There's been a real life Cinderella story going on in Leeds this week- lost shoe and all.
If you're a familiar face at The Watermark Bar, you'll know that it can get a little chaotic in there on a Saturday night.
In a good way of course, but you really never know what to expect here. Will the entire bar be a giant pillow fort and turn up to the sight of Leeds party-goers dancing in their dressing gowns? Or will there be a no-context chocolate fountain placed in the middle of the room?
Last Saturday, unfortunately none of those were actually a part of the nighttime activities at the bar, but things did get pretty hectic for one individual.
A typical night out at the bar on Belgrave Street. / Image: The Watermark Bar
So much so that one customer left his shoe in the bar.
A single shoe- and not just any shoe, a Croc.
According to the Watermark, this is what happened- and it's hilarious:
"It was a wild Watermark Sunday, I wasn't in the bar that night but Dman (our Sunday DJ) was up to his usual mischief. You know its a good night when you lose a shoe.
"Well the next day I swanned in and right under the table was the lonely Croc. Obviously it belongs to a chef (i hope). Our lost property gets a bit chaotic at times and there is no way we were going to hang on to one lonely shoe.
"So a nice like Jack Bauer 24 style hostage situation seemed to be the way to find its owner."
What are the chances of anyone coming forward- surely if you lose a Croc on a night out you're probably not going to remember where, let alone tell the internet it's yours and travel all the way to the city centre to collect it?
No. Not one person was willing to make the effort. But three. The Watermark had a three Spiderman situation (and of course they used this to illustrate their point).
Turns out they were all tracking down the Croc for the same person.
The Watermark Bar have been laughing about the situation ever since: "funnily enough the 3 people who came forward for the shoe all were just trying to rescue it for the same person. He collected it today.
"It happened one time before also..."
Last time it was a Doc Marten shoe that got left. / Image: The Watermark Bar
The last Cinderella story for the bar dates back to pre-Covid times when the bar announced:
"Found this beast in the bar last week. A lovely, lonely Doc Martin belonging to a female foot. Can only wonder where the other one got to. Were you in a rush to make it home before midnight? Did your Uber turn into a Pumpkin? We can't promise you a Prince Charming but we can give you your shoe back at least. "Any takers? Anyone? Going once... Going twice..."
Alls well that ends well, the Croc is back with it's other half and the rightful owner is assumably pleased to have tracked it down. It's the hilarious comedic value that The Watermark Bar has added to the unusual situation that made this one of our funniest finds of the week- and if we're honest, obsessively checking Instagram to find out the next instalment.
Late night snacks are available to those with two shoes on, every night. / Image: The Watermark Bar
If you head over to The Watermark Bar over the next week, you're unlikely to find any mystery shoes, but you will find charcuterie boards and crumpets until 4am.
Never change Watermark.
Feature Image- The Watermark Bar
News
Leeds pizza shop hailed ‘exceptional’ and ‘best in the UK’ by major reviewer
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
Yorkshire-set Christmas film by Leeds director starring Richard E. Grant set to hit UK cinemas next month
Clementine Hall
A brand-new Christmas film is hitting cinemas nationwide next month - and it’s a proper Leeds success story.
Jack Spring directed his first feature film at just 19 years old and has spent the last decade carving out a career in independent film, as well as co-founding Leeds-based production company Shush Films.
His first movie, Destination: Dewsbury, was shot just down the road in - you guessed it - Dewsbury. And after moving to Leeds from Grimsby, Jack became determined to build his business from the city, putting down roots and growing his production company here.
Image: Supplied
Now, after years of working on independent projects, Jack has taken his biggest leap yet with a brand-new Christmas film, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint.
Set in Yorkshire, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint follows Aubrey Flint, a reclusive model soldier painter with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, who is sentenced to community service at Willow Lodge - a retirement home on the brink of closure.
Roped into helping with a chaotic production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Aubrey clashes with its interesting set of residents...
And the cast is about as star-studded as it gets, featuring Richard E. Grant, John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Adjoa Andoh, Sophia Di Martino, Adrian Rawlins and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Image: Supplied
The heartwarming festive comedy will hit cinemas nationwide on Friday 6 November - a huge milestone for a Leeds-based director and production company, taking a homegrown Yorkshire story to audiences across the country.
You just can't beat a proper wholesome British Christmas film, so you can best believe we'll be watching in the cinema, popcorn in hand.
Sophie Smith -
20th January 2022 
