Leeds, September '26

The purpose of this series is to allow some description of my time in Leeds. All pictures have been taken using an old digital camera nicked off my parents.

The University

My main exposure to Leeds in September has been the University. Below I will describe some of the aspects of the uni which I have most enjoyed.

Cycle hub

The uni offers a workshop where you can bring your bike and be taught how to fix it. This is extremely useful for me as it would cost a fair amount to have to purchase all the equipment for tinkering with a bike - this service essentially means that you can borrow the equipment at no charge. PLUS, you are taught how to actually do it properly, which is really useful. I intend on using the service extensively (hopefully not necessitated by a need to repair but rather a desire to tinker).

Libraries

A massive source of excitement around my returning to university is access to the libraries. Leeds Uni has a four (I think), and undoubtedly the most beautiful is the Brotherton library. This is located behind the Parkinson building (the postcard building for the University) and features a domed central hall that can be used for studying. There is no food or noise in this hall - all that is audible is the rustling of papers being adjusted and the clip-clop of the librarian shifting across the room. Love it.

Leeds' architecture

I am wholly unqualified to make any sort of technical comment on Leeds' architecture. As such, the descriptions of the buildings will be hand-wavey at best and generally any approval of the architecture would simply be because I thought it looked cool.

Attached below are some of the buildings I thought looked cool.

There is a lot of exposed red brick, which I really enjoy. Some of this, evidenced in the pictures above, is Victorian (do not quote me on this). Along the river, however, the exposed brick is a bit more "industrial-feeling", like old mills. These, along with the more-modern highrises and the ornate gothic cathedrals create a compelling (at times) skyline. There is a lot of beauty in the city centre which is particularly noticeable on a sunny blue-skyed day. Fortunately September contained many of such days.

Green spaces

Of my travels to London, I would surmise that the green spaces were my favourite part of the city. As such, I had high expectations for Leeds.

The engineering buildings at the University of Leeds are all backed-up by St George's Fields. I am not entirely sure whether this is a park, a memorial or something else - that being said, it is certainly a green space. I envision pondering walks therethrough, contemplating the (many) bits of knowledge I will have painstakingly gained through my studies in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

Embedded Systems Engineering

In this series of posts I am also hoping to keep a record of my studies. For readers here to find out about the fun stuff I have been doing, I would suggest you skip to the next section. Those with a burning passion for the intricacies of the Embedded Systems curriculum will enjoy this part.

For this first semester, it seems as though I will be studying four subjects:

• Programming
• Networks and data communications
• Wireless Communications System Design
• Control Systems Design

Of these, I have some background in the prior two and no background whatsover in the latter two. As such, I believe I will spend the bulk of my time this semester trying to catch up on the unfamiliar subjects and should (hopefully) spend a little less time on the familiar ones.

I have never studied electronic or electrical engineering of any description and so I foresee this being fairly challenging and time-consuming. I am looking forward to it.

There is also a dissertation component of the Masters. It does not look as though this will form a massive part of the course this semester but certainly will by the end of the course. I will need to keep an eye on this.

Pub of the Month

In this series, I am hoping to deliver at least one pub per month to you. In September I was only able to attend one pub in Leeds. Hence, the Grove Inn is September's unapposed Pub of the Month.

This Inn is a cosy, dare I say old-school pub located south of the River Aire. I enjoyed the cosy atmosphere of the interior of the pub as well as the ornate mugs adorning the walls, evidence of which is not captured here due to my shyness in pulling out the camera in the middle of the pub.

Next month's attractions

October seems to be the start of autumn proper. In next month's installment, readers can look forward to orange and red hues as the leaves turn and begin to fall. There will certainly be more in-depth insight into the month's studies and I fear (expect) that there will be more than one contender for pub of the month. Until then.