Chapel Walk

Sheffield Daily Photo returns...

This blog will be returning in the next few days.

I'm currently just testing the creation of posts from my phone, so there may be a few test posts appearing (and then maybe disappearing).

Thanks to all who've kept following me... see you soon.

Everyone's a winner

Kid Acne piece at the bottom of the moor.

Temporary hiatus of Sheffield Daily Photo

Hi all,
Unfortunately due to other commitments and general lack of time to do a good job on this site - I'm going to take a temporary hiatus.

I'll plan now to come back towards the end of the year - so hold me to that!

Thanks for all the comments and following thus far, and please do keep checking (and all my Twitter followers please don't 'un-follow' me), I will definitely be back, might even give it a bit of a re-design.

Until then...

Fig Tree Lane

The view up Fig Tree Lane from Queen Street - notice St Paul's Tower in the distance.

Steelworker

'Steelworker' by Paul Waplington, Castle Street.

More details here.

Old Town Hall

The old Town Hall on Waingate.

Read about it here.

Gilmour Stout

The old Gilmour advertising on the side of the Riverside Court Hotel, Bridge Street .

Woolens for Signs

One of the signs of Woollen's on Love Street.

You can read about them here. Also a couple more snaps:

Riverside

A stretch of the River Don looking in the direction of Park Square.

I've not been down to this area of Sheffield before, so it was a real surpise to see. There's lots of new office buildings in between old factories and workshops. This snap is taken looking south down the River Don towards Lady's Bridge (not in view), where the floods were really bad. I'm sure I'll take a lot more down here, there's a lot of interesting views.

Feeling old

Babylon 90's bar on Carver Street.

I'm not really at the age to be thinking 'that makes me feel old' very often. Maybe the sight of fresh-faced youths, that are actually old enough to drink in the boozer that I'm in, might make me think 'did i look so young at 18?', or when i say 'Oh I had that toy... 25 years ago' (an unimaginable amount of time - at the time).

When I saw Babylon 90's bar it suprised me that the 90s had already become retro, or have they? I suppose there was 80s nights in the late 90s... Come to think of it, it's taken the place of the 70s bar Flares (which has now moved round the corner next to an 80s bar).

Division Street

Division Street looking towards Devonshire Green and West One - on a rather quiet day.

For the last 15 years or so this street has been a hub for good pubs, bars and independent shops. Although bigger companies like Starbucks and Subway are cashing in on it's busyness, it doesn't seem to be lessening the pull factor of this area. Just last week it was the centre of everything going on in the Tramlines music festival (notice the banner still across the street), where it was transformed in to a Notting-Hill-Carnival-like lane of walking, talking, drinking, singing, and dancing.

Sheffield's smallest church?

St. Stephens Church of the Holy Spirit, Gifford Road.

There's quite a few Mosques, community centres and other 'gathering' places in the city that are housed in ex-shops and offices and the like, but never before have I seen a church in a terraced house.

Science School

The old Central Technical School - Science School on Orchard Lane.

Last year, work was completed (mostly) on the redevelopment of the old Sheffield Central Technical School. Since it's beginnings it had also been the City Council's Education offices, before it's new incarnation as a contemporary 'leisure destination' - Leopold Square, a nicely designed square surrounded by bars, restaurant and a hotel.
If you walk around the perimeter, you can find some great views of the buildings that have been kept in great original condition - stonework at least. Here on Orchard Lane you can see the entrance to the old Science School together with original, ornate carvings.

Running late

The morning bus on the way to work.

Most of the pictures I take for this blog are taken on my way to and from work. On occasion though I am running a little late and don't have the 45 minutes to walk to work - this results in getting the bus. I hate it. I think the public transport (buses predominantly) system in Sheffield is awful. Through the nose prices for a second rate service, on some of the worst roads in the country, I'll cease rant now :)

Changing landscape

Town as seen from Chesterfield Rd.

I just looked back on my way home and noticed how the new 'Wheel of Sheffield' had changed the cityscape, I've heard that it'll be here for 6 months so I guess it will end up in many peoples photos. I'm sure a there will be a few on this site!

Pot of gold

A rainbow over Lidl, Heeley.

I just thought this was very apt for the current economic climate. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow being discounted offers at a cheap supermarket.

Sweet stall

Fudge-arama.

The international markets are back on Fargate and Pinstone Street. I love them. They're a great place to spend your lunch hour if you work in town, or great to walk around at weekends. They include a brilliant arrray of international food (both hot-and-ready-to-eat or ingredients), clothing, artwork and much more. As i finished work they were starting to pack up but there was still a lot of stalls open. This candy stall was one of the ones closing but the array of sweets left was fantastic. I couldn't help but notice it with all the colours, but even more the smell was amazing. I had no cash on me but will make sure I go back tomorrow, the fudge looked mega! These guy's were just outside the Town Hall steps.

The River Sheaf

The Meers Brook tributary of The Sheaf.

This river gives it's name to our city - the 'fields' aside the 'Sheaf'. It runs from it's source in Totley, northwards under the city centre, to where it meets the River Don. More info here.

Walking man

The Walking Man by George Fullard outside the Winter Gardens.

When I was a skateboarding youth we used to run for cover, from the rain, to the walkway under the old Town Hall offices - we called it the 'Town Hall steps' or the 'Walking Man'. The latter name was down to the name of the bronze statue that also shared this spot with us.
Since the offices (the 'egg boxes') have been torn down this statue has a been moved twice, and is currently in a great spot outside the Winter Gardens on Surrey Street. I personally hope it stays here.
Created by local artist George Fullard in concrete in 1957, it was bought by the council and turned to bronze in 1985. Fullard was an active socialist and war veteran, there's some snippets of info here and here and a bit more about Walking Man here.

Cycle traffic

Cyclists pedalling home along Saxon Rd.

As I walked up Broadfield Rd, off London Rd, there was suddenly a huge influx of cyclists coming out of the cycle/footpath that come through from Chippinghouse Rd. At first I thought they would all be together and be from some sort of cycling club, but as they passed me and just kept on coming in a steady trickle I realised (by their manner and lack of interaction with each other)that it was just cycle traffic - weird, but good to see.

The Wheel of Sheffield... Part 1

The frame of the wheel during it's construction, Town Hall in the background.

I rounded the corner the other morning to see a huge cordoned off area at the top of Fargate. I wasn't sure what it was until the next day when the frame had started going up and there was a sign. They are currently constructing a mini-London Eye in Sheffield. I will try and get on it next week (although it's up for 6 months) and take some snaps from the top. More can be read here.

The Moor, no more

Ripping down the 1950's shops at the bottom of The Moor.

After being rebuilt in the 50s, The Moor was one of the main shopping streets in Sheffield, but in recent years has fallen in the quality stakes, and the buildings have soon become dated and quite ugly. A small history can be read here. These redevelopments were undertaken due to it being bombed quite heavily in the Second World War. 'Apparently' the Luftwaffe thought it was a steel works due to the lamp-lit tram tracks running up through the middle.
It is currently undergoing a new redevelopment and rebrand - website here.

Preparation

Fire fIghters preparing an engine at the new South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue headquarters.

With all the redevelopment in the city centre, the old location of the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue had become prime real estate in the plans for the new retail 'quarter'. The new HQ on Eyre St is now functional and looks great.

Charles Lane

The Hallam Union 'Hubs' at the bottom of the Lane.

I've only been walking around the back streets off Arundel Gate since I've been doing this blog, and now I think there's some of the city centre's best views on these streets. When you walk along Eyre Lane and you're met with the back views of old (refurbished) workshops and warehouses it looks like you could have travelled back in time. When you get to Charles Lane though and look down you have this great view of the 'Hubs', the Sheffield Hallam Students Union building (modelled on 4 huge kettle drums). A nice surprise view.

City Hall

The front steps and columns of Sheffield City Hall.

Sheffield City Hall is a great venue that I've visited many times. Completed in 1932, it is a Grade-ii listed building bang in the middle of town that has seen many a great performer, notibly greats like The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. For a good brief history click here.

The fountains in the foreground were installed as part of the refurbishments that were completed in 2005, that incorporated the surrounding section of Barkers Pool. Both inside and out really do look great now, £12.5 million well spent!

Contrast

Q-Park as seen from over the roofs on Eyre Lane.

I love this shot. I just thought it was a great contrast of two totally different types of architecture/building. I know the roof in the foreground isn't one of the oldest in Sheffield but it still shows the contrast between building methods of old and new.

...of Nelson Column fame

The Ivory Restaurant and Piano Bar on Regents Terrace in the old Harrison's building.

Unfortunately I couldn't find much out about the bold statement painted on the front of this Grade-ii listed building on Regents Terrace. W.E. Harrison's Steeplejacks used to be situated there but it is now a restaurant and piano bar called The Ivory. The building signage reads "Steeplejack of Nelson Column fame", all I could find out that 'Teedy' (?) Harrison was the first man to climb Nelson's Column back in 1896.
The company still exists and is still on the same road, but just a bit further up, in a much smaller premises.

Bollywood Brass Band

The band playing in the Peace Gardens this afternoon.

I stumbled upon a great little event in town as I was walking home today. As I walked past the Peace Gardens it was awash with colour and music. There was an alternative brass band playing called the Bollywood Brass Band (that were fantastic), dancing, art and more. It was all part of the In My Shoes roadshow, an event that is put together to bring together all different walks of life from the city and to share their stories.

Cllr Paul Scriven, Leader of Sheffield City Council and Chair of Sheffield First Partnership said:

The more we understand each other, the harder it is to be intolerant and the easier it is to work together on the things we all care about.

I think it's a great idea, and you can join in at any time via the website, but also check out the other roadshows this week.

Central Library and Graves Art Gallery

The library and gallery as seen from Surrey St.

My favourite building in Sheffield on my favourite street. A short history here.

That'll learn 'em

Dulo on Cemetery Road and it's mural wall.

About six years ago Dulo was opened, in place of the Beer Engine pub. I used to go in the 'Engine' on a Friday as I worked just round the corner at a screen printers on London Rd, a decent boozer, but the loss of that pub was overshadowed by the opening of this one. It was a fantastic place and I've had many a good night in there.
Bad news... Dulo is closing. This Friday Dulo will open to the public for the last time. I'm sure it'll be a massive night, full to the brim with laughs a plenty because Okie (the landlord) and the crew always put on a good bash.

The long wall on the side of Dulo has pretty much always been used as a mural wall, normally something do to with artist Kid Acne (if not totally his doing). He's been drafted in to do their last one - a nice simple "That'll learn 'em", Sheffield dialect for 'that will teach them'. I don't know the reason for the closure and whether this statement is relevent to that or not. I thought the two might be related as it's similar in styling to the 'You'll miss me when I'm gone' piece that 'Accers' did on the Psalter Lane Art School (before redevelopment).

Thanks for the memories Dulo, it's been grand.

Typical

The sky over Meersbrook Edge.

Today I had the afternoon off work, and isn't it typical, the heatwave ends and the heavens opened for most of the day. Luckily though we were graced with another nice evening, before the rain (and another summer of no Brits in the Wimbledon final - yes, I sat and watched the tennis) continues.

The writing's on the wall

The Andrew Motion poem on the side of Hallam Uni, as viewed from Arundel Street .

There's loads of great new architecture and public art to welcome visitors to Sheffield when arriving via the central train station. One of my favourite (non-architecture) pieces is this wall mounted poem on the side of the Sheffield Hallam University building.
The poem is by Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion. It reads in full:

O travellers from somewhere else to here
Rising from Sheffield Station and Sheaf Square
To wander through the labyrinths of air,

Pause now, and let the sight of this sheer cliff
Become a priming-place which lifts you off
To speculate
What if..?
What if..?
What if..?

Cloud shadows drag their hands across the white;
Rain prints the sudden darkness of its weight;
Sun falls and leaves the bleaching evidence of light.

Your thoughts are like this too: as fixed as words
Set down to decorate a blank facade
And yet, as words are too, all soon transferred

To greet and understand what lies ahead -
The city where your dreamling is re-paid,
The lives which wait unseen as yet, unread.

You can see more about the poet on his website www.andrewmotion.co.uk

Running on empty

Hottest day of the year so far in Sheffield today.

Sorry to go on about the weather again, but it's another hot one today, hottest day so far this year at over 28°C. I went for a run at about 8pm, and god was it tricky.
As I recovered in my garden afterwards I noticed I had a pic to go in the City Daily Photo Theme Day which today was 'empty'. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Hot town, summer in the city

Another hazy evening in Sheffield - St Paul's Place as seen from Meersbrook.

Our weather didn't quite hit the extremes of some places today (Wimbledon hit 31°C today), we only managed 24-25°C but the humidity has really been up there again. As i walked home with my son today (too hot to get my camera out of my bag) I looked back and noticed how hazy it looked in the city centre and it summed up exactly how the weather felt. I went out and took this shot later on once he was in bed, and it hadn't lost it's haze.

Nice day for it

Another scorcher in Sheffield today, and walking home I saw many convertible cars. This one was the best by far though. This gentleman was just driving off as I noticed it and so didn't get the chance to find out what type it is, so if you know please comment.

RIP M.J.

The sad news on a newspaper stand.

Michael Jackson was one of my first heroes as a child. Over the years this has become forgotten because of all the negative hype that's grown with him. When I heard the news of his death, at around 12am GMT this morning, childhood thoughts came back to me and I remembered feelings that I've not felt since then.
Regardless of what has really happened (or not) with regards to allegations made towards him, there's no doubt that he was one of the world's greatest musicians, a legend. I doubt if there will be anyone that will literally be as much of a 'superstar' as Michael Jackson was.

The watchman

The mannequin in position.

Since doing this blog I have found myself looking up more as I walk about. It's great because you can notice things that have always been there but you've never noticed, and you can also see things that you just wouldn't expect.
Just along side Decathlon Sport on Eyre Street I looked up at the City Walk Apartments on Sylvester Street and saw this mannequin/statue.

It was quite a dismal morning, first thing, so the gold of this 'man' really stood out (as you can see in this pic, left).

There is some art studio/gallery space across the road (www.sylvesterspace.com), so I wondered if it was something to do with that, or was just a nice 'find' that someone has stuck outside?

St Paul's Parade

The view from Cole Brothers (John Lewis) car park.

I had a little more time on the walk to work today so I thought I'd try something different. I had actually taken photo of St Paul's Parade the other day (I will post link here later, keep checking), as it's one of my favourite stretches of the city centre, but favoured a different shot for the blog instead.
As I came round the corner I noticed the Cole Brothers (John Lewis) car park and thought I'd try and get to the top and take some shots. I went to the top but the walls are too high up there, so i dropped down a level.
I thought I'd have a play with this 'tilt-shift' effect as when I've seen it before I've always thought it looked great. With all the re-generation that's going to be happening around there I thought I'd try and make it look a bit like an architect's model.

You can see the original here (left), notice the fantastic red stone front buildings running down to St Paul's Place, you don't get many more of this style in Sheffield. I can't find any quick info on the history of these buildings, so please do comment if you know anything, I will update if/when i find out anything.

UPDATE: I've just noticed, on viewing the published post, that the building in the front-left of the photo is the Salvation Army building from yesterday's post. You can see the turret style tops to the wall. In fact it's almost an unintentional complete reversal of the previous post :)

In need of salvation

The old Salvation Army Citadel on Cross Burgess Street.

Built in 1890, the Salvation Army Citadel on Cross Burgess Street was the headquarters for the Sheffield Salvation Army right up until 1999 when it moved to Psalter Lane.
Many stories have been circulated about it's future use, main one being as a Buffalo Joe's restaurant, but it now seems to have been settled that it's in Sheffield's plans to further develop the surrounding area as a 'retail quarter'. A selection of minutes from a council meeting can be seen here.
I used to work very close to this building and have seen it slowly deteriorate, I'm glad it will eventually be saved as it's a marvellous looking building from all sides.

Wild roses?...

The wild shrub behind Gresham's Timber.

Whilst walking behind Gresham's Timber on Chesterfield Rd noticed the red of their sign but then noticed this crop of what I could only think were wild roses (please comment if you know their correct name). There was tons of them, and once I'd seen them I couldn't see anything but them.