Life in Leam

Once again, Pump Room Gardens will be awash with music, sequins, flags and fans as this year’s Eurovision Festival lands this Saturday 16th May.  A day-long extravaganza of kitsch starting at 11am.  Aaron Probert-Walker from CJ’s Events shares all the fabulous details and his hopes for a record-breaking attendance this year.

https://www.cjseventswarwickshire.co.uk/events/eurovision-festival-16th-may-2026

Two of Leamington’s most loved live-music venues, Temperance and Southbound Café Bar are joining forces to host Leamington’s first ever South Town Blues Festival which runs 8-10 May.  Showcasing a mix of local and national talent, the festival will feature over 25 acts, with some performances ticketed and some free to walk in.

Southbound founder Carl Harris, and Temperance’s new co-owner Emma Colburn sha...

Leamington-based community choir Sing it Loud was co-founded by Seb Farrall and Rosie Sayers in 2014. The devastating news of Seb’s death in a cycling accident on 30th March 2025 - his 32nd birthday - stunned the members of Sing it Loud where he was Musical Director, as it did the many other choirs, orchestras and music groups that he had established and nurtured in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.  Seb had devoted...

Co-located in Bedford Street with the Library of Things, The Leamington Eco Hub is a brilliant resource if you’re interested in local environmental or ecology projects - and it also offers facilities such as meeting spaces if you have a project of your own!

I met Directors Sam and Judith to find out what’s going on locally (a lot it turns out) and how you can get plugged-in.

https://leaming...

Whether you’re an established musician, just starting out and wanting to try your first instrument or just love listening to live or recorded music, chances are Presto Music has something for you. 

I met Nichola Robey who started managing their Leamington store in 2025.  She’s passionate about helping customers find their best vibe, and has a talented musical team to draw on. 

Offering live...

Many of the best conversations and connections happen over good food. That simple truth combined with a passion for fresh food cooked from first principles inspired Raj Darji to quit the corporate life and start Scratch Cook Social in 2023.

Based in Leamington, he now provides restaurant-quality food for private and public gatherings, either through the venues’ own kitchens or from his own food truck. Hi...

Wander around Leamington and there’s a good chance that you’ll encounter one of the extraordinary murals that adorn many of our buildings.  Together they are curated as the Leamington Mural Festival, a year-round celebration of this vibrant street art.

I met festival curator Tim Robottom - who is also a professional street artist himself - and wasted no time in tapping his expertise on the process of creating street art, his recomm...

If you need special tools for a DIY project, are planning an event and need some extra catering equipment, are looking for some new hobbies to try out or are just keen to avoid buying and storing things that you only need occasionally – then the Library of Things is worth a look. 

Founded by Maurice Herson, the library which is co-located with the Eco Hub in Bedford Street has a growing and diverse inventory of items for hire, and ...

Anyone with a taste for quality artisanal chocolate will probably know Cenu Cacao in Regent Street; the passion project of Rosemary Ndukuba, who turned her own love of chocolate into a Leamington treasure. In this episode she explains how she got started, which movie is a constant source of inspiration for her, her own favourite chocolates and how her recently opened café in Lillington is heralding a new chapter of parties, worksho...

Tucked behind a discreet doorway on Bedford Street is a luxurious beauty and wellbeing centre with more than 25 years of expertise and ten tranquil treatment rooms. I stepped inside for my very first facial treatment before sitting down with Managing Director Gurdip Chatha and founder Amy Selby-Hammond. We talked about how beauty therapies have evolved over the years, why more men are now discovering the benefits, and the best plac...

Whether you fancy a different sort of competition with your friends, want to develop a latent talent or just need to feed your inner Viking, then a spot of axe-throwing might be just what you need.  Enter AJ Janney who started his axe throwing venture in late 2025 and is welcoming would-be throwers from age 8 and up.  In this episode he explains the joys of axing a bullseye, how he helps novices safely hit the targets and what sort...

Since 2022 a group of Leamington-based volunteers has been fundraising to procure, equip and send ambulances to Ukraine – originally through the Polish Centre and later through a specially formed Community Interest Company, Belveder.  In this episode, Dawid Kozlowski explains how this remarkable initiative got started, what’s involved in sending ambulances and other supplies to Ukraine, and how to support or get involved.

Donate: h...

An intriguing arrival in Leamington town centre is The Spicy Librarian, a bookstore specialising in all flavours of romantic fiction, where in addition to buying and browsing, you can also get a coffee, cake, cocktails, wine or beer to complement your reading experience. I met D, the Spicy Librarian herself and best-selling dark romance fiction author J Rose to understand the inspiration behind this elegant and welcom...

I recently recorded an inspiring conversation with Maddie Webb and Cassie Leedham of Lighthaus Arts soon after they had moved into their brand-new Stoneleigh Arms arts hub on Clemens Street. Their mission is to break down the barriers to being an artist, and engaging with art.

Last weekend on 7th February they held their official launch event and of course I was there with a microphone to capture the res...

Recently opened on Park Street in Leamington. Bricks’n’Pieces is known mostly as a LEGO shop.  But as Keith Hanna explains it’s so much more.  In addition to buying LEGO and other STEM* games and puzzles, you can pull up a chair, borrow one of over 50 LEGO sets and build it right there and then - from skyscrapers to spacecraft and even flowers.  And you can also grab a hot drink or juice and a slab of cake to keep you...

African drumming on djembe and other instruments is a very accessible and powerful way of learning a musical skill, while also relieving stress, boosting mood and connecting with other people. 

Leamington is fortunate to have an African drumming expert in residence in the person of Vieux Bakayoko who is restarting his open drumming workshops every Tuesday evening at the Band Factory in Leamington.  Here...

The Leamington History Group is known for its extensive archives, the historic walks around town and various talks about its history.  It also commissions films which graphically bring to life particular periods or events in Leamington’s development. 

The latest in this series is Leamington at War, a 30min documentary about World War Two and how the town was both impacted by the war and contributed to the war effort.  Crammed with ...

Maddie Webb and Cassie Leedham formed Lighthaus Arts CIC with a dream of improving the accessibility of arts in Leamington, and when the Stoneleigh Arms became available as part of the Leamington Creative Quarter development, they jumped at the opportunity to establish a permanent accessible centre for art and artists.

Finally, at the turn of the year they got the keys and have since transformed the space into an award-winning gall...

A smart new travel agency has just made its Leamington debut on Regent Street. It seems that many of us are getting fed-up with endless scrolling and would prefer to talk to a person face-to-face about our travel ideas.  Rachel and Emma-Louise are the face-to-faces in question and they talk me through the range of travel they provide, from day trips to major tailor-made itineraries and share a few of their own favouri...