When I was a student I went all round the country but never really saw it. I played hockey (field that is for the Americans among you) for UCL 2nds (and once or twice 1sts but I was never really that good, more of a social player). Anyway, although we went to lots of other universities we rarely ventured beyond their sports fields and the SU bar, which is a whole set of other stories and not relevant here. The point is that although I have driven to lots of cities around England I can’t really claim to have been to them. One of those is Leeds which is surprisingly nice in the centre. There has obviously been a lot of regeneration in the last few years and it has really paid off. I always like Sunday mornings in city centres, they are so unlike any other time of the week. People just chill out, read the paper, have a coffee and so it was here. This is one city which I will definitely be wanting to pay a proper trip to at a later date.
Just down the road is Bradford, not a city which sets fire to the imagination, but as I was driving past I saw a sign for the National Photography Museum. This is obviously the first step in an urban regeneration program and not a bad one at that. Along with some kiddy friendly display about how TVs and cameras work there’s an iMax theatre and various other exhibitions. And given that it’s free not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.
