How would you like to get paid to travel the world? It’s not a bad offer, we’ll say that.
While we know it may sound a little too good to be true, especially for those who love nothing more than the feeling of hopping on a plane, leaving the typical often-dreary Leeds weather behind, and stepping off into the heat of another country, but there’s genuinely a company out there that’s currently looking to pay young people to travel.
That’s right – leading youth, student, and adventure travel company KILROY has put out a call for ‘young globetrotters’ aged between 20 and 25 with a passion for content creation who fancy winning themselves, what can only be described as, “the trip of a lifetime”.
The company has launched a brand-new competition to hire one young British adventurer to join an international lineup of eight recruits for its revamped ‘Explorer Program’ – which is an extraordinary opportunity for budding nomads to bag a life-defining travel experience that’s worth up to €5,000 (or £4,280).
The lucky young Brit will become KILROY ambassador, and get the chance to explore a range of experiences – including backpacking, volunteering, and group tours across the world over an unforgettable few weeks, all while sharing photos and videos from their adventure to KILROY’s website and social media channels.
Essentially, it’s like an all-expenses paid gap year.
South Korea, China, Argentina, Tanzania, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Fiji, and Vietnam are just some of the thrilling destinations the lucky winners could in with the chance of travelling to.
Chile, Cambodia, and Northern India are a couple more on the expansive destination list.
Fancy it then? If you’re aged between 20 and 25, and are keen to apply, then you’ll just need to “showcase your creativity, passion, and content creation skills” through a one-minute TikTok or Instagram video.
Image: Unsplash
In the video, you’ll need to introduce yourself and your dream travel destination, and then share either an unexpected travel experience, unusual travel tips, tricks and hacks, or an existing or budding passion or skill.
Applicants must follow and tag the KILROY UK social media accounts – @kilroy_uk on TikTok and @kilroy_uk on Instagram – and include their name, age, and dream destination in the caption when posting their video, as well as the hashtag #explorerprogram2024 to enter.
All entries will need to be submitted by midnight on the 11 April 2024 to avoid missing out, and you can visit the ‘Explorer Program’ page on the KILROY website here for all the T&Cs.
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.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Emily Sergeant -
18th March 2024 
