Leigh984, The creative portfolio of Leigh Spencer

I visited Leicester Cathedral for a performance of Drumming For The Moon by Cassia Tree a 4 piece band performing intricate drumming rhythms from West Africa, the performance took place in a darkened cathedral lit only by Luke Jerram's #MuseumOfTheMoon on display above the performers and watching crowd. The performance began with a gong before building to a infectious lively rhythm and percussion piece that had toes tapping and many of the assembled crowd dancing in the vast space of the cathedral. .

I took a visit to see artist Luke Jerram`s Museum Of the Moon as it was suspended inside Leicester Cathedral. The piece is the focus of events by the University Of Leicester to mark British Science Week 2018 and is a joint project between the Artist, University and the Cathedral. Measuring 7 meters in diameter, MOTM features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the earths nearest neighbor and is lit from inside. At a scale of 1:500,000, each centimeter of the spherical sculpture represents 5 km of the moon’s surface. After the visit to Leicester the work will travel to the Commonwealth Games in Australia. for further information Artist:  www.lukejerram.com Leicester Cathedral: www.leicestercathedral.org University Of Leicester Science Week: https://le.ac.uk/science-week

On International Womens day 2018 I took a look at the 7ft bronze statue of Leicester suffragette Alice Hawkins which stands in New Market Square Leicester, The recently unveiled 800lb sculpture created by sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn celebrates the suffragettes life and stands in the very place where Alice gave “many rousing speeches”. Alice stands defiant on a 4ft granite plinth with one arm raised whilst holding her rolled up speech in the other. Being International Womens day and the centenary year of the votes for women movement I noticed a visitor had tied purple and green ribbons (suffragette colors) to Alice`s lace up boots and left flowers with a 'thank you' card at her feet. Further information on Alice and her life can be found at www.alicesuffragette.co.uk

I visited the Churchyard of St Luke`s in the Leicestershire village of Newton Harcourt to see the beautiful display of Snowdrops that happen once a year. Being a Sunday I was greeted by the ringing of the church bell beneath a crisp Blue sky calling people to the Snowdrop service and the sounds of voices singing well known traditional hymns such as All Things Bright And Beautiful an accurate description of the scene in front of me.

 A couple of vintage style movie posters designed by myself to promote special editions of the popular Sunday morning BBC Radio Leicester show Clueless on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. A design for the Christmas Eve edition of Clueless taking is influences from the movie posters for musicals such as White Christmas & Holiday Inn. The second design (and second special show) takes as it`s influence a style reminiscent of Hitchcock thrillers with a clock face dominating the left side of the design and dynamic red CLUELESS lettering at an angle dominating the right side giving a sense of time ticking away and action a theme regular listeners to the show will be familiar with. Listeners will also be pleased to know that both shows resulted in the presenters (Ady Dayman, Monica Winfield and Dale Neal) finding the treasure.  

Join us as we take a trip on the Great Central Railways Santa Special train services, a festive treat and long running tradition for our family and may others in Leicester during the christmas period. The adventure begins at Loughbrough central as the previous service (The 8F) departs the station allowing our train (Perfectly named Leicester City) to arrive in the station. We board the carriages and take our seats where we are entertained by the "Head Elf" playing his Ukulele and his Swazzle (a device that allows the performer to produce the distinctive harsh, rasping voice of Punch in a Punch and Judy show) before the engine moves off and we travel along the line passing a frozen Swithland reservoir and through Rothley station before "Leicester City" changes ends and we travel back along the railway to Loughborough Central and the end of another magical journey on the GCR. Merry Christmas for more information and to book your seat on the Santa special visit...

I visited Leicester`s first dedicated Christmas Market in the city's New Market Square to sample the fabulous festive food, Bountiful beverages and festive fun on offer. Open every day from 23rd November to 23rd December 2017 we see stalls offering Mulled wine, artisan crafts, traditional German sausages and even Turkish delight sweets.

In this film we meet John Finney performing at A Woodlands Garden Centre Christmas event. John who is a traditional organ grinder in Leicestershire showed me his German Stuber street organ which has the "Berliner Sound", he tells me he prefers this model to other organs due to its brighter and less mellow sound. In the film John introduces himself and tells us about the organ before loading some music and playing a selection of well known pieces including some "Festive Favourites". John was fundraising for Newbold Verdon Methodist Church.

It`s #ChristmasInLeicester and here`s a look at events as the city`s Christmas lights are switched on. We start at the Highcross #Frostival outside the Urban Antidote art gallery where we meet the Ice Prince and Princess and follow them as they roam St Peters Square freezing all they come across. We then discover the White Queen`s magical giant Snow Lion on the prowl but don`t worry he`s friendly and even does selfies !. The action then moves to the Clock Tower where Leicestershire Fire and Rescue service bring Rudolph and a well known bearded and red suited gentleman in his sleigh to spread some festive cheer. Next up its over to New Market Square for a brief look at the #Leicester Christmas market before returning to Highcross for a cultured end to the evening with Sophie Adams Ballet Company performing the "Best Bits" of the Ballet Swan Lake. My film aims to capture a sense of the festive feeling as this annual event sets the Leicester Christmas season wel...

A poster designed by myself for The Big Birthday Celebration show at Leicester`s De Montfort Hall a part of BBC Radio Leicester`s 50th anniversary celebrating the station being the first local radio station in the UK. The event (in aid of local charity rainbows children's hospice) was put together by Applause who specialise in charity events such as this. the poster itself features a radio "mast" broadcasting to the logo which features a portable radio of the kind popular when the station first began broadcasting in the 1960`s. The lower half of the design features vector high resolution versions of the stations various logos from the 60`s, 70`s, 80`s, 90`s and current branding. some images from the evening are featured below.        

To those in battle, And those who fell, To all who served their country well, We will remember them. I visited the Poppies: Wave installation by Paul Cummins Artist & Tom Piper Designer. Presented by 14-18 NOW the poppies where initially conceived as part of the piece Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the tower of London but where on display at CWGC Memorial Plymouth as part of #PoppiesTour the work sees the Poppies cascade down the steps of the memorial and are intended to prompt a new dialog around the legacy of the First World War.