You can win yourself a free England shirt at two beloved pubs in Leeds to celebrate the 2023 Women's World Cup.
A select number of Greene King pubs are giving away a limited number of England women's shirts to celebrate the start of the tournament and the Lionesses getting underway.
The two Leeds-based boozers taking part in the campaign are none other than two Headingley favourites in the Skyrack and Woodies Craft Ale House, and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a shirt is order a breakfast. Yes, that's really it.
You could literally start the Otley Run with a hearty brekkie and then set off dressed as an England player — easy. As reported by our friends over at The Manc, it's happening all over the country and Yorkshire's lucky enough to boast two participating pubs.
Sarina Wiegman and the girls kick off their first match against Haiti on Saturday, 22 July, but it's their game against Denmark the following Friday that you need to come along for to stand a chance of copping a free kit.
England play Denmark on Friday, 28 July and if you are among the first people to rock up to either of these pubs in time to order a breakfast, you could be one of the lucky few who receive a free Lionesses shirt. That's it, you just have to treat yourself to some early morning grub. Happy days.
There are 300 free shirts to be given away across the 30 different locations (i.e. 10 in each pub), so you stand a fairly decent chance of grabbing one. Better still, if you happen to opt for the Skyrack, they've got plenty on throughout the day too.
In case you were unaware, these things are worth £80, so you'd be getting your hands on quite an expensive bit of kit — quite literally.
Greene King isn't just giving away free England kits for no reason, of course; the promotion is part of a campaign to increase viewership around the women's game — something they have been championing for years now.
National research by the pub chain and brewery revealed that while 58% of Brits have started following a women’s sports team since the Lionesses' incredible Euro 2022 victory last summer, but a third admitted they have never been to the pub to watch a women’s football game.
Moreover, two-thirds of those surveyed believe there is a lack of awareness and support for women’s sports teams compared to male teams but 73% said that watching England's women's team last year has helped increase exposure around it. We can't imagine how massive it would be for women's football if they won the Women's World Cup too.
The first game between host nation New Zealand and Norway at 8am on Thursday and the Lionesses kick off this weekend. Come on girls, let's bring it home — again.
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.”
The Swine That Dines announces the official opening date of its brand new restaurant
Clementine Hall
Much-loved Leeds Bistro The Swine Bistro, formerly known as The Swine That Dines, has moved to a bigger space in Headingley.
Although it’s gone through a few name changes over the years since launching as The Greedy Pig cafe in 2012, this independent spot has long been a firm favourite for Leeds locals for some time now.
Run by chef couple Jo and Stu Myers, they’ve been operating out of North Street where it’s all about cooking seasonal produce simply and with an added ‘little bit of sunshine’.
But now Swine Bistro has moved up over to Headingley, taking up a unit previously occupied by Jam hairdressers on Otley Road.
Image: Supplied
And the time has finally come for them to open their doors, as they announce their first service will take place on Friday 4 April with bookings open from today, Thursday 20 March.
The Myers will be welcoming head chef Kirsty Cheetham, who won Observer Food Monthly’s Best Sunday Lunch award in 2018 and 2022 when she ran The Queen o’t owd Thatch in South Milford, Leeds.
The expanded space in the restaurant has allowed the team to curate a bigger wine list which will include natural wines from Wayward Wines and Latitude Wines as well as local beers from Ilkley Brewery and Horsforth Brewery.
Image: Supplied
The team remains passionate about locally sourced ingredients and has partnered with a variety of Yorkshire suppliers including R&J Yorkshire for its fresh meat, Tarbetts fishmonger, cheese from George & Joseph cheesemongers and beans from micro roaster, Chipp Coffee Co.
Jo Myers, co-owner of the Swine Bistro said: “It’s taken a huge amount of time and effort to realise our dream to revamp what was previously a hairdresser into a fully functioning kitchen and restaurant. It’s been a wild ride but we’re excited, and slightly nervous, to finally open our doors.
“We love the vibe in Headingley and the time out has allowed us to have fun with our menu as well as take part in lots of essential taste testing of ingredients and drinks from our brilliant local suppliers. We can’t wait to welcome guests into our new restaurant!”
Danny Jones -
19th July 2023 
