I have just been on a course in Chester.
A number of people had some intresting things to say about what Sheffield's image was?

(1) Potholes
(2) The Ring Road Without A Ring
(3) Cones & Roadworks

What do you think now sums up Sheffield's Image for someone from the outside?

graffiti - in a word

The Traffic Light.

Most people say potholes to me. They can't believe the roads are so smooth in Manchester. They're no different to anywhere else, it's just that Sheffield's are so bad.

I had some Dutch friends stay with me a few years ago when I was living in Sheffield. They said our roads were worse than Poland's BEFORE the iron curtain came down!

Speedbumps

seriously, I've been looking at universities and other places don't have as many....

On a more positive note, Stanage Edge

busses *stocksbridge 57*

The ringroad without a ring for me.

Alex

A building site.

EDIT: Never mind i wrote something really stoopid i should really read threads properly before posting.

Grimy. I think it'll take some time to shake off the dead industrial image that lingered on into the nineties. Arriving in the Pond St area used to be dirty, noisy and fumey.

It's loads better now, but peoples' perception will be difficult to change without some external advertising from private businesses touting their own improvements (see ski village and Roxy threads amongst others).


Edit: I wonder how much 'Full Monty' will have contributed to sealing peoples' perception of Sheffield. It's easy to miss the point of the film being about people in Sheffield doing something positive to change their circumstances!

Originally posted by Strix
Grimy. I think it'll take some time to shake off the dead industrial image that lingered on into the nineties. Arriving in the Pond St area used to be dirty, noisy and fumey.

It's loads better now, but peoples' perception will be difficult to change without some external advertising from private businesses touting their own improvements (see ski village and Roxy threads amongst others).


Edit: I wonder how much 'Full Monty' will have contributed to sealing peoples' perception of Sheffield. It's easy to miss the point of the film being about people in Sheffield doing something positive to change their circumstances!

The last bit is especially true Strix. We had a friend come over from the U.S.A. and she was amazed when we told her this was the same city depicted in the FM, in fact her comments were "wow I expected a grimy place that was run down, this is a beautiful city" We see it on a daily basis and just see the down side of it.

Maybe it's time we stopped rubishing it and started to praise how great a place it is.

Originally posted by owdlad
Maybe it's time we stopped rubishing it and started to praise how great a place it is.
Does that mean you too, Owdy? :hihi:

Originally posted by Strix
Does that mean you too, Owdy? :hihi:

I never slag off the City :o only some of them that live in it :P

Id have to say 2 things

1. Dog Poo
2. Graffiti

I wouldnt mind graffiti if it was actually good. Instead of having someone writing BOB RULES in bright green letters. Maybe they could use abit of imagination when writing there name on the wall of a shop.

It's got to be the most car unfriendly place on the planet.
Parking is difficult in most places.
The roads are in terrible condition (potholes, faded markings).
There are more speed bumps around than most places.
There is no proper ring road. (leeds - smaller place - has 2!)
Inappropriate Speed restrictions in places, and camera's to back them (although leeds is much worse for cameras).

As a keen driver (and someone who has struggled to find work in the area) I can't wait to leave to be honest.
Not that I won't visit (still have family and friends here), or I hate the place mind.

Originally posted by owdlad


Maybe it's time we stopped rubishing it and started to praise how great a place it is.

Agreed.

I think that the item that most sums up sheffield is the sheffield wednesday ground! It is an amazing football stadium and sheffield should be proud to have it in their city!!

It is true the tv and film industry have a lot of influence over perception, I lived in Chichester for a few years running a pub and restaurant and the people there accused us of not using knifes and forks? and living in back 2 back houses, also I lived down under for a long time they were great people but again thought The North was all about Coronation Street.
Maybe this forum should show some of the excellent images of Sheffield, may be it does somewhere?

What about 'a dark cloud on the moor'. menacing and yet beautiful at the same time - the way a place should be.

Having spent a lot of time talking to first year students coming to Sheffield it's always interesting to hear what they thought the city was going to be like and then what they actually thought of the place once they'd had a chance to look around. Green, nice parks and open area's, friendly people, makes me wonder where these students had come from. After a wander round Leicester or Birmingham I begin to understand the Sheffield attractions.
There is a crittur in the Millenium gallery that is made of cutlery, I think it's great and should have a much more prominent position in the railway station perhaps. I'd also have some pics of the city from such vantage points as Meersbrook Park, Meersbrook quarry, the viewing point by heeley City Farm, the top of the ski slopes and probably a few other such sites. Obviously no close up shots or the graffitti, pot-holes and the rubbish would be rather too evident. Let's start making the yobs vandals and litter louts start clearing their own mess up.

Well I visited your lovely city this weekend... And for me, it had to be the shower of broken glass that cascaded over my lovely daughter as the three teenagers in a TWOCked car tried to escape the long arm of the law.

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeemorieeeeeeeeeeeees

Originally posted by MovingOn
Well I visited your lovely city this weekend... And for me, it had to be the shower of broken glass that cascaded over my lovely daughter as the three teenagers in a TWOCked car tried to escape the long arm of the law.

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeemorieeeeeeeeeeeees Visits to the Manor don't count ;)

I think Sheffield used to have the 'honour' of having the biggest council estate in the country, I think it was Parsson's Cross. One thing that I've heard people commenting on is the way that many council houses on estates are now privately owned and usually can be recognised at a glance. Aparently Sheffield is one of the few cities that still allow their council tenants to turn their houses and gardens into tips and the council do nothing.
I noticed on the Badger estate at Woodhouse that sections of it had been bought, knocked down and rebuilt by Yorkshire Metropolitan Housing Assoc. they make sure their tenants abide by certain rules, then there are the private residences again in a good state of repair usually. However the properties owned by the council...... Damaged, fencing missing or smashed, blocked drains and gutters even the occasional rusting car on bricks in the front garden, Some-one said to me they knew they were in Sheffield by the state of the council properties, I didn't agree this person had never been tocertain area's of Rotherham.

Originally posted by kilauea
It's got to be the most car unfriendly place on the planet.
Parking is difficult in most places.


I see that fact that most of the city centre is pedestrianised as a plus point, there are park and ride carparks for people to use, you don't need them in the city centre.

I realise most car owners won't be happy until the entire city is tarmacked over and there is a multistorey car park every 10 yards but until that day we pedestrians have a chance to enjoy the city.

Visits to the Manor don't count

I wasn't at the Manor - well not at that point anyway ;)

Originally posted by nick2
I see that fact that most of the city centre is pedestrianised as a plus point, there are park and ride carparks for people to use, you don't need them in the city centre.

I realise most car owners won't be happy until the entire city is tarmacked over and there is a multistorey car park every 10 yards but until that day we pedestrians have a chance to enjoy the city.

Its a fair point. But public transport is pretty useless and I enjoy driving my car. I have no problems using it in Leeds, Manchester or Liverpool. And they also all have larger pedestrianised areas than sheffield does. It also makes those cities more welcoming in terms of work, never mind shopping.

I like Halifax's attitude, there is sign as you drive in saying "Halifax - A Car friendly town". And it is too, loads of parking and well signed.

im sorry but writing bob rules in green letters aint graffiti,its just writing something on a wall,bit of a difference y'know...

the graffiti in this city is great and should be made a focus of the city,but oh well,just my opinion

a city is not all about looks you know,or how fast and comfortably you can drive around in it,sheffield is one of the greenest citys in europe and should be kept that way,less huge ugly buildings and roads,and more parks.**** cars,use bikes

Originally posted by THCAyle
im sorry but writing bob rules in green letters aint graffiti,its just writing something on a wall,bit of a difference y'know...

the graffiti in this city is great and should be made a focus of the city,but oh well,just my opinion

a city is not all about looks you know,or how fast and comfortably you can drive around in it,sheffield is one of the greenest citys in europe and should be kept that way,less huge ugly buildings and roads,and more parks.**** cars,use bikes

I don't disagree. It will be a nice green and "quaint" place to come and visit from time to time. It will never attract any big investment mind cos the infrastructure is woefull, but like you say it will look nice........

Some places, like people, don't make good first impressions. Coming into Sheffield, particularly by train, a visitor can be left with a sense of entering an industrial wasteland.

The roads are terrible, driving is very difficult, but this is partly to do with the hilly landscape, which makes for plenty of choke points.

Graffiti is an obvious problem, a terrible visual blight. But then this problem effects every big city in the country.

These are all common grumbles, I hear them often and from wide quarters. But they are not the Sheffield I know.

For me Sheffield is:

Possessed of a gritty charm.
Neck deep in history (about 1900 years of it if you count the tribesmen of Brigantia)
A rolling urban landscape edged by stunning countryside.
Britain's biggest village.

I don't think graffiti is nearly as big a problem as chewing gum and general litter in the city centre.

I think there's something that should be merged with this.

Edit: Ignore me, it's the opposite :rolleyes:

Originally posted by WallBuilder

There is a crittur in the Millenium gallery that is made of cutlery, I think it's great and should have a much more prominent position in the railway station perhaps.

Oh dear,

The "crittur" is another "item" that is not maintained.
It has three "heads" that are supposed to move and it has been a long time since all three have worked at the same time.
It also stopped "barking" early last year sometime.

Shame!

So in summary - 'broken and useless' should probably be the new city motto :rolleyes:

Originally posted by cgksheff
Oh dear,

The "crittur" is another "item" that is not maintained.
It has three "heads" that are supposed to move and it has been a long time since all three have worked at the same time.
It also stopped "barking" early last year sometime.

Shame!

Hmmm.... I didn't know that it was malfunctioning and totally agree it is a shame as I thought it was fun and quite original. If it's not working correctly then what on earth do the owners of the Millenium gallery think they're playing at? It's a rather prominent exhibit and so should be in tip top condition, I suspect some-one is going to be recieving a grumpy e-mail from me soon.

Originally posted by alpal
busses *stocksbridge 57*

That must be a rare sight?

I agree with the person that said the views. When I came to look round sheffield universty I was expecting south yorkshire: grim, despondency, ugliness. But walking up glossop road I saw greenery, friendliness and a super tram. Hooked. Meersbrook park is amazing.

Gritty charm is bang on lucas digital. There are loads of stupid bits and ugly bits and bad buildings, and the whole city was designed by a monkey in the middle ages. But it's still the most amazing place to live.

Strix, 'broken and useless' seems a bit harsh. I'd say 'stupid and beautiful'.

Originally posted by kilauea
I don't disagree. It will be a nice green and "quaint" place to come and visit from time to time. It will never attract any big investment mind cos the infrastructure is woefull, but like you say it will look nice........

goodbye and good luck :) I sincerely hope the next place you live is all that you wish it will be ... you usually get out of anything roughly what you put into it - here's hoping :D

Have to disagree about Leeds - a dismal dispiriting grey place full of narrow pavements and traffic fumes. But, I find that everywhere I visit when I don't really know where I'm going - Nottingham ... London ... Birmingham... they're all the same. Manchester is about the easiest to travel through but then I only go to the wholesalers and it's almost a straight run into there from the Snake.

That's a dismal area too - all empty warehouses and weed infested gutters .. and if you leave the car unattended for more than a couple of minutes, you're likely to come back and find all the stuff gone .... :(

I've lived here 2 years, this is what I think about Sheffield

Hilly
Lots of mullets
Lots of posers/fake people
Terrible drivers (who can't use roundabouts properly!)
Beautiful countryside a few mins away
Strange weather
Ridiculous road system
Taxi drivers who don't know where anything is
Extortionate property prices
Decent boozers
Too far from the coast
Good indian take aways
Crap clubs (with the exception of Leadmill)
Lots of building going on
Good beer gardens in the summer

Originally posted by furry_chick
Lots of mullets
Lots of posers/fake people
Crap clubs (with the exception of Leadmill)


These 3 might be connected, the Leadmill is mullet central.

Trees. Sheffield is a city of trees. My neighbour arrived in Sheffield from Somerset, and was amazed how green our fair city is.

Countryside. Loads of Sheffield lies within the Peak District National Park. (Memo to a previous contributor - Stanage Edge is in Derbyshire). The valleys (Rivelin, etc.), the moors (Langsett, etc.), the reservoirs, and the little stone villages (Bolsterstone, etc.).

The parks. Botanical Gardens, Norfolk Heritage Park (with stunning views over the city centre), etc. Simply fantastic public open spaces.

The Full Monty. No getting away from it - this film was extrenely funny, has given rise to a well known catchphrase, but sadly epitomises Sheffield as run down in the eyes of many.

City Centre. Listed Town Hall, Peace Gardens, Millenium Galleries, Winter Gardens, Lyceum, Crucible, Ponds Forge.

The language. Sorry, but a gennel is a twitchell, breadcakes (!) are cobs, and despite the friendly greeting of 'love' from complete strangers, it's still a reserved 'ducks' for me.

One single item:

Supertram

Have to agree, having moved up here from London six years ago, that the thing that sums Sheffield up for me is the amount of green space.

Hah, and breadcakes: my father-in-law walked into a baker's in East London and asked for some of "them breadcakes in t'window". They nearly called the men in white coats to take him away.

I slag off Sheff... but when Ive been away for a while I always get a warm feeling upon my return. Yes its full of potholes and scuzzies but on a sunny day walking through one of the many parks or alongside one of the rivers is a lovely feeling regardless of all the industrial buildings at the side. I am sheff born and bred and proud of it. My father was in the steel industry and I lurve sheffield as my roots. :smile:

Its got to be the Roxy building.

It is proof af a once happy, funloving city that is now sat waiting to be either demolished or turned into a discount store.

Hot roast pork sandwiches. Fantastic parks. Terrible parking.
People with a chip on their shoulder about Leeds.
The way developers have been allowed to build some horrible cheap ugly short-term flats (including that monstrosity overshadowing Devonshire Green) on prime land which means people will continue to have a chip on thier shoulder about Leeds

The most unique and amazing thing about sheffield is all the twinkling streetlights on the hills at night. It's really beautiful and you just don't see it anywhere else.
In fact, Pulp even mention it in their song 'Sheffield Sex City'...
'On a hillside at 4 am the city is your jewellery box'
Marvellous.