Leigh984, The creative portfolio of Leigh Spencer

As part of the " Newbold Remembers " Remembrance Sunday commemorations the Girlguiding groups in the village created a beautiful display at The Church Of St James in the village using the base of plastic bottles painted red and mounted on green sticks, recycling and helping the village to mark an important date at the same time.  

  In Newbold Verdon as Remembrance Day approached in 2025 the Newbold Knitseys got to work creating a fitting tribute in the form of a postbox topper in the village. Taking the form of a wreath of Poppies with the silhouette of a solider stood beside a fallen comrades grave in mourning with further poppies around the base (including a purple poppy for animals who served) the topper is a focal point for villagers to remember the fallen and the sacrifice they made for our freedoms.  

The Newbold Knitsys !, Have once again been decorating the village Post Box in Newbold Verdon.  The topper theme is Remembrance and pays tribute to the many brave soldiers who fought for our freedoms in wars both historic and current, revealed in time for Remembrance Sunday the topper features a black silhouette of a soldier wearing a helmet surrounded at it`s base with knitted poppies in red, black and purple, Poppies also surround the edge of the postbox attached to a grass green base.

As Remembrance Day approaches and we remember all who have served in conflicts both historic and current, the Yarnbomb team in Cosby have pulled out all the stops to create a spectacular display in tribute to those brave people who fought for our freedoms. Featuring many Poppies and a banner reading "Lest We Forget" a postbox topper with a pair of well marched boots, perhaps the most spectacular part of the display is the knitted Spitfire plane flying past whilst releasing a trail of Poppies behind it.  We end with a skirt of poppies around the Cosby village sign beside the victory park and village hall. 

In 2022 the Stoney Stanton Yarnbombers in Leicestershire created a display of knitted Poppies to remember the fallen and all who served their county in various conflicts through history. I visited on Armistice Day to see the display which featured Red, Purple and white Poppies alongside square knitted silhouette details of soldiers and horses. The 17 large panels where hung across the wall of the St Michael`s Church and featured a middle panel with the words #wewillrememberthem.

"When robins appear, loved ones are near" Following the success of 2018`s Forget Me Knott appeal [ see : https://youtu.be/4Pg3VLBkmFI ], The LOROS hospice returned to Jubilee Square in Leicester with a memory garden featuring a number of 14cm high hand crafted steel robins for visitors to buy in memory of a loved one who has passed. The limited edition LOROS Robin is the second collectible in the ‘Always Remembered' LOROS collection. The beautiful Memory Garden has been brought to life by Coles Nurseries and East Midlands Landscaping and the headline sponsor is Upton Steel. In this film we take a tour of the garden and try to spot some of the 20+ Robins that call it their home, how many can you spot, listen carefully they are calling to you ! (Please Note: The LOROS, Robin collectible does not make sound). If you wish to purchase a Robin details etc can be found on the LOROS website at the link below. https://www.loros.co.uk/support-us/events/2019/09/02/the-lor...

The Newbold Verdon Knit and Stitch group meet most Wednesdays at the village library. One meeting the group decided they wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of armistice day approaching in some way, it was decided that kitted poppies would be the way to go and so plans and Knitting needles where set in motion creating hundreds of Poppies for a display who`s form was yet to be finalized. Ideas flew about the group faster than than their hands could knit, how would the poppies be displayed, inside or out, cascade or hung from a tree, maybe even a model plane could be included ?. Eventually a cascade over the planting behind a bench just outside the library was agreed and the poppies where attached to black plastic netting familiar to many a gardener and placed over the prickly hedge, the poppies where joined on either side of the bench by large silhouettes of soldiers on plastic signboard printed by a local sign maker and applied by myself completing the display. My film acts as a...

The visually striking There But Not There is the 2018 Armistice project for the charity Remembered. Each clear silhouette represents local fallen wherever they are listed. The project aims to place a representative figure for every name on local war memorials around the country, into their place of worship, their school, their workplace or wherever their absence was keenly felt, back in the communities they left behind. The project aims to Commemorate, Educate and Heal the three aims of the remembered charity. My film features the project installed in Leicester cathedral and commemorates and remembers those who fell in the city and county of Leicester and Leicestershire, we start outside the cathedral before entering St George's Chapel inside the cathedral. The chapel, enclosed by a carved wooden screen, was reconstructed in 1921 and contains memorials to the men of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, regimental colors are displayed along one side of the chapel. My film shows...

A Helicopter delivers the Match ball to the king power stadium before the LCFC vs Watford Remembrance fixture before fans hold up cards to create a poppy mosaic in remembrance of those who lost their lives in conflicts.  images follow

As part of Leicester City's annual remembrance day fixture, it has become tradition for the games match ball to be delivered to the ground by helicopter whilst veterans and serving soldiers line the edge of the pitch. This video (shot an a smart phone) shows the approach, landing and departure of the helicopter as well as the presentation of the match ball to the officials. the presentation was followed by a silence and the players wore poppy's embroidered on their playing shirts.