It’s 3 pm in the afternoon and we arrive at Mint Warehouse in full-blown sunshine, ready for a sold-out terrace party.
The nightclub, one of Leeds’ most iconic clubbing venues, is throwing on of the city’s very first parties back - a boisterous tech house all-day-and-night terrace rave with sets from a host of local talents, some of whom are so happy to be back they were also down here playing the night before.
There are some big headliner sets coming later, but people have piled in early for the dance, they’re not waiting about any longer.
The DJs and promoters tell us that last night, at the 00:01 opening party that marked the official end of nightlife restrictions, the atmosphere was “electric” - and we can definitely feel that elation here today, albeit if a few may be a tad beleaguered from partying the whole night before.
“The crowd was just reacting to everything last night,” one tells us, with a smile tinged with just the faintest hint of surprise.
“It was pure magic in here,” he adds, perhaps in acknowledgment that before the pandemic and the shuttering of Leeds’ nightclubs the crowds weren’t always so easy to please.
Even though a lot of people we meet confide that they haven’t slept, they don’t seem to care - after all, who needs eight hours when you’ve got thumping tech-house and vodka lemonades (and then some) to power you through?
The crowd is pretty mixed, it’s mostly younger but there are a few old school ravers here too including a pair of 40-year-olds in bucket hats who were first in at bang on 3 pm, ready and waiting for the dance to return.
Inside, a mournful Mona Lisa is projected over the indoor room facing the bar, whilst out on the terrace huge weighted speaker stacks pump bass into a heaving dance floor, already nearing full an hour in with high-spirited revelers acting like they never left the party, to begin with.
We meet Jemma, a second-year Leeds Uni student that lives in Headingley, in the bathroom upstairs - a classic melting pot of conversation amongst strangers at any nightclub,
Asked how it finally feels to be out after so long, she tells us she and her group of mates “are absolutely buzzing to be here.”
“It just feels like we’ve been waiting so long, you know? I actually can’t believe it. But oh my god is it hot!”
It is hot, she’s not wrong. With the bass pounding through the crowd, girls have their fans at the ready as they bop and fist pump to the hefty four to the floor rhythms pulsating across the dance floor. Between the bronzed midriffs and mid-summer heatwave, it honestly feels like we could be in Ibiza.
At first, the crowd’s pretty spaced out but as people get into it that all dissipates - girls are pushed up against the front of the decks two-stepping from side to side, lads in their bucket hats and shades sip Red Stripes and smoke cigarettes behind them. At first glance, it’s like nothing ever changed.
That said, there’s a definite commitment all round to not stop dancing, to make the most of this - as if no one is really sure when it might all come to an end.
But for now. It’s only positive vibes: the club’s all fist pumps and cheers, and there’s a true feeling of elation, of coming together on the dance floor again, of moving side by side with strangers who love the music just as much as you.
It really is magic and we, for one, are mighty glad to see the rave return. Long may it last.
News
Leeds Bradford Airport set for complete ‘shutdown’ as 130 workers go on strike
Leeds Bradford Airport is set for a standstill as almost 130 workers are set to take industrial action over pay.
If you're planning on catching a flight from Leeds Bradford Airport, then you may want to double check the date.
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.
Strikes will take place from 03:00 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.
Strike will mean the entire airport will shut down.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Leeds Bradford Airport is very profitable and can more than afford to come back to the table with an offer that doesn't fall short of our members' expectations.
"Our hardworking members should not be paid less than those doing the same jobs at other airports. Workers taking action at Leeds Bradford Airport have Unite's full support in their fight for fairer pay."
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "We know people who have flights planned to and from Leeds Bradford Airport will be concerned to hear of industrial action, however our members have no choice but to strike.
"The airport is profitable, passenger numbers are growing and our members are a major part of its success. They deserve a fair pay rise, and management must come back to the table to deliver this."
Leeds pizza shop hailed ‘exceptional’ and ‘best in the UK’ by major reviewer
Clementine Hall
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."
Georgina Pellant -
19th July 2021 
