David Laycock, centre director at the new Trinity mall in Leeds, explains why his Saturday starts at 6.30am (and that’s a lie-in)
Fate is a funny thing. I now live and work in my dream locations, Skipton and Leeds, and it’s all down to the kindness of fate.
Thirty years ago, I told my wife, Sarah, I wanted to marry her (my best move), have four children, a bulldog and live near my dear Nana in Leeds. Three decades on, the marriage is a great success, the four beautiful babies have turned into teenagers (need I say more?), and Rex G, our Victorian bulldog is definitely king of our castle. And, although my Nana didn’t live to see it, I did come home to Leeds after 40 years of dreaming.
I really look forward to Saturday mornings when I can wake up a bit later than usual at a heady 6.30am rather than my usual 4.40am followed by a mad rush to get into the office by 6.45am.
Skipton is a wonderful place to live, perfect for all of us in every respect. My routine is a well-trodden one: coffee for my wife in bed then off with Rex G down the canal to the butchers, the bakers and not the candlestick makers but the market for some proper local grub.
If I’m lucky enough to be spending the day in Skipton, Sarah and I normally go for lunch to Emporio Italiano on Mill Bridge (a great recommendation for a tasty treat).
My work life balance has been significantly skewed throughout the last year and a half with the opening of Trinity Leeds, but now we’ve successfully opened, I’m beginning to readjust.
Saturday has all too often been about work. It’s meant I’ve been away from home but I believe it’s been a worthwhile investment of my own time in a city I’m fervently passionate about. Leeds has always been the coolest city with lots going on, but now it’s all coming together and I’m fortunate to be in the middle of the exciting mix and helping shape the future.
On Saturday evening, if I haven’t tempted Sarah to spend a night out in the heady heart of Leeds, we like to go to the Devonshire Spa for a sauna and swim, then home to a roaring fire and a bottle of wine or two.
If I’m honest, Sunday of late has been all work and no play, but I’ve promised the family that times are a-changing and I will be home for the Sunday roast every week as family time is extremely important to me.
An ideal Sunday evening for me is the same as it’s been for many years, even when we lived in York. It’s a romantic dinner for two at the Angel Inn in Hetton, just north of Skipton, with my lovely and most appreciated Sarah.
