Walking past Hillsborough Barracks
by Anne Garage in #walk100miles, Career change, Sheffield, Uncategorized, walking, Walkley Tags: Hillsborough Barracks, local history, Sheffield
I was working today, in my new job as a project worker at the Burton Street Foundation, helping to support adults with learning disabilities. It's the first job I've had in ten years that I can walk to! Now I'm wishing that it was a bit further away, because even with a walk to the shops of Hillsborough after work, I only managed to clock up 2.12 miles today, in distance anyway. Still, I did walk back carrying baking potatoes, sweet potatoes, an aubergine and a cauliflower.
I'm sure I'll be walking around here a lot, and there is some interesting history in this part of Sheffield. One of the places I walked past today is Hillsborough Barracks. It's a complex of buildings that many local people now take for granted, as in the 1980s-90s, it was redeveloped and is now the home of Morrisons Supermarket, various shops, a hotel, a job centre and part of Sheffield College, where I once learned about databases and spreadsheets! But it's a Grade Two Listed Building and is the only surviving example of a walled barracks in the whole of the UK.
The barracks were built in 1848 and used up until 1930, and over the years, it gradually fell into disrepair before its regeneration. Thousands of soldiers, from officers to privates, lived here, and I'm sure I'll find lots of links with it in my other walks around this area. It would be fascinating to step back in time and see what it was like in its heyday.
The Chapel of the Barracks
The main entrance to the barracks from Langsett Road
The barracks has turrets around its perimeter
A Spot of Urban Birding
by Anne Garage in Art, Friendship, Peak District, Poetry, Self Esteem, Sheffield, Urban Nature, Vegan, Walkley, Wildlife, Writing Tags: Blake Hotel, creative writing, first draft, Full Monty, poetry, RSPB, Ruskin Park
Swans by sunset, Rother Valley Park
Moon and pink sky, Rother Valley Park
The rare sight of the Damflask reservoir overflow in action
Ruskin Park: Winter branches against blue sky
Ruskin Park: A child's den in a clearing
Ruskin Park: interesting fungi on an old tree trunk
My January has been fairly quiet so far. Instead of crazy nights out and lots of live music, it's mostly been about settling down to work and creativity, and catching up with friends by going on bracing walks in the parks and countryside around Sheffield.
I've been swimming a few times at my local pool, dodging dive-bombing kids and people ploughing up and down. There have been a few pleasant nights in the pub, but more often, I've been watching episodes of Dr Who while wrapped in a blanket on the sofa while finishing off the Christmas cake. Very rock 'n' roll! And finishing off all those Christmas treats has cancelled out all the calories burned by the brisk walks. But it's been a happy time of making plans and trying to establish good routines.
I've set myself a goal of spending thirty minutes of the day at least working on my novel. It doesn't sound a lot, and there have been days when I haven't even been able to manage that, but since New Year, I finally feel that the end of the first draft of 'Distortion' is very close. Just a couple of chapters to go, and I'm starting to tie up a lot of the loose ends in the novel.
I think the secret is to write a little and often, doing it first where possible, rather than leaving it until everything else is done – including chores like cleaning the bathroom and sorting out laundry! And when it's just not possible to do any writing, I've prioritised it the following day, rather than beating myself up for "failing". As humans, we seem programmed to be "all or nothing" – just as many people seem to give up on being vegetarian after giving in to the temptation of eating one bacon sandwich, I wonder how many aspiring writers lose faith in themselves after setting themselves a much too ambitious routine?
If you're trying to write something and you're feeling uninspired, or worried that you're going to churn out a load of crap, just set a timer, get on with it, and don't worry. A first draft is supposed to be rubbish. But a crappy first draft is better than a blank page. It's something to tinker and fiddle with until you've got it right. Those rough words on the page can generate brilliant new ideas. The main thing to concentrate on is whether the words you've written have got you from A-B in your story.
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch in Ruskin Park
This morning, I set off on a micro-adventure: a journey of discovery in my local green space: Ruskin Park in Walkley, Sheffield. Amazingly, this park is only about as old as me, having been created following the slum-clearance of Victorian terraced houses. In that time, the park has grown several copses of fir, ash, alder, willow (there isn't a stream, but the ground must be quite damp in places with those species), hazel and elder. The playground is very popular with local families, and there is even a zip-wire! At the opposite end of the park from my house is the Blake Hotel, refurbished several years ago following years of lying derelict. Now it's one of Sheffield's favourite pubs with its wide selection of real ales. Ruskin Park also had a cameo role in blockbuster film, The Full Monty!
It was such a lovely morning – much milder than the snowy, icy conditions we've had recently, and there was a real feeling of spring in the air. I wanted to get out into the park, rather than sitting in the house, looking down into my tiny garden. I've spotted plenty of wildlife there in the past, but I wanted to get some fresh air and look for some wildlife.
I had a great time in the park, exploring the woods and paths, dodging dog poo, avoiding patches of remaining ice and snow and getting my boots muddy! It was worth it though. The park is full of signs of spring: hazel catkins, daffodils starting to push their way through the grass, and some elders in a clearing were putting out their first leaves. This morning, urban sounds mingled with birdsong and church bells. In the Big Garden Birdwatch (you're allowed to do your birdwatching in a park too), you have to record the largest number of each species of birds that you see at the same time. It doesn't say anything about birds that you can hear but not see, so even though I heard a robin singing and house sparrows chirping from a bush, I couldn't count them!
Here's the full tally from my hour of bird-watching – the numbers indicating the biggest number of each bird I saw at any one time:
Blackbird: 1
Woodpigeon: 3
Chaffinch: 5
Bluetit: 3
Crow: 1
Long tailed tits: 5
Great tits: 2
Bullfinch: 1
Goldfinch: 6
Blackheaded gull: 1
Starling: 8
Magpie: 1
Wren: 1
Collared doves: 6
And finally, here's the poem that I wrote about the experience!
Bird Watching in Ruskin Park
In dense hedges, sparrows chirp,
A blackbird skulks by the path.
Children jump in the playground –
Chimes ring under their feet.
Collared doves call, complaining.
In the copse, blue tits call and scold.
Police sirens, a helicopter's whirr;
My face warm to the winter sun.
A small dog barks, starlings chirr,
Crow surveys the view, perched high –
Comments with a hoarse caw.
Woodpigeon naps in a fir tree.
Dirty snow litters the ground.
Treetop nests from last year, stark
Against blue sky and white clouds.
Cold nips my fingers but doesn't bite.
Like a burbling fax machine modem,
A cacophony of goldfinches in gangs
Perch on twig-tops of hawthorn and willow.
Long-tailed tits dart, poised; scruffily puffed.
The church bells chime; a robin sings –
Elders in the clearing burst into leaf
Hazel catkins tremble in the breeze.
Mud underfoot: footballers shout.
Chaffinches, launched like bobbing missiles:
Wings folded, cross the snow-flecked pitch.
A small plane chugs over the city; high above
The daring stunt-fliers in the winter park.
December: A Manic Month of Mayhem! (Time for a rest?)
by Anne Garage in Art, Career change, Dance, Festivals, Friendship, Inspiring women, Music, Peak District, Self Esteem, Sheffield, Subcultures, Uncategorized, Urban Nature, Vegan, Walkley, Writing Tags: Arches Nightclub, Castleton, Folk Train, Gogol Bordello, Good Omens, Headcharge, Hope, Kedleston Hall, Manic Street Preachers, New Mills, Sheffield Folk Chorale, snow, Stanage, The Holy Bible Tour, Treak Cliff Cavern, Walkley, Wicker Arches, Winter Solstice
If I thought there were lots of gigs in November, the pace was set to continue, with lots more gigs and events – and that's on top of Christmas and the New Year.
During the start of December, I was working hard, and gently starting to prepare for Christmas. But that was all about to change.
The 11th December had been in my diary for months. I was lucky enough to have a ticket for the Manic Street Preachers, playing The Holy Bible album in full. It feels unbelievable, but 2014 was the twentieth anniversary of this harrowing, critically acclaimed and essential album, an album influenced by angular post-punk, rather than the glam metal and grunge of the previous two albums. In the months after its release, lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared from a London hotel room, and has never been found.
Against all expectations, the Manic Street Preachers continued as a three-piece band, and they have now released twelve studio albums. They seemed busier and more productive than ever in 2014, having released Futurology in July. A tour to commemorate The Holy Bible was fervently wished for by fans, but it was unsure if the band would want to revisit old ground that invoked such painful memories of their friend's disappearance.
But in late September, the band officially announced the tour dates, and my friend Louise managed to get tickets for the Albert Hall in Manchester. On a stormy, sleety afternoon (I didn't dare to cross the Pennines by the Snake Pass or the Woodhead) we drove to Manchester, arriving in good time at Louise's boyfriend Peter's flat, where he cooked a lovely meal, and I opened a bottle of red wine as a reward for battling the rain and the rush hour.
The gig was everything I hoped it would be. The Albert Hall was build in 1910 as a Wesleyan Chapel (very fitting when you think of the Methodist upbringings of the young Manic Street Preachers and the religious title of the album they were about to play in full. Ornate tiles, stained glass and cast-iron pillars added to the atmosphere of the venue. There was no support band, and we enjoyed the DJs and drank beer with mounting excitement.
Bright lights and camo netting
Sailor-suited
Yes, we were quite excited!
The band appear onstage. The thing that hits me first is the empty space – the space where Richey Edwards used to perform – front left. This space has always been left, but as they launch into 'Yes', the first track from the album, about prostitution and exploitation, it feels incredibly stark. The stage is draped in camouflage netting, and James, Nicky and Sean are wearing their combat chic, just like in 1994. Nicky is all in black, his face half-hidden by outsize shades, and James Dean Bradfield wears a black sailor's top. The songs are tight and powerful, and in such an intimate space, it becomes obvious what an outstanding guitarist James is, and also how hard he has to work: carrying the weight of these songs about human suffering and cruelty. It was brilliant to experience The Holy Bible being performed live, but the gig went far too fast to take in.
After all the emotional intensity, the Manics then delivered a brilliant second set with songs from the rest of their career. A particular highlight for me was Dreaming a City (Hughesovka) from Futurology, really allowing James' guitar heroics full reign. The Manics ended with their traditional closing number A Design for Life, before we were kicked out into the pouring rain. It had been an amazing night!
The next day, I was doing it all again, this time seeing another of my all-time favourite bands, Gogol Bordello at the O2 in Sheffield, with my friend Kirsty, her husband Mark and old uni friend Katy. After stopping off in Pennine town New Mills to take photographs for an adult education session, the drive back was a little stressful, due to a blizzard in the Peak District. I didn't fancy taking any of my usual shortcuts on minor roads as it looked too slippery, but luckily, but the time I arrived back in Sheffield, the long way round, there was no sign of snow!
The O2 felt pretty chilly though, but support band Mariachi El Bronx, who combine punk with Mexican Mariachi music, including tiny and gigantic guitars, trumpets, violins, accordions and maracas! I think it was Mark's Santa had and Christmas tie (he'd just come from his work Christmas party) that made the singer announce that he was feeling Christmassy for the first time! The band looked great in proper gold-fringed Mariachi outfits.
Gogol Bordello themselves were a riot of colour, attitude and fun. Singer Eugene Hutz is the only person I can think of who would get away with wearing satin boxer's style shorts and pointy black and red cowboy boots. Since I last saw them at Download last year, they've had some line-up changes – a leather-clad accordion player called Pasha, and bald, Les Paul toting guitarist Michael Ward (Eugene Hutz lied in his announcement – he's American, not from Sheffield!) They played songs from their breakthrough album Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, right up to their latest album Pura Vida Conspiracy. Gogol Bordelo have built up a big cult following over the years, with a devoted audience wearing the t-shirts and outfits inspired by Hutz's off-kilter colourful sense of style. The place was packed, but the crowd were friendly and up for a good dance/mosh.
Their sound is fresh and still evolving, with heavier guitars combining with Latin rhythms. They are one of the most multi-national bands I know of, formed in 1999 in the cultural melting-pot of down-town New York; the vision of Ukrainian immigrant Hutz, who was hungry for success as a musician and actor. A Gogol Bordello gig is a very entertaining experience – each member of the band is a stunning musician, and although Eugene Hutz is one of the world's most engaging frontmen, every member of the band has a chance to shine, and violinist Sergey Ryabtsev deserves a special mention for his virtuosity and on-stage antics. The first time I saw them, in 2006, at Rock City in Nottingham, I hugged him! That's my claim to fame, anyway. He looked quite surprised! This time, we just left with smiles on our faces and our ears ringing.
Mariachi el Bronx
Gogol Bordello. How did Eugene Hutz get away with those shorts?
Sergey! And rapper Pedro Erazo.
I felt a bit wrung out after two big gigs in a row. I don't know how I hack it when I'm at a festival, but going to see a band in a proper venue is always a treat. I concentrated on Christmas and went back home to stay with my parents and see family members on the next weekend – it was good to calm down for a bit!
My mum is a volunteer room steward for the National Trust at Kedleston Hall, and she recommended that I visited the stately home while it was open for Christmas. My dad and I went along and I'm really glad I did. The sight of Grecian statues covered in fairy lights really made me giggle, and I loved the atmosphere of the grand rooms lit only by flickering LED candles. Even when it was lit for grand dinner parties and balls, this eighteenth century mansion must have been full of shadows and mystery. It was really a visit to spark the imagination.
A spooky view of Kedleston's lake
Figleaves and fairy lights
A very grand Christmas fireplace
The next day was the winter solstice. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll remember that I spent the summer solstice up Glastonbury Tor. That was a long way away, so I suggested that we should wake up before the official sunrise (8.15am) and walk to Bunkers Hill, a viewpoint near the ridiculously posh village of Quarndon, a mile or so up the road from my parents' house. The sky was already turning red as we walked up Woodlands Road up to the park, but we got to Bunkers Hill just in time to see the sun rise above the horizon. We were lucky, because it started raining just as we got back to the house. Later on, we met up with family members and went to my Aunt Marion's annual Christmas party. It was lovely to see everyone. I'll always remember the 21st December as the anniversary of my grandad's death, thirteen years ago, so my mum lit candles in his memory, which was lovely.
Winter Solstice sunrise
Mum and Dad at Bunkers Hill
A spooky tree that looks like a face in Allestree park!
On Tuesday 23rd December, I gathered up some friends for a Christmas dinner (nut roast with all the trimmings) and lots of mulled wine. Eventually, we made it out of the house in time to catch the folk train! It was rammed, but very good-natured. Some of my friends managed to get seats, but the rest of us were crammed into the corridor but we didn't mind! On the way to Edale, local choir The Sheffield Folk Chorale entertained us with Christmas carols and gave out song sheets so we could join in.
I hope the customers having a quiet night at the Rambler in Edale were warned about the hoards of people who descended on the pub in one go, once we got off the train! It was like being part of a huge procession walking from the railway station to the pub just around the corner. Surprisingly, we got served fairly quickly, and found a corner with seats to drink our pints. In the main room in the pub, the choir conductor stood on a table, and the choir started singing! They did a great version of Fairytale in New York, as well as more traditional carols.
On the way home, the choir sung some traditional Sheffield carols, such as Sweet Bells, which is a version of 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night' which originates from Stannington in Sheffield and has now been made famous by folk singer Kate Rusby. It was a beautiful moment. At the other end of the journey, the choir sang around the Christmas tree at Sheffield railway station before we all headed off to the Sheffield Tap for a final beer.
A pre-Christmas dinner with friends!
Christmas carols on the train
Carols in Sheffield railway station
I spent Christmas Eve collecting holly for a touch of traditional decoration, and preparing a mountain of vegetables for Christmas, even though there were only four people eating, enjoying listening to the radio adaptation of Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, followed by a selection of rockabilly Christmas CDs played by my other half!
Christmas Day went smoothly, except for my dad's self-timer on his camera not working, and then the batteries ran out, but we used my camera instead, and we went for a lovely afternoon walk in the local park and took the chance to have a go on the huge swing that's popped up near us! Even my dad had a go!
On the morning of Boxing Day, we had a bracing, if a little foggy walk to Stanage Edge from Redmires Reservoir, which was popular with a lot of other people trying to blow away the cobwebs after a Christmas blow-out! And then at tea-time, it started to snow…and snow…and snow… until we woke up the next day in a winter wonderland /nightmare, depending if you had to get anywhere. Luckily, we fell into the first category, and the snow looked very pretty, with lots of families enjoying sledging in Ruskin Park.
Christmas Day – Dad on a swing!
View – what view? On Stanage Edge
The snow falls on Boxing Day
A few days later, and the snow had turned very icy and slippery on the pavements, which is tricky if you live in such a hilly city, so we caught the train when we went to meet an old uni friend in Castleton in the Peak District and went down the Blue John mine at Treak Cliff Cavern, which truly has some stunning sights, and actually felt quite warm underground!
Snowy Ruskin Park, Walkley
Hope Railway Station in the snow
And so we come to New Year's Eve! The pavements were still icy, but I headed out to the city centre for some early drinks with a friend. It was very quiet, but I was due at another friend's house for a small gathering with wine and pizza (I supplied my own vegan garlic bread and some Christmas cake – which I always seem to end up eating myself!) It was all very civilised, and for a while, it looked like we were destined to enjoy Jools Holland's Hootenanny and the Queen concert that followed on TV. But my friend Angelina was determined to drag us out to enjoy ourselves, so we put our boots on and slid out onto the melting ice and headed first to the Three Tuns, a lovely little pub on the outskirts of the city centre, where the party was in full swing, with DJs playing some great music.
After a pint…or was it two? I can't remember, we ended up at the Dada bar, where the Dub Central New Year's party was happening. It was a bit quiet, but we know the lady who ran it, and I vaguely remember a round of aniseed flavoured shots! This was probably the point where things got a bit hazy.
We'd heard about a party in the Wicker Arches, so a group of us stumbled out of town, towards the Victorian railway arches. Over the years, several of the arches and the tunnels underneath have been used as party venues, and we headed to the last place we'd been to a party near there, only to find it all very quiet. Maybe the party was in one of the arches further along? I have vague memories of walking along the "spider bridge", suspended over the river that runs through one of the arches. And then we found the party.
It was in the old "Arches" nightclub, which I hadn't been inside for at least ten years. Angelina and I met in 2004, working together in a building very close by. The nightclub was already closed then, and shortly afterwards, the new ring-road was built, right next to the railway arches. Then the dramatic floods of 2007, when the river burst its banks and swept down the Wicker, must have caused terrible damage. But there it was, like some kind of mirage from 1999.
When we were students, a long time ago in the 90s, the Arches was a by-word for a crazy night out. Headcharge played dance music of all kinds, but mostly house, techno and trance. Rough and ready, it was the place to go if you wanted to rave all night long, with the main club inside the old railway arches, and metal stairs leading up to the bar, toilets (always a bit crazy in themselves), and a weird, corrugated iron-roofed chill-out area. It's all still there. I was amazed. We just walked in through the fire escape, and it seemed to be a free party of some kind, but it was packed, and lots of people we knew were there – and lots of other people who were also veterans of the club scene in the 90s, who'd somehow ended up here. It was like being in a dream – a very strange, euphoric dream. It had to be a dream- the toilets had toilet paper! The music was thumping… it was like we'd taken a trip in the Tardis (although it had actually just been some wine, several pints of ale, that weird aniseed spirit, and some rum). I can't even find anything about it on the internet…It was like a mirage.
Eventually, we looked at our watches and were absolutely mind-boggled to realise what the time was. It was about to get light! We were absolutely shattered. Within a few minutes, we'd flagged down a taxi and were on our way to a terrible New Year hangover. It was worth it though. The only clue that my Wicker Arches adventures were real was the mud on my coat and all over my boots. In my drunken state, I somehow managed to get the dustpan and brush and the carpet cleaner out before I stumbled into bed.
After all that excitement, I've been teetotal so far in the New Year. I'm looking forward to an action-packed year, when hard work and creativity are combined with good times with friends and amazing music of all kinds!