Tramlines Festival Announces Second Wave Of 2022 Acts

Alex Gibbon on 4 February 2022

Tramlines, Sheffield’s biggest city-based music festival has announced its latest round of music acts and the full comedy lineup. The 2022 event will mark the 13th edition of South Yorkshire’s biggest party and take place at Hillsborough Park in Sheffield from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th July.

Joining the party is Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Lady Leshurr, Alfie Templeman and Kelis, alongside more exciting additions including Crawlers, Bleach Lab, Baby Queen, The Clockworks and Elvana.

Also, comedy will be returning to Hillsborough with a huge line-up including headliners Jason Manford, Russell Kane and Seann Walsh. This latest wave of new acts will join headliners Sam Fender, Kasabian and Madness with over five stages of music, a family-friendly area and a genre-spanning line-up of performers including everyone from internationally acclaimed acts to grassroots talent.

Alongside this latest line-up announcement, Tramlines also reveals that Weekend tickets have sold out with 95% of the festival’s tickets now sold, with only an extremely limited number of Day tickets available. Day tickets for Tramlines are priced from £50 plus booking fees and can be purchased alongside VIP ticket options from www.tramlines.org.uk. Sign up for ticket alerts here: https://bit.ly/TL22SignUp.

Tramlines 2022 takes place following an exceptional event in 2021 where the festival took place as part of the Government’s Event Research Programme. It was the largest festival in Western Europe to go ahead since lockdown restrictions were eased and marked a national celebration of the return to live music.

Kelis is back in 2022 for the first time since joining us on the Ponderosa back in 2017. The multi-award winning artist is bound to be dropping classics such as ‘Trick Me’ and ‘Millionaire’. British rapper Lady Leshurr also makes a return to the festival, bringing her expert lyricism and freestyles, best known for her ‘Queen’s Speech’ series.

Alfie Templeman finally gets his opportunity to grace Hillsborough park after having to cancel his appearance last year due to isolating. The ‘Happiness in Liquid Form’ singer, who said he was “gutted” in missing out on his slot last year, will appear on Saturday alongside newly announced Liverpool rock-group Crawlers and London alt-rockers Bleach Lab.

Joining Friday’s line-up is Baby Queen, who brings her hazy alt-pop hits to Sheffield’s biggest party. While Galway four-piece The Clockworks join the bill to add a post-punk twist to what will be the start of another memorable weekend. Also joining the Line-Up for 2022 is Bradford bassline collective Bad Boy Chiller Crew, bringing with them even more genre-spanning sounds to Tramlines Line-Up. Sunday will see a performance from Elvana, an Elvis fronted Nirvana tribute band. Unfortunately due to scheduling issues, The Snuts (Friday) can no longer join us at Tramlines 2022.

Comedy has become a mainstay of the festival and in 2022 Tramlines has secured some huge names kicking off with Seann Walsh who headlines on Friday. Seann is a multi-award winning performer with a growing list of TV credits including QI, Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Juice and 8 out of 10 cats. Sean is joined on Friday by Scott Bennett, Michelle Shaughnessy, Alisdair Beckett-King, Vince Atta and host Danny McLoughlin.

Saturday headliner Russell Kane is a UK household name due to numerous TV appearances as a guest and as a presenter of his own shows including 2016 travel doc Stupid Man – Smart Phone. Joining Russell on Saturday are Tom Ward, Karen Bayley, Harry Stachini, Jack Gleadow and host Matt Read.

The Sunday showcase is headlined by Jason Manford, well known due his tenure as team leader on 8 out of 10 cats, his numerous presenting roles and his appearances in West End musicals such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Producers and Sweeney Todd. Also appearing on Sunday are Ivan Brackenberry, Lily Philips and host Emmanuel Sonubi who has been hotly tipped by both Jason Manford and Russell Kane.

Timm Cleasby, Tramlines Operations Director said, “I’m beyond excited for Tramlines 2022, Our first announcement was ace and now this? You had me at Kelis and Elvana… The return of Lady Leshurr too, just mega. Add to that Jason Manford, Seann Walsh and Lily Philips I’m gonna need more hours in my weekend.“

Roxy Lanes: Yorkshire’s largest gaming destination and bar opens next week

Alex Gibbon on 2 February 2022

Bar and bowling alley, Roxy Lanes, is relocating from its current location on Bond Street to
The Light on The Headrow. The mammoth venue, due to open on 11th February is a
whopping three times the size of its Bond Street predecessor, which opened in Leeds back
in 2014. This brand-new gaming hub will incorporate all the elements of existing Roxy
venues along with some new games that have never been seen in Leeds before.

Whether you’re looking for date ideas, want to relive childhood memories or simply fancy a
fun night out, the brand-new Roxy Lanes has got you covered. The ground floor will play
host to a large bar area where customers can choose from a selection of craft beers,
cocktails and spirits, as well as slices and fries, The games will begin here for those who
want to shoot some hoops with two Basketball Machines. The basement area will be
dedicated to gaming, with 10 bowling lanes, massive shuffleboards, American pool tables,
air hockey, ice curling and a massive second bar area.

Something new for this venue is the addition of two ice curling lanes where players slide
stones down the smooth surface of the lane, aiming for the bullseye. However, the only chill in
the air will come from your opponents as this is an ice-free curling lane, one of only a few in
the whole of the UK. 

Speaking about the re-location and what customers can expect from this venue, General
Manager Cameron Mosley, says: “This is an incredible location, right in the heart of Leeds city
centre. Whilst the Bond Street venue was a great starting point for us as a brand, it’s now time to up
the ante. We’re delighted to be able to expand and offer our customers even more of that Roxy
Lanes experience, the demand is already going through the roof for our new venue and we can’t wait
to take gaming In Leeds to the next level!”

With two Roxy Ball Room venues already a huge success at their Merrion Street and Boar Lane locations, the Roxy brand looks forward to adding a bigger, better Roxy Lanes to the mix. 

The 15,000 square foot venue is also the perfect place to watch the latest sporting action,
with live BT and Sky Sports showing everywhere, even at the end of the bowling lanes – a
perfect addition in time for the 6 Nations Championship and FIFA World Cup which are both taking place in 2022.

So, if you want to rack up your strikes, play some drinking games or try your hand at
something totally new, then the brand-new Roxy Lanes at The Light is the ideal venue to
while away an evening or kick-start the weekend. The Bond Street venue will continue to
trade until the switch over takes place. Those looking to get their game on this from February
should book in now!

Disabled people risk being left in the cold in a sustainable energy future, University of Leeds researchers warn

GryphonEditorAdm on 13 December 2021

A new study reveals that disabled households in the European Union currently consume 10% less energy than other households, as well as being 5% more likely to experience energy poverty.

University of Leeds researchers warn that disabled people in the EU are already energy disadvantaged and therefore need greater consideration in planning for energy policy aimed at tackling the climate crisis.

The study, published today in Nature Energy, provides a comprehensive analysis of the energy use of disabled households in the European Union — including England — in various energy consumption areas, such as transport, leisure, food and health services. 

Using consumption data from 19 countries in the EU in 2010, Dr Diana Ivanova and Professor Lucie Middlemiss of the Sustainability Research Institute, show that while disabled people use less energy, it is not necessarily through choice and potentially it is at the cost of disabled people not having their needs met for energy and other resources.

Professor Middlemiss said: “Disabled people are largely invisible in environmental policy and practice, and rarely discussed as having particular needs or facing particular challenges. This is a glaring oversight as we try to move towards a more sustainable future.

“Following the Glasgow COP26 climate change conference, we are all thinking more about how our energy consumption should change but that cannot come at the cost of people with different needs.

“It is critical to understand how disabled people are consuming their energy, and if their current needs are being met. This will enable us to reduce energy consumption safely and in a way that allows disabled people to live decent lives.”

Disabled household energy use for basic needs and services, such as food, energy at home, water, and waste, is similar to other households. However, disabled households have lower energy use for leisure services, such as recreation, hotels, restaurants and travel services.

Disabled households also have lower energy consumption for mobility, both in air transport and motor fuel, and lower energy spend on education than other households – suggesting lower opportunities to access education.

It is notable that disabled households tend to under-consume transport and leisure activities even when compared to households with similar incomes.

Disabled households’ limited consumption of leisure services highlights an important inequality, suggesting that disabled people have fewer opportunities to engage in fun and relaxing activities that require energy consumption.

The similar consumption of energy for basic needs between disabled and non-disabled households of the same income is also a concern. Often, disabled people have a greater need for energy in the home: for life-supporting machinery or to keep warmer, or wash more frequently than others.

In the light of these greater needs, the similar consumption levels to other households suggest that energy in the home might be being under-consumed by disabled households.

To date, there is very limited research on the needs and experiences of disabled people in the environmental literature. This is despite the fact that disabled people are regularly supported by governments in developed nations (including EU nations) and seen as important targets of social policy.

Professor Middlemiss said: “Disabled people may also be more vulnerable to climate change consequences such as extreme temperatures or emergency relief being inaccessible.

“When we consider that of the 446 million people living in the European Union, around 100 million are believed to be disabled, disability is a topic that merits more attention from environmental scholars and policymakers.

“These findings also support our earlier call to include the energy poor, in all their diversity, in energy transition planning.”

The paper Characterising the energy use of disabled people in the European Union towards inclusion in the energy transition is published in Nature Energy 13 December 2021 (DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00932-4)

Nordgreen Watches: the Scandinavians excel yet again

Alex Gibbon on 7 December 2021

Sleekness, minimalism and functionality appear to be the holy trinity of Nordic design. For a timepiece that boasts all three, look no further than Nordgreen. The Danish watch brand strives for products that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are sustainable. 

For a company that was only founded in 2017, practically fetal in the world of watchmakers, Nordgreen’s range of designs exudes maturity and elegance. This comes as no surprise when you realise that the watches come from the brand’s Chief Designer Jakob Wagner, who has collaborated with major brands such as Bang & Olufson, Hay, B&B Italia, and Cappellini.

The Gryphon was kindly sent a Philosopher model with a black dial and a 5-link chain. The watch itself features a raised and textured chapter ring, containing the slim second and hour markers. Measuring 36mm with a 7.4mm depth, the design is slim enough to not feel gaudy yet eye-catching enough to create a visual impact. What’s more, the angle and dainty size of the lugs mean that the piece fits very comfortably on the wrist.

Aside from the strength of its design, the Copenhagen-based brand is undoubtedly ethically-driven. The ‘green’ in their name is a testament to Nordgreen’s environmental commitment with fully FSC certified packaging and a pledge to ensure that overseas production facilities adhere to the highest standards.

What is most interesting however is the degree to which a Nordgreen customer can dictate the brand’s moral focus. As part of the Giving Back Programme, for each timepiece sold, the brand donates on the buyer’s behalf to one of three causes: providing clean water in the Central African Republic; giving education to children in India; or protecting the rainforests of Latin America. 

So, what’s the overall verdict? Nordgreen is a great choice for a watch with a timeless design from a brand that clearly champions change and innovation. The Scandanavians have done it again!

To see the full range of Nordgreen products, go to: https://nordgreen.co.uk/collections/leather-watch-straps

Note: The Gryphon received a complimentary product from Nordgreen in exchange for an honest review