Just a quick post to show the Wordle word cloud that I generated for this blog. It is dead simple, just past in text, a feed for a blog (or any web page that generates a feed) or a del.icio.us user name and Wordle generates a cloud representing the most used words in the source material.
I wouldn’t have necessarily bothered posting the results here, but I was intrigued to see that the cloud generated for this blog was in the shape of a cooling tower. A coincidence? Try it now with your own blog and see what it comes back with.
Four performance that I will be keeping an eye on during Sheffield’s upcoming music festival
So the Music in the sun website has gone live, along with the usual MySpace plus Facebook fan and event pages. A few of the acts have caught my eye, and at just £9.50 for a two-day advance ticket, it seems good value.
However, it is frustrating that the line-up doesn’t specify when many of the bands are actually playing over the weekend. The arena performers seem to be better mapped out, but being more of an indie fan, it would be helpful to have a proper running order for the main stage on each day, too. Perhaps nearer the time this information will be made available.
It is good to see some local acts represented on bill. Here are some of the performers I will be looking out for:
Kings Have Long Arms
Described by Wikipedia as ‘rocktronica’, this Sheffield-based act has been around for a few years and collaborated with several well-known musicians including Phil Oakey (the Human League), Mira (Ladytron), Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce (former Smiths), Denise Johnson (A Certain Ratio) and Ray Dorset (Mungo Jerry). The excellent single Big umbrella (featuring Candie Payne) was released at the beginning of the year:
Tiny Dancers
Another Sheffield-based group, this indie-country-rock band signed to Parlophone in 2006 and last summer released their debut album, Free school milk. Their singles have had some airplay and entered the top 40 but they are yet to have a major breakthrough hit. This is the catchy and upbeat I will wait for you:
Levi Roots If you watch Dragon’s Den, the you will know about Levi Roots’ (real name Keith) appearance in the last series of the show, where he was awarded money to produce Reggae Reggae Sauce. By the looks of things, he was a musician prior to this so he should definitely be considered more than just a novelty at Music in the sun. And if his performance successfully captures any of the charm and charisma that came across on television then we should be in for a treat. This is Reggae reggae sauce (the song) on Dragon’s Den:
Artery
If you listened to the recent BBC Radio 2 documentary in which Jarvis Cocker took listeners on a tour of Sheffield (still available to listen to here) then you would have heard 70s/80s post-punk band Artery being mentioned, as the former Pulp frontman was a big fan. Although they didn’t have any big hits, the band are seen as one of the big influential Sheffield bands from the time and reformed in 2007. This is John Peel’s favourite song, and by far their most well-known track, Into the garden:
The Artery and Tiny Dancers MySpace pages say that they are each playing on 2 August, so hedge your bets it will be the Saturday for those two bands.
Celebrating art and beer: two things to do this weekend
Looking for a piece of original artwork to hang in your home? The Great Sheffield art show, now in its is twentieth year, is reportedly the largest art show in the north of England featuring over 1,400 exhibits and attracting thousands of visitors. It takes place 11-13 July at the Octagon building, University of Sheffield, although if you are quick you may get tickets for the preview night on Thursday.
It is good that semi-professional and amateur artists have got a platform to display and perhaps sell their work, while for visitors it is a chance to pick up an original piece from an artist you may not have otherwise come across.
And after you’ve been to the art show, why not pop in to the Rising Sun pub in Nether Green for the second annual Sunfest beer festival, which runs from 10-13 July?
Luckily, the Rising Sun - and the brewery for that matter - are both still profitable businesses but I am sure they would appreciate the support all the same. And besides, it is good fun, even if like me, you know very little about real ale.
Part two of the post that collects together a list of ideas to improve Sheffield (parts one to five)
Address the spiralling cost of public transport Ever before the price of petrol started going up, the bus fares in Sheffield were unreasonably high. In London, you can hop on a bus for 90p using an Oyster card. Sheffield may not be as big as the capital but is the city not of a sufficient size to apply the same economic principals? It is a far cry from the 2p single bus fares I used to pay when I was a child. Obviously we can’t return to the heavily subsidised days of the 1980s but if fares are lower in other big cities then there must be something First can learn from these revenue models. The least they can promise a pricing consultation and review.
Further develop Sheffield’s gay scene
It was good to see a successful South Yorkshire Pride taking place earlier this month. I’m not an expert on Sheffield’s gay scene, but it seems that over the years the city has struggled to maintain momentum when trying to establish decent venues that appeal to a LGBT crowd. Other places like Manchester and London have streets that are home to many gay bars and venues. I’m not sure whether this is the way to go for Sheffield - and perhaps these areas should develop organically - but a start would be for venue owners to realise that working together to establish a cluster of gay-friendly venues (in the city centre, not tucked out in Attercliffe) may benefit their business more than competing against each other until none are left. Or is Sheffield ironically too-friendly a city to support a gay scene?
Build a landmark building that will make the city’s skyline distinctive
So we are resigned to losing the cooling towers, but why not be brave and create a high-quality, distinctive and tall building in Sheffield that would sit proudly on the city’s horizon and be recognisable the world over? I sometimes think our town planners are overly-cautious with what they allow, perhaps due to mistakes in the past, but imagine if we had our own London Eye, CN Tower or Opera House? It wouldn’t have to be on such a grand scale, but a distinctive and tasteful development along these lines that compliments the existing skyline could be spectacular.
Promote more live music at Don Valley Stadium
The organisation that runs Sheffield International Venues recently announced a record annual turnover of £21m, but I would like to see more live music taking place at Don Valley Stadium. My memory, and some internet research, recalls ten stadium gigs at Don Valley since it opened in 1990, which averages at around one every two years. Surely we can do better than that. The Arctic Monkeys played Lancashire CCC ground last summer; would a homecoming gig at Don Valley have been more fitting?
Get both Wednesday and United back in the Premiership
Easier said than done, but this would be worth millions to the city in terms of raising its profile across the world, while making a lot of Sheffield football fans very happy. Obviously we can’t wave a magic wand to make this happen but the Blades are a well-run club, perfectly capable of mounting a promotion challenge this coming season and if Wednesday’s imminent takeover actually happens then it may not be such a pipe dream after all.
Part one of a two part post, identifying ways that the city can be improved. Here are numbers one to five (not in any order)
Sort out the traffic congestion Is traffic congestion in Sheffield really that bad? According to this report Sheffield traffic is in the top 10 slowest-moving in the UK. If South Yorkshire is looking to further develop its economy by attracting business investment on an international level and also ensuring that its potential as a tourist destination is fulfilled, the road infrastructure must improve. As part of this, the problem of car access around the station must also be addressed, as the good impression visitors get from Sheaf square is soon forgotten once you are embroiled in the gridlock on the way out.
Focus on the city’s digital strategy
City leaders are recognising the importance of developing Sheffield’s digital and creative industries with the development of the Digital Campus, but the strategy needs to be more wide-ranging than this. We need to work further to encourage residents, businesses and community groups to embrace the technologies on offer in order to create a digitally-literate population. In Birmingham, a Get into digital festival took place in June as part of the Digital Birmingham initiative, aiming to “help make the transition from an industrial city to a digital one by driving forward the use of these technologies in order to increase prosperity, knowledge and quality of life of its citizens.” This is definitely something to Sheffield to consider…can we afford not to?
Grow the city centre as an after-work destination
The council has been working hard at promoting Wednesday night live in the city centre. It has recognised a need for the city centre to become a viable option for post-work and evening recreation. For too long, Sheffield has become a ghost town after the shoppers and workers have gone home, with people not feeling compelled to stay in the city centre. There is potential for expanding the after-work economy, but it needs the support of Sheffield citizens, not just the local authority and businesses.
Attract more quality restaurants to the city centre
Every week in the Sheffield Telegraph I enjoy seeing what the interviewee in the Food For Thought Q&A column says in answer to the ‘What do you think of Sheffield as a place to eat out?’ question. The most positive answer seems to be that Sheffield’s restaurant scene is improving but few people have much to shout about. There are good restaurants across the region but many of these in the suburbs or out in Derbyshire, and for every highly-rated one that opens, another closes. A limited number of chain restaurants is acceptable, but Sheffield also needs more high quality restaurants in the city centre, particularly ones that stay open late to cater, for example, for the post-theatre/gig/concert crowds. Which brings me onto…
Introduce a night bus services on key routes If the evening/night economy were to expand then would it be worth trialling a night bus service? Currently, many routes finish around 11pm, and with town pubs now generally open later than this, I think there would be a demand for buses every half hour on key services out of the city throughout the night. The impact on Sheffield taxi drivers would need to be carefully assessed, but it would certainly help the queues and scramble for cabs in the early hours of the morning when demand outstrips supply.
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