Dozens of wooden park benches have been donated across the UK.
Netflix initially partnered up with CALM, the charity that 'Campaigns Against Living Miserably' in January, but has since added new benches across the country.
Named the After Life benches after the hit-Netflix series, new benches have arrived in Leeds, as well as Sheffield, Reading, Hemel Hempstead and the Isle of Wight.
In the hit series, the park bench in the local graveyard is where some of the most pivotal scenes take place. It’s where Tony, played by Gervais, goes to speak to his fellow grieving friend Anne.
Image: CALM X After Life
Originally, 25 similar benches, each engraved with the words ‘Hope is everything’, have been gifted to local councils and are being placed in parks nationwide.
Anyone in Leeds wanting to visit one of the benches would have had to originally travel over to Wythenshawe Park in Manchester, but now Leeds has been giving its own After Life bench in Middleton Park.
Image: CALM X After Life
Located four miles south of the city centre, Middleton Park has a huge green space, spanning over 470 acres with a cafe, bowling greens, a playground, and a fishing lake- so finding the After Life bench isn't going to be as easy as you'd imagine.
However, using the What Three Words app, residents can find the exact location of the bench inside Middleton Park using the three words: soup.lows.foal.
Middleton Park, Leeds. / Image: Wikicommons
Ricky Gervais, who stars in the Netflix TV series, shared the new additions on his Twitter feed.
CALM said: "We know benches are a place where you can reflect, talk to someone, sit shoulder to shoulder with someone and get things off your chest. So we’ve worked with Netflix to put benches in parks across the country – inscribed with that crucial line from the show, “Hope is everything” – to help people have those conversations and to show it’s normal to have those feelings."
"We recently added more benches in Sheffield, Reading, Hemel Hempstead, Isle of Wight and Leeds – and we’ve now made all the benches even easier to find using What3words – just download the app and type in the 3 words for your bench."
The charity hopes that visitors will use the bench to reflect, just like Tony does in the Netflix show with his confidante, Anne.
Image: CALM X After Life
"If you watch After Life you’ll know the bench in the graveyard plays a pivotal part in the show. It’s where Tony talks to Anne, his graveside confidante. They’ve both experienced grief and they meet up regularly – Anne is the one person Tony can let his guard down with, can open up to and be himself.
And we know talking to someone you trust really can help. Opening up about to your mates or family is not an easy thing to do. But starting that conversation can be the start of getting the support you need. By helping them better understand and support you, you’re giving you – and them – the best chance of doing that".
Food critic Camilla Long visited Leeds for her latest review for The Times with her sights set on Horsforth's finest - Bavette Bistro.
Ever since opening back in 2024, Bavette Bistro nestled in the leafy suburb of Horsforth has made waves across the country for its sheer brilliance.
It's pretty much received five star reviews across the board and been handed awards from left, right and centre. And rightly so.
The Good Food Guide crowned Bavette the best local restaurant of 2024, and Michelin handed them a well deserved Bib Gourmand - so it's safe to say it's not just us who think it's really something special.
So it was only a matter of time until The Times popped in for a review, and this one is truly glowing.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The review labels Bavette as "warm, unmannered and unpretentious" as well as "authentically French".
Long describes the food as "gorgeous, confident, surprising" with a menu that "isn’t too long" and "filled with sturdy, noble dishes, whiffing mightily of the sea and the soil."
It continues: "All of it made with generosity and cheer, served fast by nimble waiters, with a long, if slightly eccentric, wine list. To bang out French dishes with this much fiddly detail and to do it to a full room is not easy. Yet all four courses came in under two hours, for about £75 a head, which in London terms is nothing.
"It’s not that this place was perfect, it’s that it was decidedly not perfect. A bit too much chat about the menus; the oeufs in the meurette not quite runny enough. But the point is: it didn’t matter. All of it came charmingly together. It felt relaxed, just right."
The review is then wrapped up with a pleasing five stars, the cherry on top of the cake.
It's a review only restaurants can dream of, and we can't think of a more deserving team - congratulations Bavette.
A new female-founded business has opened in Leeds and it’s a trinket-lover’s paradise
Clementine Hall
Lisa Angel has just opened inside the Victoria Gate and it’s an Aladdin’s Cave full of jewellery, prints, gifts and everything in between.
The best part? It’s a female-founded brand that has chosen our wonderful city for their first Yorkshire site. We absolutely don't blame them.
Founded in 2004 by Lisa hand making jewellery which she sold at craft fairs local to her Norfolk home, the business has gone from strength to strength every since.
The brand is now a recognised part of the British high street landscape, boasting seven other stores across Norfolk, Suffolk, and the Midlands.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Shoppers can expect beautifully handcrafted jewellery, unique trinkets and wonderful staff who are open to have a natter.
It's the perfect shop for when you don't exactly know what to buy that someone special, just pop in here and you'll be hit with a wave of inspiration immediately.
We could've genuinely spent a good hour in there and come out with a much lighter wallet.
Lisa herself spoke about the opening: “As an independent retailer, we are thrilled to launch in a destination with such a reputation as Victoria Leeds.
"We believe retail should remain grounded in inspiration and discovery, and we look forward to bringing just that to the vibrant city of Leeds, in our first store in the north.”
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Managing Director James Moody said: “We're incredibly excited to be opening our first northern showcase store in such a prestigious location.
"Victoria Leeds represents exactly the kind of vibrant retail destination where we can bring the full Lisa Angel experience to new customers. This is a significant milestone for us as we continue to grow our retail presence."
Sophie Smith -
28th March 2022 
