The Hovels dining room at Harewood estate

A Night at Hidden Harewood

September 10, 2017kateemoxon 2 Comments

Last week I found myself at the gates of the Harewood Estate, with very little idea of what to expect from the evening ahead. The event was the secretive Hidden Harewood, a pop-up supper club with Ox Club chef Josh Whitehead that promised to showcase the best the Harewood state had to offer. I knew I had to dress for the outdoors and that I was going to be fed…and that was about it.

We were greeted outside Harewood All Saints Church by Eddy Lascelles, the founder of Harewood Food and Drink Project, who gave us a quick intro to the evening and explained the concept of Hidden Harewood. Josh Whitehead was challenged to create a menu that captured the taste of Harewood, relying as much as possible on produce that could be sourced directly from the estate. Continue reading →

Leeds Diary Dates: November 2016

November 2, 2016kateemoxon Leave a comment

October has been a whirlwind month for me. I’ve been a bit absent from my blog – which I discussed here – but the time away has felt necessary, and after a particularly relaxed weekend last week I finally feel ready to up my game again. My trip to Porto in October marked my last holiday of the year which has given me the drive I needed to plan a few extra activities and trips around the UK, and there are so many exciting events going on in Leeds in the run-up to Christmas that I hardly know what to choose. There’s no way I’m going to get to all of them, but these are my top picks for what to go to in November. Continue reading →

Stepping stones at Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire

A Day Out at Bolton Abbey

June 12, 2016kateemoxon 2 Comments

We’ve been lucky enough to have some amazing weather recently, and I’ve been loving it. There’s something about the sunshine which makes it almost impossible to feel down or stressed – when the weather is good all I want to do is get outside and enjoy it. Last Sunday Bolton Abbey was my chosen spot for a day of adventuring, and it felt so therapeutic to get out of the house, breathe in some fresh countryside air and enjoy the beautiful Yorkshire scenery. Continue reading →

First Impressions of Yorkshire Sculpture Park

April 11, 2016kateemoxon Leave a comment

Are you ready for a shocking revelation? Ok, here goes. I have lived in Leeds almost my entire life and until a couple of weeks ago I’d never visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I’m going to just assume that you gasped after that sentence, because it is pretty incredible. I blame my schools to be honest – why they insisted on doing all those trips to the Royal Armouries when there was another free attraction so close, I will never know. Anyway, I’m supposed to be sharing my first impressions of the Park aren’t I? Apologies, I digress… Continue reading →

The Arrival of Spring at Salt’s Mill: A Photo Tour

September 16, 2015kateemoxon Leave a comment

Last weekend I had a lovely day out with the family at Salt’s Mill, where one of David Hockney’s more recent collections ‘The Arrival of Spring’ is currently on display. The collection of 33 pieces document the changing landscape of Woldgate in East Yorkshire from January 1st to May 31st 2011, as winter gives way to spring and then summer. So far so standard – the Impressionists were doing this hundreds of years ago – but what makes this collection remarkable is that Hockney created every picture on an iPad.

Hockney has clearly drawn some inspiration from Impressionism; like the famous watercolours, up close many of the pieces look rather nonsensical, with random colours and brushstrokes appearing for no apparent reason. It’s only when you step back that you get the full effect, and this is no more apparent than when you’re stood in the middle of the gallery, the paintings split into four seasonal groups. From the purple and grey palates of winter, you progress around the space through the pale greens and muddy browns of spring into the vibrant pinks and deeper greens of early summer. let’s go on a tour shall we?