Leigh984, The creative portfolio of Leigh Spencer

A look at some of the entries in the first Ratby Scarecrow Festival which took place over the weekend of October 15th and 16th. The festival, organised by The Ratby Community Group in partnership with The Ratby Library, aimed to raise funds for the Library and tasked village residents with creating a scarecrow based on the theme of Storybooks. The village rose to the occasion with creations as diverse as Wallace and Gromit, The Little Mermaid and Toy Story (with a very realistic Army Man). Join me on a tour of the village and see how many you can spot.

An Art Deco cinema of the past provided inspiration for artists MONO and Richard Peacock when creating a mural on Leicester`s newest street, Savoy Street. The Savoy Theater, later known as the ABC, stood for 70 years on Belgrave Gate and was a popular location for many generations of Leicester residents. The venue was demolished by its owners on 2007 after laying empty for several years. Artists from Leicester based Graffwerk used playbills from the Savoy and two other long gone venues along Belgrave Gate, The Floral Hall and Palace Theater to create the mural which spans three buildings along the newly created Savoy Street designed for use by Busses, Taxis and Pedestrians and linking Belgrave Gate with Mansfield Street.

The Boot Route in Countesthorpe is a take on the traditional scarecrow festival during which residents of the Leicestershire village are tasked with decorating the open car boots (trunks) of their cars or house fronts around a theme.  The theme of the event in 2022 was "Through Time" giving the residents much scope to create all sorts of interesting displays featuring everything from dinosaurs (with real smoke) egyptian mummy cars and even a whole train set in one car !. There's always time for a smile.

A look at the flowers and tributes left at Green Dragon Square, Leicester in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who passed away on the 8th September 2022 at her Balmoral estate.  RIP your Majesty and Thank You. 

A never-seen-before immersive installation, Compass has been created specially for its location in Leicester`s Jubilee Square. The Compass takes visitors on a journey of discovery and exploration into the world of British research. A spectacle of projection mapped animated images and featuring the voices and stories of researchers working in the UK who started their endeavors from all four corners of the globe. The Installation is part of the British Science Festival and is a partnership between De Montfort University and The British Science Association.