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The UK’s largest comic art festival is happening in Yorkshire
Thought Bubble is the highlight of the year for Yorkshire's comic, film and gam fans
It's one of the most beloved events in the global comics calendar, and it's coming to Yorkshire this November.
Thought Bubble, the UK’s largest comic art festival and the highlight of the year for film, gaming and comic fans in Yorkshire, has confirmed it will be going ahead with a physical festival in 2021.
Due to take place at Harrogate Convention Centre on 13th and 14th November, the festival has just revealed some huge announcements for its lineup.
These include iconic American comic book writer Frank Miller, best known for his work on Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns and Dare Devil. Miller will appear alongside Eisner-nominated artist and writer, Joëlle Jones (Wonder Girl, Lady Killer), and multi-award-winning Thor artist Christian Ward.
And there's more. Leading comics figures such as Megdalene Visaggio, Doug Braithwaite, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Peter Krause, Sarah Graley, Matt Ferguson and Emma Vieceli are also set to attend.
The convention takes place over a weekend and will include hundreds of comic-creating exhibitors.
On top of this, there'll be panels, workshops, screenings taking place throughout the festival. We even hear there's an opera on the cards.
The event is scheduled to take place after the planned dropping of covid restrictions in the UK, however organisers are still being incredibly mindful about guests' safety.
Alongside the main festival and comic convention, there will also be a number of special projects taking place throughout the summer across Yorkshire.
These will include a series of ‘Thought Bubble Socials’ with the Belgrave Music Hall and Pop-up Bubs Lounge at The Beck and Call pub in Leeds and Deershed Festivals ‘Base Camp’ event in North Yorkshire.
Speaking on the upcoming festival, festiva; manager Chloe Green said: “It’s incredibly tempting to run screaming with excitement towards Thought Bubble 2021 when we have a line-up like this, instead we are cautiously edging towards those convention doors with so much hope.
"The comics community is bursting to get together, and we cannot wait to be with you all again!”
Tickets for Thought Bubble Comic Convention are on sale now with free admission for the under 12s, carers and over 65s, giving access to all events within the comic convention; panels, workshops, guest signing and the three huge halls of comic creating exhibitors, publishers.
Tickets can be purchases via the Thought Bubble website.
News
Leeds has been crowned one of the most ‘stressful’ locations in the UK to drive in
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Consider yourself a confident driver? Have a drive through Leeds.
Have you ever had the joy of driving the wrong way up a one-way road in Leeds City Centre? Perfect - then you know what we’re on about.
Whether you still have your L-plates on or you consider yourself a pro, driving can be anxiety inducing at the best of times, never mind when you’re in an unfamiliar area, with unclear signage and your passenger is reading the map upside down.
MoneySuperMarket recently conducted a study, to investigate where UK drivers felt least safe. It also uncovered that more than 8 in 10 UK drivers have avoided driving somewhere due to the journey feeling too stressful or difficult. We can’t be having that - nobody should have to miss out on visiting our lovely city.
Leeds sadly ranked as the fourth most stressful UK location to drive in, with an Overall Drivability Score of 25, closely following Manchester, then Derby, and Croydon at number one.
This was contrasted by Bath, which was named the ‘UK's easiest place to drive,’ where vehicle traffic has fallen by 0.9% over the last decade. To add insult to industry, Leeds racked up a whopping 6,000 road incidents, compared to the 357 incidents in Bath, in 2024.
The study analysed multiple factors, including road infrastructure, the numbers of road incidents, increasing traffic volumes, and higher levels of concern about vehicle crime, to conclude which locations drivers found most stressful.
It found that the top three sources of stress were dealing with aggressive or impatient drivers, driving in bad weather and driving in an unfamiliar area.
Carmine Mastrogiacomo, driving expert at Drive Therapy, revealed some ways that drivers can build their confidence on the road: "Confidence comes from experience. Start with routes you already know and repeat them regularly to build comfort. Gradually introduce new routes and challenges, setting realistic goals that stretch your ability without feeling overwhelming.
"If anxiety starts while driving, slowing your breathing can help your body relax. Try breathing in through your nose for four seconds, pausing, then breathing out through your mouth for six seconds. Practise this outside the car first, then use it when needed while driving.”
We may not be able to do anything about the weather, but come on - we can definitely curb (pardon the pun) that road rage and try to bring Leeds out of the top four this year.
Read more: New rules restricting the use of bikes and street trading are set to be introduced in Leeds city centre
Featured image - The Hoot Leeds
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New rules restricting the use of bikes and street trading are set to be introduced in Leeds city centre
Clementine Hall
New regulations are set to be put into place as part of the Briggate Action Plan.
Proposals for the plan, aimed at making some of the city centre’s busiest areas safer for everyone, received a huge amount of support during a public consultation last year.
Since then, the council have been drawing up the necessary regulations and signage, with the new rules now due to officially come into place over the next few months.
Once implemented, the action plan will mean a requirement to walk bicycles and e-bikes within the city centre’s pedestrianised shopping area from 10.30am until 8pm every day.
That means no surprise bicycles will try and run you over as you're doing your shopping, hooray!
The action plan will also introduce prohibitions around certain street trading activities in targeted areas, including mobile street traders.
Extended restrictions will be put into place during major city centre events including Leeds Pride, Light Night Leeds and the Leeds Christmas Market.
Anyone breaking the new rules could be given a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council, said: “The city centre welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, and our aim is for every one of them to have the best and safest possible experience of Leeds.
“Through this action plan, we’ve taken important and meaningful steps to address issues which the public have consistently told us were impacting their enjoyment of the city centre whilst also creating potential safety issues for shoppers and pedestrians.
“With these new regulations in place, our hope is that both day-to-day visits and major events will now be even more enjoyable, successful and welcoming.”
The new restrictions on pedlars are expected to be in place from Thursday 1 October, with restrictions on bikes in pedestrianised areas due to be in place by the end of the year.
Read more: Huge new two-storey late-night venue with beer hall and games is coming to Leeds city centre
Featured image - The Hoot Leeds
Georgina Pellant -
3rd June 2021 
