An incredible charity which helps people with terminal illness write and record their own original songs has launched a fifth birthday fundraiser.
The Swan Song Project is hoping to raise £50,000 to invest in expanding its unique, free-of-charge song-writing support services.
The Leeds-based charity works with people facing the end stages of their lives and helps them to write and record their own personal songs to leave behind for families and loved ones.
It also helps people dealing with bereavement to write songs about those they have lost.
Image: The Swan Song Project
Founded by songwriter Ben Buddy Slack in 2017, the small charity has grown steadily over five years and helped more than 100 people write their own swan songs.
Due to rapidly increased demand last year, seven new songwriters have been brought in, and its fifth birthday fundraiser has been launched to help it enable more people to celebrate life in a song.
Image: The Swan Song Project
Creative director Ben said: “We are very keen to help more people either facing the end of their lives or dealing with bereavement to write their own songs.
“We believe the process of writing a song can help people come to terms with life, death, loss and bereavement by helping them to express what they feel and what they want to say. It can be deeply therapeutic – and fun too. Also, a song can live forever and carry precious messages, memories, comfort and joy to its listeners whenever they wish.
“We hope our landmark fifth birthday fundraiser will help us to help more people write their swan songs in future.”
The charity now has songwriters based in Leeds, Sheffield and York, and its home has recently been moved out of Ben’s garage to the famous Old Chapel Studies in Leeds.
The charity provides its service free to those who are often going through challenging times when they come in to write their songs.
Each participant has their own song professionally produced, recorded and presented to them in a digital format and CD.
Relying entirely on donations to fund its work, it is estimated that it costs between £400 and £500 to write and record one song. Donations for The Swan Song Project are welcomed via the charity’s website and their Just Giving page.
Strikes by almost 130 workers at Leeds Bradford Airport are set to escalate.
If you're planning on catching a flight from Leeds Bradford Airport, then you may want to double check the date.
Last week it was announced that workers were set to strike and bring the airport to complete standstill in a dispute over pay.
Today it has been announced that thestrikes are set to escalate and a second set of strikes have been announced.
The Unite members planning on going on strike are a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute have recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "It is wrong that workers at Leeds Bradford Airport are paid far less than those doing the same job at another nearby airport.
"These are essential workers who play a vital role in ensuring the smooth running of the airport and the safety of passengers and deserve fair pay. Unite will always fully back our members taking action at Leeds Bradford Airport.”
The original strikes were due to take place from 03:00 this Friday 16 October to 06:00 Sunday 18 October for hourly paid staff and from 06:00 Friday 16 October to 06:00 Sunday 18 October for air traffic control workers.
The next round of industrial action will now take place from Monday 23 October to Wednesday 2 November, which coincides with the busy half term period.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: “We appreciate those travelling to and from Leeds Bradford Airport will be concerned to hear that there are further strike dates, but the situation is completely the fault of the airport’s management. It can end this dispute, but that relies on it coming back to the table with a fair deal for our members.”
Beloved Leeds pub to undergo huge transformation following £230k investment
Clementine Hall
A Leeds pub has closed its doors for a major refurbishment, and will open under a completely different name.
The Mustard Pot in Chapel Allerton has received a whopping £230k investment, and is set to reopen as a ‘Grandstand’ sports pub.
The much-loved community pub will be completely transformed, with new features designed to deliver a 'stadium-style' sports experience.
The refurbishment will include the installation of multiple massive screens, an immersive state-of-the-art sound system, and flexible tiered seating.
The beer garden will also be refurbished, with new TV screens installed, whilst the interior will be decked out with sports memorabilia of local stars past and present.
Once reopened, the pub will show all key sporting fixtures, including football, rugby, cricket, tennis, F1, darts and horse racing.
Operations Manager, Zoe Eastwood, said: “We are so excited about the plans to re-open as a Grandstand pub. We know our locals are sporting mad and can’t wait to be able to offer them the best possible experience when they can visit us again.”
Local Leeds sports teams will be able to apply for a Grandstand ‘Black Card’, giving them access to exclusive offers and rewards for celebrating their wins at their new local.
The Grandstand transformation follows industry research revealing that 8.5 million consumers have watched live sport in pubs, with 86% of fans preferring sports pubs for their atmosphere.
The Mustard Pot has now closed for refurbishment and will reopen on Wednesday 4 November.
What do you make of this transformation then? Will you miss The Mustard Pot as you know and love it, or are you excited for the new concept?
You can find out more about the new space here via their website.
Clementine Hall -
11th April 2023 
