The UK's first ever fully sober Oktoberfest event is happening this week, and it's taking place right here in Leeds.
In celebration of Sober October, award winning alcohol-free beer brand Mash Gang, is turning tradition on its head by hosting the UK’s first ever Swaptober Fest – a booze free twist on the infamous Oktoberfest.
Guests will be able to chug steins of Mash Gang's signature Chug lager whilst dancing along to live German oompah music and digging into authentic German bratwurst.
It's set to be one of the biggest and best Bavarian parties, all without the hangover.
The event is taking place this Thursday 16 October, between 5-10pm at one of the nation’s ancestral homes of brewing, The Tetley in Leeds.
In the spirit of the event, guests are encouraged to swap an alcoholic drink on the door to gain entry to Swaptober Fest.
The event is open to everyone who fancies it but spaces are limited, so revellers are encouraged to turn up early to avoid disappointment.
Jo Taylor, Global Marketing Director at Mash Gang commented on the event; “We’re confident that Mash Gang is alcohol-free beer like no other, and stands up to the best beers on the market. So swapping alcoholic beer for ours doesn’t feel like any compromise.
"At Mash Gang, we’re all about having a party, getting together with friends and family over a great tasting beer and making memories, so we wanted to throw a big party this Sober October to show that swapping the booze doesn’t have any impact on the vibes. It’s guaranteed to be a night people won’t forget, with a big Bavarian atmosphere, live music, great food and exceptional beer - and even better, they won’t wake up with a hangover the next day.”
The tiramisu hype lives on, and this time it's coming to Leeds.
It really does feel like the traditional Italian dessert has taken the world by storm as of late.
Everything from tiramisu cups and tiramisu coffees have been popping up all over our feed, and now tiramisu in drawer form is popping up in the city centre.
Misu Tiramisu is an independent business that began at Manchester's Christmas Markets and quickly became one of the most popular operators, all thanks to its miniature tiramisu ‘drawers’.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The individually portioned and colourfully packaged desserts quickly became one of town’s top puddings, and owners Aleem and Aishah went on to launch a stand inside the Manchester Arndale too.
And now they’re branching out again in Leeds inside Trinity shopping centre for a two month residency.
You’ll find all their delicious flavours of handmade tiramisu, including classic, pistachio, chocolate, Biscoff, mango, and lemon - they'll also have some gluten-free tiramisu on offer as well, so no one has to miss out.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Misu Tiramisu owners Aleem and Aishah spent a year refining the recipe for their tiramisus after a trip to Milan, first launching with their first market stall in Sale.
Misu Tiramisu is now open inside Trinity shopping centre opposite Boots Opticians and Pop Specs.
They're open every day of the week for you to get your tiramisu fix, from 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 5pm on a Sunday.
And trust us Leeds, they're just as delicious as they are adorable.
Fossilised 320-million-year-old fish found in Leeds’ Roundhay Park
Clementine Hall
A prehistoric fish fossil has been unearthed at Roundhay Park in Leeds.
The fascinating prehistoric skull bone of a coelacanth fish was discovered by a geologist at Roundhay Park earlier this year.
It is thought the creature was frozen in time aeons ago, during an era when the park was submerged under a vast tropical lagoon.
The remarkable discovery has now been kindly donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries and added to the natural sciences collection at Leeds Discovery Centre.
Image: Leeds City Council
The Leeds fossil was found by Ru Smith of the Yorkshire Geological Society during a reconnaissance walk he was carrying out ahead of a planned field excursion in the north Leeds park.
Describing the moment he made the discovery, Ru said: “There’s a layer of rock in the park which dates from around 320 million years ago, from a time before the breakup of the continents, when what is now the park would have been situated close the Equator and under the warm waters of a tropical lagoon. West Central Africa would be a good place to find similar environments in the present.
“There’s a bed of freshwater mussels called Carbonicola at one level in the rock, and opening a piece of shale from this bed in my hands I saw something unusual – a distinctive skull bone of a large fish. I knew straight away this was something different and very rare."
The bone was verified byexperts as belonging to a coelacanth older than those found elsewhere in Yorkshire, making it the oldest fossil coelacanth discovered in the region.
Ru added: “Coelacanths are pretty amazing fish and it’s just very cool to think that at one time, you could have been standing in Leeds and watching them swim around above a bed of mussels in Roundhay Park.
“That’s really the wonder of geology, looking at the rock and time travelling in the imagination to what was a very different world.”
Clementine Hall -
13th October 2025 
