Cooly G - ArmzHouse

     Brixton based Cooly G chose the Fuse gallery & Art Space here in Bradford to launch her new five track EP ArmzHouse.  Part of the performance was streamed live via the internet as Cooly G (Merrisa Campbell) has a national as well as international fan base.  The EP is available on the Hyperdub record label.

Suddenly Human - Factory Stret Studios

     German band Suddenly Human performing at Factory St. Studios in Bradford.  The band are currently appearing at venues up and down the UK before heading back to Europe for performances in Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.  The band describe themselves as 'alternative, new wave & post punk'.  I ought to mention also that local band Francis put in an impressive performance on the same evening which made the jointly hosted event (Yorkshire Gig Guide, Kulchad Live and Factory St.) a memorable one indeed.

Kyoka - Fuse Gallery & Art Space

     Japanese electronic musician and composer Kyoka visited the Fuse Gallery & Art Space last night.  Kyoka performs regularly on the electronic music scene in Japan and Germany so it was a rather special treat to be able to hear one of her performances here in Bradford.

Cambodian Space Project At Factory Street

Cambodian Singer Srey Thy and Cambodian Space Project deliver a stunning performance of 'Whisky Cambodia' at a recent performance at Factory Streeet Studios here in Bradford.  The band with their unique blend of 1960's Cambodian pop and Khmer plychedelic rock have recently performed at the Glastonbury Festival, the Jazz Cafe in London, Womad, and of course Bradford's very own own recording facility  Factory Street Studios..

Spellbound - City Park

The performance by street theatre company 'Spark' was definitely a crowd pleaser at last nights Spellbound event in the city centre, a visually and aurally dynamic spectacle!

Sky Ride Bradford 2014

Sky Ride ambassador Sir Chris Hoy leads a procession of cyclists as they leave City Park and head for Lister Park along a traffic free route.  A record 6500 cyclists took part in Sunday's Sky Ride event.

Chill Out Zone

We've had some quite nice weather here recently.  It's been warm enough to just sit around and watch the world go by, or have a paddle in the mirror pool, or just lie back and have forty winks....

Beer, Wine & Bubbles!

The World Curry Festival has taken place in Bradford this weekend with chefs from around the world demostrating their curry making skills.  The restored London bus makes an unusual mobile bar.

Sheelangig - Bradford Festival

A Balkan style folk band, good musicians with a bit of slapstick thrown in for good measure, very entertaining.

Transglobal Underground - Bradford Festival

Transglobal Underground, a fusion of musical styles including reggae and Punjabi, great music, great musicians.

Hula Hoop Girl - Bradford Festival

I don't think this was part of the Bradford Festival, but entertaining nonetheless.

Bradford Festival - Angelo Palladino

An absolutely storming session from solo bluesman Angelo Palladino helped kick off the Bradford Festival last Friday.  Angelo, originally a Londoner, now lives (and gigs) in West Yorkshire.  If you are into blues music just go and see the man live!

Teacher Strike - Bradford

Teachers marched through the streets of Bradford on Wednesday to highlight their concerns over pay and conditions in the teaching profession.  Many schools were closed for the day.

Commonwealth Flag Raising Ceremony - Bradford

This should really have been posted back on the 10th March.  It's a Commonwealth Flag Raising Ceremony (I think it's the first time Bradford has taken part in this), one of hundreds being held in the fifty three Commonwealth states across the world.  The Lord Mayor of Bradford Khadim Hussain reads a Commonwealth Affirmation before the flag is raised by the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire Dr Ingrid Roscoe.

Eduardo Niebla

A guest on the Radio 4 midweek programme this morning was flamenco guitarist Eduardo Niebla.  Mr Niebla appeared at the Bradford Festival last year and I believe he is also making an appearance at this year's festival  (The Radio 4 programme is currently available on the listen again facility).

Save Our Fields - Cote Farm

Local residents with the support of Bradford East MP David Ward took part in  a protest walk on Saturday to try and save an area of green fields located between Thackley and Windhill.  A planning application to build 330 houses on the 30 acre site has recently been submitted to Bradford Council.  If the scheme goes ahead it will mean the loss of a rather pleasant semi-rural area with an ancient bridleway running through it.

Epilepsy Action 10K

Runners in Market Street at the start of the Epilepsy Action 10k yesterday morning.  Number 1612 Tesfaye Debele was the first over the finishing line with a time of 31min 42sec.  It was a fairly level course but there were some quite strong winds for the 1400 plus runners to contend with.

Downreno At Al's Dime Bar

Local band Downreno at Al's Dime Bar. The four piece band went through their repertoire of American folk pop in front of a very appreciative (and very tightly packed) audience last Thursday.  These guys are real musicians!
(Rick on the upright bass at the back there also plays in the John Palmer Band, another great local outfit).

Michael Hann - Rejections

Stockton based musician Michael Hann made an appearance at the recently opened Fuse Gallery and Art Space yesterday afternoon.  It's a bit difficult for me to describe the audio-visual performance as it's a genre that I am not really familiar with.  I would describe the improvised work as an electronically generated soundscape of industrial noise, haunting, disturbing and captivating.
Michael had an unusual upbringing, spending his early school years in the Middle East before returning to the UK to finish his school education, and then going on to university in the nearby city of Leeds (where he apparently made the occasional foray into Bradford, so he's not a complete stranger to the town).
The Fuse Gallery is currently running The Portrait Salon Photography Show, a 'salon des refuses', work turned down from major art shows.  Apparently, due to the very high standard for exhibitions an awful lot of really good work is refused and not seen by the public, this exhibition redresses the balance a little.  It's a diverse collection of portraits though, great differences in style and technique, but there are some real gems in there.

Memorial Wall Dedication Ceremony

The Bishop of Bradford led a service of  dedication for a new memorial last Saturday.  The memorial, a wall bearing the names of thirty  men and women from the Bradford area who have given their lives while serving in the armed forces since 1947 stands in a small garden close to the existing war memorial.  The service was attended by friends and family of the fallen, local dignitaries, the Royal British Legion and quite a large crowd of the ordinary people of Bradford.