Why I Love Huddersfield, sponsored by Wild PR, is a monthly feature where we ask a well-known Huddersfield personality what the town means to them. Huddersfield Giants club captain MICHAEL LAWRENCE, who is a member of the Rugby Football League’s Inclusion board and an ambassador for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, answers our fun questions.

1. Tell us something we don’t know about you?

A lot of people don’t know that I am training to be a PE teacher. I have taken a course at Leeds Beckett University which I graduated from last year and now I’m training to be a teacher at A Level in a college doing my PGCE at Bolton University. 

2. What does Huddersfield mean to you?

Huddersfield means everything to me, it’s where I was born, it’s where my parents and all my friends live. I went to Newsome High School and college and played my amateur rugby up at Newsome. Growing up as a kid I always supported the Giants and so to now play for the club and town means everything. It holds a special place in my heart. I can’t ever see myself leaving the town. I’ll live here my whole life. 

3. How would you describe Huddersfield to a stranger?

Huddersfield is a very warm and welcoming town which us very diverse in its population. We are a hard working, working class town and proud of it. It’s got a lot of great stories and personalities. Sometimes the town gets a bad rap really and deserves more credit than what it gets at times. 

4. We’ll take you out for a meal in Huddersfield. Where would you like to go and why?

I love Grappolo’s in Lockwood it’s the best Iralian, I love it there. The food is amazing and the service awesome. 

5. The Huddersfield Blueprint is going to change the face of the town centre over the next five to 10 years. What one thing would you like to see in the town centre?

I would like to see more restaurants, because other than Grappolo’s there isn’t that many I go to. It’s sad to see so many shops boarded up and with what’s happening with the market. I’d love to see the shops reopen and get a really strong market again. When I was a kid my mum would always take us to the market and it would be really busy and there would be a buzz. In recent times that has gone downhill. 

6. What venue, nightclub or attraction from Huddersfield’s past would you like to see return?

Tokyo’s. I spent many a happy a night in there after a good win. 

7. We all love Jodie Whittaker, of course, but who’s your favourite Doctor Who?

I’m not a huge Doctor Who fan, to be honest. 

8. How did you spend your time in lockdown and has the Covid-19 pandemic changed you?

I spent the majority of lockdown training in my back garden. I went on a lot of walks to keep myself fit. I also got to spend a lot of time with my family which was special.

I am grateful for the time I could spend with my loved ones. It probably taught me to spend more time with the ones I love. It was a terrible time for lots of people who tragically lost loved ones over the past two years. 

9. We’re packing you off to a desert island for a month. What one item would you take with you and why?

I would take my phone as I’m on it all the time. I’d also take my wife and kids as I would miss them too much if they weren’t there. 

Quick questions:

1. Dixon’s Milk Ices or Marstons Chicken Shop?

Why do you have to do this to me? Haha. I’ll have to go for Marstons.

2. Greenhead Park or Beaumont Park?

Greenhead Park.

3. Castle Hill or Emley Moor TV mast?

Castle Hill.

4. Strictly Come Dancing or I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here?

I’m a Celebrity.