A Harry Potter-themed escape room has opened in Leeds and we expect fans of the J K Rowling tale will be very excited at the news.
Located at newly opened Leeds escape room The Escapologist, it can be found at the White Rose Shopping Centre.
Here, you'll find yourself a student at Hogwarts with Professor Lupus desperately in need of your help. He's already protected you from a wild troll attacking the school grounds, now he's injured and unable to move.
The challenge is to find his special medicine to stop him becoming 'extremely ill' before nightfall - which fans will know is code for 'turn into a werewolf' and bite you. No pressure, then.
The game's description continues:
"He also tells you to give the medicine to his owl who will bring the vial to him once you have found it.
"You feel the professor is keeping something hidden from you, but after he persists you decide to do as he has asked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bay-y-1jD40&t=43s
"You are now in Professor Lupus’ classroom and have an hour until the sun sets. You don’t know where the medicine is, what it is for, or what it looks like, but you must get it to the professor before night falls! Hurry!"
So not only do you have to find his medicine, you also have to find his owl (a nice little touch, which we obviously love as Loiners) - all within the space of an hour. Tick tock.
Ranked at a medium difficulty, the game can be played by between two and six players at a time and is just one of seven experiences available to try at the new gaming location.
On top of this, you'll also find an Alice in Wonderland-themed room, a Sherlock Holmes-inspired room and a Guy Fawkes-inspired game called 'The Gun Powder Plot.'
As well as the seven different themed rooms, The Escapologist also has a fully licensed bar and cafe for refreshments.
To find out more about the different experiences on offer and to book, head over to the escape room's website here.
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.
Georgina Pellant -
22nd September 2021 
