Leigh984, The creative portfolio of Leigh Spencer

Isla loved painting stones. In August 2018 an exhibition of stones painted for Isla was held in the Atkins building in the Leicestershire town of Hinckley. The stones are Isla's legacy and everyone is invited to be part of it by painting and hiding a stone. Young Isla was diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma or DIPG, During her treatment she started to decorate stones and gave them to her friends to hide. She now has over 40,000 members from all around the world on her Facebook page #islastones decorating and hiding stones. Stones have been hidden in locations around the world including the Taj Mahal, New Zealand and a very special stone in Antarctica. To join in, simply paint your own stone, write #islastones and Photo, Post. Rehide on the back and then hide them. If you can fit it on your stone please also write DIPG to raise even more awareness. #IslaStones

Thousands of people took to the streets of Leicester on the 12th August 2018 for the free Let`s Ride Leicester event, Following a 6km route linking (among other locations) King Power Stadium, De Montfort University, Highcross shopping center, Bede Park, Leicester Castle, Cathedral Square, Market Square, St Peter’s Square and Jubilee Square. Entertainment was provided along the route with Music, Junk-art, Bikes Try-outs, Sprint Zone, Ride Leicester stations & much more. The event is Supported by Leicester City Council, British Cycling, Leicester City Football Club, De Montfort University & Highcross Leicester. With Cyclone Works, Cycling Suffragettes, Keelan Phillips, Sambando Breeze, Choose How You Move, Sustrans, Wheels for All, Leicester Forest Rockets, Women’s Velo, , Future Cycles, B-Buddies and others. Look out for Leicester City Mascot Filbert fox on his very own bike !.

Pro cyclists in the annual Leicester Castle Classic race around the streets of Leicester once again on a route taking in the home of Leicester City FC (King Power stadium), the Leicester Castle over cobbles and around the Mile Straight the route makes up a 80km race in total. My film begins in the race village where the various teams and riders warm up before heading to the start line to begin the race, we then see the riders travel the course and negotiate the difficult cobbles around the castle where the bells of the church of St Mary de Castro ring out as the race passes. The race continues around the various twists and turns of the course before a dramatic collision on the final stretch which sees several riders injured, after expert treatment from the medical teams on hand and a slight delay the riders made their way to the podium where winner Gabriel Cullaigh collected his prize to the cheers of the gathered crowd.

The village of Barwell in Leicestershire has been yarnbombed* by a group of Knitters (Barwell Knutty Knitters) lead by Lesley Waldron. The group of knitters took 18+ months to create the works which feature a variety of topics from a well stocked aquarium in a local garage window to a tree dressed as a green and red parrot. Look out for the bees nest in a tree but don`t worry about their sting these bees are made of wool. How many things can you spot ?. *YarnBombing is the practice of covering various street furniture etc in knitted works with the aim of brightening up an area.

As Desford In Bloom coincided with the RAF100 celebration in 2018 and with the town playing a big part in the manufacture of various aircraft through the years, the village decided to theme its blooms and decorations accordingly. Two handmade wooden planes compliment the patriotic color planting and a YarnBomb created and organised by the Knit and natter group who meet in the village. Look out for knitted and toy planes having a dogfight under the trees and flowers planted to resemble the famous circular RAF design.