I was born in Sheffield in 1939, and left for Canada in 1965. Never been back, and by the sounds of what I am reading on this forum, I never will return. There were no good or bad areas when I was growing up, just posh and poor! Buses were frequent, as were the original trams! I had relatives living on the Manor estate, Crookes, Walkley, Arbuthorne (sp) and Darnall. None of them had any problems with vandals. You could walk down any street, at any time night or day, no problems. There were a few pubs that had reputations, so we stayed out of them! Duh!! Hooligans got a swift kick in the arse by the local bobby, an even harder kick from the old man (dad), We had no TV, video games, no X box or stuff like that, just an owd bike that saw many years of service. Millhouses and Hillsborough parks were beautifully kept, and we respected the work that the 'parkies' did! Foxhill was brand new when we went there to live, 1940, but I suppose all that has changed? For the worse, by the sound of it. I do miss a few things about my birth place, but I suppose things always look better in hindsight?

You'd be right that its changed in Sheffield, some for the better and some for the worse, mainly the latter.
All the grimey steel works on the east end have disapeared now, so as all of the smog that went with it, not to mention the jobs.
Now well, its got drug problems and all the other unsocial clientel that infest our estates these days and the 1960s in Sheffield as you knew it no longer exists.
I was a child in the 60s and lived in Pitsmoor which was newly built then, there were PC Ward, a nice copper for the period but he was always in the area dealing with wrong doers and they were'nt that many.
Every one had a job and Pitsmoor would be empty during the day as we were at school, the dads were at work and most of the mums to then it would come to life late afternoon when all the kids came out of school and played outdoor games, knocked on the odd door and ran away were you dad found out later and you got a scutch.
Everthing was cleaner but the slums had started to disapeare and you could get the 150 bus to Firthpark and sit on top of Wincobank hill and try and spot the east end which was somewhere below the cloud of smog that permantly stood above Attercliffe and below Wincobank.
Did you know the Pye Bank area before the 60s oldtimer.
I would be interested in what it was like there pre 50s, we came from Fowler Street and lived on Grove Street.
I am to young to remember it but do you know what was around the old Pye bank school before the housing was built in 1963.

We lived in Ecclesfield before moving to Canada in 1979 and remember as a child how lovely it was. I returned several times to visit my parents but the worst time was during Thatchers reign when everything had gone downhill and my poor father, dying from Cancer looked out on his beloved rose gardens in the seniors complex to see them overgrown and neglected. The place was in a mess, curb sides were left uncut (councils job, I guess) but what amazed me was that the people who did keep nice gardens still didn't manage to move their mower to the curb. I would have thught that if you had any pride you would have mowed the curb grass too. I remember my father did when we were growing up. I never understood that.
I'm an artist and paint now, trying to recapture those lovely days of Ecclesfield and it's history. I haven't been back for a while but will make the pilgrimage one day.

You guys might be interested in this site http://www.picturesheffield.com/. It's packed with old photos of Sheffield.
:D

Cycleracer, a rather belated answer. I don't remember where Pyebank is! Give me an idea. As for Pitsmoor, I have a question. As far as I can remember, wasn't Pitsmoor the area between Neepsend and Corporation Street (where the public baths were)? I thought that area was older than the early '60's. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me?

Pyebank is the area to the right as you go down Burngreave Road towards Andover St, Nottingham St, Rock St where the old Irish social club was. Pitsmoor area is around the area opposite the old Mojo Club on the brow of the hill of Burngreave Road. I vaguely remember the baths at the bottom of Corporation St.
There are some people who try to bring down Sheffield on this BB but I bring friends from Holland here regularly and they love it. I for one love the Dutch cities so Sheffield has something for them (apart from the proximity to the Pennines) which I don't see because it's on the end of my nose. The Dutch spirit of architecture could be something the city planners could embrace though. There is indeed a total lack of progressiveness in the city's hallowed chambers of power.

Originally posted by oldtimer
......but I suppose things always look better in hindsight?


I think they were better in many ways. Kids weren't subverted by TV - I didn't see a TV until I was twelve and that was just to watch the coronation in a neighbour's house. A lot less crime and most petty crime was driven by genuine hardship not drug abuse.

Soft fruit was seasonal - I still don't feel comfortable with tomatoes and strawberries in December. Meat from the butchers was properly hung and tatsted like it was supposed to. Yesterdays's bread was half the price of today's bread...these days in can be on the supermarket shelf for several days and they still charge full price for it.

Parents weren't so fearful and anxious about their kids. From eight years old I used to take off on my own for hours on end in the school holidays with just a sandwich, an apple and a tanner (thruppence for tram fares and thruppence for emergencies) in my pocket. People were friendly and didn't treat you with the automatic suspicion that you were up to no good.

The downside was that in winter especially Sheffield could be a dark and dingy place and there were many bad smogs...but strangely asthma wasn't anything like the problem it is today. Kids used to die of other things - I had two classmates die from pneumonia when I was in secondary school.

You were on the opposite side of town to me, Oldtimer. We lived in Highfields..near the start of Abbeydale road.

GB

My parents took me to live on the Manor Estate when I was three years of age and my Mother said that it was a beautifull Estate in those days, there were Avenues of trees, wooden fences, well kept gardens, lovely homes, people were houseproud, they cared about the place where they lived.

However, all that changed in the sixties when the council decided to move problem families on to the Estate, and when I left there in the seventies it was a horrendus place to live, packs of dogs roaming all over the Estate, attacking anyone walking down the street, rubbish strewn all over the place, yobos looking at you through your own windows whilst sat in the chair, any flowers you planted would be pulled up and destroyed as soon as you went out, anything you left in your backyard would be stolen, I was glad to get away.

Yep, the Badger estate in Woodhouse was the same - started out great then you started getting problem families.

Going back to Pitsmoor, that was exactly the same and it was'nt built until 1963.
That went down hill in the early eightys through exact same reasons of the Manor estate.
Oldtimer your memory is not lapsed, Pye bank was built upon Woodside, Fowler Street and Grove Streetwhich was adjacent to the old Pitsmoor road,now Pye Bank Road.
See www.picturesheffield.com and that will remind you of that area as it was.

Hello you lot - have a look at the following:-

http://www.citysnapper.org/

http://www.spick.co.uk/

http://www.sheffnet.net/ghost.html

http://www.hendersonsrelish.com/content/relish.htm

http://www.idigsheffield.org.uk/

http://www.ourselvesourplace.org.uk/

http://ayup.co.uk/gallery/gallery.html

http://www.thefullmonty.freeserve.co.uk/sheffield_books.htm

http://www.sheffieldfhs.org.uk/Pub_con/Printed-Booklets.htm

http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/cs1ma/flood/book/contents.html

Got a few more but let me know when you're ready for them.

yea your right oldtimer up past the baths and outside the baths the star walk used to pass when all sheffield turned out to watch them .

hi i agree with you sheffield has changed 4the worst i used 2 live in the old darnal industry rd and it was a safer place then

Come on, Sheffield hasn't gone downhill any quicker or any further than any other city. I wouldn't live in any other major city instead of right here. Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, London. don;t try to tell me any of them are better than here.

I cannot remember Sheffield in days past four years ago - which is when I came here.
But much of what has been spoken about here I can say about my home town. The area has gone down hill rapidly - there are not enough people who care enough to make a place better and i think that is applicable nationwide for many towns and cities.

Moon

I was born in Brightside in 1931. We moved to Tinsley in 1940 and were watching the Broadway Melodies of 1939 at the Pavilion on the night of December 12th 1940 when the first blitz struck. We spent the night in a shelter on Attercliffe Common while an Irish cop stood at the top of the stairs giving us a running commentary on the action. The huns came again on Sunday December 15th and blew our house apart with us still in it. Luckily noone was hurt. I attended Nether Edge Grammar school and graduated in 1947, then joined W.T Flather as a machine apprentice till I joined the Navy. After 18 years in the service I worked for Davy United as a field engineer till I went to Montreal in 68. Altogether I have lived in North America for 36 years, 9 of them in good old Canada, and have lived in Connecticut since then. I have not been in Sheffield since 1989, but even then much of what I knew and loved about my dear old city had changed. Now the Wednesday is in the 2cnd division. God help us all!

good for you, I grew up in sheffield..I live in canada now, but still go back to visit, if I had enough money I would spend 6months there each year..ra ra sheffieldOriginally posted by pitsmoorlad
Come on, Sheffield hasn't gone downhill any quicker or any further than any other city. I wouldn't live in any other major city instead of right here. Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, London. don;t try to tell me any of them are better than here.

Originally posted by Bartonk
We lived in Ecclesfield before moving to Canada in 1979 and remember as a child how lovely it was. I returned several times to visit my parents but the worst time was during Thatchers reign when everything had gone downhill and my poor father, dying from Cancer looked out on his beloved rose gardens in the seniors complex to see them overgrown and neglected. The place was in a mess, curb sides were left uncut (councils job, I guess) but what amazed me was that the people who did keep nice gardens still didn't manage to move their mower to the curb. I would have thught that if you had any pride you would have mowed the curb grass too. I remember my father did when we were growing up. I never understood that.
I'm an artist and paint now, trying to recapture those lovely days of Ecclesfield and it's history. I haven't been back for a while but will make the pilgrimage one day.

Originally posted by artisan


Re the above and grass verges. Ome one in this town (halifax) tidied up their grass verge and planted a few flowers and wre told to remove them as they wre not allowed to use council property.

All town have gone down hill since the advent of the Greart Maggie. I hope I outlive her so I can join in the dancing when she finnally goes down below

I've been in the States over 40 years now, nearly all of those years i spent the summers back in Sheffield.....have you ever known any one go on holiday to Sheffield ? I mean every year too?

Originally posted by poppins
I've been in the States over 40 years now, nearly all of those years i spent the summers back in Sheffield.....have you ever known any one go on holiday to Sheffield ? I mean every year too?

Do you mean to tell us that you were over here this summer, and never visited one of the Dev Cat meets. Shame on you :P

Originally posted by owdlad
Do you mean to tell us that you were over here this summer, and never visited one of the Dev Cat meets. Shame on you :P

No Owdie, The Sheff Forum was just a twinkle in Geoff eye the last time i was over, maybe next year, not sure though.

Originally posted by poppins
No Owdie, The Sheff Forum was just a twinkle in Geoff eye the last time i was over, maybe next year, not sure though.

Well don't you forget to let us all know if you do come over, some of us would like to meet you, and the rest would like to throttle you :D

Originally posted by owdlad
Well don't you forget to let us all know if you do come over, some of us would like to meet you, and the rest would like to throttle you :D

Great, i will, loved love to meet the ones that want to throttle me, their the interesting ones, i'd even buy them drinks all night long ! :rolleyes:

Originally posted by pitsmoorlad
Come on, Sheffield hasn't gone downhill any quicker or any further than any other city. I wouldn't live in any other major city instead of right here. Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, London. don;t try to tell me any of them are better than here.

I totally agree. I wish people would just stop pulling this place down. o.k..Its far from perfect but ive been to far worse places, :rant:

When I wore a Lad etc.
Things were a lot better, but apart the bad things around us, think of the good things.
For instance we are comunicating by this computer, we have televisions, refridgerators, etc.
I agree socially we have gone backwards, but our standard of living has moved forward.

Originally posted by Greybeard
[You were on the opposite side of town to me, Oldtimer. We lived in Highfields..near the start of Abbeydale road.

GB [/B]

whereabouts at Highfields did you live, oldtimer?

My family lived on Mount Pleasant Road, until the end of the 70's, when the properties were demolished.

The entrance to our Yard was directly by the street lamp (which is still there) at the top of Crowther Place.

It was a lovely place to live, the one drawback was that we didn't have indoor "sanitation". and apparently that classed us as living in a "slum " (I mean, a slum, ffs!!! all they had to do was spend a couple of hundred quid per property, maximum, back then, and we'd have had banging houses to live in!)

It was convenient for town, and other amenities. My parents, and my sister and I loved it round there. mwe had a yard to play in, and we, and our playmates could play on the street in safety, because a) the neighbours watched out for their own, and everyone else's kids, and b) the traffic was negligible, except maybe on a saturday afternoon, when United played at home, when parking was impossible.

PT

Originally posted by oldtimer
I was born in Sheffield in 1939, and left for Canada in 1965. Never been back, and by the sounds of what I am reading on this forum, I never will return. There were no good or bad areas when I was growing up, just posh and poor! Buses were frequent, as were the original trams! I had relatives living on the Manor estate, Crookes, Walkley, Arbuthorne (sp) and Darnall. None of them had any problems with vandals. You could walk down any street, at any time night or day, no problems. There were a few pubs that had reputations, so we stayed out of them! Duh!! Hooligans got a swift kick in the arse by the local bobby, an even harder kick from the old man (dad), We had no TV, video games, no X box or stuff like that, just an owd bike that saw many years of service. Millhouses and Hillsborough parks were beautifully kept, and we respected the work that the 'parkies' did! Foxhill was brand new when we went there to live, 1940, but I suppose all that has changed? For the worse, by the sound of it. I do miss a few things about my birth place, but I suppose things always look better in hindsight?

Yes every place was like that in our youth Millhouses Park was excellent( I went to St Wilfreds) but times have changed, mostly due due to American influences!

Well, I came to Sheffield in 1975 and been here for 30 years....so much has changed in just the last 30 years.......more so than at ANY other time I bet.....

Originally posted by Cycleracer
Going back to Pitsmoor, that was exactly the same and it was'nt built until 1963.

Pitsmoor was'nt built in 1963, it was lost in 1963 The real Pitsmoor that is. The Flats and maisonets around Verdon St., Brunswick Rd.,Thistle St. area are just a poor imitation of Pitsmoor. The Real Pitsmoor was lost by the city planners, a victim of so called progress. Hitler could not destroy it in WW.2 but Sheffield city councill managed it in the early 60's

sorry, greybeard, I got you and oldtimer mixed up.

It was where you lived in Highfields I was curious about.

PT

Very well put, pitsmoorboy. You obviously have seen all the changes, I'm lucky, I haven't been to Sheffield for almost 50 years so I can't comment, but some of the changes make depressing reading on these threads. And now Hibberts Art shop is no more, bloody hell!

Originally posted by Plain Talker
sorry, greybeard, I got you and oldtimer mixed up.

It was where you lived in Highfields I was curious about.

PT

Kearsley Road - the other side of the (tram) tracks :D

Highfields was a 'village' in those days with really no need to go into town for any day-to-day shopping. If you lived on Mount Pleasant Road in the early 1950s I probably delivered your papers :D

Originally posted by Greybeard
Kearsley Road - the other side of the (tram) tracks :D

Highfields was a 'village' in those days with really no need to go into town for any day-to-day shopping. If you lived on Mount Pleasant Road in the early 1950s I probably delivered your papers :D

Ah, no, a bit before our time, we moved onto Mt Pleasant Rd in the early 1970's, just before the supposed "slum" clearance.

PT

Originally posted by Plain Talker
Ah, no, a bit before our time, we moved onto Mt Pleasant Rd in the early 1970's, just before the supposed "slum" clearance.

PT

Don't recollect those houses as 'slums' - but if they were four to a yard with just a single storey outshot they would be condemned anyway.

We were two to a yard with a dividing fence and a two storey outshot. AFAICR we always had a proper bath and sink upstairs with a gas geyser. The landlord put in an upstair loo about 1952 I think.

Really liked the area as a kid :D

I would not have called them slums, either, greybeard, personally. The happiest times of my life were spent there.... they might have been old houses, but they were not at all badly constructed.

they were in a compulsory purchase order on our properties,which was designated as "Slum Clearance", which was why we were moved out and went onto arbourthorne. it was not bad on there, but not as convenient for town.

The reason they were condemned, afaik, was because they had no indoor sanitary facilities (no bathroom/loo).

It *kind* of worked in our favour, financially, as the rent was very, very low, about £2.50 a week, instead of the £15-20 we'd been paying out for the council house we moved out of.

The lack of indoor sanitation could have been remedied quite easily and inexpensively. however, it was chosen to demolish the houses.

I thought it was a crying shame that the houses and community were cleared. I love/d it round here, which is why I was so happy to be moved back here. (I am now living just a few hundred yards up the hill from where I was as a child)

I am lucky, and so glad that there is almost the same level of a sense of community round here, as there was back when I was a child.

PT

I'm on the same wavelength as Oldtimer. Not that much difference in age either. Born '43. Grew up in the Park area off Duke St (Talbot Place), moved to the Stradbroke estate when it was built, then in late teens to Gleadless Town End. Emigrated to Canada '69. Go back every few years, but to be frank, it is like a foreign country now and a big part of me wishes that were not so. The heart of the city has gone..the old Sheaf market, the free and easy mingling of pedestrians and traffic. Now, there are multi-lane giant roundabouts, fast traffic throughways, alleys and buildings paved over. The smaller independently owned stores that used to border the center are gone. My wife has relatives in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Different types of cities, but each has kept its character and its heritage. Too bad for Sheffield. I live in a city that's not much more than a couple of hundred years old. If a building is 75 years old, it's called a heritage bldg. Sheffield has so much more of a heritage. Whatever happened to the Manor Castle, btw? Is it still there? That was a historic building. Hang on to what you have.

rogG
Sorry to hear that your Sheffield has disappeared but you're absolutely correct .
The big problem is , in Sheffield , at any rate , is , that when us older ones [b.1941] , say that Sheffield used to have a ,"buzz" or a ,"city feel" to it , which it no longer has , we get called , " old-fashioned , out-of-date , fuddy-duddies ....etc...."
To some people , "Big" equals better ; plus , they have to keep changing things to justify their nice, soft jobs with every mod-con , paid for by the very people whose lives they mess around and sometimes even ruin.
They seem never to have seen how a real city functions , the sort of people who would rather live ,in say , East Berlin than Amsterdam or prefer Warsaw to Paris.
I actually worked down the Wholesale Market in my school holidays [1958 ] for Enos Kaye-----as you said ----a great atmosphere . Incidentally , and I asked about this on another thread but no reply , do you remember a lad called Johnny Schuler [or Shuker ?] who was killed at the bottom of Duke Street , in 1957-8[?]------good , quiet lad and a great dancer ?

thank God my parents decided on Australia!!

Born at Jessops, lived Abbeydale, Gleadless, Basegreen and finally Bradway/Dore Left in 1966 - been back to Sheffield twice since then - last time in 1982 and at that time vowed I would never return - so depressing!

Brought my aunt here in 1988 - she was afraid to walk the streets in the Sheffield town centre - particularly the "hole in the road"!

I look on real estate sites frequently - often thinkng about returning to the UK - sorry but there is no comparison. Melbourne might have some "problem" areas but certainly no slums! Wonderful food markets, sunshine and accessible lifetstyle available to just about all!

We are changing- with lots of Asian migration, but generally a very tolerant society. Housing is attractive - we have some "council" style flats but long ago the government decided this was not the way to go so lots of options for low cost public housing.

My mother was back in Sheffield this year for the first time in 23 years. She has longed to return to "the old country" but now is reassured she couldn't possibly live there!


Australia is still the land of great opportunity!!

Yea maybe but I'd still kill to go back to the Sheffield of 30/40/50 years ago. When we were last over in Sheffield I found it more confusing than depressing. Just never got my bearings still not sure where Meadowhall? was. The large shopping centre.
I do remember, and was puzzled, that my cousin was quite scared to take me to my bros. in Upperthorpe, she nearly died when I rolled down the window of her car to ask directions.
Sad!

Nanrbbo
You must have been shopping in Woodhouse at the same time as me. year 62 onwards. Remember the old Picture house on the corner, in the village, my boys used to rattle the railings. The corn merchants window full of corn cobs, never saw anybody go in there. the Chemiists' who were identical twins. Anderson's Supermarket and Keatons butchers, milk round and undertakers. They said that there were about 4/5 families in Woodhouse that ran the place. Mrs Amderson also taught in the local school.

Old Dr Jackson who lived in a big house across from Amdersons, his surgery was in his home which was full of antiques. He had a policy of children being seen immediately instead off waiting the queue. It was said he left his house to
be an old peoples home.
There was also lots of religion, I think I once counnted 7 different chapels/cchurches all in the village

Are these your memories of Woodhouse to.?

hazel

The discussion seems to have moved to Woodhouse. What a great little village that was. I went to Woodhouse West School in the 50s. We lived on the Stradbroke Estate. The headmaster was Mr Vaughan. He used to call all the kids his "darlings," but don't get me wrong, he was just an all around nice guy. I didn't know Dr Jackson, Hazel, but his twin sons were in the same class as me at WW. Yes, I used to go to the old picture house. One time my friend and I tried to get in to see an "X" film . We were both underageand the cut off was 16. The lady at the kiosk asked me how old I was and I said "15and a half." Then she asked my friend and like a twit, he said "15 and three quarters." She told us to clear off. Another connection to Woodhouse: my girlfriend lived there. On Beaver Hill Rd. Anyone know what happened to Susan Hartley? Be interested to know, just for old time's sake.

Hello Hazel, Yes I lived in Woodhouse from '57 to '74. I remember all the people you mentioned we lived next to the Chapel at the beginning of Chapel street nearly across from Dr Jacksons. Mrs Jackson was pretty well heeled some ancestor invented the 'Tilley lamp'
My husband Pete was born in Woodhouse and all his family came from there. Do you remember Shepherds the drapers with their really old fashioned clothes and the little shoe shop/cobblers?
Woodhouse 'names' would be Andersons, Keetons, Kays,
Sibleys, & Bernard Newbould at the little beer-off can't think of more- memory on the blink.
It was funny you know, come Sundays, the Chapel people going one way eyeing the Chapel people going 'tother. Anyone with a new hat would get a special stare.
Miss all that!! Mary

Yes,
I remember the shop run by the Shephards, I used to get odds and bobs there when my children were babies. I think Mrs Shepherd taught at Brockwood Park First School. these few familys hand a finger in everything.
Do you remember Dickinsons the newspaper shop owner, who was always in a bad mood. He awlays had beautiful china on display, that's probabley why he was always in a bad mood. I think Keetons butchers shop is still there.

hazel

Oh I do know what you mean about Mr Dickinson- he got quite cross if you didn't pick up a magazine that you'd ordered. Do you remember the Mirfins that had a shop that sold just about everything but food? Wallpaper, hardware, undies, etc. Mrs Mirfin could sell snow to Eskimos, I kid you not.

Hi rogG, sorry I didn't mean to be rude by not answering. My daughter went to Woodhouse West School from 1961 so you probably missed each other. We had many friends on the Stradbroke Estate- still know one ot two. My husbands Uncle lived at Ravenscroft Oval for many years.

Hazel and Nanrobbo
Just been reading your posts, I have nothing to add but found them very interesting and I think it's so nice to relate to these memories I always hope at sometime someone may pop up who I can relate too.All the best girls
Regards Vera.

I'm afraid all the major cities in in uk have gone down-hill I use to run away fm fulwood homes during the bombing raids I use to wander around the burning houses looking for food but i never remember feeling nervous untill i came back for visit fm canada, now that was scary, or maybe I'm just getting old

Hi Nanrbbo rogG
Can't place Mrs Mirfin but sounds familier, I'm looking to go back to Woodhouse to live, so will be able to see the changes.

Nice to hear from you vhopkinson.
I hope you are keeping well and next time I visit Oz I shall I will I get Andy to bring me over for a coffee.

hazel

Originally posted by burnttoast
I totally agree. I wish people would just stop pulling this place down. o.k..Its far from perfect but ive been to far worse places, :rant:

I agree Burnttoast - things may have changed but we have the Sheffield spirit through and through and theres nowt as lovely as Sheffield folk - people make a place!! :clap:

i remember in the 60,s when every one had a job i had a leu day off from the pit and called into my local pub, the elm tree

i was surrounded by strangers...it was only after asking joe the landlord who they all were that i felt ok

" they are opposite shift t thee,thats why tha never sees em " he said

I agree the Sheffield spirit is still strong. This is no better demonstrated than by the work of Jake Bonsall and his friends that is transforming life in the Manor. If for no other reason it shows the power of the decent living majority can overcome the wrong doing of the minorities who on other estates cause so much unhappiness. It is so easy to sit back and blame someone else for the bad reputation the Manor has got.

Hello again Hazel- Do let me know if/when you do move to Woodhouse I still have friends there- I can introduce you.


Hi Vera, You know I feel we must have people we know in common (does that make sense?). I bet you knew some of our mob that lived Staniforth road way I know - maybe you heard of Joe Birks (my Uncle) tram driver extraordinaire!!! He drove a tram into Burton's window at the corner of Staniforth Road Boom Boom. True. Mary

Originally posted by all4_ofus
good for you, I grew up in sheffield..I live in canada now, but still go back to visit, if I had enough money I would spend 6months there each year..ra ra sheffield

Could have been me posting that.

I left Sheffield in 1995 and came to Canada, and love going back. Its easy to point out faults in a place, and nowhere is totally safe from crime. Most people here think Canada is a super safe place, but the rise in violent crime is alarming.....especially shootings in the larger cities such as Toronto. A fact often overlooked is that there are more murders here than in the UK.

The grass is always greener is it not?

Does anyone out there happen to have any old pic's of Crookes ?:confused:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hazel
[B]Hi Nanrbbo rogG
Can't place Mrs Mirfin but sounds familier, I'm looking to go back to Woodhouse to live, so will be able to see the changes.

Nice to hear from you vhopkinson.
I hope you are keeping well and next time I visit Oz I shall I will I get Andy to bring me over for a coffee.

Hi Hazel,
I missed your message there sorry. Still find it hard to follow the stories? Of course I will be glad to meet up with you when you come. Why didn't you come yesterday it was 40 deg. lol melt down. Just let me know when you come here and don't forget.
I don 't seem to get on the puter much hubby not real good just now. but I am very well thanks Hazel. If I disappear just send me an email or private message ok.
Vera.

Originally posted by nanrobbo
Hello again Hazel- Do let me know if/when you do move to Woodhouse I still have friends there- I can introduce you.


Hi Vera, You know I feel we must have people we know in common (does that make sense?). I bet you knew some of our mob that lived Staniforth road way I know - maybe you heard of Joe Birks (my Uncle) tram driver extraordinaire!!! He drove a tram into Burton's window at the corner of Staniforth Road Boom Boom. True. Mary

Hi Nanrobbo,
No don't know your uncle Joe. Pardon me but had to laugh when I visualised a tram going off the rails straight into Burtons. window. Bet ya he couldn't do it again if he tried.
Yes I knew a lot of folk from Darnall and Attercliffe. strange you know I don't even know half the people on my street where I live. But then thats not good old Sheffield. When I was over there 6yr ago I travelled on the bus a lot. Everybody spoke to one another and everybody joined in the talk. I luved it. Never been on a bus here but I know they wouldn't talk to strangers, not where I live. Regards Vera.
ps. I knew a family of Mirfins on the Manor they ran a Concert Party and were quite talented.??I was in the concerts.

Is that where the saying 'thas made a right Joe Birk of that' comes from?
( meaning made a mess of)

Originally posted by artisan
Is that where the saying 'thas made a right Joe Birk of that' comes from?
( meaning made a mess of)

Artisan, You could say that. Don't have to translate it to us. LOL
((Thas made a rite Birk o thi sen tha as)). No disrespect to Joe though, they had a tough job trying to get the fares out of them that tried to ride without paying.Not me though lol
Vera.

Re Joe- could quite well be where the saying came from- He's passed on some years ago but during his lifetime was never let forget. He had his name in the Star twice, once from Burma during the war reading the Star and then when he 'popped' into Burtons. God rest him his family had some fun at his expense but he took it in good part.

Originally posted by vhopkinson
Artisan, You could say that. Don't have to translate it to us. LOL
((Thas made a rite Birk o thi sen tha as)). No disrespect to Joe though, they had a tough job trying to get the fares out of them that tried to ride without paying.Not me though lol
Vera.
Sorry lad, a wo awnee treein t du me best:hihi:

Originally posted by artisan
Sorry lad, a wo awnee treein t du me best:hihi:

Took a while to figure out what tha were talkin bout but gorritt now, geez thart funny lol

Originally posted by artisan
Sorry lad, a wo awnee treein t du me best:hihi:


Thats not Sheffield, thats East Yorkshire

Ah wor owny tryint ta doo mi bes.

sheffielders all over the north of england are called de dahs an accent uniqe to us heres a sample wat da dooin dan deer de fadder will crack de if da gets caught dal ger areight crack

I think they were better in many ways. Kids weren't subverted by TV - I didn't see a TV until I was twelve and that was just to watch the coronation in a neighbour's house. A lot less crime and most petty crime was driven by genuine hardship not drug abuse.

Soft fruit was seasonal - I still don't feel comfortable with tomatoes and strawberries in December. Meat from the butchers was properly hung and tatsted like it was supposed to. Yesterdays's bread was half the price of today's bread...these days in can be on the supermarket shelf for several days and they still charge full price for it.

Parents weren't so fearful and anxious about their kids. From eight years old I used to take off on my own for hours on end in the school holidays with just a sandwich, an apple and a tanner (thruppence for tram fares and thruppence for emergencies) in my pocket. People were friendly and didn't treat you with the automatic suspicion that you were up to no good.

The downside was that in winter especially Sheffield could be a dark and dingy place and there were many bad smogs...but strangely asthma wasn't anything like the problem it is today. Kids used to die of other things - I had two classmates die from pneumonia when I was in secondary school.

You were on the opposite side of town to me, Oldtimer. We lived in Highfields..near the start of Abbeydale road.

GB
Hi Greybeard,
I used to live in that area during the 40's and 50's. What road did you live on?T.

Sorry if this has been posted before...

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Sheffield-39City-of-the-physically.6586302.jp

What must it have been like? :(