A teacher in Leeds has been on a mission this year to make sure that children have a place to sleep, delivering beds all across the city - and after appearing on BBC Breakfast yesterday has seen calls for her to become the 'next Prime Minister'.
Teacher, Bex Wilson who founded of charity Zarach delivered 17 beds on Christmas Eve alone after late referrals came in to ensure that the gift of a warm bed to sleep in was granted in time for Christmas Day.
The charity shared this heartwarming message after closing on the 23rd of December.
"17 children without beds have been referred to us since we closed for Christmas. Calling their mums this morning to tell them we’ve assembled a volunteer team and tomorrow, Xmas Eve, 2 van loads of bed bundles will be given out so they ALL have a bed for Christmas was the best".
The deputy headteacher at a Leeds inner-city primary has delivered almost 1,400 beds since beginning her journey in 2017, but since sharing her story with the BBC, it appears the charity has received more donations and referrals of children without beds respectively.
Local pop-up chefs, Slap and Pickle, joined the pledge to give the gift of 'Kids in Blankets' this Christmas and donated a generous portion of their sales to the cause. In total, the six sites in Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester raised over £3,000- enough for 20 new beds.
Leeds-based organisations Tenet Group, Leeds Vocal Movement, Horsforth Brewery and Robot Food have also made generous donations to the cause.
All donations are helping Bex to find a suitable solution to break the poverty cycle and get kids a proper night’s sleep and a “tummy full of food”.
Image: Zarach
Currently, she says, children across Leeds are sleeping on floors, sleeping on bean bags, sofas, chairs – and that’s no good for their learning development.
Five years ago, she founded charity Zarach – which provides not just beds, but bedding, pyjamas and other basics too.
The BBC filmed her doing a drop off to a family in the city, and it’s quite heartbreaking to watch – seeing the children’s bare feet in the hallway, with their mum explaining to the camera crew that their washing machine had broken at the same time as she was trying to save up for new beds.
Image; Zarach
“Every postcode in Leeds has been affected by bed poverty and we know that because we’ve delivered beds there,” Bex told the BBC.
“It’s just not right in 2021 that, in Britain, we have children that don’t have a bed.”
Camera crews followed her on a bed delivery as she surprises children with their new bed – telling them that their school has sent her because “you’re fabulous”.
Dropping off a brand new bed, two duvets, two pillows and a brand new mattress, alongside new bedding and pyjamas, she tells the small child it’s “all for you” as she sets them up in their new bedroom.
As well as bedding, Zarach also drops off food parcels – as the mum of the house explains, saying they were “low on money” that week.
According to the teacher, referrals from schools are on the up with families from every part of the city now needing her help.
Image: Zarach
Acknowledging that we’re all not as far away as we think from needing that kind of support, she says that whilst there are children in need she will continue to help them – even if some think that giving things out is not the solution.
If you would like to help support Zarach, you can find out more and donate to the charity here.
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.”
Sophie Smith -
31st December 2021 
