Casualties of healthier lifestyle
It seems every silver lining has a cloud and the smoking ban is no exception.
The legislation that has freed many from the tyranny of other people's cigarette smoke is being blamed for hammering the final nail in the coffin of the city's working men's clubs.
A rise in the number of clubs closing across Leeds is being blamed on the smoking ban.
The bare facts are that since the ban came in last July, the number of clubs registered with the Clubs & Institute Union (CIU) has fallen from 81 to 74 in Leeds.
Nationally the number of CIU clubs shutting down has tripled during the same period.
This is sad news for an institution which has played a major role in the history of our city.
Working men's clubs have been a refuge from a harsh world for generations of working class families, they have provided entertainment, a community focus and a social network.
There are those who will say their end is inevitable, with or without a smoking ban.
If this is true, it is not a reason to celebrate. When we lose working men's clubs we lose an important part of the lives of many ordinary men and women.
Fingers crossed
Leeds Metropolitan University already plays a full and valuable part in the life of the city but now staff and students are keeping their fingers crossed that its influence is about to spread more widely than ever - because the university is hoping to become the country's National Centre of Coaching Excellence.
We should similarly cross our fingers and hope, because if the bid is successful it will mean that an institution already steeped in sporting excellence will receive a great accolade in the build-up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
It would then play a major role in coaching talented athletes to Olympic medal success from its Headingley sites.
Leeds is not being handed the title on a plate, it is vying for it against tough opposition in the form of Loughborough University, but a decision is expected in two months - and until then we must keep everything firmly crossed.
Inspiring storyS
It's a story seemingly straight from the pages of an historical page turner - the fatherless Leeds mill lass who ran way to London aged 13 - and became the greatest Shakespearean actress of her age.
Fortunately for us it's true and now the life of Leeds girl Adeleide Neilson is being commemorated in her home city, a tribute to a woman who died aged just 32 but managed to make her mark against the odds during her short life.
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
