Bongo’s Bingo: A thrilling night of fun and mayhem 

Emma-Jane Bennett on 29 October 2024

Emma-Jane Bennett unleashes the mayhem of Bongo’s Bingo in this club night review at their O2 Academy Leeds event.

Looking for a place to unleash your madness in a sing-along, by dancing on the tables or shouting “Bingo”? Well, Bongo’s Bingo is the place for you, and I truly mean it. Believe me, I know what you’re thinking, bingo is a game for retirement homes. Well, I hope this encourages you to think again. Bongo’s Bingo has completely revolutionised the game with its rave-like atmosphere and high energy tied with the traditional game of bingo.

In recent years, Bongo’s Bingo has turned into a phenomenon, sweeping through the major cities across the globe – we have Johnny Bingo and Joshua Burke to thank for that! Now, this is no ordinary game of bingo; it’s interactive and so immersive as you are yelling out numbers, participating in dance-offs on stage, singing along to 80s, 90s, 00s, and 10s classics. And of course, expect confetti, balloons and coco-pops (if you know, you know). Let me put this plainly: play bingo, you sing, and you dance. The unpredictability of the experience keeps everyone on their toes, you never know what is going to happen next! The flamboyant dancers and performers really steal the show with their eccentric hosting skills and the spontaneous bursts into song. 

But it is not just about winning cash money. The fun lies in the bizarre and funny rewards handed out for smaller wins. You could walk away with disco helmets to a Henry Hoover, a mobility scooter to a cut out of Freddie Mercury (I am still mourning that I didn’t win that).

Image Credit: Supplied by Damo Jones from Bongos Bingo Leeds at O2 Academy Leeds

You might still be thinking that it isn’t for you, but I promise, it is accessible fun for all ages. The hosts guide you through each round with laughs and having been to bingo at the O2 Academy in Leeds, I can confirm it is probably the best place to spend your Saturday evening. The O2 is such a staple part of the Leeds city centre, so why not grab your pals and bring them along for a weekend playing bingo with a drink in hand? The hilariously chaotic evening will send you into hysterics and you will be yearning to go again. 

Surely I have convinced you by now? Well, if you are interested, you are in luck! Here are the dates for the O2 Academy in the city centre: Friday 1st, Saturday 2nd, Friday 8th, Friday 12th, and Friday 22nd of November. Finally, if you’re ready for the Christmas spirit, the ‘Bingo All The Way Christmas’ shows start from Friday 29th of November. So, buy your tickets as soon as you can! Tickets here: https://www.bongosbingo.co.uk/city/61/leeds/

Words by Emma-Jane Bennett

How are local groups preparing to help people this winter?

Archie Sykes on 29 October 2024

The famous line from Game of Thrones ‘Winter is Coming’ is more and more becoming an appropriate description of how the United Kingdom must prepare every year. Within my lifetime it has become commonplace for every winter to see the headline ‘NHS in Crisis’ and read that the pressures of winter diseases and colder weather will push the service over the brink.

Meanwhile, across the country, people are struggling to cope not just on a seasonal basis, but on a weekly basis. Inflation, affecting both food and energy, is creating new and bigger challenges for everyone. Food prices are now 20% higher than they were in May 2021 meaning people are paying more for the same, whilst wages, and importantly benefits for those struggling the most, have lagged behind these rapid increases in prices.

Recent inflation trends have gone hand in hand with longer trends that have seen growing levels of poverty and even reports by the Resolution Foundation of destitution across the country. This poverty problem has been demonstrated in the rise in parents (now ¼) struggling to put food on the table and an estimated 3 million children struggling to get sufficient food.

Longer-term trends in the levels of poverty mean that despite inflation being brought down and being ‘back to normal’ (as Rishi Sunak claimed during the election) planned rises in the energy price cap are going to be the third nail in the economic coffin that drives more people into crisis.

The multi-faceted nature of the economic pressures on people means that people from all across society are having to seek help from the community. Warm Spaces (and their accompanying Community Shop) run by Hyde Park Methodist Church in Leeds, has people from babies (and their parents) coming, to homeschooling families, and people in their 80s.

With this economic situation developing and no major government intervention being planned (or implemented in previous years), many communities have sought their own solutions to these growing problems and to mitigate the impact of winter. These have manifested themselves in the development of food banks and, in more recent times, warm banks.

Food banks have become an icon of the community filling in where the state has failed. Although for people of my generation, it may seem hard to believe, food banks are a relatively new concept being largely unheard of before 2010. However, since 2010, the food bank has slowly developed into an almost integral part of the British social security system. This growth has not slowed and in the last 5 years, the Trussell Trust (the biggest foodbank provider in the UK) has reported a 94% increase in the number of emergency food parcels they had to deliver. Here in Yorkshire, the increase has been even more rapid with there being an increase of 157% meaning the area has the second fastest-growing food bank sector in the country behind London.

Meanwhile, in more recent years the UK has moved on from just needing food banks and has begun to move into the warm bank sector as well. These new institutions have developed as a community solution to deal with rising energy prices and therefore the increasing problems in keeping homes warm. With the supply of a warm room and often warm drinks and food, these sites have become important for people struggling particularly in winter. Today there are over 3,000 warm banks across the UK according to the World Economic Forum with them being run by councils and community groups alike.

However, warm banks are evolving to do more than simply meet the needs of those who can’t afford to heat their own homes all day. A growing crisis across the UK has been the rise in loneliness particularly among elderly people, but among all generations as well. According to one of the leading charities providing warm banks 7% of the population suffer from chronic loneliness and this has been replicated in the reason for people coming. Warm Welcome have reported that the main reason for people coming to warm banks is because of loneliness.

This is something that the Warm Space has also noticed, Sharon (one of the people helping run the service) described how “As months have gone people have started sitting together” showing how the service is helping people make friends and find a new community. This impact has been so great that the church has rebranded the site a Welcome Space recognising it’s “not just a space for people to be warm, but also for social interaction”.

Warm banks are fast evolving in the new social environment to meet changes in demand. No longer are they hubs just to help keep people warm, these community spaces are now helping tackle other problems in the loneliness epidemic.

Across the UK major economic and now social issues are beginning to be countered by community groups. In areas where state support has failed to keep people properly afloat, it is the charitable work of people within our community which is helping to tackle hunger, cold and loneliness across our communities. And with budgets in government departments being squeezed and large increases in benefits a long way off, it may be fair to say that the UK is now a society dependent on the community.

Words by Archie Sykes

Hedi Slimane’s Departure from Celine: a Musical Chairs of Creative Directors

Rose Ssemakula on 29 October 2024

On October 2nd, it was announced that the French photographer-turned-designer Hedi Slimane would leave Celine after almost seven years as Creative Director. This came as no surprise to those in the industry—there had been speculation for months prior to Slimane’s departure.

A Creative Director stepping down is neither new nor unusual, but in recent years, the switch-around has become a game of musical chairs. All within the last year: Sean McGuire took over from Sarah Burton at McQueen, Adrian Appiolaza moved to Moschino, Virginie Viard stepped down from Chanel, Kim Jones left Fendi, Alessandro Michele, from Gucci, is now at Valentino, and now, of course, Hedi Slimane has left Celine. There is a concern that the rate of departures is linkedto the ever-quickening pace of the trend cycle. After all, the purpose of a new Creative Director is to breathe new life and creativity into a brand—crucial for survival and beneficial for marketing. Fashion houses now face greater pressure to entice buyers. They are more than overlords of what is trending, they also operate as a trickle-down economy, as famously explained by Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. They report to shareholders and fight against increasing costs, competition, and media coverage—there is no room for mistakes.

As a Creative Director, the job is not only designing seasonal collections but also spearheading the brand’s entire creative vision. It is a role that requires garment-making abilities, a great imagination, and business knowledge. A Creative Director can influence everything from the design of the clothes down to the runway. For instance, Matthieu Blazy of Bottega Veneta recently assigned animal-shaped beanbags to guests at Veneta’s Spring/Summer 2025 show, continuinghis playful vision through the collection, each animal supposedly matching each guest’s “vibe”. Alongside this, a Creative Director must also consider a fashion house’s values and heritage, which sometimes conflicts with their ideas for the brand.

Slimane has a history of making fashion houses his own. While Creative Director of YSL in 2012, he removed the ‘Yves’ from the brand name. Even at Celine, originally styled as Céline, Slimane dropped the accent over the ‘E’ before of his first show. This caused an uproar, with Slimane accused of erasing the brand’s French heritage. Though it may seem fickle, in fashion, the devil is in the details. To understand its significance, imagine someone removing a letter from your name or changing the pronunciation—suddenly, you feel like a new person with a new identity.

Heidi Slimane leaves Celine after seven years as Creative Director/Photo Credits: Dominique Charriau via Gettyimages.com

Creating his own distinct Celine is quite an accomplishment, especially since his predecessor was the industry favorite, Pheobe Philo. Philo was renowned for empowering women in a way that freed them from sexualization. Celine has always catered to women, initially dedicated to luxe sportswear, but Philo modernized the brand with unmatched elegance, pioneering ‘quiet luxury’. Today, brands like The Row, owned by the Olsen twins, emulate this style, while lesser brands like Molly Mae’s Maebe, attempt to replicate it. Philo has always been and continues to be, about timelessness and practicality, designing for women in a way that reflects her values as both a business owner and mother.

Slimane presented a contrast to Philo’s aesthetic at Celine. His designs took a cheekier approach. His ‘working women’ were still professional but younger and more tech-savvy. Slimane showed more feathers and sparkles—less work, more play. Like Philo, Slimane also achieved commercial success; LVMH, Celine’s parent company, reported a record year in sales under Slimane, making clear his departure wasn’t due to a lack of success. Business of Fashion reported that it was ultimately boardroom disagreement that led to his exit, with Slimane demanding “A historically high salary” and “Royalties on all manner of creative outputs”.

Given his vision and needs, it may be time for the French designer to start his brand, following in the footsteps of Phoebe Philo, who has launched her label since Celine. Slimane is not short of talent and is skilled at styling, design, and photography. He also has experience at various fashion houses. But there are suggestions he might move to another French legacy brand, possibly Chanel, which has yet to announce Virginie Viard’s replacement. Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s previous Creative Director, is said to have admired Slimane.

As for the future of Celine, Michael Rider, previously Creative Director at Polo Ralph Lauren, has been chosen to replace Slimane. It will be interesting where Rider takes Celine’s working women next. For those who dismiss or don’t understand the constant switching of Creative Directors, it is comparable to the movement of football players, or betteryet, managers. Just like fans might wonder if Thomas Tuchel, the new manager after Gareth Southgate’s resignation, can “finally bring it home”, those in fashion watch to see if a Creative Director will excel in a new fashion house. One wonders if it will respect a brand’s heritage while taking it to new heights. Will Rider succeed in following the legacies of Philo and Slimane at Celine? And where will Heidi Slimane go next?