Prof Graham Leslie, CBE, is one of Yorkshire’s best known entrepreneurs and philanthropists, founding Galpharm Pharmaceuticals which has saved the NHS an estimated £400m every year since 1995. As Huddersfield Town Football Club chairman he was the driving force behind creating the pioneering stadium in Huddersfield 30 years ago, the first all-seater football and rugby ground in the UK.
A place in Yorkshire that makes you smile?
Everywhere, really. The very word Yorkshire makes me smile as it conjures up a warm sensation of belonging and home and, let’s face it, anyone who doesn’t live in Yorkshire must surely be jealous as it has everything from great cities to breathtaking countryside and stunning coastlines. Then there are the people with that dry Yorkshire wit and gritty determination to get on with life, come what may.
But one place with a special place in my heart is Dodworth near Barnsley, who welcomed my company, Galpharm Pharmaceuticals, relocating there with open arms.
A place in Yorkshire that you love to eat?
One of the most amazing dining experiences you will ever enjoy is at the Black Swan in Oldstead, North Yorkshire, a Michelin star restaurant where my first grandson, Callum Leslie, is head chef. It has the most amazing taster menu and they grow all their own vegetables. Stay the night if you can to make the experience out of this world.
I live in Honley near Huddersfield and always love going to the village’s tapas restaurant, Punch, Oscars in Holmfirth for wonderful pizzas or Holmfirth Tavern for a country and western evening.
A place in Yorkshire that you take friends?
It has to be to watch Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium. When I was chairman of Huddersfield Town I realised there was no option but to have a new all-seater stadium and managed to find an architect, Rod Sheard, who could think very differently and he went on to design the new Wembley stadium.
Ours is still an awe-inspiring stadium 30 years on. The pitch was sown first of all so it could get growing and the stadium was then built around it and my son Craig, and his newborn baby were the first tow Town fans to walk on it. While bringing Callum home from hospital when he was just a day old, Craig stopped at the stadium and walked onto the hallowed turf with Callum with the stands half-built.
I’m still a season ticket holder and always will be.
An early memory of Yorkshire?
I’ve just written my autobiography called Ahead of the Curve which has plenty of early memories of Yorkshire including my dad dropping me off on the Yorkshire border on the A1 in 1966 after I’d told him I was to become a father at the age of just 20. He told me it was time to make my own way in life which was a harsh lesson but without it would I have gone on to create Galpharm Pharmaceuticals?
I played amateur football in Huddersfield in 1971 by joining Berry Brown and was asked to arrive two hours before kick-off. I thought this was a really professional attitude, leaving time for a proper warm-up before the game but it turns out we were needed to shift some cows and their cowpats off the pitch before the referee arrived. It was more a field of beasts than a field of dreams.
Your cultural go-to in Yorkshire?
It has to be Ripon with its tradition called the Ripon Hornblower and my father-in-law George Pickles did the role for 10 years.
Every night of the year without fail come hail, rain, snow or, in summer, even sunshine, a horn is blown at the four corners of the Obelisk in Ripon Market Place at 9pm to set the ‘watch.’ This commemorates the time in the Middle Ages when Ripon’s first citizen, the Wakeman, was responsible for crime prevention in the city from 9pm until dawn. George created a lucky wooden penny which he gave to people who came to watch the horn blowing and reckons he gave away 36,000.
It’s also a magical place for me as I married Karen in Ripon Cathedral, walking out to a song I’d written with my brother, Hugh, called Wedding Vows.
A place for indulgence in Yorkshire?
Indulgence doesn’t have to be something expensive. We have a friend with a bungalow on a cliff at Bridlington where Karen and I take her grandchildren to spend time together, walking along the miles of sand.
This is all about making precious memories and also so two of our youngest grandchildren, seven-year-old Harrison and four-year-old Callie, can indulge us by teaching us how to make ‘proper’ sandcastles with their buckets and spades.
I’m never happier than when?
I’m creating music in Yorkshire. I tend to write the lyrics and form the music by strumming on a guitar and then my brother Hugh, a composer and arranger who studied at the Guildhall School of Music, gives it the full musical impact. Over the years I’ve written a song called Travelling Home For Christmas which has been recorded by La Toya Jackson and another called United Together which was recently recorded by the world-famous Kingdom Choir at London’s Abbey Road recording studios. The choir sang at King Charles’ coronation.
Castle Hill – a special place for Graham. Philip Roger Bailey: T&A Camera Club A Yorkshire view that inspires?
Well, as I live so near it has to be Castle Hill above Huddersfield with a 360 degrees view that can stretch more than 30 miles and is a snapshot of what this area has to offer in its towns, villages, hamlets and countryside. It’s reputed you can see York Minster from Castle Hill on a very clear day but I’ve yet to see it from there.
Three words that sum up your best Yorkshire life?
Ee By Gum
Graham’s autobiography, Ahead of the Curve, is raising money for Making Waves, a charity which supports a day centre in Slaithwaite for adults with learning and/or physical difficulties. The book is available from the Great Northern Books website gnbooks.co.uk.
