Stories to make you smile from across Yorkshire
A Yorkshire round-up highlights five uplifting stories: an artist who sketches live from mosh pits, an NHS worker inspired by his recovery from leukaemia, and an exhibition of David Hockney’s work in Bradford. It also features a hometown concert announced by The Cribs and the reopening of a section of railway in East Yorkshire.
The 22-year-old artist Sam Joesbury, from York, began drawing at gigs last year and now shares his work with thousands online. Ashley Gray, 60, joined non-emergency patient transport after a stem cell transplant in 2023; Hockney helped approve works for the free exhibition before his death, and it runs until October 2029. The Cribs will headline a Wakefield show in August 2027, while volunteers have restored part of a railway line closed to passengers since 1950.
In short
- A gig artist sketches from inside mosh pits.
- A transplant survivor joined NHS patient transport.
- The Cribs and a restored railway feature in the round-up.
Explained simply
Yorkshire is a large county in northern England, with cities including York, Bradford and Wakefield, as well as towns and rural areas. Its communities have local arts venues, hospitals and transport links, and events in one part of the county may be of interest across the region.
The stories involve people and organisations working in different fields. Sam Joesbury draws musicians during live gigs, Ashley Gray works in NHS patient transport after recovering from leukaemia, and David Hockney is an artist from Bradford whose work is being shown there. The Cribs are a band from Wakefield, while volunteers have helped restore a railway line in East Yorkshire.
Together, the stories show local cultural projects, personal journeys and efforts to reconnect places by rail. They matter to residents because they involve regional identity, access to arts and transport, and ways people contribute to their communities.
Art Culture Sheffield UK World