If you have any local news or events you think I should know about, email me.

Sorry to be a day late! I was not well enough yesterday to get this over the line on time.

Timings

00:00 Welcome
01:02 Facebook Marketplace Assaults in Netherthorpe
02:21 Speed Limit Changes in Walkley
03:18 Documentary About Murder in Ponderosa Park
04:36 New Church in Upperthorpe
05:18 Kelham Pride Returns
06:40 March Events including Creative Workshops and Activities

Links mentioned

• Police warning after armed robberies after Facebook Marketplace meetings in Sheffield

• New 20mph limit roads may be introduced in suburb

• True Crime Revisited: The murder of Sacad Ali

• Union Church Sheffield

• Apply to perform at Kelham Pride

• Zest events

• Peddler Market

• #3 FixMyStreet / Sustainability Netwalking / Kelham Island and Neepsend Walks

• Pub Painting - Saw Grinders Union

• Church: Temple of Fun events

• Cutlery Works events

• #2 Neepsend Social Club and Canteen / Oaklea Crafts / Councillor Brian Holmshaw

• Mothers Eat Free at Heist Brew Co

• Gardeners Rest events

• #1 Ponderosa Nature Group / KINCA Art Competition and Kelham Nature Day / Memorial Street Trees with Dr Camilla Allen

• Scribble and Bloom Community Interest Company

Transcript

Welcome to the March 2025 episode of NUN Local, the hyperlocal podcast for Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend in Sheffield.

I'm going to be covering some of what's been going on in Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend, and some events that are coming up in March, if you're looking for something to do.

If you know about something that's going on here, whether it's news or community activities, whether you run a project or a small business you'd like people to know more about, or maybe you've got an event coming up, get in touch with me.

You can find out how to get in touch at nunlocal.news, which is also where you can subscribe to the podcast and find links to any of the things I talk about today.

And I'm thrilled to be coming to you at a point when there are crocuses on the Ponderosa. It's a sign that, after what has felt like an endless winter, things are coming back to life.

Netherthorpe news

So let's start with Netherthorpe, what's been going on in Netherthorpe.

So one thing is that South Yorkshire Police have warned people about being targeted in robberies when you arrange to sell something through Facebook Marketplace.

And apparently there have been five incidents in Netherthorpe where people have met up with a buyer to sell a laptop, a camera, a car, and they have been basically ambushed and assaulted and threatened and had their items stolen.

So it's worth being aware, if you're selling something on Facebook Marketplace or any kind of app of safety, if it's of any value. So things like taking someone with you if you can, checking the rest of their social media profile if somebody gets in touch. If you get any kind of weird vibes about it, just cancel, that kind of thing.

It's difficult to balance being cautious versus not living a normal life, but it's worth being aware that this has been happening.

Another bit of Netherthorpe news is that up in Walkley, residents have voted to introduce a 20 mile an hour speed limit in parts of Walkley.

This is relevant in Netherthorpe because Netherthorpe is one of the areas that could also become part of this 20 mile an hour scheme, depending on what happens in a consultation.

In the Walkley consultation, 135 people voted in favour of these 20 mile an hour zones, 27 people voted against. So I would imagine there will be a similar vote in Netherthorpe, if it is agreed that this is one of the areas that should happen next.

Councillor Ben Miskell told Sheffield Star that it helps to make communities safer and healthier environments.

So keep an eye out, Netherthorpe residents, for a consultation on this topic.

And the final bit of Netherthorpe news is that you may well remember that in March 2024, a young man was murdered in the Ponderosa Park.

Sacad Ali was stabbed to death. It was obviously horrible. And a short documentary has been made about this.

It's only 12 minutes long and Sarah Marshall from the Sheffield Star talks through the facts of the case and what happened at the trials and a bit about the different people involved.

I watched it with a bit of wariness because a lot of the reporting on this case at time felt quite lurid. I think due to the circumstances involving competing drug dealers and Sacad being lured to his killers by a sex worker.

But actually, it's just tragic all round. And this mini documentary is less full of the scandal and more just factual and contextual about the case.

It is available to watch on a website called Shots TV. It has captions and it does not have audio description.

I will link to the documentary at nunlocal.news.

Upperthorpe news

In Upperthorpe, the news is that there is a new church meeting in Upperthorpe.

So Union Church Sheffield has started meeting in the Philadelphia building on Upperthorpe Road on Sundays at three o'clock.

This is an evangelical Christian congregation and their website says that they believe that gay people are sinning and that women should submit to their husbands.

So if you are not the kind of person who believes that I, as a gay person, have “disordered desires”, it may not be the place for you if you are looking for a church in the area.

If you’re fine with that, fill yer boots.

Neepsend news

And in Neepsend, you may remember that there was a Pride event called Kelham Pride last year that was all over Kelham Island and Neepsend with lots of music and dancing and partying.

And it is coming back this year, which is very exciting.

It's going to be a free event. There'll be just lots of celebration.

The event will be on the 21st of June this year. The reason it's relevant now is that entertainers are being asked to apply to take part.

So maybe you're in a band, you're a comedian, you're a dancer, you're a performer of some kind.

If you want to be involved in Kelham Pride this year, there is a website where you can apply to be so. And I will link to that at nunlocal.news.

The event has partner venues in Neepsend that include places like Parrot Club, Factory Floor, Alder, Yellow Arch, Neepsend Social Club and Canteen and more.

And it sounds like it's going to be a cracking day.

Subscribe to the podcast at nunlocal.news or search for NUN Local on your favourite podcast player so you never miss an episode.

Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend events

So what is coming up in Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend in March 2025?

I will tell you, and there's quite a lot.

So Zest in Upperthorpe that you probably know as it's got a library and a cafe and a swimming pool and a gym, Zest has a whole range of swimming activities and stuff for kids to do.

I will link to their website at nunlocal.news where you can find out where there's a relevant class or event that you might want to go on to.

Peddler Market is on at Peddler Warehouse on the 7th of March and the 8th of March.

So you might remember that in episode three I spoke to Anders Hansen about his tours, walking tours around Neepsend.

And if that piqued your interest and you're interested in the Kelham Island and Neepsend Art and Studios tour, there's one on the 15th of March at two o'clock.

Zest tells me that on the 5th of March there is a Late Lunch and Advice Club at Burlington Block. Citizens Advice Sheffield will be there and if you're fasting food can be taken away so it's still worth going.

Another event that's coming up, this time on the 9th of March, is the fascinating sounding Pub Painting Art Class with no art skills required, which is something that speaks to me.

The Saw Grinders Union says that pub painting caters for all levels of talent and that you'll create your own masterpiece, this time painting a Highland cow.

You don't need any equipment, you don't need anything, you just need to turn up, book on their website, again everything linked to at nunlocal.news and everything is included in the price except drinks, which is fair, but you're in a pub so you can buy drinks as well.

It's for adults only and it sounds like a riot.

If you still need more artiness, Church Temple of Fun has a dog life drawing class. Church also has a free film night if you want to go watch The Big Lebowski on March the 21st.

On the 27th there's a ceramics workshop, plenty to do at Church - and do get some food when you're there because it's exceptionally good.

Cutlery Works also has some fun events coming up, especially if you've got kids. You can step into a world of fairy tale magic at Books with Belle on Sunday the 9th. There's a free kids’ pirate party on Sunday the 23rd.

They've got a terrazzo workshop with Beki from Oaklea Crafts, who you may also remember from a previous episode, and on the 30th of March there is a kids Mother's Day t-shirt screen printing workshop.

So hours of fun at Cutlery Works, especially if you want to get a bit crafty or if your kids do.

I also want to tell you about Mothers Eat Free at Heist Brew Co.

Take your mum out for Mother's Day between 12 and 8pm on Sunday March the 30th and she gets some of the finest barbecue food. I mean you can't argue with that.

And finally, The Gardener's Rest has a whole range of entertainment set up, whether it's ukulele Sundays, whether it's St Patrick's Day Eve events, whether it is a songwriting circle, a folk session, guerrilla poetry, all down on Neepsend Lane.

Sounds fantastic.

So if you have any kind of events coming up in Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe or Neepsend. If you've got something going on that you want to tell me about, have you got a community group? In episode one I talked to the Ponderosa Nature Group and I was so inspired by the work they're doing in the park.

Have you got something like that going on? Are you picking litter?

Let me know. Get in touch. Find everything you need at nunlocal.news.

Thank you so much for listening and I will see you in April.

Thank you for listening to NUN Local and do subscribe at nunlocal.news to get every episode out on the first of every month for more hyper-local Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend news.

NUN Local is a project of Scribble and Bloom, a social enterprise created to encourage self-expression as a way to improve lives.

Find out more about Scribble and Bloom Community Interest Company and its other projects including zine-making workshops and Easy Read translations at scribbleandbloom.org.uk

Timings

00:00 Welcome

01:16 Netherthorpe underpass art

02:07 Suicide prevention in tower blocks

03:20 Historical photos of Upperthorpe

03:41 Neepsend bus gate, The Victoria, and old police cells to micropub conversion

06:38 February Events You Can’t Miss

08:00 Live Music and Community Gatherings

09:30 Culinary Delights and Craft Beer

Links mentioned

• Call for action on lack of suicide prevention policy for Sheffield tower blocks

• Sheffield retro: 18 of the best photos showing Sheffield suburb of Upperthorpe through the years

• Previous episode with Neepsend Social Club & Canteen

• Micropub to replace former police cells

• Peddler Market Sheffield Nº 90

• Cutlery Works events

• The Gardeners Rest events

• Church: Temple of Fun events

• Yellow Arch Studios events

• Neepsend Social Club & Canteen events

• The Great Sheffield Roast (The Mowbray)

• Neepsend Craft Beer Festival

Transcript

Philippa Willitts:

Welcome to the February 2025 episode of the NUN Local Podcast, all about Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend in Sheffield.

In this episode, I'm going to go through some of the things that have been happening in Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend in January, and some of the things that are coming up in February that you might want to go to. There's all kinds of different events and bits of news, and if you have any news or events coming up that are relevant to people in Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend, this hyperlocal podcast could be exactly how you need to reach them.

So do get in touch if you've got anything you want to share.

To find out more about the podcast, you can always head over to nunlocal.news to sign up, to make sure you get an email every time there's a new episode, and all of that good stuff.

So in January, the Netherthorpe and Edward Street Tenants and Residents Association had a meeting with artists Peachzz and Alastair Findle, and a group of students who are going to design and paint murals on the underpass to the tram stop in Netherthorpe, which I think is a great idea. It's one of those spots that just could do with cheering up a bit, I think.

Now, if the name Peachzz in particular is familiar to you, she is one of the artists who created the gorgeous mural down in Upperthorpe, and also the giant kingfisher in the city centre. Her work is absolutely stunning, and I'm thrilled that she's going to be involved in the Netherthorpe underpass painting.

Also in Netherthorpe this month, there is a resident of one of the high-rise blocks called Peter MacLaughlin, and he has been trying to get the council to take more seriously suicide prevention in tower blocks in Sheffield.

There have been two deaths in recent years of women in falls from tower blocks, and he has been trying to get the council leader, Tom Hunt, to put a high-rise suicide prevention policy in place.

He has been trying to get the council to pay attention for some time, and sent a Freedom of Information request to find that there is still no policy.

Peter MacLaughlin has been arguing that the council has not made enough effort to involve tenants, especially those from marginalised groups in the high-rise forum that exists already, especially tenants who don't have internet access.

This is based on reporting in the Sheffield Star, and it sounds like a really important issue. If something can be done to prevent suicides in this way, it feels remiss that the council is not yet doing anything.

In the Sheffield Star again, they have published 18 photos of Upperthorpe through the years. It's really interesting to see what the area has looked over time.

I will link to the article about Peter MacLaughlin, and to the photos of Upperthorpe over the years, and any other link I mention, at nunlocal. news.

News in Neepsend this month, there are two things. Well, there's more than that.

One is that people are freaking out over a bus gate. That related a bit to the conversation I had with Neepsend Social a few months ago on this podcast, where the traffic changes are being done for good reason, but not everybody believes that they're being done in the best way.

And the bus gate, people are starting to get their first fines, basically, for driving through the bus gate, and that is causing some tension.

But the two bits of Neepsend news I want to talk about: one is there is a new upmarket events venue in Neepsend. It is called The Victoria, it's on Rowland Street, and it's got multiple rooms with capacity for 500.

This is a site that was built in 1884, and has been used for different purposes over the years, but now it is The Victoria.

The other bit of Neepsend news I want to talk about is a new micro pub.

Permission has been granted for a new micro pub. And what's especially interesting about this is that the building that's going to become this micro pub, will sell specialised bottled beers, the building used to be an electric substation, but before that, it was cells for the police station that was next to it.

It's not a listed building, but it's considered historic, and it's got some heritage significance. I had to look this up, but the building is described as a really good example of something called vernacular design.

And so I looked up what vernacular design is. And what it is is a kind of architecture that makes a point of using local traditions and local resources so that it's really dedicated to meeting local needs.

So vernacular designs are different everywhere, and they're influenced by not just local materials, by geography, by history, but also the culture in the area. And so they might use local materials, they might focus on local traditions.

The aspect of vernacular design that was notable in this former substation and former police cells is the traditional Sheffield Corner.

Permission has been granted now to transform the building into a micropub, and it will be really interesting to see how that goes. It will be near the Old Workshop and near Yellow Arch, and so it sounds like a great area to put something like that.

And so what's coming up in February for Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend?

There's a whole load of events.

So on the 7th and 8th of February, there is the 90th Peddler Market. So that's 5 till 11 on the Friday, 12 till 11 on the Saturday.

That is the place to go if you want a variety of good street food, some interesting craft beers and music and stalls.

Cutlery Works deserves a section of its own. It's got tonnes coming up in February.

If you are looking for a workshop to make Chinese New Year lanterns, there's one of those on the 8th of Feb.

Also on the 8th of Feb is a lion dance performance. There's a calligraphy workshop. On the 16th of Feb, there's a free Valentine's Day biscuit decorating workshop for kids. There is also for adults a paper rose workshop the same day.

There's a toddler sensory adventure on the 20th going on a bear hunt. There's t-shirt printing workshops for kids.

There's absolutely tonnes going on at Cutlery Works and so I will link to their events page at nunlocal.news.

And now let's talk about the Gardener's Rest on Neepsend Lane. Again, lots of things coming up.

They have Ukulele Sunday, which is the second Sunday of every month. On the 10th, they have Irish folk music. On the 12th of Feb, they've got more folk music with Andy and Jackie. On the 16th of Feb, they've got John Keane.

On the 17th, they've got guerrilla poetry. More ukulele on the 23rd. And on the 26th is the final folk session of the month with Mo and John.

So the Gardener's Rest, your place for folk music.

Now, one of my faves, Church: Temple of Fun on Rutland Way. They also have a lot of stuff going on in February.

They have live jazz on Valentine's Day. They have sip and paint parties. They have a Galentine's Day. They have live drawing classes. If you want to draw dogs, that's the place to go. A ceramics workshop, all accompanied by vegan food, vegan drinks, and really unique surroundings.

Yellow Arch Studios, as you would probably predict, has a lot on in February. There are lots of different events. I will just pick a few.

There's the Planet Zogg Valentine's Ball. There's McDermott & North, which is free entry.

But the one that stood out to me, which will show my age, this is coming up in March, is Chesney Hawks. Now, if you too went on a Catholic retreat in the 90s with your school, you might have had to sit through his one famous song in the form of a meditation. And if so, you have my sympathy.

It's not a bad song, but yeah, I would be quite intrigued to see what Chesney Hawks is up to these days.

I mentioned Neepsend Social Club and Canteen earlier, having interviewed them in a previous episode. They have all kinds of things going on.

They have, every Tuesday, a bullseye quiz, which he talked about when I spoke to him. And there is drag bingo, with Bipolar Abdul leading the charge, which sounds like a riot. I know one of my friends is involved in that, and I'm sure it would be great. And they have a great Sunday lunch and lovely food.

Speaking of Sunday lunches, the Great Sheffield Roast at the Mowbray.

The Great Sheffield Roast was a runner-up in the Observer Food Monthly Awards for the best Sunday lunch, which they are rightly proud of.

And in February, they have Great Sheffield Roasts on the 9^th and 23^rd of February. There are vegetarian options as well, if you are not up for chicken. And there are kids’ versions.

They say the menu is everything we believe to be the perfect Sheffield Roast. Servings are plentiful, and dishes are created with only the best local ingredients.

Even just the fact that they refer to “proper gravy” on their menu lets you know that this is going to be a good roast.

And finally, there is the Neepsend Craft Beer Festival, which is on the 28th of Feb and the 1st of March.

The team behind the Peddler Market, which I mentioned earlier, is behind this.

It's in the Peddler Warehouse on Burton Road. And it will feature Sheffield breweries, including Neepsend Brew Co, Triple Point, Bradfield, Duality, Tapped, Abbeydale and Blue Bee.

Sheffield has some really good craft beer going on, and I love that the Neepsend Craft Beer Festival is there to celebrate and showcase some of that.

So there you have a round-up of what's been going on, some of what's been going on in Neepsend, Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe in the last month, and some of what be going on in the coming month.

If you have anything to add, if you have anything you would like to get a mention in the March or even April episode, do drop me a line.

You can find all the contact details and everything you need at nunlocal.news.

Thank you for listening to NUN Local, and do subscribe at nunlocal.news to get every episode out on the first of every month for more hyper-local Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend news.

NUN Local is a project of Scribble & Bloom, a social enterprise created to encourage self-expression as a way to improve lives. Find out more about Scribble & Bloom Community Interest Company and other projects, including zine-making workshops and easy-read translations, at scribbleandbloom.org.uk

NUN Local episodes go live on the first of the month, so we’re taking a brief break for January and will be back with something to fill your ears on 1st February.

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We talk about a lot of things in this interview, including how it's important that cost of living support isn't just a sticking plaster solution to somebody's immediate crisis, but in fact looks at wider issues and helps them to sort out their money problems in the longer term.

We talk about debt, we talk about heating, we talk about food, and we talk about Christmas and how to deal with Christmas when money is tight.

And then we talk about how people who are not struggling can help.

Links mentioned

• Around 4 in 10 adults (41%) who pay energy bills said it was very or somewhat difficult to afford them

• Between May 2021 and May 2024, UK consumer prices increased by 20.8% in total

• More than 3.1 million emergency food parcels were distributed by Trussell’s community of food banks in the past 12 months – the most parcels ever distributed in a year and nearly double the number compared to five years ago

• There was a 61 per cent increase in applications for cost-of-living grants at the University of Sheffield, rising from 5,926 in the 2022-23 academic year to 9,593 in 2023-24.

• Rent in Sheffield rose nine per cent over the past year

• Cost of living support hub

• Welcome spaces in Sheffield

• Citizens Advice Sheffield

• Energy Affordability Helpline: 0800 448 0721

• National Energy Action

• Christians against Poverty

• Partnership to End Poverty

• LEAP appliances

• Green Doctor

• Housing Solutions (homelessness help)

• YES Warmer Homes Advice line

• Food Works Upperthorpe (aka Zest cafe)

• S6 Food Bank

• Age UK Sheffield

• National Databank and data poverty highlighted in O2 Christmas campaign

• National Debtline

• Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy - Netflix

Transcript

Philippa Willitts:

Welcome to the December 2024 episode of NUN Local, the podcast for and about Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend.

Given the time of year, it's getting colder, and given the situation we're in, where many, many people are finding it harder and harder to afford even the basics, and we are in the midst of a cost of living situation where even people who are doing relatively well are feeling the pinch, I thought I would dedicate the December episode entirely to a conversation with Emma Taylor from the Cost of Living Support Hub at Sheffield City Council.

We talk about a lot of things in this interview, including how it's important that cost of living support isn't just a sticking plaster solution to somebody's immediate crisis, but in fact looks at wider issues and helps them to sort out their money problems in the longer term.

We talk about debt, we talk about heating, we talk about food, and we talk about Christmas and how to deal with Christmas when money is tight.

And then we talk about how people who are not struggling can help.

All the links we mention are on the website at nunlocal.news, so head over there if you think any of them sound like somewhere that could help you.

So here's the interview with Emma.

This year, about 4 in 10 adults who pay energy bills say it was difficult to afford them.

UK consumer prices increased 20% between May 21 and May 24.

The Trussell Trust have distributed 3.1 million emergency food parcels in the last 12 months, which is the most they've ever distributed in a year.

The University of Sheffield found a 61% increase in applications for cost of living grants.

Rent in Sheffield has risen 9% in the past year.

There is a lot going on with regard to the cost of living crisis and as we are in winter and people will be even more worried about their fuel bills.

Today I am speaking to Emma Taylor, who is the partnerships and engagement lead for Sheffield City Council's cost of living support hub.

Emma, thank you for coming on the podcast.

Emma Taylor:

Thank you for having me, Philippa.

Philippa Willitts:

So, in Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend, there is poverty with related health and social issues.

In your work, what issues are you finding that people are facing with the cost of living as we go into winter this year?

Emma Taylor:

Well, to another stat to add to your summary is that one in four residents are found to be in poverty in our city.

So this is in Sheffield specifically, and in the sense of what people are facing with going into winter this year, I think it's fair to say that everybody is impacted by the cost of living in one way or another.

And I think before, as it always has been, it's always been a priority for supporting more vulnerable members and residents of our city.

And that's absolutely fair and is right.

But I think now we are seeing a real combined issue where people are coming forward with multiple issues.

So this is finance, fuel and food. So the three Fs, it's very useful to remember those things when we're talking about things.

And the other side of that is really, there's a real, real problem with there being around £230 million worth of benefits a year going unclaimed in Sheffield.

So it's £230 billion countrywide.

Philippa Willitts:

And that's benefits that people are entitled to and not claiming?

Emma Taylor:

You are absolutely right.

This is things that people are entitled to.

They have a right to this.

And it's very important that that part of it is understood and people don't know what they don't know.

And I think the difficulty with that is you're not sure then where to go when you have high energy and high rent, or you have rent arrears, or you have council tax issues, or you're struggling to pay your water bill, your phone and your broadband.

Big, big, big, big debts, really, that tend to be quite common for many people. Whether you're working, whether you're a benefit claimant, whether whatever your situation is, retired, a new family, whatever it might be, there's lots and lots of people who just can't seem to see a bit of a way out of things.

What I'm seeing at this point, and I've spoken to a few of the team members from the Community Support Helpline at the Council as well around this.

So it's not just me on my own deciding what I think and what I think is going on. This is, this is a big, big part of what it is, really.

So people are suffering from lots of different things and it's not just one.

So I guess what the change has been, it's not just somebody coming forward with, oh, I'm finding it difficult, this particular bill has again gone up.

It's then looking at the difference between usage and then paying off a debt, for example, for energy, it's then you're coming into winter and then your usage is going up and then it's compounded by perhaps another thing.

And that could be stress.

And the stress part of that tends to be a really big factor in somebody potentially literally going to that point of burying their head in the sand.

I think that part is the unpicking.

So the unpicking process, just one thing that somebody is coming forward for that's quite straightforward.

Hello, I would like a little bit of help with X. I'm not sure who to speak to, I'm not sure where to go, but I've really come to the point where I'm not sure what to do next.

And I think at that point you really have to listen because a person potentially might well phone up or come to see somebody within a welcome place, for example, there are over 300 in the city, so they always one to remember.

But within the community space, sometimes people might not feel good about doing that or comfortable. They might see neighbours and people they know.

So there's a little bit of shame in owning up to the fact that people have got issues and problems.

So I guess when somebody has that point at which they've come forward, there sometimes tends to be a real overload of lots of other things that then come tumbling out and you don't stop a disclosure of any kind like that.

You have to listen and by that point and the questions asked, if you're doing a Housing Support fund application, for example, will then open up those other things because we would ask about have you got any debts?

It really gets then a financial picture of why somebody might need a little bit of extra help.

But that is kind of sticking plaster stuff.

It's the longer-term support really that is going to really make the difference.

Philippa Willitts:

So you've talked a bit there about some of the conversations you've been having with people.

Can you tell me about the work you've been doing across the city?

Emma Taylor:

Yes, engagement, partnerships lead what's all that about? What does it mean really?

It's a real mix, my role, I'm very lucky.

I get to do a lot of wonderful meeting of public and residents and people from different community groups across the city, schools, you name it, lots of different services who wish to get that little bit of added value with cost of living support and the partners who I kind of beg borrow and steal to come with me to do a bit more, give a bit more for the support and the wraparound services that are on offer.

So for example, next week there's a DWP job centre Cost of Living event, key friends, key critical friends within energy sector, so the energy poverty sort of side of things, which is a real mix.

You've got Citizens Advice, Affordability Team, you've got National Energy Action, you've got Christians against Poverty.

We're not the only show in town!

There's lots of other grant schemes out there, so it's quite crucial to bring those services together.

I mean, I struggled trying to answer this question and it's not because I don't know what I do.

I think it's because I cover so many different aspects of things that I guess it's important to do engagement and partnerships work and you can't do it without it, without having your finger in lots of pies and understanding and getting a bit annoying and being part of things like the Homelessness Prevention forums and being part of reducing infant mortality programmes that are going on.

There's all these different services. There's not one connection that hasn't got anything that's worthwhile.

There's always something very positive to come out of it.

And I think within that strategic field, it's being a voice, it's understanding and respecting that every contact that a person has counts.

Every contact, every frontline person I've trained or I've done some sessions and you’ve heard me before, I get very excited and passionate about cost of living because I'm a prolific sharer.

I want everybody to know about the latest scheme.

You know, did you know about this new data scheme you can get?

Did you know about the social tariffs and broadband part?

And people do remember this and go, well, actually, can I ask you to have a look at some of the materials I'm providing?

For example, I've done one recently with the NHS and a big, brilliant piece of work by this particular lady who's working on it for people who are being discharged from hospital.

And it's about all different services for all different capacities, different, different abilities, different reasons why somebody might be being discharged, different age groups.

But within that, it was about sense checking and making sure.

And that's because I'm just really annoying and I just get everywhere and everyone's, oh something about that cost of living thing, have I got everything right?

So I do a lot of work with the family hubs. That connectivity is really important.

But one thing I did want to raise to you, if you don't mind, is there's a brilliant project by Gordon and Sarah Brown, and I don't know whether this is something you've heard about before, but it's around poverty and it's around basically what partnerships within poverty means.

Philippa Willitts:

Oh, okay.

Emma Taylor:

It's really good.

So basically it's called Partnership to End Poverty. And if you haven't seen it already.

This has got a bit of background and it basically speaks to the power of working together, like you and me right now, giving me this wonderful opportunity to speak to people, share some of the knowledge, if we can, through the conversations and help somewhere else.

You know, it's helping somebody else if it's not that individual person.

Philippa Willitts:

There's no part of life that's not affected if you can't afford things.

Emma Taylor:

Exactly.

Philippa Willitts:

You think kind of immediately of say, health or getting around, but any social project, any community project, there are ways in which, first of all, some people won't be able to access it for money reasons.

But also, yeah, poverty affects every area of your life without exception, really.

Emma Taylor:

It does.

And I think without talking about it like we are now and without sharing information, without really rallying to, like I said, being a bit annoying and being everywhere you possibly can be and saying, do you know about cost of living? Do you know about the support available? Do you know about this particular new project? It's fantastic.

And you know, it's targeting, I don't know, one, one thing or another. It might be housing projects, it could be anything, but there's lots of different things.

But without that really we are always better together and working together.

I am just one small cog in a very big machine trying to make these things happen.

I'm very passionate about what I do. I love my job.

I think it is just a really crucial thing to just share as much as possible and work as closely as possible with lots of different partners and agencies.

And in particular as well is community organisations across the city.

Because without them and without being able to support people within their community, there is no way around it.

I couldn't do it because they are then telling me, can you come back? Actually we've got a ladies group, we've got women's group, we've got a different number of different individuals who may need support.

And I think it's always one of those things where it's not a one stop shop we don't, oh, here's one trick pony, we've got a bit of money.

Here you go, off you go.

It's not about that. We're here for the long term to try and really give that better offer to people rather than the sticking plaster, quite frankly, of a little bit of grant money.

It's not a bad thing, it's brilliant and it's well timed and it's very, very valued.

There is nothing wrong in that.

But the long-term game is where a lot of agencies are in the same as us so you've got fuel vouchers you can get potentially, if you're in need, from citizens, Citizens Advice Affordability Line and National Energy Action do the same, LEAP has appliances, it's all these different things.

Green Doctors, absolutely fantastic organisation, go into people's homes, just lots and lots of things, lots of fuel voucher aspects of that.

But it's about long-term support, people who aren’t unable to look at their home in a way in which… just don't know where to go with their damp and mould problems or they're just not efficient enough and it will cost more, it costs more to be in that situation as well as you know. It costs to be poor.

Philippa Willitts:

So, last year we heard a lot about people having to choose between heating and eating.

Are you seeing the same problem this year?

Emma Taylor:

I think this year we are seeing the same situation.

And I think from, however, since 2021, 22, I think now it's moved to people having to make more precarious, more difficult decisions.

And it's still around finance.

I would say yes, yes. I'd say it's all around the financial side and that part of it is always going to be there and I think it's because it's that need first.

If you think about how crisis is, crisis is now.

It isn't about what's happening tomorrow or next week.

It's right now and in the right now that will always, that is always going to be that absolute knee jerk need right there and then of how I can be helped for this initial situation.

It's only when a person can step back a little bit.

But that's what community support helpline teams do, that's what citizens advise do.

That's what lots of other welcome place organisations and community organisations, voluntary sector and charity organisations and faith sector organisations across the city do is look at having that conversation to okay, is there anything else?

You know, is everything all right?

Is there anything more we can do?

You can't ignore the crisis, but what you can do is look to the future and look to that long term planning.

And I guess the crisis part, I would say, and the difference between that and those difficult decisions is really around people who are then not only in the in the debt they're in, some people are getting into worse debt.

So it's not just, oh, my phone bill, it's actually then actually that's also my water bills, that's also my rent all, that's also my mortgage. Or then that's also my utility bills and everything else that compounds.

And the worst part, I would say that I'm seeing and sadly it is something that I have seen quite a number that I don't want to see.

But that then crisis is about risk of homelessness.

And then there are also families coming forward who have been made homeless.

So they've been issued a section 21, they've been in private rented sector, they've just.

That's it.

There is support for that. Of course there is.

There is all those things in checks and balances in place to support them.

The council certainly would do that.

Philippa Willitts:

However you want that to not happen in the first place.

Emma Taylor:

You don't want that to happen in the first place! Exactly that.

But we can't do anything necessarily about that.

And until we have those better relationships with the private rented sector and I know Shelter and housing solutions side are working closely and together in partnership to be able to do more.

So I know these things are happening, but it's just really tricky.

So I'd say the larger part is seeing homelessness in action, if you like, which is terribly sad, and then you're compounding that with somebody with small children and small children with health conditions.

So you've got a lot of different layered aspects of concern for a family or for an individual who may have had to sort of stop working for one reason or another.

And it usually is around health conditions.

And that is the worst thing - I know that's one you did start with at the beginning about health issues and other parts of poverty impacting on that.

And I would say that is about where a lot of people are.

There are barriers there to working, barriers there to getting ahead and getting control of finances.

But you're not alone.

No one is alone.

There is lots of help there, there are people to talk to.

And I think that part of it is, at least, that there is that opportunity, there is that offer there.

But if people don't do anything about it, then it just gets worse.

And you know, that then leads to quite serious mental illness because people get so stressed about it.

And yes, it's around basically just doing the best we can.

And I think that's a big part of what I like to do, hence the engagement, hence the partnership side, is to make sure that everybody has got as much information and service support as they possibly can.

And what's difficult sometimes is then knowing where they are and who to go to.

And that part is where the frontline work and the frontline support is a really crucial part of where I like to be.

So I can make sure they have a conduit to me, they can ask questions, we can do sessions with training, we can do lots of different things.

And it's just wonderful because it goes both ways.

It's not just about hearing me going on about stuff, it's right talk to so and so, they're brilliant at this particular piece of work or this is where you can connect and here's a form where you can do a proper referral for somebody who perhaps can't get through to a utility company, for example, and can't make themselves understood for language barriers or whatever it might be.

We all know, everyone personally has experienced many of the issues that are affecting the clients we serve and we support.

And they in turn also, all of us have had some need or other for the support that's available.

Wellbeing and mental health is a big part of that.

Philippa Willitts:

And as you're talking about people not coming forward necessarily until it's a real crisis situation, I'm thinking about the shame we've put on ourselves.

I should be able to look after my family or I should be able to pay my bills is not something you would be faced with when approaching cost of living support or citizens advice.

Those people would not put that same shame on you as we put on ourselves.

Emma Taylor:

And it is tough.

Philippa Willitts:

It's really hard. It's really hard.

Speaking of heating personally, I'm going by the advice of Martin Lewis, the money saving journalist guy

Emma Taylor:

I think I've heard of him

Philippa Willitts:

Once or twice! That it's more efficient to heat a person than a space. So I'm covered in blankets, extra layers of clothes.

But one of the things that's really helping me is a heated blanket.

But even they are 40, 50, 60 quid, so that's a lot to pay out to then maybe save some on your heating.

So what can people do if their heating bills are too high and they're scared to put the heating on?

Emma Taylor:

I mean, I think definitely, certainly things like hot water bottles, I use them quite a lot recently when the temperatures have gone very low.

Oh my Gosh, yeah. I like cuddle it like it's like it's a cat or something.

And that's been one of my favourite go-tos.

But what I will say is, that fear of putting heating on as the temperatures dropping, like you say, it really. It shouldn't be there, it shouldn't be there.

People should not be afraid of these things.

There are fantastic schemes out there and I know I've said a little bit about some of the energy friends within the city who are doing great things to help people.

What I would probably say is looking to some of those agencies such as Green Doctors and National Energy Action and LEAP.

But Green Doctors and Leap do go into and do visit people's homes.

They amongst others.

And there's another one that's right in front of me actually. So this is Yes Warmer Homes Advice line. Lots of different places.

What they actually do and what they can do straight away when they visit it is to check that efficiency is there.

So if there's any problems it could be a person might not be able to bleed the radiators for example or they might be losing heat behind it.

They will have small measures on them which are free to be.

And I had a visit from recently so I know what they can do and it's absolutely brilliant, the advice they give.

They know everything.

It was absolutely amazing to see the kind of advice that was given around that and I valued that so much because it helps me then understand and then be able to share that on, pass that on.

But I will say that they, amongst all of those different agencies which I'm happy to share details with you from wanted to put them somewhere.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah, I'll put everything on the website.

Emma Taylor:

That would be marvellous because there's so much of it.

But you know what, if you do one thing that might be really, really a really, really positive step because they’re easy measures to save on things.

And I think what they would mostly say and they think we're talking about damp and mould problems, they can compound this.

You're trying to dry your clothes, they won't dry if you're just heating you.

And wearing a wet blanket around you isn't going to be very comfortable for you either.

It's around having that good ventilation but and also fair heating and it can be on fairly low but probably more often than just not at all or just heating one room, it's kind of false economy.

So I think I would say, my advice would be to take advantage of these free, easy measures that you can get.

You can order them and I will share these too. So people can do that for themselves, which is fantastic.

You can just text some support to some of these, they're really good.

But having someone in your home to come and say and speak and sit with you and go, do you know what? Your boiler’s like this. But if you did it like this, you could have it on for several hours in the day and your home is then gently warm.

And there's these other measures that can help. Things like draught excluders.

Don't underestimate where the cold is coming from.

So there's a lot of support there to use the basics as well, like a nice hot water bottle.

It does last a long time.

Philippa Willitts:

And it's so cosy.

Emma Taylor:

It's cosy custard and it's fine.

But it's terrifying and I totally get it.

I actually myself have, you know, there's people in the neighbourhood I can see, they don't put the lights on and I know they're in, but they don't put the lights on.

And again, it's about cost and not knowing how much things cost, because people think it costs a fortune and it's like, yeah, one pence a day or something for a light bulb.

So it's not quite as bad as all that.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah.

But if you don't know.

Emma Taylor:

I know.

Philippa Willitts:

Then you don't know.

Yeah.

Emma Taylor:

You're going to be scared, aren't you?

I'm not going to put that on. Do I need to put it on?

What I'd say is it's about safety and that the people I'm thinking of, or I concern myself sometimes with a little bit, is that they're older and if they're walking around in the dark and they have mobility issues.

That also could cause a fall. Is it worth it?

I don't know.

For a light bulb.

Philippa Willitts:

It's a kind of domino effect of things, isn't it?

Emma Taylor:

It is.

And your health can be very, very much impacted on that, especially with respiratory issues.

That's a problem. Especially if you go to colder home, it will affect your chest more.

My husband has asthma. I've seen him when he's had a bad attack and it's awful, it's horrible and incredibly painful to watch, let alone go through.

And that is compounded with cold, cold air. He was going outside. But if you were living in that and sleeping in that and that's not going to be good for you.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah, yeah. So like a combination of maybe lower level heating on plus warming yourself.

So mixing the two so that your home is not freezing.

Emma Taylor:

Yes. Because with the best will in the world, you've got a little snuggly, you've got your water bottle and whatever, whatever it is you can afford or you've gotten to use at hand.

But again if you're then breathing in and your nose and your face and everything is freezing, unless you really sat there with a balaclava or something. But even then moisture is going to form around your face.

When you really think about all of it, it's a mix of both.

It's a blend. Keeping that cosiness dripping over so your pipes can't freeze and then you're not compounding other problems for your water supply and other things like this.

Philippa Willitts:

And prices, especially food prices have risen.

I think even people who aren't struggling with money are noticing this and limiting what they buy, maybe having fewer treats.

But if you are struggling with money, that can mean struggling to meet even your basic food needs.

And it's especially hard to eat nutritiously when money is tight and prices are high. Especially if you then also don't have a fridge or you don't dare turn the oven on.

What advice would you have for people who are struggling to afford nutritious food?

Emma Taylor:

I think the difficulty with food prices, availability… and availability as in access to.

So are we talking local shops? Are we talking to the bigger supermarkets? Are we talking economies of scale?

Can you afford more? Can you afford to carry more?

A lot of this, it's actually about your physical ability to be able to carry these larger but cheaper products home with you.

If it's rice, if it's oil, if it's, if it's pasta, whatever it might be, it's about then you know you're spending more locally for somewhere you can potentially get to.

Or do you then put all in to go a little bit further away to a bigger supermarket or chain or something where you can get a bit better costed products.

But I think in the sense of nutritious food locally you do have all sorts of different spaces.

So if people are really struggling, there are three sort of main spaces really within the area where somebody can access on a pay as you feel go or a community pantries.

And there's also the cafe at Zest and Zest is fantastic.

Oh, gosh, I'm so jealous.

I really wish I lived near there. I love a pool and I love their food.

It's fantastic.

So good, so good.

And I think one thing I will add here because there's quite a lot of services where you can phone up and get referrals for. You might need a referral, you might not.

But one thing I will say is people did have… And this is something that came out in, in Covid, which is very odd. Wherever it came from, I'm not sure, but there was a kind of a bit misinformation going on about frozen things not having any nutrition.

Right, so vegetables, products where you can save things so the things don't go off. People think no, all the nutrition is gone. So why would I buy frozen?

And the reason I say this is because Zest do have these wonderfully prepared frozen packs in card containers. So it's friendly on the environment. It's recycled in a sense as well, so it's food that's been saved from landfill.

Food Works are just amazing. I've known them for a long, long time and always been quite in awe of their services and how they're doing things.

And what you are really doing as well there is you're taking away from landfill by purchasing those things, as well as getting yourself some nutritional foods and you can stock it into your freezer if you have one - like you say, can be difficult, but there is nutritional value in frozen things.

I don't know where this came from, but a lot of people said, oh, I'm not buying that. Even though it's probably better and cheaper, it's nothing in it. It's all gone.

So it's a bit of a strange…

Philippa Willitts:

As I understand it, because when things are frozen, they're picked and frozen so quickly that they actually can retain more nutrients than if they're hanging around fresh for weeks or days.

Emma Taylor:

You're absolutely right.

I mean, look at lovely peas. Everybody's got peas in their freezer. It's just the law.

You're absolutely right.

And I think the reason I say it is because sometimes those products are actually very, very reasonable.

And there's lots and lots of places where people can access that at much cheaper prices.

I think in the sense of the people accessing food banks, people accessing the pay as you feel services and things like this, there are places where you do have to have a referral for them and I think if anyone's going, oh, well, which one is it?

Is it the pay as you feel pantry? What is all of this?

There are all these different things and they're all wonderful. Where are they? How do I get them? How do I get to them? What's the deal?

People can call up and phone up the community support helpline. They can phone up the Citizens advice line as well on this.

Lots and lots of different services will do this for people as well. Lots of different community organisations and, and other sectors can do this, but it's basically they can phone up and what they'll then be given is a phone back to say this is where your nearest one is.

Because there'll be people listening who won't have any clue about this.

But you know what? Will be like, actually, I think I might need this.

Philippa Willitts:

And if you're listening to this and you think, my auntie's not got the Internet, but she can get a call back.

So if I can get her to ring this number, she doesn't have to go online to find the nearest place, somebody will give her a ring and tell her what she needs.

Emma Taylor:

It just takes away the problem of going well actually, if you go online, you put in this search criteria…

Don't get me wrong, lots of people can do that.

But like we said, we're talking about crisis of the now.

You’re talking about somebody very stressed and compounding with that is, I'm flipping hungry, I need formula for my baby, I need specific foods and I also might need halal food, I might need different… it is all very, very different.

You can ask those questions as well. And I think it's one thing just to remember that as well.

It's not just about a pack of pasta and a tin of beans.

It is a thing.

If any listeners are thinking, oh well, I would, but I'll probably just get some random thing or other.

It's not actually. People are listened to within their particular needs and especially if it's someone with children and things like this, don't just stop at that. Get support from family hubs within that field because they are absolutely brilliant and they're all wonderful to work with and they really do see a lot of vulnerability at this time of year especially.

It's getting higher, the calls are getting higher.

Philippa Willitts:

I can imagine this is a two parter:

Are you seeing people getting into debt because of the cost of living? And if somebody is in debt and feels like it's getting out of control, what can they do?

Emma Taylor:

Okay, so I'd say well, yeah, sadly yes, yes. I think I said from before it is fair to say that more people are struggling whether they work or claim benefits, own their own home or rent.

And I think this is right across the board.

And the reason I say this is because people, I think sometimes we're talking about shame and they're talking about pride before and it's quite an important part to remember that everyone is affected and I think your money isn't going as far as it used to.

And so when we were talking at the beginning of checking these things over within whatever you might need to claim and things like this, it's not just about universal credit and aspects like that.

We're talking like personal independence payments, we're talking things that aren't linked with means tested benefits.

We're talking about the compounded issues and problems I think people have with the housing rates and the rental rates and allowances that people have.

There's such a widening gap where you get the price is going up, have our wages suddenly gone up? Everything going up and things stagnating slightly, even if it's a little bit extra and it's not to be knocked. Everybody's probably very, very pleased to get anything at the moment, but it just doesn't go far enough.

And this is why this longer-term aspect of the community support helplines basically push to do that. And our cost of living support hub as a wider part of that is about making money go further for somebody or income max as we would call it, in shop talk.

But it is about maximising that.

And we are not the only show in town who does it. Age UK, they can support those things. You've got social prescribers who can help with some of those things as well.

We are not the only people who can do the benefits checks and things like this.

But cost of living has impacted so many people in so many ways that yes, the debts are getting higher and the issue there, I think for those people is that it's that struggle of then going do you know what?

I can't pay any of these things.

And so I'm not even going to bother looking at it.

And I think, like we've mentioned before, Philippa, I think we've had lots of conversations, haven't we, in VAS meetings around Brown Letter fear and it being a thing.

And I know you felt very strongly about that.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah, you just stop opening the post because it's all threatening about how much you owe to who.

Emma Taylor:

It's not like a nice card from your auntie, is it, with a tenner in it?

It's, oh, I know what this is going to be.

Oh, goodness, I don't know.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah, yeah.

And then when you're not opening them, you lose track of what you owe and how much you owe and who you owe.

Because, yes, the fear just makes you shut it all down, I think, in your head.

Emma Taylor:

And you do.

And I think it's… There are words for this as well. It's kind of around executive capacity.

It's an important factor within your ability to try and not only access services, but just to be able to see through it and communicate and correspond with all the different things that are coming through and make sense of it.

And you compound that with all those things there, then you've got health conditions. So what might that mean? A doctor's appointments over here and when are they?

And then I've got to pay this bill on this very quickly on when you're speaking with somebody who's got that exact thing going on is because they will likely reply well, a year ago it was £3,000. So it's probably a bit more than that.

And I say, oh, a year ago?

Well, yes, I've just got these letters but I know it's quite a lot, but can you help me?

And, well, this is the day we hopefully can and this is the kind of thing I'm hearing from social prescribers as well.

This is frontline workers working with families. This is lots of different services and they're not easy to unpick.

But we will try our damnedest to make sure we can do as much as we can to join those things up and at least make that a little bit less scary.

But it is around just starting somewhere with this and talking to somebody.

Safe to say, I think people have a right to live debt free and live worry free and have access to the support they are entitled to.

Yes, we've got grants, yes, we've got all these other lovely people to talk to and that's fantastic as the first steps.

But it's looking at what you're entitled to.

Consider it, think about it, look into these things and check and just query it and be curious, I would say be curious about your finances and about your health, and kindly curious about your friends and family.

There are cohorts within the city, especially within the areas we are talking about today, who are further removed from that, more vulnerable and potentially less likely to ask for help.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah, I'm writing an article at the moment about exactly why it's so much more expensive to be disabled.

Charity Scope has calculated, I can't remember the exact number, but it costs something like £975 a month extra for families with a disabled person in them just to live, just daily living costs.

And there are so many things that people don't take into account or don't think of. But if you need special food, if you need equipment, if you need to get taxis, if all of these things all add up to some groups of people being harder hit or more strongly affected by already difficult financial situations.

Emma Taylor:

Just horrible to hear, Horrible to hear. And you just think, well, that's just a bad lot all round, isn't it?

And it shouldn't be the case.

It's just so tricky because some of the products that you need or person might need to get about are just ridiculously expensive.

And I think there's something around necessity for that. And I think that period products and other things like that, which are stupid, stupid money. And you just think, what is this about?

Philippa Willitts:

That's something I always put in the food bank collection box, is period products.

Because if you don't have them, it's just a dignity situation, isn't it?

Emma Taylor:

It is.

Philippa Willitts:

If you can't stop yourself from bleeding all over your clothes, you're just not going to feel good in any way.

Emma Taylor:

I mean, no one is going to.

Then is the compound from that is having then to wash your things so you need new clothes.

Because like you say, exactly that, it's about the dignity part of it.

It's just crucial that there is that support there.

And I must say, there's many things like that that really, there's always some things that really gets you and I think that's one for me as well.

And I think access to data is another part of it as well.

Access to SIM cards and aspects like this, which they're starting to do more.

And I know O2 have launched their campaign with Foundation for Good and all of that, which is fantastic, but there's still more that needs to be done.

It's just, yeah, it's a lot, there's a lot of things to level up the playing field and then you've also got all the other things you want to think about climate change and everything else, which is all super, super valid. But in a way this is where the energy efficiency measures and support is coming into play.

Yes, it's a planet thing and yes, of course it's right and we all have a duty of care for our future generations, but it's also because it will cost you a lot less money and your home will be warmer and drier.

So it's a lot of reasons.

Philippa Willitts:

And that thing we were just saying about periods, that if you can't afford menstrual pads so you bleed on your clothes and then you need to buy more clothes.

It feels like a perfect example of why being poor is really expensive.

In the same way as you might not be able to take advantage of special offers in Tesco because you can't buy more than you really, really need.

You might not have options to choose your utility suppliers because you've owed them money.

Disabled people often live in poverty but have may have no option but to buy higher cost food because maybe they need pre prepared, pre chopped things, maybe they have particular dietary requirements.

So a lot of people feel like they're in a vicious cycle and really trapped.

Do you have any tips or recommendations for people who are feeling trapped in their financial difficulties?

Emma Taylor:

One thing is so many people are very much in their own heads and it's the mental health part and potentially also not having somewhere to go, someone to talk to and then maybe for one reason or another, not being able to share what they're going through with friends or with family members.

It might be considered very shameful. We have to talk about it, else it just keeps going around in circles.

And I think the mental health aspect is probably one of the key parts of which I would say that's really where we need to step on and make sure we are dealing with it and that part of it is one of the main aspects I dwell on more than anywhere, because then if someone gets their head clear, is then able to tackle those first steps and I guess - sorry it sounds really pulpity: but be not afraid, speak up, have those conversations.

What happens within a crisis to people is it's of the right this minute and of the now.

But rather than thinking, okay, I've got this thing I need to deal with over here and I need to sort this out there, that part of it is one thing, but it's about not borrowing that trouble for tomorrow.

Because if you do, and this is especially coming into the festive period and all the rest of it, it's just going to get worse really.

And so I think in the sense of that support and how you might get out of that cycle, it's around basically speaking to somebody. It's about getting that financial help and guidance.

And there's National Debtline, there is Citizens advice, there are great services out there to access for people who have got other issues.

Take the first step to take control, basically, is going to be the priority.

Philippa Willitts:

As I told you the other day, for me, this is some time ago, but ringing National Debtline was a terrifying thing to do.

Partly because it involved opening those letters and writing down some numbers and adding it all up.

Emma Taylor:

Oh gosh.

Philippa Willitts:

But being able to just openly say those numbers and not have somebody gasp in horror, but just be like, okay, like we can work this out.

And then just having somebody who could talk me through step by step, because that's the other thing. You feel so overwhelmed that you don't know what a first step is.

Emma Taylor:

No.

Philippa Willitts:

So if somebody can say to you, number one, do this, number two, do this, number three, do that, then there's like a process you can follow and it already feels a bit more in control.

Emma Taylor:

There are some amazing spreadsheets and bits and pieces and single pages where I've seen recently about just plotting these bits of information as well for yourself.

And I think it is about that manageability, isn't it?

It's about open conversations with professionals who are super used to hearing these things unfortunately, but also fortunately they won't be shocked for the situation that you might be in.

And I think to manage a debt or sets of debts, you do need a helping hand. Nobody expect you just to handle all of that on your own.

Philippa Willitts:

Even just telling you which are priority debts and which are non priority debts, that wasn't terminology I'd ever heard before that. I hadn't known that there were different legal processes for different types of debts or any of that, but they knew all of that and they could tell me the relevant bits for my situation.

Emma Taylor:

I mean, you can go into sort of voluntary arrangements, you can go into a number of different, different ways to manage debts.

And you can also have managed bank accounts where basically the bank takes on all the debts and all the bits and pieces and manages all of that with the money you have coming in and going out.

Philippa Willitts:

It was so helpful.

One of the things they said to me was, these people would rather have something than nothing.

Emma Taylor:

Yes.

Philippa Willitts:

So they might come to an agreement where you pay five pounds a month and they might try and get you to pay more, but they'd still rather have £5 a month than no pounds a month.

Emma Taylor:

Absolutely.

Philippa Willitts:

That demystified it a bit for me as well.

Emma Taylor:

And I think also looking at that part of it, you have a right to have that ability to pay. And I think it's a form of like, say it might not be lots and lots of money, but it's what you can afford.

And what you can afford is still you controlling that.

Even if it's a pound a month, a pound a week, whatever it is, it's still something.

One thing I did come across recently was a person, one of my frontline workers was talking through somebody's debts and issues and what they basically went through, budgeting, they went through.

What income have you got coming in? And then let's put as many things as possible, so not just the basics, but all the things you're paying out.

And one of them was to a charity. And she was accessing a food bank, this particular lady, and she was paying to a really good, don't get me wrong, wonderful charity.

Philippa Willitts:

And what a gorgeous thing to do. But that's the time to prioritise yourself.

Emma Taylor:

That was something good and wonderful. But it's things like that, it's having those conversations to say really, it's a lovely thing and maybe when things get a little bit better for you, do put back a little bit of money to that particular charity of your choice and something that lady cared very much about.

But you're robbing Peter to pay Paul. Not everyone can do it and give yourself a break.

Philippa Willitts:

You’re allowed to cancel that direct debit and you've done a wonderful thing and you may be able to do that again in the future lately, say.

But right now is not the time.

Emma Taylor:

And checking as well that things… I mean, sometimes you might have a subscription that you didn't even know you got and you might have moved accommodation.

So you might feel a bit afraid of looking into your finances sometimes. But actually it's good to do those good look throughs and searches and checks and I think it's any which way you can get that support to have a conversation about that.

And if people are genuinely struggling with their mental health, physical health, whatever it might be, then speak to your GP about that, because there are people that can support you and that you can get that referred support on.

And there's plenty of brilliant services out there who will be able to give you a helping hand to talk you through and help you just find that clear path.

Philippa Willitts:

And this is the December episode of the podcast. A lot of people will be feeling the pressure to have the perfect Christmas.

What would you say to people who feel like they've got to buy all the best presents and all the perfect food, but money is tight?

Emma Taylor:

Well, I would say, goodness, don't we all? It's quite a stressful thing.

You think, oh if you had all the money in the world, you'd want to give everyone something wonderful because of how much you can show your love for somebody and your care for somebody or your thanks for somebody and for them being in your lives and just being wonderful.

Hugs are free.

Philippa Willitts:

A walk in the park is free.

Emma Taylor:

There's a lot of nice things you can do and to be honest, it's a tricky one, isn't it?

But I think whatever festive celebration is taking place, there's always a huge amount of pressure to do what is expected.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah.

When it's Eid, you're meant to cook for everybody, all the food. When it's Hanukkah… whatever's going on, there's some pressure to almost perform generosity in a way that is very money based.

Emma Taylor:

Yes, often I think that's, I think, like we've said before, think on the future because my advice would be don't rob from tomorrow to pay for today.

And that goes for everything, I would say.

But it's not just to be a complete humbug on it all. You can still do nice things. It's much easier said than done.

But talking back to our friend Martin, Martin Lewis, there's a wonderful little video he's got an excerpt of him speaking to an audience around Christmas time.

And he basically got everybody to talk about their pressures and he was questioning, why are you spending all this money? What's your average spend? What does it make you feel?

It was very lacklustre. And all it said was stress all round.

And the number one out of all of it was really, well, what do we really want? Do you really need to have that pressure on that person?

I think we had the conversation, didn't we? And he had the same thing. It was people saying, oh, I've seen a friend. And then I bought them a present. They didn't get me one.

Then they came to get me one and it was all a bit funny because they didn't have much money and then they felt they had to get one for me and all of this sort of thing.

And it's very similar in that pressure. It's almost like, don't cave to it.

But you were saying about some of the work I do, it's for no good reason that a lot of the bigger events for finance and help for cost of living, they're being planned in for January and February, different services, different products, different ways.

And it's because it is the worst time.

It's the long… It's like January is like… I mean, how many years is January?

Philippa Willitts:

And it's the worst weather and it's grey and you're absolutely broke.

Because often people are paid a bit early in December if they're normally paid at the end of the month as well, because of bank holidays. And so January is a literal stretch of the amount of time between monthly pay packets, if that's what you get.

There's all so many reasons.

And then if you open Facebook and all your friends have somehow got matching pyjamas for Christmas Day only.

Emma Taylor:

Oh, goodness, yes.

Philippa Willitts:

With their kids. And they're different to last year's matching pyjamas, which are different to the year before's matching pyjamas, you can think I'm giving my kids a terrible Christmas, but that's just not the case.

If it's fine to not have matching pyjamas, basically.

Emma Taylor:

I think a lot of it is you do you. And I think the brand part of things is also a tricky thing.

It's hard, fast fashion, new, new, new.

I think people are starting to see a bit more about that recycled part. Vinted's doing brilliantly from that reason, isn't it? And ebay and places and the sales and swaps type functions on local neighbourhoods.

Those are brilliant.

And I've seen so many things that are being given away for free and people are sharing things like Christmas, older Christmas decorations they're getting rid of.

I've certainly done that locally from my area.

TikTok and Instagram aren't real life, are they to be aspired to? I think some of them might be because they're all about saving the planet and supporting things and listening to lovely podcasts like this one, hopefully will be useful and interesting and wonderful.

And there's lots of free learning and wonderful things and how to make stuff.

Philippa Willitts:

If people have Netflix, there's a new documentary, I think it's called Buy Now that I watched the other day and it's all about exactly how Amazon, Shein, all of these make us buy.

Basically all the tricks they use to make us need the latest new thing.

Emma Taylor:

I see.

Philippa Willitts:

And if you want to feel better about not overspending at Christmas, not having the branded things, not having the brand new things, and if you have Netflix, watch this documentary.

It is incredibly powerful.

Emma Taylor:

That sounds absolutely… that is going to be watched. That sounds absolutely brilliant.

And you know what, as well, this time of year, I think if sometimes people needing newer things, we do a big sell.

So we go through things, we perhaps… Oh, do you know what? I love that, but I'm just a bit bored of seeing it.

Sell that on, whether that's a local thing, someone can pick it up from your house.

You don't even have to go and post it.

Philippa Willitts:

Or on vinted. Or on ebay.

Emma Taylor:

Or on vinted. Or ebay. Yes.

So you've got all these different choices, but a few pounds there. A few pounds. It adds up. It really does.

And doing those sorts of things means you probably can get a nice little something. If you needed a new coat or something warm and cosy.

I could go on forever about many different aspects of this because it's just so vital and yeah, it affects so many people. So many people.

Philippa Willitts:

It really does.

And I think to kind of conclude it would be good to think about if somebody's listening and they're doing okay, they feel like things might be a bit of a stretch, but they're managing.

Emma Taylor:

Yeah.

Philippa Willitts:

And they want to offer help to others. What are some ways they can do that?

Emma Taylor:

Well, I think on this, there's a lot of really, really wonderful opportunities on volunteering.

And I get asked quite often about this and sometimes, often this could be a really good way in for someone looking for work as well and things.

But it's also for somebody to give back a bit of time.

And actually it's not just giving back a bit of time. It's giving them a bit more social and getting them out to talk to people, having a little bit more meaning if perhaps you've been retired or your children have gone to school and you've got a little bit more time back.

So it's one of those things where lots of people are coming forward to ask about it because they want to do something.

And I must say, I've never seen so many as recently there's been just so fantastic, so many different opportunities.

One of the things I would say is to go for Sheffield Volunteer Centre. It's part of Voluntary Action Sheffield, and they have loads and loads of advice on the opportunities for volunteering across the city for different things.

Currently, organisations across the city also looking for help over Christmas for things like community meals. NHS are looking for lots and lots of people for different services.

Befriending services.

Philippa Willitts:

I was just going to say befriending!

Emma Taylor:

Here, there and everywhere. There's so many things.

And you know what? I probably say the befriending part, and probably most people that have come forward to say that we're interested in something like that, have been people who've used the service themselves and have actually got a lot out of it.

So lived experience does then usually come full circle a little bit, which I think is wonderful and as it should be.

And I think if you aren't able to do any of those things, because some people might not be able to donate to a food bank. There's lots of donations set up for S6 Food Bank.

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah, I know the Tesco on Infirmary Road.

Emma Taylor:

Oh, yes.

Philippa Willitts:

They have a basket where when you've done your shopping, you can put something in the basket and I know that they then top it up.

So whatever the value of what people donate, Tesco itself adds to that with more products.

Emma Taylor:

That's really… I didn't know that. That's really positive, isn't it?

Philippa Willitts:

Yeah.

And I don't know whether all Tescos do that or all supermarkets do that, but I do know on the Infirmary Road one, which is just down the road, there's a sign saying, I can't remember the percentage, but we add maybe 20% of the value on to what people donate.

So yes, and that's relatively easy if you're already doing a shop to pick up a bag of pasta or pick up a pack of tampons or pick up a box of tea bags.

And yeah, as you're leaving the store you just drop it in on the way out.

Emma Taylor:

That's another thing actually, if you are having a good clear out, charity shops are really keen on looking for Christmassy things, but also things like fabrics and books and crockery I've seen recently.

Giving things away makes me feel really good.

Philippa Willitts:

Emma, thank you so much. It's been really interesting and I'm sure people are going to find it really useful.

Emma Taylor:

I hope so. It's always a pleasure, Philippa, and brilliant to talk to you and have the opportunity to share some of the support that's on offer out there.

Philippa Willitts:

And you'll get those links to me for the different organisations and I will make sure they're all on the website at http://nunlocal.news.

Emma Taylor:

Perfect. Well, thank you very much.

Philippa Willitts:

Thank you for listening to NUN Local and do subscribe at http://nunlocal.news to get every episode out on the 1st of every month for more hyper-local Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend News.

NUN Local is a project of Scribble and Bloom, a social enterprise created to encourage self-expression as a way to improve lives.

Find out more about Scribble and Bloom Community Interest Company and its other projects including zine-making workshops and Easy Read translations at http://www.scribbleandbloom.org.uk

In this episode, I talk to Sally from FixMyStreet, who may just have the solution to wondering who on earth to report fly tipping, graffiti and bad parking to. Then Karen, who’s one of the organisers of a Sustainability Netwalking event this month in Neepsend. And finally, I talk to Anders about the walks he organises around Neepsend that teach you about the area’s art and history.

Timings

00:00 Intro

01:50 Sally Reader from mySociety: FixMyStreet

17:44 Sustainability Netwalking with Karen Perkins

32:40 Neepsend walking tours with Anders Hanson

Transcript

Philippa Willitts

Welcome to the November of NUN Local, the podcast all about Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, and Neepsend.

In today's episode, I've got 3 brilliant interviews for you.

The first one is with Sally Reader from FixMyStreet. If you have ever wondered what to do about a pothole in the area or fly tipping or an abandoned Island, you didn't know who to call, Sally tells us about a free app that really does make it simple to fix your street.

And then I talk to Karen Perkins, who is one of the organisers of Sustainability Netwalking, which is happening in Neepsend in November.

And finally, I have a chat with Anders from Kelham Island and Neepsend Walks, talking about 2 walks around Neepsend that he's planning this month. One looking at the history of the area and one looking at the art around the area.

There's honestly loads to learn, and do listen up for his favorite Neepsend fact. It is genuinely fascinating.

Wherever you're listening to NUN Local, make sure you get access to every future episode by signing up at nunlocal.news, where you can be informed every time there's a new episode.

Episodes come out on the 1st of every month, and signing up at nunlocal.news will make sure you don't miss anything.

But first of all, here is Sally Reader from FixMyStreet.

FixMyStreet is an independent web service run by charity mySociety, and it makes it easier for anyone to report a problem in their local area.

It means you can report things without having to try and work out who on earth is responsible for them and without having to wait on hold on the council phone line, which we've all done.

The FixMyStreet website says all you have to do is type in a UK postcode or let the site locate you automatically and describe your problem. Then we send your report to the people whose job it is to fix it.

And at the time of writing, I can see on the website that 74,000 reports have been sent to Sheffield City Council alone through FixMyStreet.

And when I look at the most recent ones submitted, people are reporting fly tipping, unsafe parking, rats, illegal parking, and a pothole. All of which are really either annoying or even dangerous problems that the app is helping people to resolve.

Sally Reader works for Society Works, which is part of mySociety.

So first of all, Sally, thank you for coming on the podcast.

Sally Reader

Oh, you're welcome. It's nice to chat to somebody different for a change.

Philippa Willitts

I bet. So how did the idea for FixMyStreet come about?

Sally Reader

So, mySociety, the charity, was founded by a guy called Tom Steinberg. And about 17 years ago, Tom was working in London. As he was walking around, quite regularly he passed this phone box, and it was forever being vandalised. It had graffiti on it, and it wasn't working.

And he thought to himself, I probably should report this to somebody. But then realised he didn't really know who to report it to.

So should he report it to the phone company? And he wasn't even sure who that was. Should it be the council? Should it be someone else?

And he got thinking, actually, this shouldn't be that difficult. I should be able to report a problem on the street in a really simple way.

So we're talking graffiti, fly tipping, potholes, that sort of thing.

And more importantly, not only should it be easy to do, you as a person shouldn't need to have to work out who is responsible for fixing it.

There should be something, a system that was in place that could tell from where you were on a map what authority was responsible for that. And you could report your issue, and it would send it off to the council.

And that is where the seed of FixMyStreet came from.

Philippa Willitts

It's genius. I mean, it's something I use personally and have for several years.

But mySociety has other tools as well as FixMyStreet.

You can find out who your MP or your local councillor is and contact them through writetothem.com. You can keep an eye on how politicians vote on theyworkforyou.com, and you can read thousands of freedom of information requests and responses on what do they know dotcom, which as a journalist, I can tell you is invaluable.

Why did you choose a tool like FixMyStreet to create and maintain as well? Why did this project feel important to you?

Sally Reader

I think it very much fits in with our whole mission as the mySociety charity, which is to empower people to engage in their society in a simple way by being able to use some very straightforward technology.

So we think that people should be able to look after the place in which they live, and it shouldn't be difficult.

It shouldn't be difficult for you. It shouldn't be difficult for the responsible authority. It should just be more straightforward.

So when we first launched FixMyStreet back in 2007, the world was quite a different place in terms of technology. So since then, we've been building and improving the FixMyStreet site to keep up with all the new technology.

We also take feedback on board. So if people come up with a good suggestion of how something could be better or something that can be added, we're continually making improvements to it.

We know that the public are the eyes and ears on the ground, particularly within the community that they live.

We also know that local councils, they can't be everywhere at once. They can't spot every single new fly tip. They can't spot every single overgrown hedge that's stopping you from getting down the pavement.

And we know at the moment that councils are really struggling for funding, which means their resources are even more stretched than they ever were.

So being able to allow people from the community to make reports in an easy, simple way is even more vital.

We've done quite a lot of research into all of this, as you might imagine. And we know that people are a lot more likely to engage with authorities if they know that the report that they are making actually makes a difference.

And one of the things that FixMyStreet does, as you said at the beginning, is that you can see all the other reports that have been made in your area. So you can see what other people are reporting.

And, crucially, you can see when that problem's been resolved as well. So there is a clear action there: Person made a report. Council did a thing. Issue was solved, which just makes it a really valuable tool for communities to interact not only with other people in their communities and see what they're doing, but also with the councils.

And we have the ability… so if you report an issue so if you report a fly tip a couple of days later, you walk down the street and you see that that fly tip's been removed, you can go back onto FixMyStreet, and you can actually mark that report as fixed yourself so other people can see that something's happened.

We also work with some councils directly, some more than others. So the ones that we work with, we can integrate FixMyStreet with a lot of their back-end processes to make it easier for them to give you specific updates. So they might say to you, yes. We know this is a problem, but it's going to take us a couple of days to fix it, and then they'll tell you when it's fixed it.

And a step on from that is that some councils even have their own versions of FixMyStreet, which means that residents get to report even more issues. And the map does even more clever things like, in some cases, you can even kind of pick the streetlight that you want to report a problem with.

It's just about making it super easy for everybody and keeping it all in line with the technology of the moment, basically.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. As somebody who uses the app, I can tell people, first of all, that it is really simple and straightforward.

You're not replacing one complicated process with a different complicated process.

So how can listeners use FixMyStreet if they see a problem in the area? And, also, what kind of problems can they report?

Sally Reader

Yeah. So the site is UK wide, so you can report any area. But, obviously, with your areas like Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, and Neepsend you can specifically concentrate on that area.

So if you're walking around and you see a fly tip or you see a pothole or something like that, there's a couple of different ways that you can make a report.

So one of the simplest ways is to use your mobile phone. So you can, if you're able to, make a report there and then when you're stood in front of the problem that you've found.

There is an app which you can download from all the app stores, which is just called FixMyStreet, or you can just report it on the website as well.

You absolutely don't have to download the app. It's whatever your personal preference is.

If you are there, stood in front of the thing that you found, you can use a thing called use my current location. So using GPS, it automatically knows where you are. So it doesn't matter if you don't know the name of the street or the postcode. You know, I know I wander around my area. I haven't got a clue what most of the roads are called, but I don't need to know.

If you're not able to make a report at that time because it's not always convenient, you can then go on to the site and make that report later. You will need to know the location, so, like, the street name or the postcode. Or even if you're not sure, you could type in an area like Netherthorpe and then kinda zoom into the map and find out the street that you were on.

The other thing you can do as well, if you are using the app, the app has an offline reporting function. So we all know that sometimes your 3G, 4G, 5G is not quite what it should be.

So what you can do is you can start making your report, which it will save as a draft. And then when you're back in an area of connectivity or on the WiFi, you can continue to make your report.

Philippa Willitts

Clever.

Sally Reader

So yeah. So it's basically, having no 3G data should not be the blocker for you not to make a report.

So the location is the key thing, obviously. Once you're happy with your location, it will take you to the map, and you can see the location on the map. So you can move the pin up and down a bit if you want to put it in a specific place. You can also see all the other reports that have been made in that area.

So what we do is we give people a selection of categories.

So in the Sheffield area, there's quite a few categories. I won't list them all out. But things like car parking, dog fowling, fly posting, fly tipping, potholes, street lights, traffic lights, that sort of thing.

So you pick the category that is most relevant to the thing that you're trying to report. If you have been able to take a photo of it, then that's great. You can upload a photo because it's pretty useful for the councils to be able to see sometimes, particularly with fly tipping, like, how much stuff is there. Yeah. And, also, if you're trying to work out whether somebody's reported it or not already, sometimes it's easier to tell from a picture.

If you've got a photo, you can upload that. If you haven't, it doesn't matter. You can just carry on without it.

And then you just need to provide some really basic information about the issue. So you don't have to create an account. You don't have to put all your personal details in. You just give the details of the issue that you want to report. If you want to leave your contact details, you can, but you absolutely don't have to.

And, basically, once you've done that, and it shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes, sometimes we ask you to confirm your report just to check that you're not a bot or something.

And once that's done, off it goes to the council that's responsible for dealing with it. Council get the notification. It goes on the map. Everyone can see what's happened. That's it.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. It's great.

And I've noticed that the litter picking group in Upperthorpe report the bags they collect using FixMyStreet.

Karen Perkins

Oh, cool.

Philippa Willitts

They leave them by a particular bin and then take a photo.

Do you find that many community groups tend to use the tool this way?

Sally Reader

Yeah. And we absolutely love about hearing community groups as well. Although we kind of say this is for residents, obviously, it's for groups as well, and it can be a really valuable tool.

So recently, last year, we spoke to a group of litter pickers who were in Birmingham, and they were finding that as they were going around doing their litter picks, they were spotting other issues as well.

So they were using FixMyStreet to report the other issues as they were going around. We know in some places, neighbourhood watch groups use FixMyStreet as well in a similar kind of way, and they really like it because if one of the neighbours has already reported something, they can see that so they don't have to report it again.

At Oxfordshire, one of the councils that we work really closely with, they actually train a team of volunteers themselves that they call the super users.

Philippa Willitts

Mhmm.

Sally Reader

And they're trained by the council to look out for things like blocked drains and damage to curbing and that kind of thing. And they learn how to use FixMyStreet and how to describe what the problem is. So when the report gets to Oxfordshire, they then know how to prioritise it all, and they can deal with all the most urgent problems first.

So, yeah, loads of people use it. And we love hearing from people as well because often we don't know unless people tell us.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. Because when you look at the previous reports on the website, it doesn't say this was reported by Philippa. But some people add that as a note, like the Upperthorpe litter pickers do.

So I guess there's a lot going on that you just don't know the context of.

Sally Reader

Yeah. And we always make it clear that we don't publish people's personal details on the website and things. So even if you do leave your name, we never publish that unless you tell us you want us to. So, yeah, it's just great to hear how other groups use it, and we can share it with other people as well and say, hey. This community group's doing this thing. Maybe that's something you might like to try.

So it it's very much a community of users as well as communities of residents.

Philippa Willitts

I, as I said, have been reporting - I think, always fly tipping - using FixMyStreet since 2022. I scrolled back through my account to have a look.

I have the app on my phone. As I said, it's really easy to use. And one thing I like is that I get an instant email acknowledgment from the council when I submit a report. Often before I've had a chance to close the app, the email is there in my inbox saying it's being reported.

Is there anything else you think people need to know about FixMyStreet?

Sally Reader

I guess the important thing to remember is that the FixMyStreet map is quite clever, and it knows it has a lot of knowledge already programmed into it.

So for example, if you're in another part of Sheffield, if you are out towards Meadowhall or somewhere like that, which is near the M1 and the M80, those bigger roads are obviously not looked after by the council. They're looked after by National Highways.

Now, of course, not everyone's going to know that. Not everyone's going to know how to contact National Highways.

But when you use FixMyStreet, it doesn't matter because the map knows. So if you click on a National Highways road, it will just send it to National Highways.

And in some areas of the country where you've got, like, double tier and triple tier councils, that's obviously really helpful because it's quite often quite hard to work out, whether it's the county council or the city council or the parish council.

So all of that is included in the map. So you should never feel that you need a lot of knowledge before making reports.

All you need to know is where you are. That's the key thing.

And the other thing for anybody making reports on FixMyStreet, we really like it if people make a report and then they notice that their report has been dealt with, that they can mark it as fixed because it shows people what's going on.

With the councils that we work with directly, they do tend to update the reports on a more regular basis.

But basically the way the system works is you get more out of it the more you put into it. And we obviously work with councils to try and encourage them to put on as much updating on those reports as we possibly can.

But you can help with that as well. And I guess the other message is just have a go.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. So where can people go to find out more, if they're listening and they're sick of fly tipping at the end of the road or a pothole outside their house?

Where do people go to get involved?

Sally Reader

All you need to do is head off to our website, which is www.fixmystreet.com. Or if you want to go straight for the app, then you just go to wherever you get your apps from and type in FixMyStreet, and it will find it for you.

And as well as being able to make reports, there's FAQ pages and there's help pages. So you can have a bit of a read about it, if you want to learn a bit more about it as well as just reporting your fly tips.

Philippa Willitts

Amazing. Thank you very much, Sally Reader.

Sally Reader

Thank you. It's been lovely talking to you.

Do you have a story about Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, or Neepsend you want to tell?

Find our contact details at nunlocal.news or say hi on social media.

Philippa Willitts

Karen Perkins is a business and life coach. And along with Sheffield Sustainability Network and Sheffield Social Enterprise Network, she runs Sustainability Netwalking events.

The next one is in Neepsend, so she's here to tell us all about sustainability netwalking.

So what is sustainability netwalking?

Karen Perkins

Well, we used to do a netwalking event. We started a netwalking event in Sheffield, which used to meet every month about 10 years ago because we really enjoyed being out in the fresh air and it seemed to help people get to know each other and introduce themselves. And most of us like to be in nature. And then it sort of naturally evolved into a sustainability netwalking event because we all were bringing more sustainability practices into our work and there was more demand for people to know about sustainability and people are a bit vague about what it is.

So it's really nice to be able to come on a walk with people from all different types of sustainable business or a business introducing sustainability to swap tips and make collaborations.

And when you're walking side by side, it seems to be very relaxed, and the conversations that we have seem to be really good.

And it's not pressured. It's not like one of these high-powered networking events. It's gentle. You can talk to who you want. You can follow it up afterwards.

We always go for a coffee in a nice local business coffee place afterwards if people want to hang around. And they also suggest venues and topics.

So it's a good way to meet people from all different sectors in Sheffield and just have a gentle walk.

We try and make them as accessible as possible. Sometimes it's not very easy, but we do try, and we'll talk to someone about what they need if they want to come along.

Probably boots and wellies are a good thing because we do go into the parks and along the canals and things like that. So, yep.

Philippa Willitts

And I've been to a few networking events in my time and generally find them deeply awkward.

It feels like a very inauthentic situation where everybody's just plugging their business in every conversation, and you can't actually make connections.

So what makes netwalking different to more traditional networking in that respect?

Karen Perkins

People sort of choose to come because of their interest.

They've all got a general interest in the sustainability aspect.

And, also, we have a lot of people coming who are starting up social enterprises and community interest companies with Sheffield Social Enterprise Network. So, they come along, and they know that they're going to meet people who've got a similar interest.

We do an introduction at the beginning and quite clear just say who you are, what you're interested in, and maybe a sustainability win.

So we try and keep it really short because there's nothing more annoying than going to a networking meeting and having to listen to somebody drone on about their business when, actually, you just want to get talking to people.

I do make sure that I talk to people a lot, and we have somebody from people from the enterprise network and Sustainability Sheffield come along, and we just try and mix around and sort of make sure people mix.

I do love talking to people, so I do try and sort of move around and try and talk to them if anyone's by themselves, introduce them, find out their common interests, if anybody wants to talk to me beforehand about any issues they've got or they're a bit nesh about going on a walk or networking, I'm very happy to have a chat with them and just introduce them to someone, get them talking.

So it's a very relaxed way of doing it, and we see all the sort of nature in Sheffield, etcetera when we go on these walks so you're in nature, you're relaxing, but it sort of promotes the conversations and quite a lot of good ideas come out of it.

For example, I think Sheffield College have been to a number of our walks. We've noticed they've started up some sustainability employment training for people in heat pumps and sustainability issues for their business.

So they're sort of spin offs which are helping adult learning in Sheffield.

But, obviously, because you can talk to lots of people from different backgrounds with interests, they'll all give you their view, especially over coffee.

People are quite open and sharing in it. So it's a nice place to come to.

And we do try and tell local community organisations as well. You know, anyone's welcome.

Philippa Willitts

And I feel like because, like, this November, you're walking along the River Don, it's automatically a less artificial and awkward situation because you're walking along the River Don, and you might go, oh, is that a kingfisher?

There are things happening around you, so there's not this pressure to just be a good representative of your business or be on the ball.

It's quite a human way to interact with people, I think.

Karen Perkins

I think it is because I usually give a bit of a commentary about what we're seeing, because you might see the odd Phlegm drawing on the walls or people have got different knowledge about nature and different they'll see a factory over the other side of a fence and say, oh they've got this process going on.

So it does get people talking. I mean on the walk, I don't want to spoil it for people, but there are loads of small businesses on the route. There's things you'd never think of seeing there's old industrial heritage. There's potential development at the Cannon Brewery Works. We can talk to people about opportunities.

They tend to sort of meet people from the area, which they haven't met before and build collaborations, but it's all natural.

Then there's all the art, which obviously I like.

And we can tell them about things that are happening. So I think there's a group called KINCA, which is Kelham Island Community Association and Neepsend, and, we've had information from them in the past. I'm not sure if they're coming to this one, but sometimes they'll come along and they'll tell people how they can get involved.

It's a very rich tapestry in a walk. But I think maybe you can go with a purpose to meet someone who can answer the question that you want, but usually, it happens organically.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. I spoke to KINCA in the first episode of this podcast. And in this episode, people will also hear from Anders who runs walks around Neepsend. This is clearly the walks around Neepsend episode, inadvertently!

So, who tends to come along to the netwalking events?

Karen Perkins

So there's people from different community groups.

There's people from different social enterprises.

People who are starting up their business or people who've been in it for a long time.

Lots of experience and expertise, but I think what I have discovered about this particular netwalking is that people are very sharing and helpful, which is very nice when you're on a networking event because it's nice to feel welcomed and you're not in competition.

So it doesn't feel competitive. It's helpful.

So we've seen people develop their businesses and over the years, how that's improved and they'll give you tips on funding and people have changed direction and they'll tell you how they did it.

There are companies launching new products and they'll ask for your tips or you can ask them how they did it.

So again it helps you develop your business in a friendly way.

But I think somebody who runs a gym in Kelham Island in a personal training service called Rory. He came to one of our walks and I know that he's met lots of people through it and he's developed various walks and all sorts of things.

So it is nice to see what comes from it.

And also I think people it's quite exciting for people because if they've not been to an area before, I'm a bit of a map nerd, so I do like exploring and going on interesting walks, so I will try and look for a good and interesting route, which might be scary because you're going up the side of a railway cutting, which you've never been up before.

But that's exciting, and you can see different aspects of the landscape there.

So the Neepsend walk's quite interesting if we get up to Wards End cemetery, and people go, I never knew there was a cemetery here before.

And in that excitement, they'll be talking about all their other things that they're developing as well.

So it sort of stimulates creativity, I would say, and chatting.

It's not threatening when you're walking alongside somebody. It's not like being in one of these speed networking things.

So hopefully, it's relaxing but productive.

Maybe 2 or 3, 4 miles, we do a sort of an hour's walk, half an hour out and back so it's not too onerous.

And then we meet for a coffee afterwards, and some people stay and some people don't, but that's all very relaxed. But we do try and go to new coffee venues, so patronise local businesses that have set up so that they get a bit of publicity as well.

So it's all trying to weave it into the local community.

Philippa Willitts

And speaking of local community, what made you choose Neepsend for the November walk? Because I know you move them around.

Karen Perkins

Because it's really interesting!

I think one of the things was that there's new government funding going into the housing developments in Neepsend. So it's good to show people that site, and also they might not know the other sites.

So we like to talk about those sorts of things because there could be opportunities in business for them.

So what's going on the ground, how they can influence it, make sure they don't knock it down and build something vile. You know, can they keep the existing architecture? That's right.

I think they should keep all those nice graffitis on the top of the tower on the Cannon Works. I've got loads of photos of that from the past.

I'm quite keen to see those sorts of things.

So the more you get people involved in an area, the more they can understand it.

They don't know you can walk along the canal. They might be frightened to do it.

So it's all those sorts of things that very interesting when we go on a walk.

We always try and find something that surprises people.

Philippa Willitts

And the sustainability aspect of it, is it that it is sustainability-focused businesses that come along? Is it more that anybody can come along, but there's a general topic of sustainability?

How does that play into it?

Karen Perkins

I think we wanted to create a safe, non-shaming network for somebody who wants to come along and ask those questions like, how on earth do I get my business to be sustainable? And make some connections without having to go along with a business plan and a sustainability action plan.

They can come along and find out some tips from people on how to make a start.

So, our motto is just make a start. There's no shame in having a small start in making your business sustainable.

Just do one thing or pick up litter or whatever you're going to do, just make a start.

So I think that's what we try and encourage. So some of them will have a fully integrated diversity, social inclusion, economic sustainability policy.

Well, that's great, but everyone can always learn from everyone else.

So you can say, well which consultant did you use to help you do this, or did Sheffield Sustainability Network help you do it? Where's free information?

So if someone can't afford the information, we can signpost them to free stuff. If they can, we can help them talk about, from people's experience, which consultants were on the ball.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. And even, like, where did you get plastic-free packaging for your products from? Anything like that, I imagine, is the kind of thing that somebody in that group will have an answer to.

Karen Perkins

Yeah. And that is very useful because it's a good shortcut.

I mean, if you're opening a cafe or a coffee van or something, if you can talk to 3 people who've either done it or know someone who's done it, they all have done the work for you and they're all desperate to say how good this particular organisation that supplies things are, and they're very keen and enthusiastic to share their tips.

So, yeah, it is very useful.

We usually ask people at the beginning to just share a sustainability win or a question that they want to ask.

So they can say that at the beginning whilst we go around the group.

So it's all very informal, but we try and manage it so that everyone gets a say.

If people want to join Sheffield Sustainability Network, they can just go to their website, sign up for the newsletter, and any events will just come forward from there.

And the Sheffield Social Enterprises Network is a big organisation in Sheffield, which provides support, development, programmes, seminars, training, all sorts of things for people setting up a social enterprise-type business.

Again, they've got a website. And it's free to come on these as well, which is good.

Philippa Willitts

Excellent. And if people want to find out about this specific event, I know it's on Eventbrite.

Karen Perkins

Yep. It's on Eventbrite.

We meet at 9:15, and we're meeting at Kelham Arcade Shopping Centre, which is Burton Road, where if anyone knows Depot Coffee, it's in that little bit there.

And then we're going for a walk for about an hour, and we're coming back to the Depot Bakery afterwards for a cup of coffee.

And we usually finish about 11 by the time everyone's had their coffee. Some people stay longer. It's up to people how long they want to stay.

There's buses to Neepsend, but you'll have to find out because they've changed the numbers recently. And there's on-street parking or the tram.

Philippa Willitts

And that's on 20th November. Yeah?

Karen Perkins

So that's Wednesday, 20th November. If you can't get to that one, we've got one on Wednesday, 18th December at Endcliffe Park. And then we've even got one ready for January in Weston Park.

It's amazing what you can find in those small areas that's interesting that people haven't noticed before.

And then we have a programme through the year.

Philippa Willitts

Excellent. Well, Karen, thank you very, very much.

That's been really interesting.

Karen Perkins

Yep. Well, it's nice to speak to you, and it's good to get the word out. And we just need to remind people to put your boots on because the canal path can be a tiny bit muddy sometimes, but we try not to take you down a really muddy route.

Philippa Willitts

Thank you.

Subscribe to the podcast at nunlocal.news or search for NUN Local on your favourite podcast player so you never miss an episode.

Philippa Willitts

Kelham Island Walks offers 2-hour walks around Neepsend and Kelham Island to learn about the history, art, industrial past, and current life in the neighbourhoods.

You can learn about the architecture, the people, and the stories of the area from a local resident and historian.

Anders Hanson from Kelham Island Walks is here. So, Anders, why did you start doing walks around Neepsend and Kellam Island?

Anders Hanson

So I did my first walk around 5 years ago. I've always been interested in local history no matter where I've lived. And I grew up in Sheffield, so I've always known quite a bit about Sheffield history, but have also lived in other places and also been interested to know a bit more about places that I've been in.

But, also, whenever I visited anywhere, I've always loved going on walking tours and thought they were a really good way of bringing a place to life and often thought when I went on them, I thought, I'd love to do something like that and wasn't sure it would ever happen.

But then Sheffield University got in touch with the community group in Kelham Island because of an event they were doing, and they wanted to bring some people down to Kelham Island and asked if there was anybody that they knew who knew about the history of the area.

And so I was suggested, so I did my first walking tour then, which I really enjoyed doing and got some brilliant feedback from and thought, well, maybe I should do this as a regular thing.

And was just about to start, then COVID came along, so it all went on hold for a bit.

But when things started opening up, I started to put on some regular walks.

And to begin with, I had so much interest Island, possibly because people being sort of shut up at home and so keen to go out and do things.

So I had to put some extra walks for a while to cope with the demand. So that was really positive.

I've also done things as part of the heritage open days that happens every September when buildings open to the public that aren't normally open. And there's also always quite a lot of walks as part of that.

And so I've then been doing them ever since, and now I do a mixture of publicly advertised walks that anyone can book onto. And, also, now increasingly getting quite a lot of private bookings of families, local companies, both of the universities in Sheffield have done things with them.

So it's been really positive.

And from the one walk, I now offer the 2 different walks and also work with somebody to also offer a third as well.

So if I could do this all the time, I would. But it's definitely something that I love doing and hoping it'll continue to grow.

Philippa Willitts

And I've noticed on your social media, you get local people doing the walks, and you get people who are visiting Sheffield doing the walks.

It seems like a real mixture of people want to come along.

Anders Hanson

Yes. It's mainly local residents or at least people from near Sheffield even if they're not actually from Sheffield itself. And probably not so much actually people necessarily who live in the immediate area.

I do get some people coming along, particularly people who've newly moved to Kelham Island and Neepsend who are keen to know more about the area they're in.

I also did have, on one of the walks, somebody who owns a factory in Neepsend, who came along because he felt that he ought to know more about the history of the local area, but largely, it’s people from other parts of Sheffield.

And, yes, I get a few from people visiting the city. I had some people on a walk last weekend who were from Winchester, and they said the last time they came to Sheffield, they went out to the Peak District. So this time, they thought they ought to do something a bit more urban.

But, I've also had a group from Sweden who were in Sheffield for the football, and they decided that they wanted to find something else that was on while they were here. Had a group recently from Germany, which was organised actually by somebody who was originally from Sheffield but has lived in Munich for the last 20 years and wanted to show people his home city.

Philippa Willitts

Amazing. You've got some walks coming up in November.

On 23rd November, you've got an art and studios tour. First of all, who is Simon Wigglesworth Baker, which is a spectacular name?

Anders Hanson

Yes. So Simon is a local artist and sculptor.

He lives in Neepsend. He's been part of Kelham Island Art Collective for a long time who are based on Ball Street and was one of their directors for a while. He's also a former art teacher taught at Stocksbridge School. I think he may have also been at other schools in Sheffield.

And he, is also vice chair of the Kelham Island and Neepsend Community Alliance, so very much involved local community.

And he, again, actually, was just asked by somebody once if they would be able to do a tour of the area talking about some of the art that you can see, some of which is street art, but, also, there's quite a bit that isn't, other things that you can see in the area.

So he just decided, as I was already running walks and already had a website set up, that I'd work with him so that he could put on walks more regularly to tell people a slightly different side to the area.

So I do the history, and he does the art.

Philippa Willitts

So what are some of the artworks people can see around Neepsend?

Anders Hanson

So probably some of the better-known ones are… probably the best-known one actually is the Pete McKee that's on Burton Road, of Frank the dog.

But there's also some others that I think are sort of quite interesting ones.

On the front of cutlery works, you've got a mural, which shows Mary Anne Rawson and Frederick Douglass. And Mary Anne Rawson was an anti-slavery campaigner, who was from Sheffield. She was born in a house on Green Lane.

So she's fairly local to the area, but there wasn't anything in the area remembering her.

So the artist, Katy Sett, decided that she wanted to do a mural to her, and Cutlery Works were also keen to have something outside their building.

So those are perhaps some of the, I suppose, fairly conventional, if you like, street art that you get in the area.

There's also things by Bubba 2000, who's done quite a lot in Sheffield. There's Phlegm, who’s also got piece of work on the riverside, which is a bit further along the river.

But then you've also got, things like there's some bronze plaques on the front of Green Lane Works in Kelham Island, which tell you quite a bit about the history of that building, which I also talk about on my Kelham Island walk as well as being part of the arts tour. And they were designed by something called Alfred Stevens or at least thought to be. Nobody seems to know for certain, but they tell you a bit about the history of that the factory that was there.

So it's an interesting insight into the history of the area as well as just being a beautiful piece of art as well.

Philippa Willitts

As you said, not all of the artwork in Neepsend is street art.

I'm a big fan of Church: Temple of Fun, and that is a fascinating work of art from start to finish.

What do you know about the artwork in there?

Anders Hanson

Yeah. So on the art studios tour, that that does go into Church.

The art in there was inspired by South American religious iconography.

So the wife of Oli Sykes, who owns Church. from the band Bring Me The Horizon, she's Brazilian, and so that was part of the inspiration for the art that's in there.

So when you go around, as well as the art itself, there's also a confessional booth in there as well.

So it's trying to create that South American religious feel, which obviously fits with the name.

But, also, the person who designed the building when it was built as a factory for company Samuel Osborn, this was the only industrial building that he ever designed, a man called William Hale.

But most of what he designed in Sheffield were churches, so that all ties together, really.

Philippa Willitts

That's really interesting. It speaks to the recovering Catholic in me.

So I know you don't personally lead this particular tour, but what is a piece of art in Neepsend that listeners might not know about?

Anders Hanson

Well, I'm going to pick 2 quite different ones.

One of them is perhaps slightly low key. People don't necessarily notice it maybe when they walk past, but it's on a utility box on the pavement on Neepsend Lane of a Heron. So it fits quite nicely with the natural history of the area as well.

And the utility boxes that are painted up all around Kelham Island and Neepsend were part of a project, which Simon Wigglesworth Baker was also involved with.

And so it's a way of trying to deter graffiti. So quite a lot of the utility boxes around the area have all been painted by different artists, many of them from Kelham Island Arts Collective, but also other artists from in and around this part of Sheffield.

So I think that one is just a really lovely piece of art, by somebody called Caroline McWilliams, who was also a local resident until fairly recently.

But the other one I’d pick out, which people perhaps might not think about, is very different.

So there's a set of lights on some Penistone Road where the pedestrian crossing goes over near Globe Works.

So a beautiful piece of metalwork designed to look a little bit like flames, which fits a little bit with the industrial history of Sheffield.

And it's by somebody called Paul Carruthers, who's done some other pieces of art in Sheffield as well.

And I just think it's obviously something very practical because it's a light, but also it's this beautiful piece of metalwork, which, again, fits with the history of Sheffield.

Philippa Willitts

Love it. I know the one you mean. It's quite… I don't even know. It stands out, and yet you can also completely walk past it without noticing it both at the same time.

Anders Hanson

Yeah. Yes.

Philippa Willitts

So on Sunday, 24th November, is the Neepsend walking tour. And this walk brings to life how Neepsend grew from a small hamlet by the river to a thriving working class community.

What can people expect to see on this tour?

Anders Hanson

So the tour starts off outside the Gardener’s Rest, which is quite a convenient place because, obviously, a lot of people know the pub, but also that particular location was right in the middle of the old village of Neepsend.

So unlike, say, Kelham Island, which just gradually grew across fields without there really having been an original heart to it as a community, Neepsend always had this

 centre to the area. And so all the streets around there, the area where it sort of opens out to from to the Gardener’s Rest was the middle of that village of Neepsend.

And the walk then goes from there, eventually crossing over Burton Road, Neepsend Lane, Harvest Lane.

And what I try and do is just bring to life what the area was like.

So it was an area which was really largely dominated by housing, actually, although it was the industry that came to the area that made the area grow and, in particular, the railways coming down the valley in the 1840s.

But I try to give people a bit of a glimpse into what it was like living in Neepsend at that time, and it was a really thriving area with, obviously, lots of houses but also lots of shops.

Certainly, Harvest Lane itself was a very busy shopping street. You had pubs. You had churches. There was a police station, the building which is still there now. It had its own cinema. There was also a swimming pool down at the far end down towards Bridge Houses.

So it was a really thriving community, and so it's changed a lot.

And a lot of that housing only disappeared in the 1960s, although there are a few of the houses still around, though not necessarily used as houses today.

So it's just trying to bring to life what it was like to be in that part of the city.

And I think although it's just over the river from Kelham Island, it's got quite a different history.

And I know certainly some people said to me, said, oh, well, is there a lot in Neepsend to have a look at? And, actually, there are all sorts of things when you when you when you go now and look for them.

So, hopefully, people come away from it with an idea of what Neepsend was like as an area as it was sort of developed over the years.

Philippa Willitts

I liked on your website you call Neepsend “Kelham Island's edgier twin”.

Anders Hanson

Yes. Yes. I wondered whether that was maybe over egging things a little, but I think it's yeah. Whilst I think Kelham Island has become more residential and become… I’m not sure sanitised is quite the right word, but it’s certainly changed quite a bit as an area, whereas Neepsend still has… I like the fact that it still has the industry and the working factories and the buildings in between, also where people are living.

And that's one of the things that drew me to the area in the first place.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. And just as there are new hospitality in particular type businesses popping up in Neepsend, there's still some of the makers who've been there for years.

Anders Hanson

Yeah. Yes. Yes. And, I mean, somebody I've got to know through doing the walks is the people who run Thomas Flynn, the saw manufacturer on Harvest Lane, and they're a company that has been in the area for just over 100 years, although not necessarily on that site.

So they're a very sort of traditional Sheffield industry, but it's still operating there. It's been in the same family for a long time.

Just along the road from there, you've got John Spur, which is now a company that makes cabinets. So they make things like the display cabinets you get in museums.

And so it's one of those things that people don't necessarily think of Sheffield having, but the buildings are there, the factories are there.

But you may not know from outside what it is they're doing them.

And John Spur has been around for a long time, but he's also that was an offshoot from a company called Stevenson Blake who were a type foundry that were based on Island Street, so on the hill between Kelham Island and Sheffield University.

So that's another company that's got quite a long history. And although they've changed what they've done over the years, the company is still thriving.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. And what does the tour tell attendees about modern-day Neepsend?

Anders Hanson

So I think it'll give people a bit of an idea of how the area is changing. Because people can see that some of the buildings that once had one purpose have now been put to an entirely different use.

So the walk ends at Alder bar on Percy Street, but that was a building that started off as a polish factory and then has been through various other industrial uses but is now a bar, which is a very 2024 use of a building in in in that area.

And, also, we also call at Yellow Arch Studios as well, which is another thing that’s helped raise the profile of Neepsend and the music industry in Sheffield.

So I think people will see how the area has changed.

But, also, I think one of the buildings that I also call out is Rutland Hall on Hick Street, which started off life as a building designed to provide sort of social, sporting, cultural activities for working-class people in the area and as a way of sort of helping. And it was run for a while by somebody called Helen Wilson, who was also part of trying to improve the lives of people within the city. She was involved with lots of other things within Sheffield.

But now the company that's in there, well, the organisation is called Interchange, and their role is taking children who've been excluded from school and trying to put them on the right path.

So it feels as though, although the organisations are different, there's also a bit of continuity as well.

So the area's changed. Some things have changed completely, but other things actually maybe haven't changed that much.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. There's a thread running through it, isn't there?

Anders Hanson

Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.

Philippa Willitts

And this may be an unfair question to somebody who's so full of Neepsend facts, but what's your favourite Neepsend fact?

Anders Hanson

Oh, I think the one that when I tell people they are surprised, and it's only a very sort of short thing as part of the walk, is one of the buildings that I point out is a company based on Rutland Way, in Neepsend called HD Sports.

And from the outside, it just looks like a warehouse, but it's a company that makes ice skates. They've been around for over 100 years in Sheffield.

And in the Winter Olympics 10 years ago, every medal winner had ice skates that were made in that factory.

Philippa Willitts

Wow!

Anders Hanson

And it's something that people might not think of Sheffield doing that sort of thing. But, actually, what's our ice skates made of? They're made of steel so that you can see how that industry grew up in Sheffield.

And it's just a very ordinary looking building. And whenever I tell people about it, they're always, oh, I never knew Sheffield did things like that.

So it's just taking something seemingly ordinary and making people realise that they're doing something extraordinary inside.

So I think that's probably the main one because of just the reaction you get from people when you tell them about it.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. I can imagine.

And I appreciate on your website that you include information for disabled people who might want to come along.

Why was that important to you?

Anders Hanson

I want everybody to feel welcome to come on the walks. I don't want anyone to feel that they can't come along for any reason, really.

But I think also it's partly something I realised when I started doing the walks. Some people did some did ask me questions before they booked whether they would be okay to go on the walk if they perhaps weren't able to walk as well. But, also, I have done a walk where somebody was in a mobility scooter, and that really made me realise quite how many places don't have dropped curbs. Places that I might normally cross the road wouldn't work with people if they've got more limited mobility.

So it was partly just to recognise that and to make sure people know that they're welcome.

But, also, if people have any particular needs when they go on a walk, then get in touch with me, and I can tweak the route or things like that just to make sure it works for them.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. As a disabled person, while it would be amazing if everything was perfectly accessible, I think most of us just want the information so we can make our own judgement.

And if the information is there and easy to find, it saves a lot of ongoing, constantly emailing people so yeah, no, I always appreciate that.

So if people want to come along to the art and studios tour on the 23rd or the Neepsend walking tour on the 24th or just to find out more about what you do, where can they do that?

Anders Hanson

So the best thing to do is to go to my website, which is kelhamislandwalks.com. And on there, you've got the dates of all the upcoming walks, and I add extra walks on every so often.

And you can find all the details there about what the walk involves. You can book there as well.

And, also, gradually, I'm going to start putting on there more little snippets of local history, which maybe I don't have time for on the walks as well. So people can see a little bit more on there with that as well.

Philippa Willitts

Brilliant. Well, thank you for joining us.

Anders Hanson

Thank you. Thank you, Philippa.

Philippa Willitts

Thank you for listening to NUN Local, and do subscribe at nunlocal.news to get every episode, out on the first of every month for more hyper-local Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, and Neepsend news.

NUN Local is a project of Scribble and Bloom, a social enterprise created to encourage self-expression as a way to improve lives.

Find out more about Scribble and Bloom Community Interest Company and its other projects, including zine-making workshops and Easy Read translations at scribbleandbloom.org.uk.

Then I speak to Beki Gibb from Oaklea Crafts about terrazzo, wreath and lino printing workshops, including what happens if you go, whether you have to already know how to do it, and what if you want to go but you’re nervous.

And finally, a conversation with Brian Holmshaw, the Green Party Councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Ward who’s also chair of the Central Local Area Committee. They have an upcoming event, all about green social prescribing, that he tells us about.

Timings

00:00 Intro

01:55 Tom Miller from Neepsend Social Club and Canteen

27:52 Beki Gibb from Oaklea Crafts

40:50 Councillor Brian Holmshaw

Transcript

Philippa Willitts

Welcome to the October episode of NUN Local, the hyperlocal podcast in Sheffield for Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, and Neepsend.

In today's episode, I talk to Tom Miller from Neepsend Social Club and Canteen about his business, about what you can expect from his Sunday roast, and about the challenges businesses in Neepsend are currently facing.

I also speak to Beki Gibb, who is the owner of Oaklea Crafts. She has some workshops coming up where you can go and learn different crafting techniques, and so she tells us all about that.

And then I speak to Brian Holmshaw, who is the Green Party Councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Ward, but he's also the chair of the Central Local Area Committee.

They have an event coming up, and he's here to tell us all about it.

Just before we jump into this interview with Tom Miller from Neepsend Social Club and Canteen, couple of points.

One is that we recorded on the 18th September. So that helps you position when the meeting was that Tom was talking about.

And secondly, NUN Local approached councillor Ben Miskell and Sheffield City Council to give them a chance to respond to the points that Tom made about the traffic and parking changes, but Ben Miskell and the council did not get back to us.

Now enjoy the interview with Tom, then Beki, then Brian.

Neepsend Social Club and Canteen is on Burton Road in Neepsend with events, pub games, craft beer, and good food.

Tom Miller from Neepsend Social Club and Canteen is here.

First of all, you call Neepsend Social Club and Canteen a modern reimagining of a classic social club.

What made you want to recreate that kind of nostalgic vibe?

Tom Miller

That's a very good question.

It's my business partner, Ben, who just happens to be my twin brother, but we have been in business for 8 years now doing various ventures. And this is the biggest and the latest.

It's just something that we have spoken about in the in the past, when we were kids, growing up in Chesterfield in the early years.

There's a rich heritage in this country and locally of social clubs, working men's clubs, that we just felt was something to really be proud of.

We came across the idea, stumbled into the idea vicariously through going to Denmark. We went to Copenhagen on holiday, just a little holiday, weekend away.

And as we do when we go to fun cities that are food led and things like that, hospitality led, go to all these different places and have a great time.

And then the idea starts whirring in your head and you think, oh, this thing's great. That thing's great. Why can't we… let's take this home. Let's do our own version of these kinds of things.

And we happened to go in a place called Absalon, which is essentially a Danish version of a social club. And we were like, oh, this is brilliant. Like, there's so many cool things about it.

The decor was amazing. They had all these wonderful events on, and it's really, really community focused, community led. They did loads of cool stuff like pay what you feel food nights, and things like that.

And the spirit of that place, we were really inspired by. We came back to Sheffield and were like, let's do a Danish version of a social club.

And then that idea percolated for probably a few months in our heads before we thought, hang about, we've got this rich heritage that I was just referring to, this rich heritage of social clubs and working men's clubs in this country anyway.

So the idea transformed into, let's really try and lean into that.

And if we're going to do something, let's try and pay homage to the heyday of the social club, which is the sixties, seventies.

And that's why we have this Wes Anderson type decor and style down here that we tried to make it as immersive as possible in terms of the decor.

And it’s born out of COVID as well. We all spent best part of two, if not more, years inside.

That focused the mind a little bit of what might be missing, what perhaps other hospitality venues… There's some absolutely amazing ones, but certainly in the bigger chain hospitality venues that we see so much of, whilst they serve a purpose, we felt like perhaps it's that getting around a community, getting around community spirit, is that something that's lost when you have a chain venue?

And we thought, well, almost certainly. Yeah.

So why not throw ourselves into a community, head first, and pay homage to all those good things that social clubs and working men's clubs of the past were so good at?

Coming out of COVID, let's finally be social.

We went on this journey of doing the research for it and the more we looked into it, of the history and heritage. I read some history books. I'm a bit of a history buff as my brother is. He read some history books on social clubs and working men's clubs.

And, yeah, the more we read into it, we were just like, wow, there's such a rich history here, especially in Sheffield, that we can try and celebrate and hopefully not step on the toes of, but pay homage to.

And so we thought let's go for it.

Philippa Willitts

And what made you choose Neepsend as your base?

Tom Miller

So Neepsend, looking back through the archives, because when we were looking for lots of things to put on the walls here, I went back through the archives and basically looked at every picture from years gone by.

And the transformation from what it was then to what it is now was crazy. It was really crazy to see.

You know, it was incredibly residential, but as with all those red brick Victorian factory buildings, you had a factory and then you had residential right next to it, which maybe wasn't the best idea in hindsight with all those chimney stacks, but that's what it used to be down here.

Seeing how different it was then to seeing it now was kind of inspiring, to be able to see what it was like in its heyday then as well.

So we thought things are changing around here as well. We have Cutlery Works, and you know, Heist Brewery, and Parrot Club, and Peddler Market, of course, is one of the OGs, and we've done a lot of work down here. We've been at Cutlery Works ourselves as the Gravy Train, the original incarnation of our business. And we'd done a lot of work at Pedlar Market.

So we kind of felt like we knew the area. There are already hospitality businesses. You know, I don't know if I'd have been brave enough to go out and do it by myself, but there are already hospitality businesses in the area that we really respected and thought were thought were great.

So it was being able to add to that culture that was starting to mature, I guess, around here.

To be another part of that would be, we thought it would be really fun.

And to put our own little stamp to be part of the culture would be amazing.

And we got we got offered this place, and it was a shell. It wasa, like a bric-a-brac antiques storage facility.

We got offered this place and did not know what we were getting ourselves in for at all, but jumped in head first and thought, well, we've got this opportunity.

It being a shell is obviously very daunting, but at the same time, it's gives you the opportunity to make it money permitting exactly how you want it to be. So, and as I say, then we started going through the archives and all that kind of stuff.

And it's like, wow, it's to try and see things are shifting around here. We're seeing that with Cannon Brewery, which is behind me, which is why I'm pointing this way.

Cannon Brewery is set for redevelopment. Planning permission was passed 8 weeks ago, something like that. So we might see that starting to change really soon. I hope we do.

It's not a residential place yet, Neepsend. It's not a particularly residential part of the city.

But to be here and see that transformation, there used to be a lot of community here in terms of residential, and there's not so much now.

If we can be here as we see some of that return, would be it would just be amazing.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense.

What can people expect if they pop down for a Sunday roast or pop down for a pint?

Tom Miller

Yeah. So sitting where I'm exactly sitting now, when it was a building site, we were doing head chef interviews, sat on bags of cement, and we had Jim, who is now our head chef. So he got the job.

He came in for an interview, and we sat and we talked for about 2 hours about food.

I'm a massive foodie, as is my brother. That's why we started doing street food stuff. When you find someone else who is this as passionate, or if not more passionate about than ourselves about food, it's a lot of fun.

One of the questions in the interview is what makes a good Sunday roast in your opinion?

What makes a good Sunday roast is a great question to ask us.

And we sat and spoke about it for a long, long time. And that's become the cornerstone of our Sunday menu.

So we're really proud of our Sunday menu. I've got my menu right here, so I'll refer to it. We always have a selection of meat on. So at the moment we've got top side of beef, pork, chicken, lamb, but we're also really proud of our… we've got vegetarian, vegan haggis, which is really, really lovely.

I always go overboard and have extras, and that is one thing I always have extra of.

So when you have 4 or 5 hours on a Sunday at home to make your own roast dinner, you can really perfect those little bits and bobs, all those little sides and that attention to detail.

You struggle to recreate that in a commercial kitchen at any point, especially on a Sunday when it can be busy and you're having to rifle through orders.

We're doing all we can to try not to lose that.

So we're really we're really proud of the Sunday roast.

Philippa Willitts

This episode will be coming out at the start of October. Do you have any events in October that listeners might want to come to?

Tom Miller

Yeah. So Friday this week, we have got Sky Sports going in. So we've just had TNT and installed last week, and now we've got Sky Sports.

We're quite fortunate in the layout of the of the club itself in that… well, fortunate and then unfortunate. You can see it two ways, but it's quite long. So we're able to split it up into sections a little bit.

So whilst we're keeping the food-led lounge side of things, at the front, when you first walk in, the first half of the building, we've got our game streaming with darts and table football at the back.

And now we've got two TVs down there. So now we're able to show all of the Champions League, the EFL games, and all that kind of stuff. So as well as all the various other sports, rugby, golf, tennis, whatever you name it.

So, yeah, that's really exciting to see that go in.

We've also got our weekly Bullseye quiz. I don't know if you've seen online. I basically dress up like Jim Bowen and, yeah, bold cap and ill-fitting suit every week.

It's a speed quiz. So it's answering questions on your phone. Each team then comes up and throws darts based on how they perform in the quiz.

So it's incorporating doing well in the quiz, doing well in darts, and there's prizes for both. And then someone goes for the jackpot every week.

We've had 3 winners. We had no winners for such a long time, and I was desperate for someone to win it. And then we've had 3 winners in the space of two and a half months, something like that. We've had 3 people get it.

So lots of money being given out.

And then, yeah, the end of October or maybe first weekend of November, we've got 7x7 on.

7 people bring 7 vinyls, and they play their vinyl on the decks here. So it's a come and play what you feel kind of kind of thing, and it brings a really, really lovely crowd.

Everyone's so nice. We love 7x7 nights. It's just I think 7x7 perfectly epitomises what we're trying to do here and the nice people that do come in. That's what we've got coming up.

Philippa Willitts

And I'm hearing a lot about the parking situation in Neepsend.

Tom Miller

Thought you might say that. Yes.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. Tell me about the double yellows and how that's affecting you and others in the area.

Tom Miller

Yes. It's an interesting moment that you asked this question because a feature went out on Look North last night. A feature went out on BBC Radio Sheffield yesterday morning.

We had a conversation with Sheffield City Council on Monday at Cutlery Works, but a lot of the businesses in the area that have been affected by the parking situation all got together at Cutlery Works. And there was I don't think you can call it a consultation. It was the council and councillor Ben Maskell, I think his name is.

Philippa Willitts

Miskell, I think.

Tom Miller

Miskell. That's it. Yeah. Describing their plans for the area, for Kelham and, Neepsend, and West Bar. Yeah.

It was a fraught and emotional conversation.

Personally, from a hospitality perspective, and I've seen this backed up by anecdotal conversations I've had with other hospitality owners in the area. You know, we've seen, essentially to the week that the parking changes went in, we've seen a drop in our sales of 35%, which is pretty galling.

It's pretty galling.

I have to say we've been working… Everyone, all of our staff have been down here and so many other people in the area have been working so hard to create something good for the city to create a little jewel in the crown.

And that's us hospitality businesses that are sort of like, in the in the grand story of Neepsend and Kelham and West Bar, that we're just the latest chapter, but there's businesses that have been down here for hundreds of years, hundreds of years, toolmakers, artisan makers down here that have been here for a long, long time and they're being adversely affected in different ways than we are, but it all relates to a loss in trade.

And we're feeling the sharp end of that.

And we can see year on year sales compared to last summer to this summer.

We can't wholeheartedly say that the whole reason for the drop in sales is because of this, but the data is heavily skewing towards it. And when I talk to other operators and other owners in the area, they are feeling the same.

So yeah, what the council are doing is wanting to pedestrianise the area to some degree, to make it safer for pedestrians, to make it safer for cyclists, make it safer for disabled people for access, reduce emissions in the area.

All of those things, I can wholeheartedly get behind, and we all do.

The ultimate irony of it is that we all support what they're trying to do.

I think the way in which they're trying to do it is at warp speed, and we need… as I was able to explain when they finally let me ask my question on Monday, was that there's a lot of incredible businesses down here, but pretty much all of them are small business, small enterprises.

And whilst we have energy and creativity in spades, one thing that we don't have, pretty much universally amongst all of us, is deep pockets.

And to be able to sustain a drop in sales of the amount that we're talking about is really hard.

And we've already seen some operators have to pack up and go. Andy from Reyt Good Illustration just next door but one to us. Yeah. He's had to go, and it was a quick turnaround.

And that's the thing. Like, we can't sustain big punches.

We just cannot. And to be expected to do that by the council… the council are saying they want to increase the active travel and essentially the footfall is going to come from people cycling and walking and getting public transport.

Well, lovely idea. Absolutely love it. Support it wholeheartedly, but that needs to come in lockstep with these parking changes.

We are a destination, especially Neepsend. Kelham Island's got the Little Kelham development down there. So there is more residential down there.

But for Neepsend in particular, we are so reliant on people coming to visit us from further afield because we aren't residential yet. That will come, but we aren't there yet.

The councillor was saying about his grand plan, their grand plans for the area, which again sounded good, but he's talking about, oh, there's going to be a Neepsend tram stop, which would be great. It would be great, but how long are we talking? You know?

A Neepsend tram stop that links up the tram network is going to be 10 years from now. And when you see operators having to pack up in a matter of matter of months or even weeks, that's no good to us.

So that's absolutely no good to us.

So we're in the process of writing an open letter, my brother and I. Open letter to the council that hopefully we can get some backing of other local businesses.

I'm sure they will because there was some particularly upset people in that room on Monday.

And I think we need to crystallise what our aims are, but from our perspective, they're putting a pedestrian crossing in here. Amazing. It's been needed for such a long time because it's been dangerous to cross at that Rutland Road, Burton Road intersection there.

It's been dangerous. So we need that.

We need double yellow lines on junctions because there's been a lot of reckless parking because the parking hasn't been great down here. There's been a lot of reckless parking and people parking on the corners. So it's difficult to pull out.

All of those things, sensible changes that needs to happen.

But, yeah, they've taken away a lot of parking down here.

And anecdotally, what we're hearing from so many customers is they're coming in and saying, I can't find anywhere to park, that took me ages, and they're late for bookings and all that kind of stuff.

And ultimately, what that means is they're going to go somewhere else, and they're going to go somewhere else because it's less of a pain to find somewhere to park.

And I mean, that's what we're seeing. We're seeing the facts and the figures and the graphs every week of what adverse effect that’s had on us.

It's a very delicate ecosystem down here. It's an amazing ecosystem, but it's very, very delicate.

And I think Sheffield City Council are incredibly short sighted to think that they can make these changes and not expect there to be significant economical scarring in the area.

So on top of trying to run this business and work out how it all works and all the other hospitality operators in the area, that's also what they've got to try and mount a fight with the council.

So, interesting times to say the least.

Philippa Willitts

And as a disabled person who can't cycle or walk any distance, I don't know how I'm meant to get there now. I don't know what's meant to happen.

I can't, like most people, can't afford to be getting taxis for short distances when I don't need to.

Like you, I agree with the principles. I agree with the bigger picture.

But there's got to be ways to do it that aren't so detrimental to the organisations down there and the people who want to come down there.

Tom Miller

100%. And it's the ultimate irony, isn't it? As you say, for someone like yourself these are the things that again, I've heard from other people, and it just beggars belief.

And, yeah, all of us are behind the sentiment. All of us are behind the sentiment, but it's got to be done in lockstep with these changes.

And if public transport is what is going to happen and they might be increasing public transport, then it's like, well, from our perspective, that should be done in lockstep with those changes.

So if you're going to massively decrease the parking opportunities for people round here, then public transport needs to be ready to go.

You know, those alternatives, we can't… they keep talking about people altering their behaviours and their behaviour changing so that people have got to get used to walking, cycling, and getting public transport.

The infrastructure needs to be there. First and foremost, the infrastructure needs to be there.

Personally, we're not Wetherspoons. We can't sustain those hits and wait something out, and that's the same for everyone around here.

The infrastructure needs to be in place so that people like yourself can make it in comfortably, safely, and you don't have to get seven buses or whatever it might be.

It needs to already be there.

And then we need time for people's behaviours to also… we need a marketing campaign from the council to say these are the changes that have happened down here. Because we've tried, and we're trying to market to people and say, post on social media, post that on our website. And we've all got together as the businesses and posted about, okay, you can't park here now, but here's where you can park. It's a 9-minute walk away or whatever. And that's really difficult for some people, they won't be able to do it.

And it's all well and good saying that behaviours will change. Well, if something is a 9-minute walk away when they could just pop to their local pub or whatever, and we rely on those people to come in, where are they going to go? Where are they going to go?

And if the infrastructure isn't there, the public transport isn't in place yet, or is it coming at all?

I don't know because we basically are served by largely 1 or 2 buses, but that largely go the same route.

So in terms of public transport, we're not served well.

So it just seems incredibly short sighted. And, yeah, we're not going to go… I say go down without a fight. You know, that's probably drastic talking, saying we're going down, but certainly the reality for a lot of people is that they are seriously hampered in their abilities to do what they have been so good at doing.

And one thing we tried to make clear to the council on Monday as well was you've got a lot of very creative hospitality people in particular down here and heavier industry people have been down here for a long, long time.

As a business, speaking as a business owner myself, it takes an incredible amount of energy and graft, and we’re still here 8 years later.

And it's taken everything that we have to get here and sustain that.

And I don't know if it were to be the case that we couldn't… that this was something that ended up being fatal to us or other businesses. I know, personally speaking, I would find it very difficult to pick myself up on the floor and do it all again.

And if I was going to do it, I wouldn't be doing it in Sheffield because I would be scared that the council would come along and do something similar.

I understand they have a job to do, and I understand their budgets are tight, but they need to have a long, hard look in the mirror.

Philippa Willitts

And it sounds like you've got good relationships with the other business owners in the area.

What would you say is the best thing about Neepsend?

Tom Miller

The best thing about Neepsend, I'd say, is its spirit.

I think there's a there's an opportunity down here to come in and do things that are different to other places.

And you might have places in different parts of the city and different cities across the UK, whatever, hospitality specific areas, where things are done how they've always been done or things follow a certain pattern and a certain trend.

And I just love down here that it's people come along, it's like the wild west in a way, where people come down here and they will experiment.

They're willing to be experimental.

And it's just really, for us personally, it's really amazing to be surrounded by other people who think similarly, other people who are incredibly brave and bold to go and do those things.

And all of that adds to an incredible spirit down here. Some people will see another hospitality business moving in next door and think, well, that's competition. But I think, from my perspective, especially, I see that as I've just adding to what is a great environment. It's just adding to that.

It's a real nice community feel and, yeah, long may that continue.

And there's nothing to unite people like taking on a local council.

So, yeah, I'm sure we're going to become even faster friends than we already are.

Philippa Willitts

I think in most circumstances, we benefit more from collaborating than competing generally.

Tom Miller

Absolutely.

Philippa Willitts

So where can people find out more about Neepsend Social Club and Canteen?

Tom Miller

We just got a fantastic website done. I Itried to do a website before, and I failed miserably. So we've just had that sorted out.

So that's neepsendsocial. com. You can check out our events on there, Christmas stuff, menus, and all that kind of thing.

So yeah, you can head to neepsendsocial.com, and then, or basically all of our socials. So Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, or x, I should say, are all @Neepsendsocial.

Philippa Willitts

Amazing. Thank you so much for talking to me.

Tom Miller

No problem. It's been a pleasure.

Do you have a story about Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, or Neepsend you want to tell? Find our contact details at nunlocal.news or say hi on social media.

Philippa Willitts

Beki Gibb is the owner of Oaklea Crafts, and she delivers workshops in various locations in Sheffield and beyond.

She can teach you to do lino printing, to make terrazzo pots and trinket trays, to do macrame, and to make Christmas wreaths.

Reviewers say that her workshops are engaging, enjoyable, and people are really chuffed with the things they create.

Upcoming events include a lino print workshop at Cutlery Works and a terrazzo style event at Church. There are also Christmas wreath events coming up at both of those venues in December.

Beki, have you always been a crafty person, or is it something that you came to as an adult?

Beki Gibb

Yeah. I've always been crafty. I've always loved making things as a child. You know, if I see something that I wanted, I'd try and make it. I can remember wanting to make the swing that, what's her name, Truly Scrumptious has in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang swung on. And looking back, it wasn't particularly great, but I'd see it and try and do it.

My parents are quite crafty as well, so I've always tried to make things or just bought kits of things to try and have a go at.

Not all of them worked, but you just have to have a go.

Philippa Willitts

You do. And that's part of it, isn't it? It's about the process as much as what you create, I always think.

Beki Gibb

Definitely.

Philippa Willitts

And Oaklea Crafts has been around since 2012. Has it always been mostly workshops? Do you also make crafty things to sell or anything else?

Beki Gibb

It's always been about the workshops. I do make stuff, but I don't really have the time to make things to sell as well. I work 4 days a week, and I've got 2 kids as well, and, obviously house, garden, etcetera, etcetera.

But I do the workshops because I love teaching. I'm a teacher, and I love teaching, and I love being able to show people how to create something.

And like you say, the process of it, it’s not just about the final thing. It's about understanding how to create something and then just having a go and seeing what happens.

The workshops are very much about coming and having a go.

Being a teacher, you get a lot of kids that say, I can't do this. I'm no good at that, etcetera, etcetera, parents as well. And it's always about, say, well, anything that's practical has got to be practised to be able to get better at it.

I always say I'm not very good at singing, but without practising, then you can't necessarily just pick up an instrument, basically, and be able to play it. And it's the same with doing anything artsy or crafty.

You don't necessarily be able to pick it up and be able to create the thing you want in your head straight away.

Philippa Willitts

And I think grown ups are often worse than children for… I think children are often more willing to give something a go.

Whereas as adults, we feel like we have to be good at something to even try.

Beki Gibb

Yeah. Yeah. I think so. And that's part of where the workshops came about.

So it's called Oaklea Crafts because I lived in a house that was called Oaklea at the time.  They started off with a wreath workshop, actually. Friends and friends of friends.

And I always had the idea that when my second daughter went to school, I would try and set up a business doing these workshops.

But I decided rather than do it at home, I'd like to do it in bars in Sheffield because there's obviously people that are craftspeople and they do workshops, which is fantastic. And you're going someone is a practitioner, like a jeweller or a ceramicist. Which is great.

But some people may not think that they can do that, like you say, and it's quite expensive and it's quite a lot of time.

So my USP, I suppose, whatever you want to call it, was that I wanted the workshops to be affordable, as affordable as it can be, to be between 2 to 3 hours and in a bar that I quite like the atmosphere of.

So already the bar was creating the atmosphere rather than me having to create the atmosphere in my home. And just little things like, obviously, there's toilets there. People can get drinks and do what they want.

So that was where the idea came from in doing them in bars, in Cutlery Works and Church: Temple of Fun.

And then, obviously, people like going to those places anyway. So it's just doing something a little bit different whilst you're there rather than going to an art space to be arty or crafty, if that makes sense.

So that was the kind of idea behind doing the workshops, which is where it started.

Lots of people that do them have never done the craft before, or they might have done lino printing, for example, but done it at school. And said, obviously, it's about 30 years ago. And so just trying to hopefully have a good time and be pleased with what people have made at the end of it.

Philippa Willitts

So tell me about lino printing. How does it work, and what kind of things do people create in lino print workshops?

Beki Gibb

They create the lino print block by using lino tools and carving out… you take away the negative of the image. So the positive is what the ink is on, which is then transferred onto 2 brown postcard size and 2 white postcard size cards, and they'll create the block that they can then take home and use to reprint again and then make the cards and the postcards as well.

In terms of the images, I do take some images along. The ones that are nearer Christmas, I have some Christmassy images. The other ones are a few botanically type ones, and I just take a mixture of images.

But then some people come with some ideas that we can then talk through, we just sort of decide how it would work best.

Philippa Willitts

Amazing. And what is terrazzo?

Beki Gibb

So that, again, like I was talking about macrame, is traditionally from Italy, and it came about from using the old or broken tiles and the chips of it and mixing it together to create other tiles or wall or floor surfaces.

But the terrazzo workshops that I do are a cheaper, less fancy version. Using jesmonite resin, which is a non-epoxy resin. It's not as potent. It's a chalk-based resin, basically.

At the workshops, I make all the different coloured chips, and then people can choose what colour they want their base colour to be and then choose the chip colours that they want, and then they mix it all together and pour it into a mould.

So it's either a pot or I've got hexagon or square moulds that people can use as trinket trays or coasters.

And then there's a bit of drying time, and then you finish it off using wet and dry paper to take back the layer of the resin to show the chips.

It's a bit like looking for treasure at the end.

Philippa Willitts

I really like the look of the hexagon ones in particular on your photos. I think they look great.

Beki Gibb

Thank you. I always love the workshops because everyone just makes such different things and mixes really nice colours.

You know, everyone's so different. It's always quite nice to see what people create, the colours that they mix, colours that I wouldn't necessarily put together, and they're all very different.

It's like that with all the workshops, actually. That's one of the things I love the most. That's one of the things I love about teaching, actually.

You demo something or you talk about something, then it's like, off you go. It's your turn. Have a go.

And the outcomes are all very different and very individual.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. I bet.

So if people come to one of your workshops, what can they expect?

Beki Gibb

Well, hopefully, they will enjoy it. And quite often, there's lots of people that come on their own and end up chatting to other people.

Some people come as a group. So having quite a nice, chilled night with friends that they've come with and hopefully enjoy what they're doing and are pleased with what they take home.

But then quite often, some people just might say, it's not turned out how I expected, but I've had a great time and enjoyed it. And some people want to do something else, like ask me about packs and things like that, to then take it home and do a bit more at home. But at the workshop, just have a go at creating something that they may not have done before, or done and maybe just want to have another go at it, but not necessarily have to buy all the stuff first.

Philippa Willitts

And I'm somebody who likes creating pretty things, but I can't draw. And so I find that crafts are so much more accessible than strictly arty things.

And I'm also far less likely to feel like an absolute failure when I do a craft project.

So if somebody is intrigued but is doubting themselves or their abilities, what would you say to them?

Beki Gibb

I would say, come and have a go, and I will try and show you how to do the thing, whichever workshop it is, say it's lino printing, and we can talk through ways or all the ideas that you've come with. Or if you haven't come with any ideas, I can give you some ideas and show you how to do the process and just explain, like I said before, that it's not always about it looking the best.

You know, if you wanted something that was pretty and perfect, you could go and buy it. There's so many things out online. You know, you could look on Etsy and buy a terrazzo pot, and there you go. You know?

And that might look perfect to you. That's the one you've seen. That's the one you chose, and that's the one you bought.

But it's about the fact that you've made it yourself. So that's kind of what not what it's about. it's about creating yourself. And the same with drawing, like I said before, everyone can draw.

It's just how much you practice, but how much you practice it. Like I said with me singing, I can sing. This might not be as pleasant as other people's voice, but I can still do it. If I practiced it, it would be better. Same with you with drawing.

Philippa Willitts

So is there a particular kind of person who tends to come to your workshop? So is it quite varied? Like, are people already very crafty, or do you get complete beginners?

Beki Gibb

Yeah. It's very very varied. You know, I get some people that that are really crafty that bring friends along that aren't particularly crafty, or I get people that come along just because they're trying to do something for themselves a little bit and have a bit of time where they're doing something, creating something. You know, they book that time in that that's just about them a bit a bit of wellbeing. I just did a workshop at a place called Grapevine Wellbeing Centre in Buxton, and that's what that's very much about. It's funded and the people that come along are carers and from various different professions as well. But it's just that time where they have a couple of hours and it's just doing something for them and having that time, that space.

I've done hen dos as well, so that's a real mix of people.

And I think because of the place I do them in and how people find them, so some's on Eventbrite, but some's through Church: Temple of Fun's website, and some's through Cutlery Works.

And so, yeah, they're different people that come together, I guess.

Philippa Willitts

And if you're at home and you're in a crafty mood yourself, what's your favourite go-to craft project to spend some time on?

Beki Gibb

That's a really difficult question. That's really difficult because I like trying all sorts of things. I'm a bit of a jack of all trades. My degree was in jewellery and silversmithing, but I'm now an art teacher, and I do these workshops.

If there is a small amount of time, there's lots of things I've got on the go at the minute, whether it's trying to fix a piece of jewellery or make something or a macrame piece I've still got in the cupboard, or I've got a terrazzo thing that I've done for a friend for a birthday, which I haven't quite finished yet.

So there's various things on the go at the same time.

Philippa Willitts

Eclectic.

Beki Gibb

Yeah. Basically.

Philippa Willitts

And if people are interested in coming along to one of your workshops or if they just want to find out more about Oaklea Crafts, where can they do that?

Beki Gibb

I've got a Instagram page and a Facebook page.

My workshops are also on the events pages on Thornbridge Estate and Cutlery Works, and Church: Temple of Fun, and the Grapevine Wellbeing Centre. There's information on those as well.

And I post the workshops on Eventbrite too, so there's information on there. And my email's on there as well if there's anyone that wants to email me further about inquiries. So any of those platforms.

Philippa Willitts

Well, thank you so much, Beki, and I hope the upcoming workshops go really well.

Beki Gibb

Thank you very much.

Subscribe to the podcast at nunlocal.news or search for NUN Local on your favourite podcast player so you never miss an episode.

Philippa Willitts

Brian Holmshaw is the Green Party councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Ward.

He is also the chair of the Central Local Area Committee, which is why he's talking to us today.

So, Brian, first of all, what is the Central Local Area Committee?

What does it do?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Some of it sounds as though it's not very central because it covers 4 wards. So it's Broomhill and Sharrow Vale. There's the city ward, which is a very central area. You've also got Walkley and Hillsborough, which sounds as though it's a bit on the edge.

Philippa Willitts

It does.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

But it’s part of the central. And we have events that are held 4 times a year with the first one of those, coming up, on October 3rd, which is this Thursday. And it's going to be at Yellow Arch.

I can tell you a little bit more about what we do.

Philippa Willitts

Yes, please.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

We have some public questions, which are part of what we do.

Our approach in Central LAC, which is perhaps slightly different to what some of the other places do, our approach is to theme our meetings.

Earlier this year, we had parks, woodlands, and open spaces as a theme. We've also had engagement on the city's new cultural strategy.

One of the most interesting ones was, it was very hard-hitting event based around making Sheffield an anti-racist city. That was one where we it was the most well attended event we've ever had, with over 100 people from very diverse communities in Sheffield attending and being involved.

The thing we also do, which is perhaps a bit differently to the other LACs, is that we have, discussion and feedback tables.

So we have up to six of these, different themes, and they're all facilitated by people who know the subject. And that can be people on the city council, or it could be some of our partner organisations, such as the Wildlife Trust or maybe training advisers, depending on what the subject is.

We do a lot of discussion on these tables, and then that gets fed back to the relevant council committee and to partner organisations.

So it doesn't just go nowhere. So, you know, it's not in a kind of vacuum.

We gather the information, and then we feed it on.

And it's very important in to do that because that helps to develop some trust between the council and local people.

Philippa Willitts

And between the events, what kind of things…? What's the purpose of the local area committees? What kind of work do they do?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

So between these events, we, distribute funds. So there are up to £100,000 for each LAC.

Spread over 4 wards, that's not a lot, but it is extra funding in addition to the ward pots, which each ward area has.

We distribute that. We get feedback from local people about what they want.

Philippa Willitts

And this event on the 3rd October, what's the theme of the event this time?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Oh, the theme is health and wellbeing. We're going to go for this time, and we're going to focus on what's called green social prescribing. you're going to ask what that is, aren’t you?

Philippa Willitts

I'm going to ask what green social prescribing is. Yes.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Well, for those that are unsure about this, it's about supporting people to engage in nature-based activity, and that's to improve their mental and physical health.

So it's connecting people to, for example, community groups or agencies for their practical and emotional support.

It involves what are known as green and blue activities. And those colours are important because what the green is for is for open spaces and blue for rivers, which, of course, is really important in Sheffield. Yeah. We've got these amazing rivers around us.

And it's perfect for the area where we're holding the next event because you've got the Don down in that area.

It could include green gyms. There could be arts or cultural activities that are held outdoors, community gardening, or maybe local walks.

Thursday will be all to do with them.

Philippa Willitts

And there's going to be a number of organisations present, aren't there? Can you tell us a bit about those?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Some of the things that we've got, we've got a presentation on how nature activities can boost your health, and that's been hosted by Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust.

The Boundary Climbing Centre is coming in to share how you can get involved in climbing activities.

Percy Street Collective are going to be telling us about their garden restoration project, which is being held at Zest.

And we've got a mental health support group called Mental Mate.

There's lots of interesting activities to do.

We've also got some sexual health support workers who will be in to provide advice. Free blood pressure checks, and those stalls and activities to join in with.

I was thinking about this earlier, and it seems to me what we've actually got here is more like a health and wellbeing fair.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. The first episode of this podcast, almost by accident, was very green focused. I spoke to the Ponderosa Nature Group. I spoke to somebody about the street trees. I spoke to KINCA and Sheffield Museums about the nature in Neepsend.

And we do have a lot of green spaces, even so close to the city centre. And combining them with health and wellbeing seems like an ideal kind of mashup, really.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Yes. Sounds great. Yeah. The word mash up. Yeah.

You mentioned about green spaces. There are some, but what there are, they're quite narrow.

They're narrowly focused along the rivers, aren't they?

Philippa Willitts

Yeah.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

And I think we do need more of those.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. And we have the Ponderosa as well. Yeah. And which is narrow in a different way. And, also, there's a little there's an Upperthorpe peace garden just kind of behind Zest, a little but lovely little space. But yeah.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

One of the things that would be great, actually, on this theme sorry. We're going off slightly off.

Philippa Willitts

Go for it.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

But, would be to make sure we integrate wildlife corridors into our plans for the future in the city.

Philippa Willitts

So can you explain what wildlife corridors are?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

The wildlife corridors allow access for different animals and also plants as well. So you've got flora and fauna, being able to get from one part of the city, say, the outskirts into the city centre, which I think helps us all, doesn't it? You know, when we see these animals around us. Yeah.

So that's wildlife corridors.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. Quite often around Netherthorpe and Upperthorpe, you see squirrels that have clearly got lost from the Ponderosa. There's a lot of squirrels in the Ponderosa, which is gorgeous.

And then you see them half a mile from there, and it you just feel like, oh, how do I get you back?

Tom Miller

Yeah. Yeah.

Philippa Willitts

But you can't.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

I mean, hopefully, with enough trees, they've got a kind of arboreal access, haven't they? You know, if you just see what I mean, it's like you they can go from branch to branch, and then end up back at where perhaps where their home is.

Philippa Willitts

Yes. So I know you're not a councillor for Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, or Neepsend, but I also know you grew up in Crookesmoor, so you must know the areas fairly well.

So what do you think are the biggest challenges facing these communities?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

I did speak to the to some of the ward councillors to try and get their ideas on this.

And what they said what probably the major issue is, poverty and also lack of services as well.

So those two things you where you've got a poor community, but you've also got one that doesn't have enough of those services that they want.

And that would probably include things like, doctors and locally run shops. Because otherwise, you just get you get your corporates.

You're going to need more services as there's more housing going up.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. When I spoke to somebody from Neepsend, he was saying that one of the challenges… it's kind of really exciting that there's going to be these new residential developments, but the lack of provision currently won't sustain. You know, there needs to be a doctors and a dentist if there's going to be considerably more people living in the area.

And similarly, I think there's Upperthorpe. In terms of GPs, there's the GP surgery in Upperthorpe, but that's kind of it for the immediate area. So yeah. Yeah. I agree.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

And like most GPs, they'll be incredibly stressed.

Philippa Willitts

Completely. Yeah. Yeah.

And what do you think is the best thing about Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, or Neepsend?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Again, I've had a think about this one. And I do know the area. I've visited a few times. I've visited out of curiosity, really, as much as anything because, my great grandfather lived in Neepsend.

Philippa Willitts

Oh, wow.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

And he lived on Percy Street. I've checked through the census, and he lived on Percy Street and worked at the, Neepsend Rolling Mills, oddly enough, when that was in operation.

So I’ve visited numerous times. Small businesses are actually one of the best things I think about in the area. Albion works, the micro pubs, peddlers market weekends. These are all really good stuff. Yeah.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. So if people want to come along to the event on the 3rd October, where can they find out more?

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Yes. So, Philippa, probably the best way to get in touch is through email, and that would be centrallac@sheffield.gov.uk. And they will be able to get back to you with more information.

There's a video that we've produced, which gives a bit more information.

Philippa Willitts

Amazing. And I will be posting about it on the NUN Local social media as well, so you can always check there for the flyer and for any information you need.

Brian, thank you so much. That's been really, really useful.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

That's wonderful. If I can just finish off with something. So we've got this event that's coming up on Thursday, but we have 4 events a year.

And we try and hold them in different wards. So we rotate it around.

So the next one after this will be the end of November.

And we're really excited because we're working with the University of Sheffield Students Union, and we're going to have a youth focused event for the Students' Union.

28th November is the date for that one. So please, also, people, keep your eyes open for that. And you're all welcome.

Philippa Willitts

Thanks very much.

Cllr Brian Holmshaw

Thank you.

Philippa Willitts

Thank you so much for listening to episode 2 of NUN Local. Make sure you go to nunlocal.news to subscribe to the podcast so you get the next episode that will go live on the 1st November.

NUN Local is a project of Scribble and Bloom, a social enterprise dedicated to encouraging self-expression as a way to improve lives. Find out more at scribbleandbloom.org.uk

In its inaugural episode, NUN Local dives deep into the rich tapestry of community life, featuring interviews with local residents who are driving change through various initiatives.

Subscribe now

One project highlighted is the Ponderosa Nature Group, dedicated to enhancing the natural beauty of the Ponderosa Park, full of rich biodiversity that not enough people know about. The group is on a mission to raise awareness and get more people involved, organising events like the Ponderosa Harvest Festival to engage the community and recruit much-needed volunteers.

This episode also shines a light on other exciting environmental projects in the area. From colourful planters to flourishing wildflower meadows, we talk to KINCA and Sheffield Museums about an upcoming nature-themed event, the Kelham Nature Day and an art competition that celebrates the beauty of local nature.

Finally, there’s an interview with Dr Camilla Allen about her research into the World War One memorial street trees planted on Tay Street and Oxford Street by the Ponderosa, and elsewhere. We look at their history, and what happened during the infamous street tree debacle that led to the emergence of the Sheffield Street Tree Partnership, which reflects the community’s commitment to ensuring that the balance between urban development and environmental preservation is maintained.

NUN Local aims to be a platform for community engagement. We don’t just reflect on Sheffield’s rich history but also tackle contemporary challenges head-on, fostering ongoing dialogue about local initiatives that matter.

So, if you are looking to connect with your community, learn about inspiring projects, or simply want to stay informed about what’s happening in your neighbourhood, join the conversation and be part of a movement that celebrates and nurtures the heart of Sheffield.

Host

• Philippa Willitts

Guests

• Sue Peel - Ponderosa Nature Group

• Craig Wolstenholme - KINCA

• Brooke Hayes - Sheffield Museums

• Dr Camilla Allen - University of Sheffield

Time stamps

00:00 Introduction

02:06 Sue Peel – Ponderosa Nature Group, Ponderosa Harvest Festival

24:48 KINCA / Sheffield Museums / KINCA Art Competition / Kelham Nature Day

 45:50 Dr Camilla Allen on Memorial Street Trees

Transcript

Philippa Willitts

Welcome to NUN Local, Sheffield's first ever hyper-local podcast dedicated to news and stories for and about Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, and Neepsend.

That's where the NUN comes from: Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, Neepsend.

Make sure you get access to all future episodes by signing up at nunlocal.news.

There'll be an episode every month covering stories relevant to anyone who lives or works in Netherthorpe, Uppethorpe, or Neepsend, who visits the Ponderosa, or just wants to know more,

Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, and Neepsend are on the edge of Sheffield Centre.

We've got parks. We've got businesses. We've got community projects. We've got great people.

But you rarely hear about us, and NUN Local will help to change that.

This first episode is a very green episode.

First of all, I am speaking to Sue Peel from the Ponderosa Nature Group, and she's telling me about the work they do, the kind of nature that you can find in the Ponderosa, and all about the upcoming Ponderosa Harvest Festival.

Then I speak to Brooke Hayes from Sheffield Museums and Craig Wolstenholme from Kelham Island and Neepsend and Community Alliance (KINCA). They are talking about an upcoming event at Kelham Island Museum and all about the nature you can find around Neepsend.

Then I speak to Dr Camilla Allen, who appropriately was sitting under a tree in a park for this interview. That means there's the occasional background noise, but it felt apt for her to be there given that she was talking to me about Sheffield's memorial trees from World War 1 on Tay Street and Oxford Street just by the Ponderosa.

So I hope you enjoy this inaugural episode. Do sign up at nunlocal.news.

Here's my chat with Sue Peel.

Sue Peel is the treasurer of the Ponderosa Nature Group, and she's here on the podcast to talk about the upcoming Ponderosa Harvest Festival, what it is, and how to come along.

But let's start by talking about the Ponderosa Nature Group. Could you tell me a bit about what the Ponderosa Nature Group's all about?

Sue Peel

Yes. And thank you for inviting me, Philippa, to join you on your podcast.

Philippa Willitts

You’re very welcome.

Sue Peel

The Ponderosa Nature Group, we got together about 4 years ago now. And it was, and still is a relatively small active group.

But what brought us together was our desire to improve nature in our local area.

And we all have our different reasons for coming together on this. But, for me, it was retirement.

So very interested in nature, but I'd been working full time for a long time. Was trying to squeeze it in, you know, where I could, but other people are working and come along to join us.

And we'd, for me, personally, I got involved in bigger, let's say, actions, you know, to try and bring the government to appreciate the fact that we were in a climate crisis. And biodiversity loss.

And we felt that although it was good to actually take part, it was hard to realise any movement from those actions.

So we decided, well, what can we do more locally? And the Ponderosa was a park that really didn't have a group of volunteers that were focusing on it. There is a group for Crookes Valley Park and, ideally, or whenever they could, they would do a little bit in there.

But it's a big area as I'm sure you appreciate.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah.

Sue Peel

The council basically welcomed us with open arms and said, yes.

So we meet on a weekly basis every Thursday morning from half past 9 till round about half 11 to half 12. It's flexible.

We're always there. We're one of the few voluntary groups that are there every week. Even in snow and rain.

And, we all get a huge sense of wellbeing improvement and also social.

And it's lovely to actually see the park begin to benefit from it, and we get a lot of positive feedback from park users that we see when we're out and about.

Philippa Willitts

And when you meet up on a Thursday morning, what is it you get up to?

Sue Peel

Right. Well, we always have, as a weekly task, litter picking. And that has gradually become less and less, which is really positive.

I mean, we heard the theory that if you actually keep an area more free from litter, there is less that builds up because it’s sort of psychology in that you don't want to be the first person.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. And whereas if somewhere is already covered in litter, people might find it easier to drop something themselves.

Sue Peel

Yeah. Yeah. So that's always something that we do, and we always, by doing that, we cover all the areas of the park because, as well as the open grassland areas, there's quite a few wooded areas.

That enables us to actually look at things like any damages to trees, maybe through wind, weather, or broken branches, overgrowth on paths, you know, preventing a little bit of access.

And we can use that then to decide what we're going to do maybe for that morning.

So it's always litter picking. And then depending on the time of year, it's, it's different activities.

So in winter, it's more about woodland management. It's a great time to try and open up the tree canopy and let a little bit of light get into the understory.

Because the woods are about 30 to 35 years old now and pretty well established.

It's difficult to actually get the trees on a routine management plan. You know, the council are very strapped for resource.

So, in places, it's too shady, basically. So we're trying to stop all the young growth coming up and preventing woodland plants growing there.

So in winter, it's a great time to put in bulbs as well.

Philippa Willitts

Ah, yeah.

Sue Peel

And that's always a pleasure. Because then you're putting them in the ground, and you've got spring around the corner, and you're thinking, wouldn't it be great when we see these come up?

It's not an ancient woodland. So what we've done is we've planted in things that you would find in a in an old woodland.

So examples of that are snowdrops, wood anemones, for example. And we've waited to see what's there maybe being brought in by birds on the feet or through seed transfer.

So we're struggling with some of those things.

We've got wild garlic in there at the moment. That's doing very well. Wood anemones are a little bit more challenging. So we keep trying with those.

So, hopefully, you'll see a greater range of plants establishing themselves over time.

It's also the time of year, winter, where we go up and look at our bird nesting boxes.

Philippa Willitts

Oh!

Sue Peel

So, it's an annual clean of those to see if any maintenance is required.

We've probably got about 12 boxes in there now, each year, we add a few more.

And since we've put them up, we found that, basically, the all of them are being used. So the birds are obviously taking full advantage of them.

And what we do is make a record of if there is one that hasn't been used, and that happens the following nesting season, then maybe it's not in the right place.

Well, we'd look to move it.

Philippa Willitts

And what kind of birds nest in those boxes?

Sue Peel

It's mainly blue tits and grey tits that we've evidenced. And we can see them starting to adopt the boxes in early spring.

I mean, when it when you get the full leaves on the tree, it's really difficult to see what's going.

We’ve an owl box in there, but, that's probably a little bit more ambitious. And there's been no take up on that up to now, but we keep our fingers crossed about that.

Philippa Willitts

I'm all for ambition.

Sue Peel

We've also recently put in a wildlife pond, which is settling in really well. That's about 2 years old now.

So talking to the council ecologist, he's informed us from the start about where it should be put and what we need to plant around it. And also, he's brought in oxygenating plants from his pond that he knows are right for that environment.

Philippa Willitts

Oh, great.

Sue Peel

Yeah. We're really, thrilled at the minute because the water has cleared for the first time.

It’s taken a while. But it's getting established now. The oxygenators are doing their work.

And we now know what we need to do each, I would say, each late autumn. We have invested in a pair of waders, and I've been in there last year. That was mainly to get rocks out the bottom.

But, this year, we'll be starting to bring out things such as rocks and big sticks that don't want to be in there.

But, also, there'll be the time when we have to start thinning out the weed that's in there, and maintain some clear, surface water on top.

But, excitingly, we've got dragonflies and damselflies this year.

Philippa Willitts

That's incredible.

Sue Peel

Yeah. We've got water beetles as well on there, and we've also got some, nice plants coming through that we've not got before.

We seeded that area with 3 different wildlife flower mixes. So there was one that was suitable for the actual water area, the edge of it, such as water mint is coming through there now.

And then the next layer out was things that were happy with a marshy sort of damp bogginess, but maybe drying out at times.

And then the outer was more about a show of flower and colour to sort of say to people, yeah, this is going to be something, but it might look a little bit basic at the moment.

And then we've got some hedging going on there as well. Things like, hawthorn, hazel. Things that give nuts and berries to the birds as well as give a natural barrier and some protection, you know, and encourage wildlife to go in.

Wildlife loves water, but they need to feel, obviously, safe to go in there.

We've got that beautiful big bramble patch at the back, which is fantastic because you've got a good half of that actually protected and feeling very safe for things to come in and have a drink, you know, even in the middle of a relatively busy sunny day, you'll see things, there.

Birds are loving it, having a bath in there. You see magpies having a little bit of a wash and a brush up. We've even got a few rabbits coming in there as well now, which is amazing.

Philippa Willitts

That's brilliant.

Sue Peel

And back to spring, we're also looking after the orchard, established orchard. We've started a second orchard site off as well, which is a little bit further down from the top orchard.

So we're putting in new stock, new fruit trees. We're pruning and maintaining the existing orchard as well.

And that's sort of spring verging into early summer. We look after the plums a bit after we do the apples and pears.

And this high summer season is a bit of a rest, in a way, because everything's doing its thing.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah.

Sue Peel

The you're just getting ready for all the nesting season to be over and then thinking about what you're going to be doing moving into the in autumn winter.

But we've also put in 2 raised beds as well. So they're up by the orchard area, and we've got some lovely beans growing there and herbs and things now.

So, obviously, we're looking after them week by week and watering as necessary.

And we've also put in 2 flower meadows as well.

So it's pretty busy, really. You're never short of things to do, and it's varied.

It's very varied, which is great.

And there's all also an element of talking and planning and, you know, getting together, which is nice.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. Definitely. I always think the Ponderosa is a really special park. I think it's so varied. It's a weird shape. It's you never know quite what to expect, especially in the upper bit.

What do you think makes the Ponderosa special?

Sue Peel

I think it has a completely different spirit to the other parks in Sheffield. In that, as you said, Philippa, it's got a wild aspect to it.

It's in a very busy area on all sides, yet you can sit at the top of the park and look down through the grassland, you've got trees behind to the side of you. You've got a lovely view, and you just feel that you're away from everything, you know, in an urban setting.

So it's all little compartments. You've got the deep wooded areas, which are lovely to go in in high summer. Cool places to sit, a hive of activity in spring because there's all the birds that are singing and getting ready for breeding and feeding.

You get all the warblers coming in in the springtime. You get chiff chaffs in there. You know, you can hear them singing. Then you've got your orchard, and you've got your raised beds, which is a nice little area for people to pick a few gooseberries while they're sat there.

You know, have a plum, have an apple, have a pear, in a nice spot.

You've got huge playing field of groups to come together. Lots of different groups using those, the university, the schools, lots of community groups coming in.

And then you've got the playground and that bottom area.

And so many people enjoying getting together, families, big groups, eating into the evenings, you know, and all weathers as well.

It's incredible.

So, I mean, I feel that it's got something for everyone. It really has.

And other parks are lovely, and I appreciate all Sheffield's green spaces, but Ponderosa’s special for me. It really is. Yeah. And right on the doorstep.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. It doesn't get celebrated as much as it should, in my opinion.

Sue Peel

No. And that's an interesting one. I would agree and say that the footfall is less than the 2 parks that are close to it.

I'm not sure about Parkwood Springs. Parkwood Springs, we go there as well, and that's got a wild aspect to it as well.

But I would say that maybe Parkwood Springs has a reduced footfall as well. I might be wrong there. I don't spend enough time there.

But, people seem to overlook the Ponderosa or maybe don't even know it's there.

We had a recent talk from, a great chap called Gerry Firkins, who's a fantastic botanist. And this was on a weekend.

And it was great because we had about 15 people there. 2 of those people within that group that I was talking to had lived in Sheffield all their lives.

And they were in the area, but they’d never been in the Ponderosa.

They were amazed. You know, they came through the top woodland. Had no idea that all this was here.

I mean, it's interesting. I think that the woods at the top almost form a barrier to people in a way. And, that's something we're trying to work on.

I mean, the council did open sight lines there. They need a bit of maintenance on this winter, so we'll be looking at that so that people feel comfortable about coming in, you know, from that top end. People can feel a little bit daunted because they're not sure what's there.

But, hopefully, we can build on that and, make it more open and feeling accessible as well to a lot more people.

It's difficult to get in as well, accessibility wise, from the top of the park too.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. So you've got an event coming up in September on the 15th, the Ponderosa Harvest Festival. Tell me about that!

Sue Peel

Well, we started that off 3 years ago, and it was just an idea to talk to people and to promote what we're doing in the park.

We do see people when we're in there, but we're there during the week. Lots of people are working.

And we felt that if we have something on the weekend, then we could talk about and promote the work that we're doing. Hopefully, recruit some volunteers, but also get that feedback from people that use the part to say, we have a comment spot.

Do you like what we're doing? Or do you do you not like it? Are there aspects that you're not happy with? What would you like us to do more of?

Because we don't want to just work in our own little bubble as a group.

It needs to work for everybody in the community because we're trying to improve the green space for everybody that is using it and that will hopefully use it moving forward.

And, it's grown a little bit. Initially, we started off setting it up by the orchard.

But then we migrated down the park to the playground because we realised that on a weekend in September, on a good day, hopefully, we've booked that, hopefully, you get lots of people around that playground area, and we've got lots of children's activities going on there.

So it's about celebrating what we're doing, sharing it with the people that use the park.

And we do a nature walk as well, so we can talk to people about what they can expect to see, where they can see it, point out various things. Maybe show them areas that they're not familiar with.

We've talked to people that use the bottom half of the park, but they've no idea there's an orchard at the top.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah.

Sue Peel

They don't go up to the top and vice versa. So it's interesting.

It hopefully raises a little bit of funds for us to, carry on doing the work that we're doing, which is nice, but it's more about talking to people and being part of the community.

And that is, as you said, on Sunday 15th, between 2 to 4.

Philippa Willitts

And, meet at the Ponderosa playground?

Sue Peel

It's just by the playground. Yeah. It's on the path that cuts across above the playground, and we've got face painters. We've got crafts going on for children. We've got a nature walk. We've got tea, coffee, and cake.

What's not to like?

Philippa Willitts

Wow. Can't criticise that.

Sue Peel

And we've got fruit picking. We've purchased through funding a extending fruit picker, which is basically an extending pole with a rubber hand on the end.

It's always popular with the kids because we go up to the orchard and at this time of year, the apples that are left are going to be high up, but you can get the children to sort of grab an apple and pull it off, it turns into a little bit of a game.

Philippa Willitts

That's great.

Sue Peel

And then we'll be going and looking at the pond and everything.

So, yeah, it's 2 hours, and we'd love to see as many people as possible. Just come along, have a chat, talk to us about what we're doing, and, yeah, let us know your thoughts.

Philippa Willitts

So if people want to find out more about the Ponderosa Nature Group, they could come to the event. Is there any other way to get in touch with you or to find out more?

Sue Peel

Yes. We, we have a Facebook site, which is, Ponderosa Nature Group. One of our group, Kerry, is doing a fantastic job with the site. She looks after it, and she's putting so many photos on there of what's happening week by week all through the seasons.

Not everybody's able to come into the park, you know, so this is a way of showing what's happening season by season, week by week, and what we're up to, basically.

So the Facebook site's a great one to actually visit. We've also got a notice board, which is up by the top orchard.

We've got posters for events that are coming up, and we've also got something that says, weekly tasks. And on that, we update that each week to say what we're doing at the moment.

So, yeah, if you're walking through the top part of the park, you'll see the notice board as you're heading towards the pond and the boulder and rock.

So that's another way that we communicate.

And like you say, if we meet people in the park, they want to join us on WhatsApp, we have a WhatsApp group as well, where there's regular communications going on, for people that want to come and join us, maybe can't do it that often, but just would like to.

Sometimes it's aspirational, and we'd fully appreciate that. So, yeah, you can also join up, but we need a little bit more information to actually get you an invite to actually join in the WhatsApp group.

It's great, and it's really growing.

So, we're just thinking about what we're going to be doing for the next year, actually.

We want to introduce some more fruit trees to the second orchard site, which is very exciting.

And we're looking to do something about the tower block walls. So we've got the big tower blocks, and we've got walls on two sides in the park, and they're quite overgrown areas.

I'd like to try and manage those more effectively with the support of the council and maybe open those up to be adopted by people that are in that area, you know, in the in the tower block in the adjoining areas.

That could be their garden area. You know? It'd be wonderful.

So that's something we're considering, whether or not we can actually make those more accessible and open them up more for gardening.

I'm sure we've got a lot of green fingers in the area, and they'd love to adopt it.

All around those walls, we've actually planted, they're about 3 years old, some of them now. Crab apples and Rowan trees, hazel, spindle tree, lovely spindle tree, which has red leaves in autumn. They're just starting to turn, and then berries.

Anything that is attractive but also working for wildlife is what we're trying to flourish, you know, introduce and flourish in there.

Philippa Willitts

That's amazing. It sounds like you're doing brilliant work for the area.

Thank you so much, and thank you for coming on the podcast.

Sue Peel

It's been a pleasure, and thank you for inviting me, Philippa. It's been great. Many thanks.

Speaker 4

NUN Local is a project of Scribble and Bloom, a social enterprise dedicated to encouraging self-expression as a way to improve lives.

Find out more at scribbleandbloom.org.uk.

Philippa Willitts

KINCA is the Kellam Island and Neepsend Community Alliance.

With me is Brooke Hayes from Sheffield Museums and Craig Wolstenholme from KINCA. And we are going to be talking about the work that KINCA's doing Island also an event coming up on the 8th September.

So, Craig, can you tell me a bit about KINCA and what you're up to?

Craig Wolstenholme

Yeah. Of course.

So, so KINCA, basically, is it's a community group. We're a charity as well.

Our aim, basically, is to make the area better for people who live here, for people who socialise, for businesses as well. So just make it a much better place.

Basically, to make people feel more included, so it’s more inclusive.

And we do a range of projects to help with all of this. So we do things such as beekeeping, we do litter picks, river cleanups, we have an arts and heritage trail.

So if you walk around Kelham and Neepsend, you'll see lots of murals on the wall. You'll see lots of cabinets, which have been painted up as well. And that's still an ongoing thing. We're trying to get do more and more of that.

We have community meetings regularly, and they're well attended by businesses and residents, and we get councillors coming along and the police. We have a community newsletter.

And one other project, which is a very interesting one, is one called Green Kelham, and that one encompasses a range of things.

It's basically about adding more greenery to the area.

So there are various areas within Kelham and Neepsend where we've started to do that.

So on Ball Street Bridge, we've put a number of planters on there. It's about maybe 10 or 15 now. Lots of colourful plants.

There's an area called Naomi's Corner, which is kind of near Rutland Road. It's that direction. Again, lots of benches and planters there.

We've got a small nectary next to what was the Fat Cat brewery with a wildflower meadow there.

And again, it’s ongoing, this. You know, we're always trying to think of more and more projects to add to it.

So overall, you know, we do lots of things for the community. We like to get people involved as much as possible.

All volunteers, so nobody gets paid at all. But, you know, since I've been involved, you know, I've been down here for 10 years now. You know? The area's transformed, and through KINCA, it's become so much better as well.

So that's what we do in a nutshell.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. I mean, it is unrecognisable as an area, isn't it, to 10 years ago in many ways? And, yeah, the greenery you're bringing is definitely adding a real beauty to the area, I think.

Craig Wolstenholme

Yeah. Thank you very much.

And I think it complements what's already there. There's not a massive amount of greenery, but we've got we're very lucky to have the river and the goit. So it literally is an island, you know, or part of it anyway.

And we've got lots and lots of wildlife on there and nature, and, obviously, we're just adding to that as well.

Philippa Willitts

And you were involved in, I don't know if you were involved in or organised entirely, Kelham Pride as well?

Craig Wolstenholme

KINCA did organise it, but not me personally. I wasn't really involved in that. But other volunteers within KINCA did that and did a fantastic job.

It was well attended, you know, thousands of people. It's going to be held again next year as well due to the success of this year's event.

So I'm sure they'll build upon that and make it even better.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. On 8th September is KINCA Art Competition and Kelham Nature Day.

Tell me, first of all, Brooke, from Sheffield Museums, what's planned for the Kellam Nature Day and for 8th September?

Brooke Hayes

So it's going to be a fun afternoon of lots of fun, nature-themed activities for all ages.

So although we're marketing it as a family event, any age could come. You could be 0 to 100, and there'd be something for you to find out and take part in.

So there'll be a range of, hopefully, some walking tours, including our very own Kelham Island’s Dave Buttle will be doing a goit walk where he'll be talking about the flora and fauna along the goit.

And that's a really nice easy-paced walk because it's just literally the strip of the island.

So you're not going to be hiking up hills or anything. Luckily, we're at the flattest part of the city, I think, here, which is great.

Then we've also got the Don Catchment River Trust coming, DCRT, and they're going to be doing some really cool stuff looking at invertebrates.

So they're actually going to go to the river, and they're going to take some samples, and then you'll be able to have a look and see what different creatures can be found in the River Don, next to Kelham Island, which will be really, really exciting.

And they'll have some pictures and descriptions of different features of what you can find and how you work out what they are, which is really cool.

We've also got the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust coming, they'll be doing some hands-on activities.

They'll also be discussing the work they do within the city and, of course, in Rotherham as well in terms of what they do, to care for nature and how families can also look after wildlife, where they live and protect them.

So that should be great, to welcome them on-site too.

The museum will be running our own family activities, which we're really excited about.

So there'll be lots of crafting for little ones and big ones. No one's left out.

Plus we've got some people from Sheffield Hallam University that'll be handing out water testing kits. So they'll be handing those out, and then you can go back and you can sample water within the area that you live.

Philippa Willitts

Very cool.

Brooke Hayes

And send it back to them. So there'll be a bit of a lab science element there as well.

So lots of different activities going on.

It'll be spread out across the museum. So you'll be able to walk into the museum, and at different points, there'll be different stands of engagement.

But, of course, the museum is open that day anyway, 11 till 4, so, you'll also be able to explore the museum itself. We are a free museum. The activities will be running 12 till 4 that day, and it'll all be free just to drop in and take part in. But as a charitable trust, we welcome any donation. Thank you very much in advance.

Philippa Willitts

Of course. And there is this art competition element of it as well where they want people - and this, again, is for adults and children - to draw or paint an image of nature that can be found around Neepsend and Kelham Island.

So that might be plants, animals, birds, trees.

What kind of nature might people want to look out for in Neepsend?

Craig Wolstenholme

Yeah. There's so much stuff around. You'd be surprised how much there is.

So particularly around the river, I'd say, you tend to find a lot of interesting things there.

So you might be lucky you might you might see the heron. That makes an appearance every so often.

We've got plenty of, of ducks down there, the kingfisher.

We get geese every so often, moorhens. There's a range, you know, as you say, of colourful plants, trees, etcetera. So there's all sorts that you could find.

Even the river itself could be quite an interesting thing to draw, or the goit, that's a very popular place where people like to go.

So anything at all to do with nature.

We'd like to get a selection of images, some by adults, some by children.

And my intention is to make a bit of a kind of a collage of image, onto a local public litter bin.

We have done a similar thing you might have seen on Ball Street Bridge, that was the first one I'm aware of in Sheffield, whereby we got a bin vinyl wrapped on there.

For that one, because it's very close to our beehives, we decided to make that one all related to the beehives. So images of the beekeepers, close ups of the bees, and it looks fantastic.

The reason for doing it is basically to stop people tagging them, because you do tend to find a lot a lot of the bins around the area, they get tagged. People stick posters on them.

The one that's on the bridge, it's in perfect condition. It's not being tagged, it's had the effect we wanted.

And hopefully, by doing more of these bins, that will just increase the effects of that, the deterrent, really.

So if we get enough funding, hopefully, eventually, I'd like to get all the bins vinyl wrapped.

But to begin with, we've got this one on the bridge. We're hoping to get another one done as well with the images created by children and adults of nature as well.

So, that's it. That's the plan.

Brooke Hayes

It'll be really interesting as well. I think what's important for children and adults to both know when they're doing their drawings that it can be anything.

They don't need to think of a big landscape. They can do something that is huge if they wanted to try and portray that entirety of Kelham Island or Neepsend.

But equally, just focusing on something really small. And maybe if they do go to the Don Catchment River Trust stand and they see the invertebrates, maybe that's what they want to do.

They want to focus on a magnified close-up of a creature from the river or, maybe looking at actually the fact in Neepsend there's been new trees planted, and they've actually gone, oh, I really like this tree.

I used to walk past and there was nothing there, but now there's this beautiful tree that is inspiring. And I think it's thinking you don't need to have that full picture. You can close-up and focus on something, and you still create a beautiful piece of artwork.

Craig Wolstenholme

Absolutely. That's right. That's great.

What we'll do as well is there will be a little stall set up, with information about the art competition.

And at that stall, there'll be a number of pictures there as well, which, hopefully, people can use them to inspire themselves as to what they might draw.

So if they can't think of anything, just pop down, have a look at the pictures already there.

They can get some inspiration that way.

Philippa Willitts

And I think the thing with something like this, it makes you look at the area differently.

You might walk through Neepsend every day on your way to work. But once you've walked through looking for, oh, what are the interesting nature points I might want to draw? Then the next time you walk through, you will still be picking up on, oh, do you know? I've been taking for granted how pretty that plant is or how I like it when there are birds flying by.

It focuses your attention, doesn't it?

Craig Wolstenholme

It does. Yeah. Certainly.

And particularly in Neepsend, there are several projects in there which we've undertaken with nature. So we've got a welcome to Neepsend sign.

Philippa Willitts

I love that sign. Yes.

Craig Wolstenholme

Which is at the end of Hick Street, and there's a flower bed underneath it.

So every so often, we put different things in there. At the moment, we've actually put some mustard seeds in. So it's actually looking really colourful at the moment, lots of kind of bright yellow flowers. So that could be something people could draw.

And we've also got at Neepsend, this area called Naomi's Corner, quite near to Rutland Road.

And it's basically just a small area just at the just at the end of the Upper Don walkway as well.

It's got a number of benches there, planters. We've got a book swap cabinet. Lots and lots of plants there.

So, again, anything from there could be something people could draw as well. And as Brooke says, lots of trees in the area.

Philippa Willitts

And the bees. I keep thinking of the bees.

Craig Wolstenholme

And bees, of course. Yes. That's right.

Brooke Hayes

And I think people can use their imagination as well because maybe they see something in the museum, which is a piece of industry.

So, for example, as you enter the island and you are welcomed to Kelham Island Museum, we have this massive black egg-shaped machine, which is our Bessemer converter.

But then, obviously, looking out across the goit, you've got all the reeds and things.

So maybe people want to go, actually, I want to draw the Bessemer converter, but then I'm going to take the Rowan tree from the goit, and I'm going to put that on my picture as well and some bees, and I'm going to do this.

It doesn't have to be real life. You don't have to draw exactly what you see. I think you can grab lots of inspiration and create your own piece of art.

It might be that on the bin is actually a piece of Kelham, and it's lots of pieces of Kelham Island and Neepsend, but you would never find that exact place.

Craig Wolstenholme

No.

Brooke Hayes

But you'll find all of those elements.

Philippa Willitts

So it doesn't have to be a literal, this is what I see.

Craig Wolstenholme

No. No. Of course not. No.

Brooke Hayes

But then equally, if they people want to do that, that's great as well.

And I think that's what's fantastic about art.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. It's all about the creativity, isn't it?

Craig Wolstenholme

That's right.

Philippa Willitts

Thinking of Neepsend, what do you think are any challenges Neepsend might be facing at the moment?

Craig Wolstenholme

Yeah. I suppose really it's very similar challenges to the rest of Kelham Island as well. And a lot of it's to do with things that we don't have here, which a lot of other communities do have.

So it's things such as a doctors, chemist, even a dentist. We did have a dentist until recently. They've just moved out, sadly, so we don't have a dentist now.

Lots of different things like that.

Even a school, there's no schools within Kelham and Neepsend, you’ve got to go a bit of a distance to get to the nearest one.

So it's all those things like that. Even libraries as well. We don't have a library.

So it's lots of those important things.

Now you may have heard as well, just announced in the last few months, there's going to be many more people moving into the area over the next 5 years or so.

Philippa Willitts

Yes.

Craig Wolstenholme

There's a big development to what used to be the Cannon Brewery. That's going to be turned into a number of houses and apartments. And, also, I believe where Wickes is around there, there's going to be a lot more development. And I think it's across the road from Wickes and where Wickes is all around there.

It might well be the next 5, 10 years, but over time, there's going to be more and more people living down here.

And as a result, there's going to be more of a demand for these important things such as doctors, etcetera.

So we're hoping that over time we can get more of those facilities down here. Because as I say, there'll be much more demand for them as well.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. Definitely.

Craig Wolstenholme

So I'd say that they're the main challenges, I'd say.

Philippa Willitts

And what's the best thing about Neepsend?

Craig Wolstenholme

I think it's the fact that you've got a mixture of different kinds of organisations. So you've still got lots of the traditional businesses there, who've been there for decades.

We've got woodmakers. We've got sawmakers. We've got a music studio down there that's been there for many years that attracts lots of high-profile artists, such as Kylie Minogue has been there, I know, over the years, and lots of other well-known names.

But as well as that, you've got lots of upcoming businesses as well, lots of trendy bars where people like to go in the evenings particularly.

And it all seems to work quite well, you know. I think because there's less residential areas within Neepsend, it means that the little bit of noise you do get from some of the bars because there aren't kind of houses right next to them, it doesn't become an issue.

So it all seems to work quite well as it currently stands.

You may have heard as well the news recently about, the council are at the moment in the process of putting in lots of extra double-yellow lines and parking, and then removing some of the parking spaces.

So that's a challenge that some of the local businesses have raised.

I'm hoping that over time, that will sort itself out. It might be that there's less places to park, but on the other hand, the bus facilities are going to be improved.

There's going to be a bus corridor going down, so it might make access by bus a lot easier.

So it might just be that people just have to think about catching the bus to come down rather than driving and parking. And so, yeah, I'm sure over time, it should sort itself out.

And I believe the council have said after a year, they're going to review the changes anyway.

So there might be a possibility of change and things if required, or to see how that works out.

But, hopefully, we'll all be okay.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. I think if buses can be more direct down there, that, like you say, may ease some of the difficulty. I know some local businesses there are struggling a bit.

So, yeah, I think you're right. It's going to either settle or have to be reviewed one way or the other.

Craig Wolstenholme

That's right.

Brooke Hayes

I think there's so much opportunity as well within Kelham Island and Neepsend. And I think there's so much going on, and it's just getting people more aware of these new businesses, different things to do, and at Kelham Island Museum.

So Sheffield Museums are really trying to put on more events and enabling there to be more activity as well at the museum to welcome people to Kelham Island and Neepsend.

And I think the hope is that if, say, people are coming here or they're going to other places, they'll then go, actually, I'll now try going to such and such across at Neepsend because I really enjoyed my time going around Kelham Island Museum and finding out about this.

And it turns out that there's also this going on, and that would be great.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. The museum is a great way to get people who might not know that bit of town there, and then they spot all the other things going on. Yeah.

Sue Peel

Yeah.

Philippa Willitts

How can people find out more about KINCA, and how can people find out more about the event on the 8th?

Craig Wolstenholme

Yeah. For KINCA then, the best place to go is our Facebook page. We have lots of regular updates on there, so you can find out about upcoming events. We do have a website as well. It's just currently in development. So you just have to wait a short time until that becomes live again.

But for the time being, I'd say Facebook. We've got an Instagram page as well.

I'd say Facebook is, I think, where we have most of our updates, so it's probably the best place to go.

Brooke Hayes

And then with Kelham Nature Day, it is part of Sheffield Showcase. So Sheffield Showcase have been amazing, and they are advertising this event on their site and also through flyers, and other marketing throughout the city.

Sheffield Museums also has this event on our website, so you can go there and find out more.

We've also created a Facebook event page so you can if you're interested, go on and like that event page.

And our amazing communications team is popping up little posts about what's hopefully happening over the next week so you can have a little sneak peek on some of the stalls that'll be there.

And, of course, because we are partnering on this event with not only KINCA, but also the Don Catchment River Trust, with Sheffield Hallam University, with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust. They're also sharing it across their networks, and it's happening during the Big River Watch.

So, you can find out more about the Big River Watch too. So it should be good.

Philippa Willitts

Fantastic. Thank you very much.

Brooke Hayes

Thank you.

Craig Wolstenholme

Thank you.

Subscribe to the podcast at nunlocal.news or search for NUN Local on your favourite podcast player so you never miss an episode.

Philippa Willitts

Dr Camilla Allen is a lecturer in landscape architecture at the University of Sheffield, and she's been involved with the Sheaf Community Bakery, Sheffield Tree Week, and the Sheffield Wheat Experiment.

She co-edited a book, The Politics of Street Trees, and wrote a chapter in it called A Broken Covenant: The Creation and Desecration of Sheffield's Living Memorials.

And it's that chapter that she has kindly agreed to talk to me about today.

So in A Broken Covenant, Camilla talks about the significance of the trees planted in Sheffield in memory of soldiers who died in the First World War.

And she talks about the trees on Western Street in particular, but also those on Tay Street and Oxford Street just by the Ponderosa.

Camilla, can you talk a bit about why Sheffielders at the time chose trees as a way to remember soldiers who’d died in the war?

Dr Camilla Allen

I think the thing that was really significant about that process, that act of commemoration and memorialisation through tree planting, was it started during the war.

So the first trees were planted in 1917. And I think at that point, it was really unclear at what point the war was going to end, you know?

I think many of us will have grown up studying the First World War and the war poets at school, where there's very much this idea that it was going to be over by Christmas, that much of the optimism of the young men who volunteered in 1914, they would be back very quickly.

And actually, the reality was that especially for many of the northern battalions that were created out of the huge, huge number of volunteers that decided that they wanted to join the war, that those cities were really hard hit when actually the war got entrenched literally, you know?

And the Paws battalions, which were set up in cities like Manchester and Leeds and Barnsley and there's a whole fascinating story and history there. But those young men left their cities, often having trained in and around the environments in which they'd grown up.

And it was those northern pals battalions, as they were known, that were particularly hard hit by some of the most disastrous offenses.

And what happened to the Sheffield pals was that a huge proportion of those men were killed or injured or lost in that battle.

And I think what that indicates about the importance of those trees is that, actually, it was something that was immediate. It was relatively thrifty.

But the cost of planting trees, especially when supported by the school boards and the council, was something that people could get behind but actually wasn't anywhere near as contentious as some of the other forms of memorialisation that happened after the war.

So, yeah, I'd say that it represents, I think, something that in the moment, in that particular experience of grief, post that sort of big significant loss for Sheffield, something meaningful and tangible as a way of recognising that sort of grief.

Philippa Willitts

Yeah. The trees on Tay Street were planted in March 1917, which surprised me, actually - you just mentioned that they started being planted before the war ended.

And they have an inscription that says, To the shrine, lift your eyes. Let your voices arise. You are up at the top, Crookesmoor.

While on Oxford Street, it says, 100 years on, think of me when you pass my tree.

And there are steel sculptures of metal soldiers on the railings.

And the Tay Street trees were actually the first memorial trees to be planted during the war in Sheffield, weren't they?

Dr Camilla Allen

I think that's one of the things that's interesting about the two different periods in which these trees were first planted and then I think rememorated, sort of rememorialised little later.

So one of the one of the distinctions is that… and there was something I was really struck by when I started to look into it.

Much of that development in around Crookes and Upperthorpe, there was already, obviously a level of urbanisation that had taken place around there.

But actually, what had happened in that year, or in the years sort of preceding a huge amount of Sheffield was built from 1900 onwards.

And I think one of the things in those years before many of the young men who had gone off to fight had been probably children, infants who had gone to some of these schools.

So actually looking at the dates at which the schools were themselves built and how that aligned with the dates of birth of the young men who died. And this just sort of wider correlation about what it meant to be a young man from that bit of Sheffield, what it was to be a Crookesmoor boy.

And there were there would have been divisions even within the Pals battalions that really aggregated to a very local level. That was my understanding.

Especially, actually, the title of the chapter comes from a book written by a Sheffield based author called A Broken Covenant, which tried to disguise the fact that it's written about Sheffield.

But it's definitely the story of Sheffield and it starts with this group of young men who come from an area of Sheffield that I think is pretty much undoubtedly Crookes.

And what that meant as an aspirational working class, middle class area with these big new schools and big brave hopes for a big new century and actually how different that reality was, I think, with the war.

I think what's interesting is to see that I mean we'll never know. Well, maybe that's in future research.

I don't know that it was a poet who wrote that inscription, or someone with a very poetic sensibility. And I think there's something very interesting about what it meant to live there, be from there, and what people wanted to be reminded of when they thought about those trees and the sacrifice made and lives lost.

And I think what's interesting is the way in which, I think my understanding would be that the soldiers in the in the railings, it's a contemporary memorial that coincides with the 100 years since the armistice and then also what would happen in Sheffield.

But that that really ties those trees to those young men in a way that is all of these different facets of what it means to commemorate and memorialise these trees and what it is actually saying more broadly about our society and the times that we live through.

Philippa Willitts

And the Tay Street trees inspired - was it a local councillor to plant the Oxford Street trees?

Dr Camilla Allen

Yeah. I think it kind of snowballed.

I think there's more research to be done into the different community responses to the conflict through the planting of trees.

Because I think Sheffield in itself throws up these really interesting examples.

But when I was looking into what was happening across the country more broadly, it really was very much something that was part of a discourse during and after the war.

You know, what role might tree planting and preservation and lots of other things which we now might see as slightly kind of bizarrely linked - things like the roads for remembrance, which as a concept really took the idea that it was going to be through making better highways that people again, this idea of sacrifice and loss could be recognised.

And so trees, there's always a very interesting tension... I'm not going to say so much tension, but they both deliver functions that we would now describe as ecosystem services, whilst also providing extraordinary, intimate, but also cultural values and so forth.

So it's an interesting one. So seeing how this snowballing, people seeing the opportunity to plant with meaning, that's what I think is really important.

So I think that's one of the most interesting things is for a local councillor to see the efforts gone to by a school to commemorate its pupils and think, well we could take this one step further and link the school with the tram

They were thinking in terms that we would now talk about the walkability of cities and linking up our grey infrastructure with green infrastructure.

But I think it shows that much of that instinct to improve the urban environment is something that actually is quite dispersed across different people from different walks of life, different interests, and different levels of agency.

Philippa Willitts

I think your next paper, whatever it's about, should be titled The opportunity to plant with meaning.

Dr Camilla Allen

Yes. I agree. It's there. I wanted to say it here because actually I feel like it's the thing we ignore our peril. We should plant with meaning.

Do it purposefully. Do it. Yeah.

Philippa Willitts

So in this chapter, you referenced various letters sent to newspapers on the topic of suitable memorials and trees.

I particularly liked one from a Mr W Greaves, who wanted to take the first letter of each fallen soldier's name and plant a tree beginning with the same letter so that it would be educational and “encourage people to take a greater interest in one of the greatest friends of man”.

And that seemed to me to be both lovely and totally impractical.

What stood out to you from the letters to newspapers that you found?

Dr Camilla Allen

I think the thing that I was really drawn to is actually the degree to which it revealed this discourse that was going on in the city about what was possible, plausible, appropriate.

There was a really lively debate going on about how the city could recognise not just - I think this is an important point to make, because there was sort of later this idea that the trees were planted really as a kind of proxy for the people who had died lost their lives and the non-repatriation of bodies. It's all part of what we now understand in that conflict.

But I wanted to go back to some of the more accessible voices, and I think that's where the letters, and the correspondence in the Sheffield Telegraph and other newspapers, I think, really brought to life what was going on in Sheffield and really brought home the impact of the war, industrialisation, women going into the work place, the city changing - it was already an industrial city, but I think that intensification, the increasing levels of pollution, and so forth, I think really meant that the city as a broad entity had also sacrificed.

You know, there was a sacrifice which meant it continued to be and then was became increasingly polluted and unpleasant and probably not very safe environment in which to live and work.

And that is something which I think is part of what these really represented.

And this aspiration that not just tree planting, but things like one of the other bits that really struck me was Ecclesall Woods, which is a significant urban ancient woodland and is managed as such.

But that one of the letters had extraordinary proposals turn it into a commemorative lake with a sacred grove and statues and things which would now we'd recognise as a much more formal language of a memorial garden. And the same person suggested that it could have a zoo there.

Because they're really thinking how you know, what might bring pleasure and delight to children, so quite sensible. Kinda sensible.

But what's interesting is actually the reality of where those plans get to.

Like, sometimes it's just really important for people to say these things out loud and to be contributing to something on which people then maybe decide on a general consensus.

So that might have been in part the mechanism of that space eventually becoming public land.

Philippa Willitts

The history of Sheffield's memorial trees came to wider public awareness when the council made some controversial decisions about the future of the city's street trees, including some of these memorial trees.

Can you explain - I know it's an immensely complex situation, but can you explain what happened there in relation to the memorial trees?

Dr Camilla Allen

Oh, yes. So I think I will say that it is very difficult to do justice to the extraordinary events that unfolded in Sheffield as a result of a deeply divisive and, I think it's fair to say, inappropriate private financing initiative deal to get the city's roads resurfaced in the sort of early 2000s, which really began to bite in the second decade of the century.

And I think there were lots of points of reference and people are interested in that.

And, actually, the audience for this is Sheffield people, people are probably already quite well versed.

But the thing that I was really struck by is, my research in general has inadvertently always circled back to the First World War and I'm very interested in what was happening at that moment in time.

My PhD was on a 20th century forester who had very formative experiences in the First World War and his career started afterwards.

So I've always seen it as a very interesting point of conflict and change in British society.

I've been in Sheffield for 12 years and would have been in the city for sort of 6 or 7 by the time the trees on Western Road were really came to the fore that they were also threatened with felling.

And the thing that made it, I think, particularly the optics particularly bad is that this really came to a head in 2017, 2018. So the whole country was gearing up to celebrating the centenary of the armistice.

And yet the debate was well, it wasn't really a debate. The challenge was that it was either going to cost £500,000 to save the trees on Western Road or it would be money that could otherwise go to on adult social care.

And anyone who understands the impact of austerity on cities like Sheffield can see that that is a very, very, very divisive thing, to say this is one or the other.

The idea that it's trees or people. And, actually, at this moment in time, if you deny someone home help, that denies them their dignity.

It was incredibly incredibly divisive.

And I think for that reason, I wanted to understand it better. Where did this come from?

There was a very, very, very powerful campaign that, I was not involved with, that was led by people involved in a street tree campaign in lots of different ways that really brought to the fore the significance of these trees.

They got huge number of different organisations involved and it made national news… the headlines the desire to pun around both war and trees was irresistible to many newspapers both locally and nationally.

And for me, that's where it got particularly interesting.

The book that I edited, Politics of Street Trees, I think for me the Western Road trees and the way in which that really brought to the fore a lot of debates about what is this environmental legacy? What does it mean? How are those values communicated? To what degree are they contested?

I think it was just a really good little knot to try and unpick.

Philippa Willitts

Going back again in time, another letter writer at the time said, although bronze or stone memorials had their place, trees give unique consolation and comfort to the parents of fallen soldiers, providing a visible manifestation of growth and development that they had been denied by the war.

And I wonder whether this sense of something living that can outlast us and the comfort of that is one of the reasons why people felt so strongly in 2017 about defending the memorial trees.

Dr Camilla Allen

I think that it's you know, the fundamental point made across the campaign in Sheffield was that you cannot cut down a healthy, mature tree that has decades left of its… I'm going to say, benevolence… to share.

I'm sat in London under the benevolent shade of a huge plane tree. And it is wonderful.

And it's important for us to plant more trees, new trees. But at the same time, it is not possible to ignore the fact that actually that legacy builds and builds.

And I think that's why it absolutely it is unconscionable.

I mean, I think that's why what happened in Sheffield was recognised as real environmental vandalism because that investment, that sense that this is something, this is a gift to the future, it might bring short term benefits, but actually that fundamentally we're planting trees because they have this amazing mnemonic power to both soothe and calm and give us some sense of optimism for the future and they’re markers in time.

You can't replace it with something juvenile with a hope that that will do the same job because I think that is what there is an amazing level of investment, which isn't just financial and it isn't just practical.

It's emotional. Yeah. The emotional investment, which people read in the environment. And then when it's gone, it seems all the more heartbreaking to see.

Philippa Willitts

What do you think we, as a city, and also as smaller communities within the city, learned from the street tree crisis and also from the strength of feeling about preserving the trees?

Dr Camilla Allen

Well, I think Sheffield is now actually really justifiably a city trying to do things differently. And I think I would say I've framed it before that we could talk about how politics affects street trees, but Sheffield showed that street trees can affect politics.

And we fundamentally have a different system of governance as a result of what happened in Sheffield.

It precipitated an extraordinary campaign in which people contributed in a very, very diverse and different ways, a level of grit and determination and advocacy and just showing up in ways that have changed the city.

But actually also relate to a long tradition of protest and civil activism, which I think the city can be incredibly proud of.

And what I'm interested in the moment is kind of to what extent can we meaningfully heal?

I've joined the Sheffield Street Tree Partnership, which was a group that was set up to help deliver a strategy that is a multi-partner one. So it's the council are a part of it, Amey are part of it, the wildlife trust, people now from universities, people from STAG, Sheffield trees action group, are coming together to try and absolutely deliver best practice when it comes to the city street trees.

And I think that is something that we really need to be shouting about because this it wasn't just a conflict.

It was a conflict that actually really had profound implications.

And we're still going to be dealing with the legacy of it and we're still going to be thinking about how that changes and evolves moving forward.

And I think there are probably many other people who could speak much more particularly about what it was what it meant to be part of that campaign.

But I do think, ultimately, it reflects well on Sheffield, but it's something that we need to continually sort of reflect upon and learn from because it's yeah. It changed us.

Philippa Willitts

So if people want to find out more about your work, is there a website or a social media account anybody can head over to?

Dr Camilla Allen

At this moment in time, I'm having a bit of a social media holiday.

Philippa Willitts

Very nice.

Dr Camilla Allen

I do use Instagram. I may yet go back to it. But during my PhD, that's when I stopped using Facebook because I think I could have just done a autoethnography of me reading message threads about the street trees. That would have been my whole PhD because that was definitely the way that it was going at some point, unsanctioned by the university.

But yes. So now in general, I've got a profile on the School of Architecture and Landscape’s website. So anyone who's interested can look me up there.

I think details of my research will be on there. I think there is currently a frozen Twitter account or an inactive Twitter account. And I'm on Instagram as @CamilLandscape with the last two letters of my first name rolling into landscape, which looks better than it actually reads or says, if that makes sense.

Philippa Willitts

It does.

Thank you so much, Camilla. That's been so interesting.

Dr Camilla Allen

Oh, absolute pleasure.

Philippa Willitts

Thank you for listening to episode 1 of NUN Local. I hope to see you next month.

Sign up at nunlocal.news.

I have been Philippa Willitts, a local journalist and founder and director of Scribble and Bloom Community Interest Company. See you in October.

You can email Philippa on philippa@scribbleandbloom.org.uk or follow the podcast on social media at the links below. We’d love to hear from you if you have a story to tell, if you want to advertise on the podcast, or if you want to tell us about an upcoming event or give us a tip-off.

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Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend are on the edge of Sheffield city centre with parks and businesses and community projects and, most importantly, brilliant people. But you rarely hear about us!

NUN Local – that’s NUN for Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend – is for anyone who lives in this bit of Sheffield, or works here, or just wants to know more about it.

On social media today, Peace in the Park, which has been organising festivals for years in Sheffield, including in the Ponderosa Park in Netherthorpe and Upperthorpe, announced that it is to close.

In an article to explain this decision, the team explains that this is due to a range of factors including fundraising challenges, the problems still resulting from Covid, key directors leaving the team, an increase in vendor costs, a loss of volunteers, and a loss of community cohesion.

This is very sad news for Sheffield as a whole, but particularly for the communities around the Ponderosa who could experience this free festival in their local area.

So, below, are some of my favourite memories from various Peace in the Park festivals from 2008 onwards in our gorgeous park.

These days, the festival is unrecognisable compared to its early days. It is bigger, and better organised, but this does not mean that it has lost its soul; Peace in the Park features music, campaigning, environmental and peaceful messaging, stalls and great food. It suits the Ponderosa perfectly, with the layout of the park enabling organisers to divide up the festival's offerings.

However, as a grassroots and community-run event, Peace in the Park requires ongoing fundraising to take place, and this is not always easy to achieve. In 2013, the festival could not take place due to a funding shortfall and, despite enthusiastic fundraising efforts to get Peace in the Park back up and running post-Covid, the same has happened this year.

The festival organisers said:

It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce that, despite the – genuinely moving – response we have had over the last few weeks, we just do not have the funds in place to be able to confidently go ahead with Peace in the Park 2022, and are therefore postponing.

In an ordinary year, Peace in the Park is funded partly as a result of applications to charitable organizations and partly through a series of events which raise money throughout the year. We all know these have not been ordinary years, and we have not been able to have the quantity or size of events that we would have had in order to raise sufficient funds.

We said a month ago that we needed to raise £5,000 to take us to the minimum viable balance of £10,000 that we needed to have in place by 1st April. In that time we had a Dub Shack event, which raised £1,200, and we also received [£1744] in donations from individuals across the city. Unfortunately, there was a miscalculation (or a miscommunication) following the fundraiser. The money collected from tickets sold on the door by card was counted twice, once by the fundraising team, and once by the steering group as it had already reached the bank, unbeknownst to the fundraising team. This led us to believe we only had £1,200 to raise, when actually this figure was closer to £1,600. And this is the position we are currently in.

We would like to thank each and everyone of you, not only for your donations, but for every share, every comment of support for this festival of peace, unity and love. It moved us all as it shows just how much the festival is loved in this city.

Special thanks to the following people who really helped our effort over the last weeks (and in some cases months) and to some major funding organisations: Sarah Marshall @ Sheffield Star, Lucy Howard @ Sheffield Wire, Howie Pressman @ BBC Radio Sheffield, Peter Gilbert @ the Green Party, Sidney & Matilda, South Yorkshire Community Foundation, JG Graves Charitable Trust, and some of the lovely folk who have arranged events for us: Henry White and Spencer Edwins.

The donations
It would be fair to ask “what are you going to do with the donations you have received?” These donations will all go directly towards putting on Peace in the Park 2023 (more info on that below). There are some minor administration costs throughout the year, but the vast majority (90%+) of the money we have raised through this year’s fundraising events and the mammoth efforts of the last few weeks will all be the springboard from which we will bring you…

PITP 2023
It is not all doom and gloom. Although the last few weeks have been quite trying and upsetting, we have really found ourselves as a team, and we are all more than excited to begin the Peace in the Park 2023 campaign, and we’re keen to let you know that we are more than just a festival. We care about the community of Sheffield and we want to bring the joy of that glorious day dancing on the Ponderosa and spread it across Sheffield throughout the year.

We are planning more events, and more ways to involve more people, to spread the messages of Love and Peace. Keep your eyes peeled for further information.

2023 marks 20 years since Peace in the Park started in Devonshire Green as a protest against the Iraq war. We hope to do something really special to mark the occasion, and as we all dry our eyes, we are starting to get excited about bringing you something wonderful.

Refunds
We are aware that times are tight, and you may have donated for the festival this year but not be around next year. If you would like a refund, we will obviously have to ask for proof of the donation, but once that is given we will happily reimburse you. In this case please get in touch with us on the email address here: contact@peaceinthepark.org.uk. We do hope, though, that you will be able to let us put your donation towards next year and that you will be joining us then!

For press and media enquiries please email the team on contact@peaceinthepark.org.uk.
Twitter:@PeaceinthePark
Instagram:@peaceintheparksheffield
Facebook:@peaceintheparksheffield

Donation link: https://localgiving.org/charity/peaceinthepark/ Paypal to kinder@peaceinthepark.org.uk

Remember
– Continue to be kind
– Support local business
– Love your pets & share pics of them looking cute 🐶
– Stay safe
From us all, Peace ☮️✌️ x

Grab some tasty vegan food, get a drink, and let your kids watch some free movies (and you can sneak a peek too). Can you guess what the films are?

The school holidays are back, so that means our 12.30pm free family movies are too.

Can you guess what films we are showing this time from the clues below?

Bring your little ones for lunch, we have kids meal deals available for £7.50.

- April 4th: Set in an Australian rainforest inhabited by fairies. One fairy shrinks a young logger kid to their size, then together they rally the other fairies and animals of the forest to protect it from harm.
- 5th: The first animated film from a hugely popular Japanese franchise featuring pocket monsters. Gotta catch 'em all.
- 6th: An elderly widower and young boy, go on a journey via lots of balloons to South America.
- 7th: The story of a fox, and his spree of thefts that results in his family, and community, being hunted down by three farmers.
- 8th: A film about the adventures of an Ogre trying to reclaim his swamp.
- 11th: A modern live action and animated retelling of a beloved rabbit who likes getting in to mischief.
- 12th: Easter has arrived for the animals that live in the 100 acre wood.
- 13th: A set of prehistoric mammal pals launch a new egg-sitting service, but when a pirate bunny steals the egg, the gang have to go off on a daring rescue mission which turns into the worlds first egg hunt.
- 14th: The film follows a young rabbit who would rather drum in a band than succeed his father as the Easter Bunny.
- 15th: The original film that brings to life the worlds most magical chocolate factory and its eccentric owner.

Find out more on their Facebook event page.

The WEvolve organisers told Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Neepsend news:

Looking for a flexible, strong, physique body and a calm, positive mind? Here, at WEvolve you can achieve an ultimate balance between your mind, body, and soul. At the WEvolve event, people can release stress in a positive way while keeping happiness in mind.

The event is from 10.30am to 4.30pm, on Saturday 19th March 2022, at Heist Brewery Co. It has three main focus which are (1) beer & yoga, (2) meditation, and (3) calligraphy. Beer & yoga helps attendees to relax the body, meditation helps to calm the soul and achieve inner peace. Calligraphy represents the art of calm and peace which helps to clear and release the mind.

For tickets, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wevolve-tickets-273455762547 and please follow us on Instagram @wevolve0320 for more exciting updates!

WEvolve, we create, you celebrate!

Cavendish Cancer Care supports local people who are living with cancer. They give them and their families the chance to talk in confidence and offer complementary therapies to help alleviate both the emotional strain of cancer, and the physical side effects of the illness and its treatment.

They are an independent Sheffield charity and have been helping people across South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire since 1991.

Heist Brew Co can be found at 107 Neepsend Lane, S3 8AT.

The Central Local Area Committee is holding a roadshow to talk to you in your area. Drop in to meet the team and find out more about the community plan for Central Sheffield. It's your chance to ask questions and tell them what you think.

The drop-in for residents of the Walkley ward (which includes Netherthorpe and Upperthorpe) is to be held at the Zest Centre in Upperthorpe on Monday 28 February from 1pm - 3pm. You can find the centre at 18 Upperthorpe, Sheffield, S6 3NA.

The community plan has been shaped by speaking to our communities to find out what you would like to see improved or changed.

The plan will be presented for approval by the committee at our next public meeting on 21 March.

Zest accessibility information

There are a number of disability ramps which make access to any part of the Centre easy for wheelchair users.

Other facilities include disabled toilets, baby changing and a lift allowing access to facilities on the first floor of the building.

The swimming pool has a range of disabled changing facilities, with both ramp and hoist access into the pool.

It moved from a thriving pub in the 90s and early 2000s to somewhere that was mostly empty and seemed to have new management every few years. Closing its doors for good in 2016, the Star and Garter has now been demolished and replaced by a 16-storey block of student flats.

Situated on the corner of Winter Street and Weston Street, the Star and Garter had staff accommodation upstairs and a beer garden. There was a pool table, karaoke nights and, in the old days, a juke box. The surrounding area in Netherthorpe was mostly rebuilt in the 60s, from back-to-back terraces to a combination of houses and flats. Across the main road is the university's Arts Tower.

I asked friends about their memories of the Star and Garter.

If you have other memories of the place, let me know.

Michelle remembers "Drinking real ales with my then fiance" and Emily recalls "It was our local when we first got married, drank way to much proper guiness in there, sometimes even had a shamrock on the top".

In the mid-1990s, the University of Sheffield's LGBT+ Group (then called the LGB group) would descend on the Star and Garter on Tuesday nights, following group meetings, and on Fridays before the monthly Climax club night. That was when I got to know and love the place. We would watch Queer as Folk on the giant TV on the wall, play pool and win 30 seconds behind the bar on the pub quiz.

Here are my LGB friends' memories of the pub:

Tom: The uni of Shef LGB committee socials used to convene there on Tuesday nights in my first year. When Queer as Folk was on, (so 1999?) they used to put it on the big screen for us. I think this pissed off some of the regulars.

Claire: I dunno how many of my memories are repeatable on here (that sounds worse than it is, can DM you to illustrate what I mean). I’ve got many memories of long conversations with people including:

The LGB socials

Shahidah and Sean

Various political societies

On such topics as: socialism (various sorts), feminism (various sorts), LGBT liberation, sex, periods, what do we mean when we say queer?, in a perfect universe would people need antidepressants?, sandwich fillings, music (various sorts), orgies, bike theft.

It was an eclectic place.

Sunny: LGB group on Tuesday, pagan society on Sunday. My 20th birthday, Lucy and Alex ambushing me with a cake that they had lit in the toilets, before going to Lucy's Filey St house for my party.

Abi: Loved that pub. Did it also have a quiz on the Tuesday nights we went in after LGB night? I used to go 95-98.

Jeni: definitely a quiz there every Tuesday night after LGB Soc. I used to read the quiz in exchange for a pint! I graduated in ‘98 so it was before then.

Jen: Some of the best memories of my University years there spent with brilliant people, drinking, watching Queer As Folk and Bad Girls, playing pool, quizzing, dancing…

Gayle: I so remember Bad Girls! Plus Queer As Folk on the big screen. The Jesses, Lucy - so many friendships and more!

Dharmamayi: So many memories! LGB stuff, Adam always being there, kissed my first girl there, many drunken days and nights of setting the world to rights, playing pool, smoking, laughing, deepening friendships. Do also remember Queer As Folk on the big screen. Can’t believe it no longer exists!! 

Adam: I feel like I was 40% Star and Garter, 40% LGB Lounge and 20% lectures.

Katie: LGB socials, QAF. The time I walked in with a shaved head after ‘doing a Britney’ before even Britney did it. So many conversations, so many drunken nights, so many friendships (and more) made in there. Mostly a haze now - I blame the beer.

Tom: I have a vague memory of Jen and others sat in there, planning to go to Climax dressed as the various ages of Cher a good 17 years before RuPauls Drag race did the exact same bit.

Gayle: Was Tuesday Gay night? We used to meet up and the lesbians would always we gathered around the pool table and the gay guys would be at the tables along the window. The same people would sit in pretty much the same seats. Some older Lesbians would sit at the actual bar. I loved it! I met so so many great people in there!

Lucy: I should add that my first date with my wife was in the Star and Garter on a Sunday afternoon. It was a blind date. The date lasted until Tuesday morning. We are still together 24 years later.

Adam, who is mentioned above, drank, worked and even lived in the Star and Garter for a while. Stay tuned for an interview with him about his memories of the place.

Our Bodies Our Streets also created a memorial sculpture that was placed in the Ponderosa but the sculpture was burned in an arson attack soon afterwards. This, along with the fact that a lot of harassment of women by men had taken place in the Netherthorpe / Upperthorpe park means that the group chose the Ponderosa as the site of an attempt to improve women's safety.

Working with Sheffield City Council, Our Bodies Our Streets announced a plan for improved lighting in the Ponderosa. The original idea involved something more than just basic LED floodlights, which create shadows as well as light and are a rather blunt tool. Instead, creative thinking would be applied to make the lighting appropriate and reassuring.

In tonight's consultation meeting, it became clear that what was on offer was less creative than this. LED lampposts are back on the table and the lights are only being placed on a few paths in the park, avoiding addressing the problems with the apparently more dangerous tree-covered area at the top of the hill by Crookes Valley Road.

Conversations also took place in this meeting about what times the lights would be on. 3pm - 8pm was tabled but, as this would be unhelpful for the many people who want to walk through the park after a night out or a late shift, that discussion has been reopened.

Although the great plans by Our Bodies Our Streets for something less basic than LED lampposts seem to have been scuppered because of cost considerations and time constraints, better safety in the Ponderosa is well overdue. Hopefully this lighting will form part of the solution for not only preventing the ongoing devastation of violence against women but also benefiting the whole Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe communities.

If your view of vegan food is that it is boring, tasteless and relentlessly green, I have great news for you. Church: Temple of Fun is one of a growing number of vegan spaces in Sheffield that highlight that flavour, texture and deliciousness lead the way.

In 2016, a tiny cafe launched in Meersbrook. Make No Bones was vegan fast food of the highest quality. With their trademark avocado wings and incredible ribs, they were at the start of a growing trend in the city. When the cafe closed for Make No Bones to be part of a whole new vegan enterprise, foodies were excited. And although Make No Bones is no longer part of Church: Temple of Fun (it can now be found at The Old Workshop, also in Neepsend), Church continues to make its mark.

Situated in a converted industrial building, Church's website describes itself as:

Home to Sheffield's first arcade bar and inspired by South American religious iconography, Church has a 100% vegan bar and street food kitchen, which will satisfy the taste buds of vegans and omnis alike.

Over drinks you can lose yourself in an arcade that includes playstation gaming pods, retro arcade machines and a pool table.

All our food and drinks can be enjoyed inside or outside on our balcony terrace overlooking the River Don.

Also a 220 capacity live music venue, keep checking the calendar page and Church social media channels to be the first to hear about all upcoming events, with the first major live event hosted back in July 2018 by Toddla T for Sheffield's Tramlines festival featuring a DJ set from Radio 1's Annie Mac.

Bring Me The Horizon, Deaf Havana and Sophie and the Giants have all performed here and we also host free movie nights and gaming days.

Many were concerned that the food would go downhill following the departure of Make No Bones, but a visit yesterday proved that Church is still a worthwhile destination for great vegan snap. I had the Frango burger (top pic), tempted mainly by the idea of truffle mayo, and popcorn cauliflower bites.

The cauli bites were my favourite, crunchy with dips (particular props to that ranch dip, which I now want to cover everything I eat with) but still recognisably cauliflower. The burger had so many toppings and accoutrements that every mouthful was different. I loved it all.

The woman who served us was attentive and helpful, drinks came quickly and we didn't feel rushed to leave (though admittedly it wasn't busy). A vegan bar might sound like it will be short of all the tasty things but there was plenty of choice and most people wouldn't even notice it was all animal-free unless they already knew.

Prices were reasonable. For my burger and cauli bites and several drinks, it came to just under £20.

I'm not vegan but, like most people, am keen to incorporate as much plant-based food into my diet as possible. Places like Church: Temple of Fun make that easy. Book in advance if you can, and follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get news about their movie nights, bands and other plans.

Image Credits: Philippa Willitts.

This fascinating video is on YouTube. There is very little background information about it, just that it is a "Vintage film taken from a very old VHS copy. Crookesmoor, Netherthorpe and other Sheffield areas from many years ago.".

Certainly, a lot of the film is unrecognisable to the Netherthorpe and surrounding areas that we know today, but the glimpse of Summer Street in Netherthorpe is very easy to associate with its modern appearance, although the buildings are all very different.

I watched every frame of this video, it is an absolutely fascinating - and bleak in places - treasure trove of Sheffield and Netherthorpe history. I would love to know more about it.

Do you recognise Netherthorpe as it was in these videos? Do you recognise any of the children in the clips? Do you have any more information on when this was filmed, or what it was for? Would you like to share your memories of Netherthorpe? Get in touch!

South Yorkshire Police report:

We are increasing patrols in and around the Weston Park area of Sheffield after a recent spate of knife-point robberies. Officers believe the five reported incidents are linked and have launched investigations into each one.

Inspector Kevin Smith of the Sheffield North West Neighbourhood Policing Team, said:

“Thankfully, no-one has been injured during any of these incidents but they have been frightening ordeals for the victims – they have all been threatened with a knife or other bladed weapon and forced to hand over their possessions. We are taking all five instances extremely seriously and have increased the number of high visibility patrols in and around the area to help reassure people and to deter further offences.”

The first incident happened at 7pm on Sunday 16 January in Weston Park near to the main university building. A man aged in his 20s was walking with his partner when they were approached by three men, aged 16-to-19, all wearing balaclavas or face coverings and described as potentially being Asian. One of them then threatened the victim with a flick knife, holding it to his stomach, before demanding his phone and wallet. The three made off with the items in the direction of Ponderosa Park / Crookes Valley Park.

The second incident happened a short time later at 7.06pm at Ponderosa Park near to the top near Stephen’s Walk when a woman in her 30s was walking through the park. She saw a man talking on his phone and three additional men then started walking towards her. One of the three then demanded her phone and wallet and held a flick knife to her face before making off with the wallet towards the fourth man. All four were described as wearing dark clothing and the three together had snoods on and hoods over their heads. One of them was described as aged 17-to-19.

Officers are also investigating a reported robbery on Western Bank which happened at 7.15pm on Saturday 22 January. A man aged in his 20s was walking along the road towards Crookes Valley Road when he was surrounded by three people, one of whom was carrying a long bladed knife. They demanded his phone and wallet before making off towards Crookes Valley Park with the items and his headphones. They were described as speaking with local accents.

The fourth incident happened later that night at 8.30pm in the underpass on St Phillips Road when a man aged in his 20s was surrounded by five men, described as being 17, one of whom had a large knife. They then demanded his phone and wallet and pushed the victim against the wall before making off with the items. They also tried to unsuccessfully take his back pack.

The fifth robbery happened at 7.30pm in the same place on Tuesday 25 January when a woman in her 20s was threatened by three men aged between 16 and 17. One of them had a knife and they demanded cash before making off.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101. Alternatively you can use the online reporting tool at: https://www.southyorkshire.police.uk/contact-us/report-something/

Image Credits: David (Davo) Smith.