Time to sing the praises of the Howard Assembly Rooms, which has had an exciting, and I understand, successful first season. You have to admire the programming: I’ve seen The Unthanks, (twice!), a magnificent performance by Bassekou Kouyate, and last weekend, a great dance piece for children by Fevered Sleep. It’s great to see niche programming find a suitable venue in Leeds - and it’s interesting that it’s an offshoot of a parent opera company, a kind of Stealth Opera North. Leeds is better for it.

The new Cultural Strategy for the City of Hull, Right Place, Right People, Right Time, is now moving towards its official launch. Wafer Hadley has developed the strategy for One Hull and Hull City Council, based on a thorough programme of consultation. The strategy sets out clear priorities for the city between now and 2015, showing how culture can change lives in Hull, how it can change the way people think about the city, and how partnership working can be developed to reach these ends. We think the resulting strategy is powerful and clear, and we are very aware that such a satisfactory outcome would not have been possible without the dedication of key individuals at Hull City Council and the LSP.The story continues as Hull and East Yorkshire develops their initial proposals for the City of Culture 2013, an opportunity to showcase the ambition articulated in Right Place, Right People, Right Time.

Some excellent news for one of our clients this week: Bentley Park in Doncaster has achieved an HLF first-round pass, moving towards the planned major refurbishment of park and pavilion. Wafer Hadley has provided research and audience development planning for the project, and we know how valuable this investment could be to the people in the neighbourhood. Well done everyone!

It’s been a busy few months: and one of several landmarks to point at on the way is the opening of the new Connect gallery in Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, a project we’ve been closely associated with for about two years. The gallery is now up and running, open to its public, and by all accounts working very well. It’s fantastic to see the germs of ideas which came out of focus groups we ran back in 2006 being realised, in what is now an exciting, inclusive space to get to grips with visual art. We are thrilled - and it’s gratifying that there’s such a lot of interest within the sector in this project. Well done Nima, Mark, Claire, Christine, Bryn - and the many others.

Wafer Hadley has been engaged to produce the cultural strategy for Hull, working closely with the city’s emerging LSP advisory group on culture and lifestyle.

Our work began with the group last week , and the potential for the project is clearly very great. Our consultation with the community and stakeholders takes place over the next few months, and it will be fascinating to see the vision emerge.

There seems to be a window of opportunity emerging to inject a bit of life into the country’s playgrounds, judging by a new government consultation on the quality and content of children’s play areas. A national play strategy will see kids’ playgrounds being put under the microscope, aiming to get beyond swings and roundabouts to “something more creative that inspires play across a wider age range”.

The consultation comes from DCSF and DCMS, and it does rather suggest an opportunity for colleagues from the arts to bring their considerable experience in this area to the table? There is

We’ve been signing and sealing the evaluation of the Renaissance Yorkshire Hub’s programme 2002 to 07 this week, which feels like the right thing to do during the last office week of the year. Next year sees more work on behalf of the Hub, looking at its partnerships initiative, as well as a national evaluation of Not For The Likes of You, on behalf of the Arts Council. We’re also looking forward to getting stuck into important projects at Bradford and York: it’s an exciting start to 2008.

But for now

We worked with Nab Wood School in Bradford back in the Spring on its communications and marketing. Research with parents, pupils and teachers helped us highlight the strengths of the school, for use in a surprisingly competitive education marketplace.

Helping to rebuild some of Nab Wood’s self-confidence was the net result of the process, and it’s fantastic news that the school’s fortunes seem to be turning around, with GCSE results up and renewed interest and enthusiasm from would-be students (and their parents). Congratulations to the staff - Nab Wood could well be finding itself the next ‘in thing’.

Best wishes to Tutti Frutti, whose new production for kids - Silly Billy - opens in York tonight. The usual theatre noise of programme rustling and subdued coughing will be replaced with the squeak of pumps, and teachers trying to keep a lid on the excitement. You do sometimes wonder about the USP of certain shows - Almodovar’s All About My Mother is a case in point - but children’s theatre is completely unique. Kids can’t get an experience like this in any other way.

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford launched its new exhibition ‘Crossing the Waters’ on Friday. It’s part of the Freedom and Culture programme run by Alchemy and Cultural Brokers, which Wafer Hadley is working on until November. It’s an interesting show, very diverse in content, haunted by the spectre of Shonibare’s model of a slave ship in the centre of the room.