Sheffield blog

It’s a bumper month

Here are this month’s additions to the list of Sheffield people and organisations of interest on  Twitter. The full directory can be found on the Sheffield Twitter users page.

There is also a Twitter list of people and organisations in Sheffield in Twitter.

BBC South Yorkshire news
@BBCSY

North west Sheffield news blog
@nwsheffield

Hantu collective – illustration-based clothing label
@HantuCollective

Arcade – shop in Forum
@ilovethearcade

City of sanctuary – a movement to build a culture of hospitality for people seeking sanctuary in the UK
@CityofSanctuary

Rutland arms – pub
@rutlandarms

Stock room – music venue
@thestockroom

Thee Sheffield photographic corporation – record label
@theespc

Lovebytes – digital art and creativity
@lovebytes

Platillos restaurant/bar
@platillos_sheff

Pictures of Sheffield – Facebook photography group
http://twitter.com/picturesofsheff

Sheffield is my planet – climate change campaign
@sheffismyplanet

Bromheads – band (formerly Bromheads jacket)
@bromheads

Sheffield five-a-side – attempt to break football world record
@Sheffield5aside

Wildago – artist
@wildago

Paul Bell music – singer/songwriter
@paulbellmusic

Boiler room – digital agency
@boilerroomdig

Taptivate – iPhone app creators
@taptivate

Planet terror – record label
@ptrecs

Westside – magazine
@WestsideMag

Digital entrepreneurs – business support programme
@talkelectric

Murmur music
@murmurmusic

Sheffield rock – Sheffield music scene news
@SheffieldRock

Sheffield shop – shopping in town and Meadowhall
@sheffieldshop

Meadowhell – your very own shopping hell
@Meadowhell

High storrs school
@highstorrs

First point for business
@SheffBusiness

Vivid creative – agency
@Vivid_Creative

Danstyled – web design
@Danstyled

Endcliffe church
@endcliffechurch

Graves park
@GravesParkSheff

Birchenall howden ltd – information, communication, technology
@unravellingtech

Regional magazine company
@RegionalMagCo

Sheffield chamber of commerce and industry
@sheffchamber

20TwentyAerials – aerial installations
@20TwentyAerials

Northern lights – performing arts company
@N0RTHERN_LIGHTS

Alpharooms – Sheffield-based travel agent
@alpharooms

SYDataCentre – web hosting
@SYDataCentre

Sheffield walkers – walking group
@Sheffwalkers

Sheffield sci-fi group
@sheffsfgroup

NHS Sheffield
@NHS_Sheffield

Animat – electronic duo
@Animat_music

Happy caffeine – websites
@happycaffeine

Paul Walker – BBC Sheffield’s sports editor
@Walkerpw

Sunflour – cakes, pies and breads
@sunflourhelen

All that promotions – music and event promotion
@atpsheffield

Michael Harding – writer, producer, musician and DJ
@the_only_m

Holmes rentals – accommodation
@HolmesRentals

jessicaennis.net – updates from Jessica’s official site
@JessicaEnnisNet

New leaf salad – Sheffield university’s salad bar
@NewLeafSalad

Kowalski – band
@KowalskiUK

The 10p mixes – band
@the10pmixes

Creative exchange: South Yorkshire (CESY) and the Cube – projects of the Cultural industries quarter (CIQ) agency
@CESYandTheCube

Impact Sheffield – Sheffield university research
@IMPACTSheffield

Pipeten – managed host provider
@pipeten

Event catering
@CocoCatering

Little mischiefs – stuff for babies
@LittleMischiefs

Marmalade sun – band
@marmaladesun

BTCV enterprises
@BessemerHouse

uLetStudents – accommodation for students
@uLetStudents

Joe Whittaker – web design
@hellojoew

If you want to be listed on it then follow @sheffieldblog, get in touch or comment below.

Flying the flag for the city

Views from the seven hills of Sheffield and more are celebrated by the new Sheffield publicity department blog that promises to tell us about the things that make the place special:

We’re here to tell you about…the things that make Sheffield beautiful, and amazing, and unique. The hills, the people, the industry and the nature. The reasons we love the city. And what’s more, we’re going to show you how to find them. Maps to the best views. Guides to the most beautiful terraced streets. Postcards of the sunsets.

The view from Skye edge (‘as close as you’ll get to flying over Sheffield’) is first entry in the blog, where a red flag has been installed on the summit. I wonder if they’d get away with some guerrilla-style red plaques in the more urban locations?

They also provide printable maps so you know exactly where to find the free treasures.

I love this idea and look forward to seeing what things they come up with.

Sheffield publicity department

Who is new?

Here are this month’s additions to the list of Sheffield people and organisations of interest on  Twitter. The full directory can be found on the Sheffield Twitter users page.

There is also a new Twitter list of people and organisations in Sheffield in Twitter.

The chimney house – meeting venue and home of @93ft
@TheChimneyHouse

93ft – design agency
@93ft

BNI soaraways – business networking group (on Facebook too)
@BNIsoaraways

Intuitive functionality – creative design
@IfWorks

South Yorkshire filmmakers network
@syfn

Three source – specialist cutlery and crockery supplier
@3Source

Uncut project – church community
@uncutproject

Cornucopia radio show – writers and performers in Sheffield, who make radio shows, podcasts and live shows
@cornucopiaradio

Anjan Sarkar – illustrator
@sarkarsama

Everly pregnant brothers – Pete McKee’s ukulele band
@NorthernUkeBros

Band together – Sheffield’s brand new centre for band musicians
@band_together

Whitley hall – hotel
@WhitleyHall

We love sleep – retailer of sleep products
@welovesleep

Flyshot promotions agency
@Flyshot

Momentum media – mobile marketing
@smssheffield

West one space – accommodation
@WestONEspace

IS property – estate agent
@isproperty

G casino – forthcoming casino
@GSheffield

If you want to be listed on it then follow @sheffieldblog, get in touch or comment below.

Which is the best restaurant in Sheffield?

There is one more week to go before the voting closes for this year’s Eat Sheffield awards.

You can vote for your favourites here but be warned, you’ll need to fill in the form each time you cast a vote in each category. Hopefully they can make this a single form before the 2010 voting.

The awards are all part of the drive to raise the profile of Sheffield’s independent restaurants, which have improved a lot over the last few years but still have some way to go.

23 was the main winner in the 2008 awards. Which one deserves to take the top award this time?

Vote now in the 2009 Eat Sheffield restaurant awards

What should we be known for?

@DarrenBristow from Sheffield design agency Quba tweeted a question yesterday: Sheffield is a rich city , but what is it’s USP? What would you like it to be known for?

I always thought that in terms of money, Sheffield was quite a poor place. But we have plenty of non-monetary wealth. It is hard to avoid the cliches but Sheffield has a strong tradition of creativity and innovation but without being pretentious and unfriendly. We don’t like show offs but most people that live here would agree that there is something special about the place.

Richard Benjamin, the managing director of local creative agency Uber, recently penned a piece for marketing/creative publication The Drum, arguing for Sheffield as one of the most creative cities in the UK. Read a cached version here (you have to register on the site for the original).

It echoes Tom Keeley’s foreward from the Disordered haste Electric works launch booklet.

Whether you have been in the city all your life or just moved here, what do you think? What would you tell Darren in response to his question?

August 2009 update

Here are this month’s additions to the list of Sheffield people and organisations of interest on  Twitter. The full directory can be found on the Sheffield Twitter users page.

Paul Scriven – leader of Sheffield city council
@Paulscriven

Jon McClure – Reverend and the Makers front man
@JonMcClure

Cocoa  – chocolate shop on Eccy Road
@Cocoasheffield

Our Cow Molly – locally-made ice cream
@OurCowMolly

Seth Bennet – BBC Sheffield sport presenter
@Sethb45

Oktoberfest Sheffield – beer festival
@OktoberfestShef

Popolo – restaurant in Leopold square
@PopoloSheffield

Eliot Kennedy – songwriter who has worked with the Spice girls, Bryan Adams, S Club 7 and 5ive
@EliotKennedy

Robin hood airport – Doncaster-Sheffield international
@RobinHoodAirpor

Graduates Sheffield
@GradSheff

Oxjam – music festival
@OxjamSheffield

Sheffield unsigned – music directory for artists in and around Sheffield
@sheffunsigned

Crookes forum – community group
@CrookesForum

Hillsborough forum – community group
@hillsbroforum

South Yorkshire fire and rescue
@SYFR

Apple admin – professional virtual admin services
@AppleAdmn

Benchmark recruitment – recruitment agency
@BenchmarkRec

Sheffield university real ale society
@RealAleSociety

C21 creative – web and graphic designers
@C21Creative

VT music – music publisher
@VTmusic

Sheffield big – support programme to help residents set up in business
@sheffieldbig

Roundabout – homeless youth charity
@rndbt

South Yorkshire music – local music news
@syorkshiremusic

Little white book – wedding planners
@LWBwedding

Wath festival – music festival
@wathfestival

Sheffield law society – supporting and representing Sheffield’s legal profession
@SheffieldLawSoc

3 squared – web, print and software
@3_Squared

Sorby nano – leaders in micro and nano scale investigation
@SorbyNano

SYPTE – South Yorkshire passenger transport executive
@SYPTE

City church – local church
@CityChurchShef

Sheffield craft collective
@Craft_Candy

LCPU – NAVCA’s local commissioning and procurement unit
@lcpu

Mookau – gift boutique
@mookau

Abbey joinery
@AbbeyJoinery

Training foundry – computer trainers
@trainingfoundry

Platinum blind – band
@platinumblind4u

Dead world leaders – band
@DWL_Official

Sheffield liberal youth
@ShefLibYouth

Sheffield Labour students
@sheflabstudents

Extension match – brick and stone supplier
@ExtensionMatch

Atweb – band
@atewb

Geeks in the peaks – rural getaway for geeks, 4-6 September 2009
@geeksinthepeaks

Harry Gration – veteran Look north presenter
@gratih46

Sheffield latest – automated news
@sheffieldlatest

If you want to be listed on it then follow @sheffieldblog, get in touch or comment below.

A few thoughts on Sheffield music city

So the dust has settled on the first Tramlines festival and the general consensus seems to be that it was one of the best all-round weekends that Sheffield has seen for many years.

The atmosphere around town was electric, particularly in the Devonshire quarter where the pubs were heaving and there was stuff going on wherever you looked. On top of all the live music there was also the big wheel, the Fargate continental market and events in Barker’s pool that added to the feel-good factor around the city.

The fine weather on Friday and Saturday certainly helped things get off to a good start, and you were spoilt for choice with regards to what to see. As well as the main stage on Devonshire green, the world stage in the Peace gardens seemed to go down very well and it was great fun to wander in and out of the other city pubs and venues to explore the eclectic line-ups of bands, DJs and performers.

According to @talkelectric, there were an estimated 10-15,000 people in town for the festival and takings for local businesses quadrupled.

Further out of town there was plenty going on too, with the fun carrying on at the Cremorne, Shakespeare and Earl, the BBQ and DJs up at the university and of course the wonderful Rude shipyard on Abbeydale road. This place continued to show the world how a good coffee shop should be run with its own intimate, unamplified live music sessions in the upstairs room accompanied by pints of local cask ale from the Brew company.

There were one or two things that could have been better. The debate continues on Sheffield forum regarding the Devonshire green ticketing arrangements for Saturday and Sunday, where many people were annoyed at either not getting a ticket or not being able to return after leaving the enclosure. It was a bit frustrating being stuck by the main stage all day on Saturday when there were so many other things going on that would have been good to pop out and see.

Some people have grumbled that they were unable to get tickets, but I have to say that after going along at the published time both days, I queued for under an hour and each time came away with tickets with no fuss. There have also been objections to people taking two tickets and keeping both so they could leave and then re-enter Devonshire green, as well as some people getting cross that some ticket holders chose to not enter the main stage area until the evening.

I don’t see why the organisers couldn’t do away with the tickets completely and simply count 5,000 people in and then operate a one-out, one-in policy? I think you would get a natural flow of people leaving to check out the other venues and what’s more, the main stage would have more chance of being at capacity almost all day, which I don’t think was the case this time – almost certainly due to the ticketing.

It would also have been nice to be able to buy a beer and lie back and watch the bands (even if it was a £3.50 can of Red stripe), but with the bar area away from the main stage this was impossible. I guess it was put in place to stop people getting really drunk in the main family area and in that sense it seemed to work.

The people that didn’t get tickets were forced to drink and dance in the streets on the other side of the fences, which by the looks of things actually looked as least as much fun as being in the pen.

The rain on Sunday was a bit of a downer and after seeing a tweet that said the main stage looked dead I was wondering whether the showers had put people off. But there were plenty of people who were still determined to make the best of it and by the evening it had filled up.

The La’s pulling out was a blow and I had also been looking forward to seeing the Noisettes on the Saturday. If anyone is wondering where the Noisettes got to, I did hear that they had been interviewed on Radio 1 on Sunday ‘poolside from LA’ so I guess that explains their no-show. I can’t imagine why you would you choose California over Sheffield…

One other small gripe was the music that Hallam FM kindly pumped at the crowd on the main stage between performers on Saturday. It was the same set of songs on repeat all day (as @designsheffield pointed out, actually pretty similar to the approach they take with their playlist) which was annoying for anyone on the green for more than about 45 minutes.

After putting on a decent pop line-up, I felt it was a chance for the radio station to enhance its credibility with people that may not normally listen but to be honest it confirmed my doubts about how in touch they are with listeners’ needs. If it was intentional then it was a bad idea and if not, did no-one backstage or on the sound desk consider sticking on a few different tunes from their iPod or phone? Nickelback’s Rock star should not be inflicted on anyone ten times in a single day.

Encouragingly, the main festival organisers seem to be responding to feedback regarding this year’s event so hopefully if Tramlines happens again next year it will be even better. Does anyone have any other thoughts or suggestions for how it could be further improved? Perhaps an idea for allocating tickets? Or how about closing off more roads in the Devonshire quarter?

Now is the time to air your views to ensure that Sheffield music city/Tramlines 2010 further builds on the heart-warming success of this year’s event.

There are plenty of photos online, including sets from @arepeejee (here) @dansumption (here) and @robinbyles (here).

Finding the evidence

Sheffielders are rightly proud of their city and are always happy to extol its virtues at any opportunity. One thing in particular that we have all heard and seen written countless times before is that Sheffield is England’s – and if not the UK’s or even Europe’s – greenest city. But is this really true?

When it comes to promoting the city, most of the bigger organisations in Sheffield seem to think it is. The development agency Creative Sheffield mentions it in the introductory text on its homepage and then states it as fact on a sub-page of their site. The council website is also littered with references to ‘the greenest city’ and Sheffield Hallam university devotes a page of its site celebrating the fact.

Sheffield university shows a little more restraint, with some pages focusing on more general facts about our open green spaces and others including references to us as one of the greenest cities. You can still find mentions of it being the greenest though.

The sometimes-inaccurate Wikipedia sits on the fence by stating that ‘Sheffield often boasts of being Europe’s greenest city’.

The problem is that there is no agreed way of defining what ‘green’ is and then comparably measuring how green a city is. If you define green using your own criteria then you could argue that there are several other cities deserving of the title of the greenest one. The only way to work out which city is definitively the greenest is to agree a set of quantifiable criteria and then measure your sample of cities against these.

There are some green statistics about Sheffield that we can be proud of, but together these don’t necessarily add up to mean that the city is the greenest. As quoted from the Creative Sheffield site (and also by many people from Sheffield):

• Despite its urban location almost three-quarters of the city is taken up by natural vegetation and waterways.
• More than a third of the city is located in the Peak District National Park – no other city has a National Park within its boundary.
• In addition you’ll find 150 woodlands and 50 public parks all within Sheffield and it is rumoured that there are 4 mature trees to every person living here!
• Over 44 per cent of Sheffield residents live within a five minute walk of a wood and half the city’s population live within 15 minutes of the open countryside. Imagine that!

The gold that we won in the Entente Florale back in 2005 is also often used as a trump card in the argument. But what about the other cities that have won this? Does that award make them the greenest, too?

I’m not saying that Sheffield isn’t the greenest city, but it would be good for someone to do the research and prove beyond all doubt that this is categorically true. Is anyone up to the challenge? Or does it not matter whether it can be proved or not?

In the meantime, at the very least we can rightly be proud of all the parks, woodlands, greenery and world-class countryside right here on our doorstep.

Finding out what is on where and when

I searched online for ‘Sheffield music city’ yesterday and saw that this blog came up first in the results, so thought I’d better post a few more details for anyone who is wanting information.

A steady trickle of performers and events are being announced for the festival, although there is so much going on that keeping track of everything isn’t that easy. Full listings are on sheffieldmusiccity.co.uk, where you can also download a PDF of the programme (4.8mb), copies of which can presumably also be picked up around town. Further listings information is also on tramlines.org.

The relationship between Sheffield music city and Tramlines now seems to be clearer. Sheffield music city runs from Wednesday 22 July to Sunday 26 July and includes a wider programme of city centre events such as markets, the Sheffield wheel and a giant picnic.

Tramlines, the bit organised by Matt Helders, Jon McClure and Toddla T, is part of Sheffield music city but only responsible for the weekend line-up across specific stages and venues.

The organisers may have been better just choosing one name for the festival and focusing efforts on a single website, but I guess the key message seems to have got out that there are lots of free music events in town over that weekend.

Hallam FM put together the Devonshire green line-up on the Saturday and I don’t think they have done a bad job. Little Boots, the Noisettes, Just Jack, Pixie Lott and the Yeah You’s generally manage to straddle the line between being popular and commercial enough to be enjoyed by the masses while also – dare I say it – cool enough to appeal to the pop sensibilities of a slightly more discerning music fan.

One thing to note is that if you want to be close to the main stage on Devonshire green then you do need to get tickets from a distribution point at the Fitzwilliam street end of the green from 10:30am on Saturday and 1pm on Sunday.

Don’t forget that as well as the big performers on the green, there are also plenty of other highlights in the smaller venues around town that span a wide range of musical genres, so you should find something that is your cup of tea.

May 2009 update

Here are this month’s additions to the list of Sheffield people and organisations of interest on  Twitter. The full directory can be found on the Sheffield Twitter users page.

Rocket – Broomhill-based design agency
http://twitter.com/rcktsheffield

University of Sheffield – the  university’s central Twitter account
http://twitter.com/sheffielduni

Article – pop culture magazine
http://twitter.com/articlemagazine

Crucible theatre – theatre and home to the world snooker championships
http://twitter.com/crucibletheatre

Lyceum theatre – theatre
http://twitter.com/SheffieldLyceum

Wednesday night live – Creative Sheffield’s summer season of Wednesday night events in town
http://twitter.com/WedNightLive

Bar one – Sheffield university student bar
http://twitter.com/shefuni_barone

Mr Ben fancy dress – Crookes-based fancy dress store
http://twitter.com/Mrbenfancydress

Sheffield centre – Church army’s research unit
http://twitter.com/SheffieldCentre

Rhyme and reason – children’s bookshop at Hunter’s bar
http://twitter.com/ShefBooks

Remember the name – publisher of Replay magazine
http://twitter.com/richardfidler

A mind apart theatre - theatre company making performing arts accessible to communities
http://twitter.com/amindapart

Smith and Clarkson – fine art collaborative duo
http://twitter.com/SmithClarkson

Run hide survive – DJs, producers and promoters of Club pony
http://twitter.com/runhidesurvive

Sheffield irregulars – Minature model painting group
http://twitter.com/sheffieldirregs

Yorkshire county cricket club – Leeds-based cricket club
http://twitter.com/Yorkshire_ccc

Clickety click – photographer
http://twitter.com/clicketyclicks

Resound design – web and print design company
http://twitter.com/resounddesign

Vital Sheffield Wednesday – Wednesday news from Vital football
http://twitter.com/vitalwednesday

DS print & design – print company based in Walkley
http://twitter.com/DSPrintDesign

If you want to be listed on it then follow @sheffieldblog, get in touch or comment below.