The BACIL Awards 2022 are set to return bigger and better than ever this year after a two-year hiatus.
BACIL (Business Against Crime in Leeds) is a dedicated organisation protecting businesses both in retail and the night-life industry in Leeds.
Their aim is to make the city a safer place for both consumers and staff who work in the hospitality and retail sectors.
The awards were created back in 2015 to recognise outstanding achievements and shine a light on the businesses that consistently go the extra mile.
The awards for both the daytime and night-time sector include best security team, best national venue, best independent venue, best BACIL partnership, and outstanding BACIL contribution.
BACIL launched in 2005 in partnership with the West Yorkshire Police, Leeds City Council and Safer Leeds. They now have over 420 members who strive to prevent and reduce criminality and antisocial behaviour on the streets of Leeds.
The BACIL awards 2022 will take place on Monday 10 October at one of Leeds’ most historic venues, the Faversham, and will be hosted by former LDC Radio Leeds presenters Terry George and Drag Queen Precious McMichael’s.
Image: Supplied
Seal Walker, head of BACIL, said: “BACIL and its members play a vital part in the reduction of crime in our city, by working together and sharing information, they help prevent crime with the overall aim of creating a safer city-centre in which to live, work and play.
"BACIL also works closely with Leeds City Pubwatch, which is a voluntary organisation set up to promote partnership working & best practice for pubs, bars & club premises. Its aim is to achieve a safer drinking environment in all licensed premises throughout the UK."
This year the awards will adopt a more informal approach, incorporating a relaxing, fun and interactive atmosphere which will bring light to an industry that has faced such hardship over the past couple of years.
Image: Supplied
The awards have been sponsored by NDML, leading specialist insurance brokers for nightclubs, bars, pubs, restaurants, and hotels.
Victoria Romero - Trigo, director of NDML said: "We are proud to be supporting this year’s awards. Our business is all about protecting the night-time industry. It's been a really tough couple of years for the sector, and so the awards are the perfect way to celebrate the great work the people in the hospitality industry have achieved and continue to do so.”
The BACIL awards will support the Leeds Community Foundation as their nominated charity this year; to date the awards have raised over £7,000 for supported charities in the city since 2015.
Read more about the amazing organisation and their work here.
The Merrion Centre is set to become the home of an exciting new retail and food destination this summer.
Introducing The Mini Mall, an innovative retail concept designed to create a flagship city-centre destination for local brands, artisan producers and independent food traders.
The new 4,885 sq ft ground-floor space will be completely dedicated entirely to independent Yorkshire brands, artisan producers, and local food creators.
Operating as a premium 'satellite department store', The Mini Mall provides established independent businesses with fully staffed, centrally managed retail bays.
Image: Supplied
Shoppers can expect a carefully curated selection of Yorkshire-based homeware designers, fashion labels, craft producers, and street food vendors under one roof.
The Mini Mall will open on Saturday 25July with an official public grand opening featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony, live brand showcases, and the full launch of the Mini Food Hall.to meet the makers behind the brands.
Shaz Westfield, founder of Eventszo, said: "The Mini Mall was created to give independent businesses the opportunity to trade in a prime city-centre location without the barriers that often come with traditional retail.
“Yorkshire is home to an incredible community of makers, creators and food businesses, and our goal is to provide a platform where they can grow, connect with new customers and thrive. We're delighted to be launching our flagship venue at the Merrion Centre and look forward to building a destination that champions local talent and entrepreneurship."
Charles Newman, asset management director at Town Centre Securities PLC (TCS), owners of The Merrion Centre, said: "What makes the Merrion Centre different is the breadth and character of our occupier mix. We've always championed businesses that bring something unique to the city centre, creating a destination that offers visitors experiences they won't find elsewhere on the high street."
You can find out more about Leeds' new Mini Mall here.
The Yorkshire designer who’s put together the official FIFA World Cup scarf collection
Danny Jones
A Yorkshire-born and bred artist and his creative team have earned the huge honour of creating the official FIFA scarf collection for this year's World Cup.
Nothing short of massive for anyone from our part of the world.
The local legend in question is Tom Pitts, who was born in Sheffield and is now based just beyond Leeds, leading the campaign right from the helm.
Hand Drawn Pixels is a graphic design and digital studio based in Otley, and while you'll see plenty of folks wearing football shirts and even the odd scarf on the town's famous pub crawl, these lot are venturing on an entirely different kind of run this summer.
In fact, the work has very much already started, with Tom and co. collaborating directly with FIFA and US manufacturers, Global Scarves, to create the World Cup collection.
With this year's tournament obviously taking place across America, Mexico and Canada, they've joined up with a big LLC, but they describe themselves as "a true English custom scarf company with American parents."
In their words, "We knit scarves for clients all over the world", with a presence both near Leeds and over in Seattle, Washington.
The fixtures themselves kick off next month (England's first game coming against Croatia on 17 June), and so Hand Drawn Pixels have been hard at work meeting the briefs for each of the nations taking part.
Here's a quick breakdown of how the opportunity came about, their vision for the project, and how everything starts for them as a whole process.
You can see more of their work HERE, but as the brand name would suggest, it's pretty simple to begin with: nothing more than a pencil.
It's worth noting that the 2026 World Cup also featured the largest number of teams in the competition's history: 48 qualified national squads, to be exact. So, technically, they've had even more designing to do than they theoretically would have in any of the previous years, too.
Tom confessed that winning this bid is obviously a big deal on its own and that seeing his creations being worn in person by supporters at the stadiums will be a "surreal" experience.
Speaking exclusively with The Hoot, he said: "It’s been an amazing creative challenge for us to truly reflect the individuality and diversity of the nations competing in this prestigious tournament on such an iconic product as the football scarf."
He went on to add that "the whole project has been a huge learning experience, gaining deeper cultural insight into every nation involved."
We can't wait to cast eyes upon a sea of colour and finely crafted fabric in unique but somehow universally familiar patterns, all designed right here in 'God's Own Country'.
Clementine Hall -
5th October 2022 
