Showcasing personal stories from local athletes, including Leeds Rhinos player Stevie Ward, the immersive event explores the fascinating history of sports injury.
Thackray Museum of Medicine has announced the launch of its summer season’s schedule, featuring an exciting lineup of exhibitions and events related to sports for all the family.
Entitled "On the Bench," the exhibition presents the opportunity to learn the science behind sports from different perspectives. From professional athletes and sports medical professionals to sports enthusiasts.
Launching 22 July 2023, anyone is invited to embark on an unforgettable journey into the world of sports, injuries, and triumph.
Image: Thackray Museum of Medicine
The main exhibition will focus on showcasing the incredible individual stories of injury from former Leeds Rhinos captain Stevie Ward, and the brilliant untold story of Norman Francis (Coach for Let's Do More Basketball), while the Leeds Roller Dolls Rollerderby will focus on team sport injuries.
Objects donated by the athletes alongside medical and physiotherapy equipment routinely used to treat sports injuries will be on display, telling the stories of their careers, injuries, treatment, and road to recovery.
The exhibit also includes photographs by the phenomenal Ian Beesley, showcasing his documentation of the Bradford Bulls during their peak of fame in the memorable 2001 season.
Image: Thackray Museum of Medicine
Commenting on the exhibition, Stevie Ward expressed his excitement: "It appears the injuries I had in my career are resulting in something I could never have imagined! I am so proud to be part of creating “On the Bench” alongside the Thackray Museum of Medicine.
"With Thackray at the heart of such a huge sporting city like Leeds, I think it’s going to be the first remarkable insight and look behind the curtain into how athletes recover both mentally and physically in the pursuit of glory.”
To celebrate the opening of On The Bench, families are invited to take part in activities exploring how athletes prevent injuries and how they are treated if they do across the school holidays.
From trying your hand at physical warm-up routines used by your favourite sports stars to testing your skills at sling and cast making.
To find out more about these activities and tickets to the exhibition, take a look at the Thackray Museum of Medicine's website.
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Clementine Hall -
25th July 2023 
