Another city centre shop to close

30 08 2008

Are the shops in town feeling the pinch?

You have probably already read that Racquets on Division Street is to close next week as owners John and Sue Howard are retiring and there are no interested buyers for the store. I only popped to Racquets occasionally, but I will miss it and it was another reason to go to town.

I’m a bit fed up of shops in town closing. Losing Fopp a couple of years ago was a massive blow (although it won’t have done the excellent Record Collector in Broomhill any harm), and with Gap being replaced by a bank, shopping trips to town are looking less and less compelling. I know those two were both chain stores, but I think a mix of independent and well-known outlets is a happy medium when it comes to shopping.

One reassuring fact is that the three examples here didn’t necessarily close because of Sheffield city centre’s ability to sustain the stores. However, the difficult economic conditions won’t have helped and the sooner the new retail quarter Sevenstone is built, the better. Fingers crossed that project won’t be delayed.


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Categories : city centre masterplan, planning, regeneration, sheffield, shopping, sport

Light Night in Sheffield, September 2009

27 08 2008

Showing the city’s most iconic buildings in a different light

It may be over a year away, but something to look forward to in 2009 will be the arrival of Light Night in Sheffield.

Six UK cities have been selected to host Light Night, starting with Birmingham next month. The idea is that for one night only, the key buildings in each city centre are illuminated using high quality light projections in order to show the environment from a different perspective.

To accompany this, areas in the city are also opened up for some sort of cultural, community festival.

Exact details at the moment are sketchy, but it’ll be worth keeping any eye on the other Light Night events before the Sheffield one to see what sort of thing we can expect.

Sheffield, lit up

Image by mikesm and used under Creative Commons license


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Botched towers demolition embarasses Eon

24 08 2008

The north tower refuses to come down without a fight

So, the towers have gone…but not without making life difficult for the team behind the demolition.

It was somewhat satisfying to see the north tower resist the “precise destructive qualities” of the Nitroglycerine explosive packed into its 1,250 drilled holes last night. About a third of the tower was left standing, resulting in diggers chipping away at its base until nearly half past five in the morning when the remainder of the tower came down.

This shambles of a demolition doesn’t inspire much hope in Eon’s ability to deliver a worthy replacement.

Alongside coverage in the media (BBC, ITV, The Star), photos and videos from the public have started appearing online. A selection appear below; it is a shame that some people cheered as the towers were demolished.

A great photo from Eddie Robinson:

This is my favourite video, as the night vision and audio make it quite eerie:

The banter in the build up to this is funny:

And a fitting (and deliberate?) musical reference at the start of this:

People mourning the loss of the towers, and those searching out more memorabilia, may be interested to see that Archipelago Gallery, formerly of Ecclesall Road South but now located on Sidney Street, has produced a screen print by Jim Connolly to commemorate their sad demolition:

TERROR...! At Tinsley Towers!

TERROR...! At Tinsley Towers!

I have no links to the gallery or artist but I do like this, and at £10 for a poster print, I am tempted to get one. Signed originals are also available for £125. The similarity in style to the paintings of Isaac Mendez, the artist character from TV show Heroes, has been pointed out…


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Categories : arts, cooling towers, design, photos, sheffield, videos

Is Sheffield really built on seven hills?

22 08 2008

It is one of the most-quoted facts about the city, but is it true?

One of the things I like most about Sheffield, and it is something that I have started to appreciate more now that I live up on one of the hills, is the topography of the city. Having also lived in London and Birmingham, it seems that comparatively, there are many more opportunities in Sheffield for looking down on the city from one of the many vantage points on the surrounding hills.

It may not be so good for cyclists, but once you are up there you are rewarded with some spectacular views. Whether it is the panorama back across town from Park Hill at dusk; the drive back into the city from Ringinglow; the view from Crookes and Crosspool; the city skyline from Meersbrook park or simply looking up at the hills through corner gaps at Hillsborough stadium; I could go on and on.

I still read some blogs about Birmingham, and one of these recently enquired how high the Midlands city was. A response from Ordnance Survey showed that in terms of single highest points, Sheffield is second only to Bradford.

This led me on to investigate the regularly-quoted fact about Sheffield that, like Rome, the city is built on seven hills. According to a study by J.G. Harston, Sheffield is in fact built on eight discernible hills, not seven.

In the end, it doesn’t matter how many hills the city is built on; while the days are long and the evenings are light, it is well worth getting out to making the most of the fantastic views on offer.

Does anyone else have any favourites?


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Categories : environment, photos, sheffield, walking

Forgotten Sheffield bands: Blameless

15 08 2008

The signs were all there

It is great when the buzz builds around a local band and they come crashing into the top 20 with a brilliant breakthrough single. That was what happened with Blameless in 1996, but unfortunately the Sheffield band never managed to build on this initial success.

The breakthrough song in question was Breathe (a little deeper), an atmospheric-yet-melodic three-chord guitar anthem released in March 1996 and playlisted on Radio 1 at the time:

Debut album, The signs are all there, followed in September that year and if I recall correctly, Town clowns, Don’t say you’re sorry and Signs were all lifted from it as singles. But they would fail to trouble the top 75 again and the story of what happened to the band now seems to have been lost. I would be interested to hear when the band split and whether they continued to make music post-Blameless.

The video for the Signs single can be seen on this video from the Chart show in 1996. Signs starts from 0:48:

If you enjoyed that, the YouTube user that uploaded this indie chart has lots more Chart show top 10s online.


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Categories : arts, bands, music, sheffield

Date for cooling towers demolition confirmed

12 08 2008

Bank holiday weekend will see the towers bite the dust

As widely reported in the media today, the Tinsley cooling towers will be demolished in the early hours of Sunday 24 August. A viewing platform at Meadowhall will be set up for spectators.

I guess that the potential of the Towers as a fundraising opportunity was highlighted with the success of the cooling towers gift shop, and as a result Eon has got together with the University of Sheffield’s Archaeology consultancy, Arcus, to produce a souvenir book and postcard collection. The beneficiaries are the Rotherham Hospice and Neurocare at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

Less than two weeks to go; enjoy the towers while you can…

Image by pauldcocker and used under Creative Commons license


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Categories : architecture, cooling towers, sheffield

View from the Moor

9 08 2008

See the hills from the Moor

Work continues apace on redevelopment of the Moor, and now that the buildings at the bottom have been almost cleared on the East-side, you get a clear view of St Mary’s church and the hills behind:

Photos like this must be reminiscent of how the Moor looked after the devastation of air raids in the Second World War.


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Categories : city centre masterplan, development, planning, regeneration, sheffield

From Runaway Girl to Silversmiths

5 08 2008

Gordon Ramsay and the relaunch of a city centre bar and restaurant

There was plenty of coverage last week of Gordon Ramsay’s stay in the city and the visit of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares to Runaway Girl on Arundel Street.

The celebrity chef even appeared in the Peace gardens to record a feature for the show and to give chance for Silversmiths staff to promote the relaunched business.

Although entertaining, I find Kitchen Nightmares a bit formulaic, and have no doubt that as usual, Ramsay’s revamp proposes a new menu serving “simple, seasonal dishes, made using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients”. We’ll find out when the show is broadcast.

I liked the name Runaway Girl and was also a bit cynical about the new name until I walked past the relaunched restaurant yesterday. I originally thought he might have proposed it after unimaginatively linking a Sheffield restaurant to the city’s cutlery heritage, however given that the premises is actually a converted silversmiths works and it still features the George Ellis Ltd. livery on the façade, I think it works well. The subtle, highlighted silver name is also a nice touch:

The menu in the window gave a glimpse of the modern Yorkshire dishes on offer, I just need to pay it a visit now to taste the food:


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Categories : celebrities, design, food, sheffield, television

Football radio heaven

3 08 2008

On the eve of the new football season, BBC Radio Sheffield’s football magazine show returns

I’m pretty excited about the new football season. And I’m also greatly anticipating the return of BBC Radio Sheffield’s weeknight Football Heaven radio phone-in show from Monday, with a special programme live from Sheffield Hallam University.

The football magazine show takes place 6-7pm Monday to Friday, plus there is an extended phone-in on Saturdays after the results are in. It basically continues the Praise or grumble concept invented all those years ago by the legendary local sports broadcaster Robert Jackson, who is now retired.

If you’re like me then when the team I support loses, I opt for a football media blackout the day after, choosing to ignore the goals on TV and shunning the match reports. However, come Monday night I’ll be coming back for more and tuning in to Football Heaven, looking forward to the next fixture with the bleak optimism that 3 points can be bagged.

Of course the quality of the show is influenced by the quality of the callers, but luckily there are some entertaining regulars who can usually be relied up to make it a worthwhile listen.

Hosts Seth Bennett or Andy Giddings play devil’s advocate as much as they are able to on the weeknight show. If Seth is presenting then don’t be fooled by his affable and warm radio manner: wait until you hear one of his probing interviews with chairmen of local clubs and supporters groups, as they can be radio dynamite.

And if you are out then you can catch up with the show after it has been broadcast each night using the BBC’s iPlayer. That said, a Football Heaven podcast would also be a great way to consume the show…

Monday’s edition is being transmitted live from Sheffield Hallam University in front of a studio audience. If you want to be there, it looks like tickets are still available.


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Music in the sun 2008

3 08 2008

A visit to one of the north’s biggest multicultural festivals

Yesterday we paid a visit to Music in the sun for music, food and drinks as the sun set over Don Valley.

Who did we see there? I’d heard Steve Lamacq mention Hiem a few times before but never watched them live. They appeared in the main arena and were good, quite electronic but more melodic and poppy than I was expecting. This is Electricity from 2004:

And following them was Steve Edwards, who I didn’t realise wrote and provided vocals for Bob Sinclar’s 2006 hit World, hold on (children of the sky):

Bob Sinclar also released Love generation, which Steve Edwards also performed live on Saturday.

There were several other arenas with other performers and DJs playing, as well as graffiti artists, food, drink, retail stalls and fairground rides.

The festival continues today from 1pm. If you do go down, also don’t miss the tasty African/Caribbean food from Broomhill’s UK Mama.


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Categories : arts, bands, beer, drink, festivals, food, live, music, photos, sheffield