As the nights drew in this autumn, Leeds was struck by not one but two tragic losses which hit many of us deep in our hearts. The death of Sir Jimmy Savile was a loss not only of a truly brilliant broadcaster but of a much-loved local personality and of a man who had put his wealth and his success to the benefit of others, fixing it for people across Leeds with his support particularly of the Leeds General Infirmary and of Leeds University.
Just one month later, a bright Sunday morning was darkened by the shocking news that Premier League legend Gary Speed had Been found hanged at his home. Speed was a gentleman of the game, a successful man about whom few could have a bad word to say. His footballing career had taken him lately to the manager's job in Wales; but it all began at Elland Road with Leeds United. The first match after his death, the Leeds support chanted his name for eleven minutes, from the eleventh minute of the match, in honour of the shirt number he wore at Leeds for so long and with such dignity and pride.
Tributes to Gary Speed pile up round Billy Bremner's statue outside Elland Road. Photograph: Lucy Ray/PA
That same weekend, hundreds of committed Leeds people headed to the Leeds University Union for an event which itself reflected another of the themes of the year: the Leeds Summat (think "Summit", Yorkshire-style). The Summat is the brainchild of Together for Peace, a Leeds-based community project, bringing together scores of other organisations dedicated to working in local areas and on particular causes, for a day of talks, workshops, and debates.
As well as figures such as Leeds MP Hilary Benn, political guru Maurice Glasman and activist Peter Tatchell, the Union building was packed with stallholders, its rooms busy with events and discussions exploring enterprise, activism, environmental challenges, the arts, economics and more.
From the dais in the main hall, to the earnest conversations outside, and the abbreviated musings throughout the day on Twitter, the spirit of protest remained strong. But what was stronger than the sense that much is wrong with our country, our politics, our economics in 21st-century Britain and beyond was the desire to do something to put it right.
The parents who marched in Chapeltown, local legends such as Sir Jimmy, and those who gathered at the Leeds Summat all knew the key lesson that has to be drawn from this extraordinary year: local stories make global politics; global problems require local solutions. And as the ashes from the fires of global protest and urban violence are cleared away, something new has to be built in place of the ideas and the blurred visions that have been all but destroyed.
If 2011 was the Year of the Protester, perhaps Leeds is already showing the way to make 2012 the Year of the Rebuilder.
You can read the first three parts of Mark's look-back here, here and here.
Comments
30 December 2011 10:40AM
I lived in Leeds for a year while studying. Great city, great vibe. Way to go Leeds for moving forward and tackling tough times. Lesson to us all. Perhaps this is the way forward for the 'Big Society' (although do despise that term)
31 December 2011 3:11PM
What would help promote the 'Year of the Rebuilder' would be some proper reporting in the Guardian of political events in the great northern cities. The leaders of Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool councils need to be as well known to Guardian readers as the current Tory incumbent in London. We need coverage of real political events in the region not the continuous drip of folksy stories more suited to local weekly newspapers.
2 January 2012 9:35AM
I'm entirely with you tiojo and we bang away about the need to restore something of the old Manchester Guardian or even just Guardian North which flourished before the G's Berliner redesign. It's a matter of bods doing the job - and on that score we always welcome guest bloggers
I don't agree about having our own Borises, mind. I bet you 99 percent of Northerners couldn't name the leaders of our major city councils and that's no bad thing. Cabinets of modest types work better than elected Mayors in my experience. Ponder the fact that the two Northern leaders who are known to an extent outside our bailiwick, and within it, are Ray Mallon in Mboro and Peter Davies in Donny. Both have their merits but neither remotely outperforms our big cities
All v best
M
2 January 2012 4:03PM
Martin - I'm with you on not having our own Northern versions of Boris. So why doesn't the Guardian write a piece about the mayoral referendum in Salford sponsored by the English Democrats? It collected enough signatures to force a referendum despite being opposed by all the main political parties. My guess is that the proposal will be defeated when it comes to the vote but this looks like an attempt to turn Salford into another disastrous Doncaster. Isn't that worth covering?
2 January 2012 4:41PM
In practical terms, a big positive for 2011 was the recommencement and rapid progress of work on the Trinity Quarter and the start of work on the arena.
A sad loss was the futuristic escalator up to the Bond Street Centre or whatever it is called these days. I have fond memories of a snowy day a few years back, where I was able to ride up the escalator and bang on the plastic tube causing the accumulated snow to slide off onto people walking below.
4 January 2012 8:09AM
Hi again tiojo and many thanks - you're dead right about Salford and I've just taken the first steps in that direction with more to follow - see today's first post.
I very much agree about that escalator or was it a travelator?, SackThejuggler. There was one in the Merrion Centre too - actually I've not been there for ages but I think it's long gone
all v best all M