techs. It’s the caterers and the wardrobe assistants and the production managers. It’s the drivers of trucks and tour buses. It’s the companies they work for, it’s the mechanics they employ. It’s PA companies, and lighting companies. And it’s the businesses here, in the UK”
Pie of the week: from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Jimmy Andrex reviews the pie of the week – this time from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. “At the end of our walk, seeking refuge from a grim sense of foreboding, I greeted the news that my favourite pie – steak, ale and Henderson’s Relish – was on the specials board with the same relief as when I heard about the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.”
Pie of the week: from William Noble Family Butcher, Busy Corner, Wakefield
Jimmy Andrex reviews the pie of the week – this time from William Noble Family Butchers in Wakefield. “A Noble’s steak pie is an everyday celebration of wholesome certainty; like a grittier version of The Waltons. They’re freshly made every day, the oven’s in the shop and the smell when they open the door should be regulated by some sort of statute”.
Brexit: what can we learn from disaster inquiries?
As Dr Stella Perrott outlined on Christmas Eve, reviews of disasters and serious incidents provide ample warning signs about the way Brexit is being handled. This is Jimmy Andrex’s take on her article.
Pie of the week: from Cryer & Stott, Castleford market
Jimmy Andrex reviews the pie of the week – this time from Cryer & Stott, at Castleford market. “If you ever had sex better than this pie you’re either a liar or I need to get to know you better. If you ever took drugs better than this pie, you must be on drugs – cheap, bad ones that make you think the traffic in South Elmsall are crocodiles.”
Labour 2020: the five stages of grief
Jimmy Andrex looks at what the last year has meant for the Labour Party, through the lens of the 5 stages of grief. The question is, which stage has the party reached?
Pie of the week: from the Seed Room, Overton
In troubled times, with rampant division, there remains one part of our culture about which there must surely be widespread unity, especially in the forgotten land of the North of England: Pies.
Bradford gallery finds new inspiration in Covid-19 restrictions
“Lockdown has helped me to focus on our lifestyles and what’s really important to me.”
Yorkshire artist takes a stand against Brexit and austerity to fight poverty
Huddersfield singer Johnny Campbell has got together with other artists to release a charity song, raising money for The Welcome Centre foodbank in Huddersfield, and the charity Help Musicians UK.
The biggest music revolution you’ve never heard of
How a Holmfirth musician battled the Brexit Blues with electronica and a sense of community. A new book tells the story of an underground revolution in music where no-one got rich or famous but everyone got happy. “The early days were like turning over a stone and finding this whole new world of music-making crawling underneath.“
Covid doodles do make an impact
What did you do in lockdown? Bradford-based Trapezium Arts is hosting a brand new exhibition of one artist’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Sue Wilde’s show, entitled The Covid 19, is based on road maps, using the routes, towns and coastlines to create a vivid picture of life in lockdown. “During the first lockdown, needing to […]
Julie Mellor: The Moment
On the Penistone train derailment, February 1916 When I look up at the seamed sky, the black teeth of girders, the cracks of fresh air, I think this is not an accident, but a moment of refusal, a point I can look on and describe in bricks of words, then knock down again before it […]
Paul Francis: The New Jerusalem
And will those winds from ‘58That blew Armada back to SpainNow make the wind turbines rotateAnd help us triumph once again? And will our Covid stance be seenAs something we should celebrate?We’re proud of everything we’ve been;Like the Olympics – we are great! Back in the war, amid the gloomA new Jerusalem was planned;So now […]
Steve Pottinger: You Ask Me Where I Want to Live, My Love…
You Ask Me Where I Want to Live, My Love… by Steve Pottinger it can be the tundra, a desert, a forest, a boat high on a mountain or out on the coast an apartment, a terrace, a van or a castle, a tent, yurt, or igloo, it really don’t matter but it must be […]
Council draws line in the sand on Covid-19
East Riding Council decided last week on a novel approach to communicate their 3 Steps to Safety message. In a climate where covid confusion reigns every time Mr Cummings goes for a spin in his Range Rover, they decided to use local sand artist James Brunt to get their message across. As you can see, James […]
It’s not a Banksy … is it?
Is Banksy working in the Wakefield area? A series of clues and new street art has fuelled speculation that the legendary graffiti artist may be at work in our area. First, a local artist, Rachel Till was forced to tweet that some Pontefract street art depicting themes around the NHS and Coronavirus was definitely hers […]
EU cheese mountain may cause lasting damage to mental health, say experts
So, this dream I had, it was a film like Kill Bill, but with Emily Maitlis and Kay-Burley-off-Sky-News. Basically, they get so fed up doing clickbait interviews with whining trolls like Daniel Hannan or Darren Grimes, that they go on an intellectual Kung Fu Tag Team rampage, questioning right-wing dimwits to a pulp. In early […]
A little fright relief?
If you’re a writer in dark times what do you write about? Most choose to write about the darkness and tell you little else apart from (a) how dark it is and (b) that darkness is very, very bad. However, Ossett poet Simon Widdop is bucking the trend. His new collection, Poet from the Black […]
Covid-19 and the arts: Hull snuggles up for digital bedtime stories
Are you sitting comfortably? This weekend Hull’s Back To Ours project is bringing bedtime stories and twinkling lullabies to people’s homes to spread family-friendly fun all over the city. In conjunction with the city’s Freedom Festival, they are reaching out with innovative events and activities to engage and excite people all across Humberside. Throughout the […]
Covid-19: four scenarios for our future
What might the future living with Covid-19 actually look like? STAT magazine, an online journal for health professionals based in Boston, Massachusetts, asked eminent epidemiologists for their best (informed) guesses as to how things might pan out: “Will it always have the capacity to make us so sick? Will our immune systems learn — and […]
Minding their own business: arts lottery funding with a difference in Hull
There’s a lot to be said for raffles. In these times where arts funding has become national news, a poetry night that is in its tenth year, which has been funded by nothing grander than the humble tombola, is something to be celebrated. At the heart of Away With Words is Jim Higo, the Bard […]
Chumocracy for oiks: an idiot’s guide to ‘levelling up’ and social mobility
By Dido “Noelle” Harding One: When you’re born make jolly sure daddy’s a peer, grandpapa’s a retired general and even the family dog has a clubfoot. If you can’t manage this then FORGET COMPLETELY ABOUT BEING IN CHARGE OF ANYTHING. Go to the local academy (they’re all exactly the same for a reason, and they […]
Rugby league and the civil rights icon
Sunday 22 July 1972. Reigning Olympic 200m champion Tommie Smith is going through his pre-race stretch routine on a humid afternoon. A thunderstorm, which will later bring the racing to a halt, hangs around like the teenage boys who are hoping for an autograph. But this is not the Munich Olympics, or even a warm-up event. […]
Poet’s twilight moment crystallises life in lockdown
Like Dorian Grey without a painting in the loft, Laura Potts’ poetry has the insight of twilight. Echoing the lyricism of Dylan Thomas, she has a strong connection to Wales’ best-known poet and worked at the Dylan Thomas Society’s Birthplace Museum in 2016. However, she is Wakefield born and bred and, whilst she has a […]
Vera Lynn of the virus: saving lives with humour
Has the Vera Lynn of the virus saved more lives than Boris Johnson? It’s a funny old world, but no-one’s really laughing. Apart from the beyond-satire antics of government ministers (the highlight of which was surely the health secretary’s Reeves & Mortimer-esque parkour), the pandemic has been a miserable time full of fear, pain and […]
Artists rain on Dowden’s Glyndebourne parade
Culture secretary enthuses about champagne picnics while artists try to work out how to make a living. Forget the grassy knoll, 9/11 or the outbreak of WWII. Can you remember where you were when Oliver Dowden announced that “music lovers can attend Glyndebourne this summer”? This writer still has lacerations of the throat from choking […]
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