North West Leeds

A Community Update for the last few months from Leeds University...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:36:53 +0100

A Community Update for the last few months from Leeds University Union, including “Disrupting Poverty in Leeds”, interviews with student volunteers, and the Older Persons’ Tea Party.

When making a curry, is it better to use a chain supermarket or...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:21:14 +0000

When making a curry, is it better to use a chain supermarket or a local shop? There’s only one way to find out!

Are you a resident of Headingley, Hyde Park or Burley?

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:53:06 +0000

Have you heard about the “Sort it, Bin it, Win it” campaign?

Leeds City Council have just launched a new campaign to try to avoid over-flowing bins, to help residents put their bins out on the right day and encourage recycling.

If you go to the facebook page, it will give you more information about what can go in your black and green bins. Also, there’s more information about when to put out and collect your bins.

What’s really innovative about this scheme is that it is possible for residents in these areas to request text alerts to remind you to put out your bins on the correct day.

For more information and the chance to win some fantastic prizes (including Leeds festival tickets)… check out the facebook and twitter pages.

www.facebook.com/binitwinit

twitter.com/binitwinit

Tweet it, Like it- then Sort it, Bin it and Win it

Emma Hewitt

Little Woodhouse

Never have I ever... Saved a nature reserve from fire. Twice. All in a good Sunday's chilling.

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:44:24 +0000

So what Carrie (Far Headingley rep) forgot to tell you is that we didn’t simply visit Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, we saved it from fire…

So during our random wanderings we stumbled across some flames. We dutifully called 999 and told the fire services about the fire. Funnily enough, this fire burnt itself out.

Walking back… Surprise surprise: another fire! This one was substantially bigger and smoke was billowing everywhere. So we called 999 again.

It was at this point that we decided our civic duty for the day was finished and we wandered on to try and buy some fish.

Til next time,

Keep on enjoying Leeds,

Yannish (Central Headingley UCR)

Never have I ever… discovered Kirkstall Valley nature reserve

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:11:33 +0000

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and Yannish (the Central Headingley Rep) and I were thinking of how to make the most of the sun. Staying inside simply was not an option, we didn’t want to drive anywhere and as it was Sunday the trains were annoyingly infrequent. We therefore decided we had to look closer to home.

We got online and started to look for outdoor activities the area had to offer, and we stumbled across Kirkstall Valley nature reserve. We had a quick look on the map and set off on foot towards Kirkstall. It was fairly easy to find – a 10 minute walk down Cardigan Road (which resulted in the purchasing of some spoons and a bread knife from Poverty Aid) and another 10 minutes down Kirstall Road (where we discovered a beautiful antiques shop) lead us to Redcote Lane. A left turning before Asda took us down an industrial-estate style lane and past a golf course (where we thought we must have gone wrong).

5 more minutes however and we were there. Developed in 1987 by a team of volunteers, this nature reserve is 25.5 acres, which basically means it’s massive. We walked around the whole of it, only bumping into 2 other people, sat and had a picnic on a sunny hill then found a pond and marvelled at the hundreds of frogs. We wished we had brought some kind of frisbee/throwing device as the open grass would be perfect for summer games.

We couldn’t believed we have lived in the area for so long and not known about this park – if you want a quiet peaceful place to chill in the summer, away from the BBQs and beer cans of Hyde or Burley park, this is the place to head to!

Carrie

Far Headingley Rep

Never have I ever... compared chain supermarkets to independent supermarkets and had a HUGE meal!

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:56:18 +0000

So, today the reps decided to give ourselves a mini competition! We had two groups and each had a certain amount of money to spend on a good old curry for 4. One group was to shop in a chain supermarket whereas the other group had to look elsewhere and use a smaller independent supermarket in the area.

The outcome was brilliant! We had great ingredients and a full kitchen with 2 tasty curries to test! It felt like we were on Master Chef each trying to cook the perfect, tasty curry to prove our shop was better!! We had the usual Chicken Korma for those who can’t handle their spice and a yummy sweet potato and vegetable balti!

It was great to work together in teams and try our best to cook up a great curry! We all had a lot of fun, however I won’t tell you everything because you have to keep a look out for our end result and see who won (…but the independent supermarket was definitely soooooo much better! That’s just my opinion!)

Keep a look out for the link coming soon for the video showing our afternoon of cooking fun!

Ange - Hyde Park Community Rep

Never Have I ever...been to Golden Acre Park

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Ever find yourself getting sick of the city life? Don’t fear there are more trees in Leeds than those you see in Hyde Park/Woodhouse Moor…

Ok, so technically this is a lie as used to go here when I was in Bodington Hall, but still haven’t been for three years, so i guess you could argee that it counts. If your a student you probably dont regularly head up towards Adel unless your sporty or shop at Asda but there a Great Park which is shockingly large in comparison to the size of it’s enterance located on the A660 just a short distance from Bodington Hall.

Indeed I ventured there last weekend, pretty much as soon as I saw a glimmer of spring…

So whats the crack? Well it’s a 55 hectare Park that used to be a large amusement park it now has a cafe, lake, general parkland and a nature reserve. There are picnic tables, plenty of ducks to feed and some awesome trees to climb (at your own risk) So when you can’t quite be bothered to go to the Cow and Calf you can go to Golden Acre Park for a brisk walk in the country complete with ice cream van on weekends!

Getting there - From Leeds City Centre turn left onto Wellington Street, then right onto King Street. Continue forward onto East Parade then Calverley Street. Turn right onto Portland Way then left onto the A660. Continue forward at the next two roundabouts onto the A660 and follow the signs for the park. The car park is on your left-hand side.

Buses to and from Leeds: 780, 784, X84 - three buses per hour Monday to Saturday daytime, hourly service evenings and Sundays.

Beware of crowds on Sunny days in the car park but don’t let this put you off as the park is huuuuuge and you can easily get away from the buggy motorway and see all manner of creatures including roe bucks, woodpeckers, tits and toads. Sadly they were too quick for my camera.

The Snow Drops are out in force so don those wellies and get some fresh air!!!

Hannah Hyde Park Community Rep

Never have I ever.... tried something a bit different for lunch

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:13:08 +0000

So it’s cold and raining and you’re on your way back from uni. You realise you haven’t got any food in the house after cutting the mould off that last piece of bread for breakfast.

What are the options….

Sainsburys? It’s ok, usually crazy busy with students in pyjamas, and the sandwich choice isn’t brilliant.

Co-op? They do have a gregs but it’s kinda out of the way a bit.

It was during this predicament that I wandered into Makkah foods, aka ‘The Mosque Shop’ to most Hyde-Parkers. Now I’ve popped in and out before, always impressed by their exotic range of good-value veg, so I thought I’d see what was on offer for lunch.

I was immediately amazed by how much stuff can be crammed into such a tiny shop, including a butchers, a deli section and numerous grains, rices, pulses and fresh and tinned food. I opted for some home-made samosas which were DELICIOUS and extremely cheap at 70p for two.

But was really got me smiling was how friendly the staff are – asking me how my day was, if I needed anything else and cracking jokes with me. Service like that makes your day (especially if it’s cold and raining) and made me want to go back with all my friends, all their friends and tell them to buy stuff!

These kinds of small businesses are really worth the money, value your custom and you know that your money spent there is going to your hard-working neighbours and not a fat cat in an office.

I would recommend Makkah foods as a great little alternative for every-day essentials. Why don’t you give it a try?

Carrie

Never Have I Ever had Deja Vu - Spain in Leeds...Say whaaat?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:49:42 +0000

So, it’s february it’s rainy as sin, cold as Switzerland but nowhere near as alluring so what does one do on a Monday evening???…go on a roadtrip to Headingley.

As Hyde Park rep as you can understand this is venturing a considerable of my normal sphere of Coffee Mania, Popinas and LS6 with the girls. Whilst looking for a parking space we stumbled across the new frozen yoghurt bar, Moo …

Big deal sooo what?

Well one can only describe it as Shakey Jakes for those still clinging on to the echos of their ‘health’ related New Years resolutions. At this point I must make it clear that I have serious love for Shakey Jakes. But frozen yoghurt IS just about all of the flavour and less of the guilt. With frozen yoghurts storming California (blame the Kardashians) everyone knows that it’s not long before we follow suit.

With a choice of the original vanilla or the decadent chocolate as a base for your design you can add numerous toppings. My personal fave is mango, chocolate flake and kiwis plus we got an extra topping free because it was the first time we had been!

To add some educational value to your procrastination frozen yoghurt was first trialed on the American market in the 60’s as a lighter alternative to ice cream however it flopped due to it being rather well 'floppy’. The Americans didn’t seem to see it as any different to normal yoghurt. In the 70’s it appeared once again in America and across Europe but this time with a new method so it had a texture more similar to Ice Cream, since then interest has been growing…

Wondering why the hell this is so special to me?- After an extremely dull end to a trying year I handed in my final essay and jetted off to Valencia 2 hours later to meet a friend on her year abroad. Valencia was perhaps the happiest memory I have of 2011. Everyday we went to a frozen yoghurt bar, llaollao which should only be referred to as the don of all yoghurt bars http://www.llaollao.es/ . (Please see first photo) Everything about moo took me back to a very Happy time with old friends, even saying goodbye to some that have now graduated and are moving on. So much so that I forgot both the time and weather.

The music was too exactly the same! - mighty cool lounge music so if you want to hear and taste cafe mambo without the price tag this is definitely your bag!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHqpc5ZP-4c

So not only is this promotion for Headingley it’s a massive promo for Valencia , often overlooked by us brits but it’s totally bangin! and considerably cheaper than its balearic conterpart across the water…whatever will be next italian sorbet place in Hyde Park ehem yes please!

Hannah

Never Have I Ever... had a milkman

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:42:00 +0000

About a week ago, I called a man I had never met, and asked him if he would mind awfully bringing milk to my doorstep. Essentially by calling, I was asking if he’d mind bringing it every week, and assuming he wouldn’t mind taking away the bottles as well. All this, of course, under the understanding that I’d pay him later. It’s a strange idea really and the conversation itself, therefore, began hesitantly, and a bit like this:

‘Hi my name’s Bryony, and I’m looking for a milkman. My friend Carrie gave me your number. I’ve never had a milkman before and I don’t know how it works’

You will recognise this as the speedy monologue of someone who doesn’t quite know what to say. Despite the fact that my Great-Grandad, used to be a dairy farmer in Hereford, tend to his cows and do his milk-rounds with a horse and cart, milkman milk bottles never really made it into our fridge. And so seemingly simple practicalities such as: when and how often deliveries are, how you pay your milkman, how much milk you need**, how much milk costs, are alien to me, and, I imagine, much of the British population. According to a Guardian article from 2010, 30 years ago 85% of milk was sold on doorsteps, and now only 8% of milk is delivered. This is sad I think.

Following a lazy trip into Sainsbury’s on the way back from Better Leeds Forum, a fleeting conversation with Carrie (Far Headingley UCR) sowed the seed for my vague partiality to the quaintness of milkmen to grow into a realisation that they were still floating about (pun not intended- and yet there it still is…) and an active pursuit of one. The conversation went a bit like this…

Carrie: That’s a lot of milk

(It was your average 4 pint of semi skimmed supermarket milk)

Me: Um yeah I suppose so, what do you get?

Carrie: Oh we’ve got a milkman

Me: That’s cool…

And would ultimately culminate in this…

After this casual mention, I dusted off my idea of milkmen as figures from the forties and protagonists in jokes about illegitimate children, and reconsidered milk delivery as a 21^st century service I could really use. It seems, though I’m not sure how far this is corroborated when you get into the intricately complicated equations of carbon imprint, that milk delivery is the environmentally friendly thing to do. It is undeniable that milk delivery reduces waste, glass bottles are used an average of 13 times before they are recycled and even then require less energy to recycle than plastic. Upon casual research I also found that the milk delivered by Carrie’s milkman (who is called Gary by the way) comes from Beech Grove Farm in Scarcroft, which is less than 8 miles away. Naturally this massively reduces miles to the table/fridge, and as Gary later assured me on the phone, also means that milk is especially fresh, bottled only one day before delivery. Despite all the talk in the media about buying local produce, supporting local businesses, and minimizing our carbon footprint, it seems that in overlooking the humble milkman, we may also be missing a traditional solution to a plethora modern problems.

And so I decided I wanted to join this club, and after a fairly simple and non-terrifying phone call, I arranged my first delivery. And sure enough, a few days later 3 little robust skittles of milk stood like sentinels outside my door. It’s still fairly new to me, I have yet to see my new milkman, or pay him, but that trust in a friendly stranger is refreshing. In today’s fairly untrusting society with its safe pockets of isolation, the milkman is a welcome throwback.

If you want to find more about local milk delivery see http://www.tdgoodall.co.uk/index.html

**Many of these details vary by region/preference, and while I have yet to discover the precise cost of milk, I HAVE discovered that for me 1 pint of milk= approximately 3 bowls of cereal and maybe 2 coffees. Judging by these measurements though, it is probably best to do an individual experiment

Never have I ever... eaten a naan bread the size of a small country

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:04:49 +0000

From: Independent fruit and veg shop on the corner of Hyde Park road and Alexandra Road (about a 10 minute walk from LUU).

Cost: £1.65 (55p per naan bread, with each bread serving at least 2)

Flavour: Garlic and Coriander

Inspired by the idea that shopping locally can be inexpensive and offer a wide variety of interesting items, I decided to pick up something a bit unusual on a usual trip to the fruit and veg shop.

The shop has an impressive selection of fresh fruit and veg displayed outside the shop in a really attractive way, enticing you in. Inside, it sells most of the things that you would expect to see in a corner shop although they are perhaps not in familiar packaging. They fit a lot of stuff inside.

One thing that stood out as intriguing (but not too far out of my comfort zone) was the massive naan bread that they sold, which would have towered over any equivalent bought from a larger supermarket chain.

It demonstrated good value for money and once I’d got home, it only took 2 minutes to cook in the oven and was a delicious accompaniment to a chicken Korma :) .

One issue: we couldn’t find a baking tray big enough so just slid it straight onto an oven shelf. It was delicious and the novelty of it completed the meal!

Would I buy it again? YES

Emma Hewitt

Little Woodhouse Rep

Never Have I Ever… Spent a Lazy Day in Headingley and Bought and Eaten Two Cakes Almost in a Row **

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:57:00 +0000

** The 2nd half of this statement could very likely be untrue

Until fairly recently, Headingley was a pass-through place for me, which I had only encountered on slow trudging bus journeys to Oxley and Lawnswood playing fields. Home to an under-stocked and frustrating Sainsbury’s and redeemed somewhat by its accommodating of Pizza Express, it was never really much of a destination. Yet as a bit of a daydreamer I’m partial to delays, and inching at snail’s pace down the highstreet was not altogether too painful an experience as I stole glances into shop windows and cafes. However the Saturday just gone was an entirely different affair. Saturday 4^th February was to be the day I got my lazy tourist on in Headingley.

It was also Leeds’ first snowy day of 2012; thankfully it was the pristine, dusty stuff of first snow, no sludge or slipping for me or my friend Grace, just an opportunity to wear wellies. When I say ‘a lazy day in Headingley’, I exaggerate, we had been out the night before and much of the lazy and the day had happened before we had left the house at around 2.30. After our walk, though pleasant, we were in need of both warmth and comfort, and after brief deliberation we decided upon Costellos.

Let me begin by saying, Costellos is the cutest place ever. Neither a shop nor a café, this family run bakery on the corner of the crossroads is, nevertheless, everything that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘homemade’. Yorkshire wares line one wall: where shelves of wrapped up homemade cakes jostle with fancy cordials, chutneys, honeys and mounds of crusty bread. The far end is devoted purely to pies and pasties, and a sumptuous array of oozy fruit pies. Whilst the third wall displays a more eclectic range of coffees, fruit teas, baguettes, quiches, old school sweets, truffles, towering crates of free range eggs, and…most importantly of all, a selection of cakes and pudding slices.

These delights became infinitely more delightful upon reading off a chalk board that we could buy a baguette or mini pie or mini quiche AND a drink hot or cold, AND crisps or CAKE for just £4.00. YUM. Naturally this deal + plentiful choice led to a GREAT deal of dithering. The two girls in the shop were patient with us as we deliberated (mainly over cake choice). I chose a steak pie, a hot chocolate, and (wooed by a taster) a fluffy chocolate cake. Grace went for a rabbit pie, summer fruit tea and a scone. Because it is not officially a café, we ate our pies sans knives and forks, but this was not too much of a distraction as we watched, outraged, as people walked by in toms and heels in the inch of accumulated snow. We whiled away a good hour or so chatting and munching lazily, as was the plan, until we agreed it was time to make tracks, not before, however having also decided to share a biscuityjammybun thing to go. In our defence, I had fully intended to buy fluffy but useful homemade bread, until I was once again seduced by a taster. It also only cost 65p, what costs 65p anymore?

Now I’m not going to lie and say that Headingley’s high street conceals a wealth of cultural activity, but it does have two Oxfams :) .Popping into the normal one was Grace’s suggestion, and peering at horrifying looking phones, fairly nice pictures, and other miscellaneous knickknacks was entertaining, but I mainly wanted to visit its bookshop brother. Now I’m not going to bore you with the details, but this is a fun afternoon for me, spying out the Penguins, casually and unsystematically reading some blurbs and agonising over which ones I will actually buy. This is a dawdly activity and before you know it, it was 5 o’ clock, and the mission was accomplished, the day had been lazy and it had happened in Headingley.

Follow Costellos on twitter @costellosbakery

Like them at facebook.com/costellosbakery

Alternatively, skip social media and skip to Costellos to eat cake.

Bryony, South Headingley Rep

Getting down with the wormies at Bardon Grange

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:29:00 +0000

Apologies in advance for my inability to discuss anything succinctly- Bryony S. Headingley Rep…

As beautiful as the sparkly white Leeds from the previous post is, yesterday I was thankful for this year’s snowlessness, as it meant that I could tootle off to Bardon Grange, unhindered. A lack of snow, did not prevent me, however, from dressing for artic temperatures. I wore no less than 5 layers, mittens, and woolly woolly socks in preparation for the longest amount of hours I have spent outside in months. This excess of clothing was somewhat sweltering on the 95, nevertheless I consoled myself with last minute soggy (but) delicious toast. In spite of my unthought-through bus choice (the 28 stops on Bardon Grange’s doorstep) I arrived, after a mildly confused amble through Oxley (which incidentally seems more Center Parcsesque than halls) at the gardens!

Lizzie Fellows, Bardon Grange’s project coordinator welcomed me and gave me the full guided tour of the pretty redbrick-walled gardens. I nodded as knowingly as possible as Lizzie pointed out the vast array of vegetables growing in all the beds, but my favourite by far were the wispy baby apple trees that hugged the walls. As you will most likely have noticed winter still loiters, and so Bardon Grange is in a sleepier state than it will be later in the year. Yet things are still busy growing underfoot and there was much to do!

And so I donned some kindly provided wellies and gardening gloves and immediately felt the part, as we discussed the little chunk of ground that we were going to beautify. Our aim was to prepare it for flowers, by creating a little anti-weed furrow and suffocating grass (a perennial I had not previously suspected of mischief) under compost and straw. A straightforward task you might think, but spades are harder to wield capably than you might imagine. And soil, unsurprisingly is fraught with industrious little wiggly worms. This poses two problems:

1) Nobody wants wormicide on their conscience

2) They inspire in me, the mildest of terror. I once stood on a slug… barefoot, and this unforgotten horror has resulted in an apologetic revulsion for their slimy worm cousins

Concerned about this hiccup in my budding horticulturalist career, I shared it with Lizzie, who having overcome a similar uneasiness, promptly picked one up, entreated me to look at its nice colours, and told me that you just had to get used to hanging with them.

It wasn’t really until yesterday that I realised how much I am missing Outside and Green in my life, and so I found myself disproportionately satisfied by the casual afternoon I spent, and the resultant mud under my fingernails. And so I left looking forward to seeing Bardon Grange blossom in the increasingly warm months, and meeting its host of eclectic volunteers. Luckily for all those jealous of my slice of the good life day, Bardon Grange welcomes everyone- yahay. I for one am morally obliged to return, I’ve got to get pally with some wormies.

For more information on Bardon Grange, scroll down and check out November’s Community Update, or follow this link: http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/volunteeringandcommunity/bardongrange/

It’s almost Christmas, and for the first time for a few...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:06:48 +0000

It’s almost Christmas, and for the first time for a few years I can actually feel my feet as I walk around Leeds! As I was reminiscing over my last few years studying and working in the city I stumbled accross these photos of Hyde Park from 2008/9, when winter was a little bit colder…

Check out Leeds University Union’s community update for...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:45:00 +0000

Check out Leeds University Union’s community update for December, with a little bit of information about what students at Leeds University have been doing in the community in the last month and a bit.

You can also see the update on the Leeds University Union website.

My Kirkgate market pledge

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:04:00 +0000

I made a promise to myself that this academic year, I would buy all of my fruit and vegetables from independent local sellers, largely Kirkgate market. Living near the city centre, Kirkgate Market is barely 10 minutes away from me. Only using it at the very end of last year, I realised how much generally cheaper and nicer the food I bought from the market was. A couple of times, I have had to sift through the brown bags to get rid of slightly dodgy looking tomatoes, but on the whole, I’ve had a pretty good experience of it.

9 weeks in and I’ve been sticking to it! Except, (which motivated me to write this post) one purely lazy action where for the first time today, I went to Morrisons and bought some pears and carrots, rather than using the market.

I don’t have anything in principle against supermarkets, but there are more than enough Tescos and I use them a lot at home- where we don’t have anything that even vaguely resembles Leeds’ market. There’s such a massive selection of stuff at the market and if one stall doesn’t have what you’re looking for then another one will.

It’s taken me quite a while to stop massively over-buying, because I get swept up in how cheap everything is, having the chance to interact with sellers and being able to select the fruit and veg that looks nice to you. It makes buying food more of an experience than a chore which I really like. Also, my student brain will always conclude that lugging home 5lbs of potatoes (knowing that I will find a way to use them) bought for a fraction of what it would cost in a big supermarket is worth it.

Emma Hewitt

Little Woodhouse UCR

Making the most of Leeds

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:46:44 +0000

As you start thinking about houses for next year, there’ll be a lot of questions to ask: who will I live with? Where? What do I want my house to be like? What is there to do in the area?

Moving into a new area is a great opportunity to discover more of the things you love about Leeds, and the more you do, the more you’ll find. For example…

- Did you know that there’s a centre in Headingley called HEART, which has a fantastic café and puts on loads of art exhibitions and live music?

- Have you heard of Dagmar Woods, a green space in Hyde Park that hosts theatre productions?

- Have you seen Royal Park School, an empty building that residents want to turn into a community centre?

On every street corner something interesting is going on, and the best thing is that all of these things are run entirely by volunteers. If you scratch the surface of the city there are thousands of people giving their time to create something for the community.

At the start of the month, UNIPOL hosted a showcase of student-led volunteering projects from Leeds University Union and Leeds Met Students’ Union. There are students who teach local teenagers how to windsurf, who work with local homeless shelters, who fix bikes for refugees and hold weekly language classes. There are groups that collect and recycle glass in Hyde Park, who raise thousands of pounds for local charities, who befriend older people and teach them how to use the internet.

There are more things going on than I can describe in so few words, and so many of them are run by students.

So whilst you’re asking where you’re going to live next year, think about what you’re going to do. Explore the amazing places on your doorstep, get to know the people living around you and do something amazing. This city is what we make of it.

Ben Fisher

Community Officer, Leeds University Union

This article was originally written for November’s edition of the UNIPOL Housing tabloid.

Why lighting on Woodhouse Moor is not the solution.

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:40:59 +0000

Why lighting on Woodhouse Moor is not the solution.

Community Reps at the November Better Leeds Forum, held at...

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Community Reps at the November Better Leeds Forum, held at Devonshire Halls.

At the forum, three ideas were proposed, debated, and voted upon. These included ways to tackle high rates of child poverty in the city, and ways to make the university engage more with the wider community.

The community reps passed on feedback from students in their area, and what they thought about the proposed ideas.

To find out more about the ideas discussed, the results and other Union forums, follow the link to the Leeds University Union website: www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/yourideas/new/

"It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual." - Jeremy Bentham

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:55:00 +0000

Quotes are quite clever little things. A few little sentences have the capacity to surmise what could take an age to skirt around. Reading a succession of them (as I did, to find that beauty) makes you think that if only people heeded the wisdom of these skinny lines, the woes of the world would be oh so cutely resolved. But alas! I have a feeling this is not how it is done in the world, and a community rep, with all the best intentions would probably not get especially far blurting one liners.

However, Mr Bentham is quite right. Words like community often become hollow with over use, pieces of political fluff. Assumptions are made, and with assumptions come misunderstanding, and with misunderstanding we are further and further away from actually realising a solid sense of community. But therein lays the crux of this long-winded issue: how exactly you do you ‘engage’ with people you’ve never met? Do surveys and displays bring us any closer to the understanding what people want? Where exactly do you find this elusive interest of the individual? The simple answer of course is to get out ‘There’ and get talking, and listening. Yet even this is an over-simplification, where is ‘There’ and who are ‘They’? Though not impossible of course, such an endeavour is far trickier in practise than I ever imagined, and intimidating too.

However, the moral of this little story is, that it’s about time I get my talk on. Regardless of whether or not the concept of community enjoys playing hide and seek, I’d be intrigued to know what its interests are, besides of course, small children’s games…

Bryony Lawless

South Headingly Community Rep

PS, Come see us on 28th November in Parky, that would be nice.