By Emily Barker

A spin-off of the Leicester Comedy Festival which is being organised by a community group in Braunstone Gate is going well, according to Project Co-Ordinator Daryl Coulborn.

Described by him as a fringe festival, the events being hosted are going very well, with the Black Horse accommodating 58 people on Wednesday (13 February).

Daryl Coulborn, Project Co-Ordinator of the Braunstone Gate Community Group

Mr Coulborn, 31, Project Co-Ordinator of the Braunstone Gate Community Group, said: “Two years ago, we held ‘The Westival’ in which the road was closed off and we had fairground rides and stalls, and it was really successful.

“This year, we are hosting seven comedy events, as part of the Leicester Comedy Festival.

“We had 14 people turn up to our event at Café Ninety Six Degrees on Thursday night (14 February) with Peter Hose.

Cafe Ninety Six Degrees, where the event with Nathan Roberts will be held

“On Saturday night (16 February) we have had 20 people reserve their seats for a night with Nathan Roberts. This venue holds 40 people, so there are more people welcome.

“We went to the venues we were interested in down Braunstone Gate and organised events if they wanted to host, and the costs were covered with a project.

“Other venues have already expressed an interest in hosting events next year, so we are hoping to be bigger than this year.”

The evening with Nathan Roberts is from 6-7pm.

Ed Tiernan, 32, and owner of Café Ninety Six Degrees, said: “We have hosted evening events before, such as live music ranging from bands to solo singers, poetry readings and we even did cabaret, which is all promoted through our Facebook page and Instagram, but nothing for Leicester Comedy Festival.

“We are an independent venue, and we only found out we were hosting the event a couple of months ago when the Braunstone Gate Community Group approached us asking if we wanted to be a hosting venue.

“It feels great that we were approached and asked to host this event, it feels good to be invited and that we’re a good enough venue.”

The event is free, and patrons can leave a donation at each event if they wish.

One of the placards carried by a student protesting. Photo: Rosie Vacciana-Browne

By Rosie Vacciana-Browne

A large group of children in Leicester skipped school today, as well as many others across the country, in order to protest as part of ‘Youth Strike 4 Climate’s’ #ClimateStrike.

‘Youth Strike 4 Climate’, the group that started the campaign, urged young people via their Facebook page to “join (the protests), or start one.”

Strikes are taking place today all across the country, in what the group are claiming will be the first UK wide Youth Strike 4 Climate.

Posting a Facebook live stream from one of their protest in Parliament square, Youth Strike 4 Climate captioned a post: “The sun is shining, the planet is heating, but the youth are rising up!”