When Did The City Centre Lose Its Soul?

[Anna B 1,417]

1 hour ago, Organgrinder said:

Quite so,  and those students were a real laugh besides raising a lot of money for good causes. Such a pity that the new woke has taken the Twikker away from us.

Sheffield, as well as being a big, busy, prosperous and hard working city, was also a fun place to be.

There seemed to be always something going on and I can remember watching the various parades as a teenager and also as a young father with my family.

We also spent many hours in the parks, mainly Graves and Millhouses on the boats or in the kids lovely paddling pools or swimming,  besides walking and playing games.

The only drawback was that cycling was not allowed in the parks, ( although some did ) and the Parkies were very keen.  Often some places with "Do not walk on the grass" but at least, we had pride.

Another place we enjoyed was the roller skating rink down Attercliffe, near the bottom of Worksop Road and then the Silver Blades became the next skating attraction together with the Alhambra Music Hall upstairs.

As we worked longer hours in those days, I don't know how we found the time to fit everything in.  I certainly would not have chosen to live anywhere else in the whole wide world.

 

 

I remember the Parkies. Strict jobsworths if ever there was one, but by doing their job they kept the parks safe and clean and well turned out. We could certainly do with them today.

 

They also hired out sporting equipment for the tennis, golf and other recreational activities so the facilities could be accessed by everyone and were very well used. Even my little local park had a paddling pool, a club house for changing and meeting, tennis courts, goal posts for football, a putting green, a bandstand, and a fully functioning playground with lots of swings, rides, slides, and roundabouts for the kids.

 

Yes, bring back the Parkies! 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Anna B

[Jack Grey 1,602]

3 minutes ago, Anna B said:

I remember the Parkies. Strict jobsworths if ever there was one, but by doing their job they kept the parks safe and clean and well turned out. We could certainly do with them today.

 

They also hired out sporting equipment for the tennis, golf and other recreational activities so the facilities could be accessed by everyone and were very well used. 

 

Yes, bring back the Parkies! 

We used to climb over the fence once the park had closed and we would love getting chased by 'The Parkie'

 

We were never caught but my friend did tear his ball bag while we were climbing over the fence to get away though 😷

Edited April 8, 2023 by Jack Grey

[Padders 2,881]

39 minutes ago, Anna B said:

I remember the Parkies. Strict jobsworths if ever there was one, but by doing their job they kept the parks safe and clean and well turned out. We could certainly do with them today.

 

They also hired out sporting equipment for the tennis, golf and other recreational activities so the facilities could be accessed by everyone and were very well used. Even my little local park had a paddling pool, a club house for changing and meeting, tennis courts, goal posts for football, a putting green, a bandstand, and a fully functioning playground with lots of swings, rides, slides, and roundabouts for the kids.

 

Yes, bring back the Parkies! 

Good old days Anna,

Don't know if your on about Ecclesfield Pk. But that Pk. was great for a day out, used to take my kids there many times..

It's now a shadow of it's heyday.

Boating lakes were a feature of many Parks, but they have disappeared, mainly due to some drownings.

The Parkies Eh, they were a breed of their own, stepping on a Daffodil earn't you a clip around the ear..

Not been for a few years, but Clifton Pk. in Rotherham really excels..

 

[hackey lad 3,991]

Remember fishing on a local pond , you would heard a loud grumbling motorbike then a shout of " Parkies here" .  Everyone  rushed up to some trees and hid their tackle ,then got it out when he'd finished checking on the pond .  😀

3 hours ago, Jack Grey said:

We used to climb over the fence once the park had closed and we would love getting chased by 'The Parkie'

 

We were never caught but my friend did tear his ball bag while we were climbing over the fence to get away though 😷

Me brother did same on some barbed wire , while crossing a farmers field . 😀

[northernboy 13]

I was thinking earlier about the plan to provide free Wi-Fi throughout the city centre. There’s still a website about this but it doesn’t seem to have been updated since 2019. I know they started to install the access points and there was a limited service in a very small area, does anyone know if it’s still going?

[Irene Swaine 1,072]

On 14/04/2023 at 17:59, northernboy said:

I was thinking earlier about the plan to provide free Wi-Fi throughout the city centre. There’s still a website about this but it doesn’t seem to have been updated since 2019. I know they started to install the access points and there was a limited service in a very small area, does anyone know if it’s still going?

It is available, I have used it but it is very patchy. 

 

There are also computers on billboard type screens that allow internet access/phone calls to be made. Very popular with the 'street people'. There is one outside Cole Brothers'.

[Padders 2,881]

5 minutes ago, Irene Swaine said:

It is available, I have used it but it is very patchy. 

 

There are also computers on billboard type screens that allow internet access/phone calls to be made. Very popular with the 'street people'. There is one outside Cole Brothers'.

Cole Brothers ???

[HeHasRisen 3,411]

7 minutes ago, Padders said:

Cole Brothers ???

Remarkable, isnt it? John Lewis has been shut 3 years too 😂😂

[ECCOnoob 1,051]

2 hours ago, HeHasRisen said:

Remarkable, isnt it? John Lewis has been shut 3 years too 😂😂

I was thinking the same as you.

 

I get shouted down when I accuse people of clinging onto the past and yet here we are. People identifying a location by using a shop name that changed 21 years ago and closed down entirely three years ago. 

 

..... To think these are the same types of people who have the gall to whinge the city is not progressing and failing in keeping with its rivals  🙄

Edited April 15, 2023 by ECCOnoob

[fools 447]

6 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

I was thinking the same as you.

 

I get shouted down when I accuse people of clinging onto the past and yet here we are. People identifying a location by using a shop name that changed 21 years ago and closed down entirely three years ago. 

 

..... To think these are the same types of people who have the gall to whinge the city is not progressing and failing in keeping with its rivals  🙄

what are you talking about, it's just a harmless reference to a shop building, loads of people call it cole brothers, and loads of people of a certain age still refer to coles corner, and hammersmith odeon.

Edited April 15, 2023 by fools

[hackey lad 3,991]

31 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

I was thinking the same as you.

 

I get shouted down when I accuse people of clinging onto the past and yet here we are. People identifying a location by using a shop name that changed 21 years ago and closed down entirely three years ago. 

 

..... To think these are the same types of people who have the gall to whinge the city is not progressing and failing in keeping with its rivals  🙄

What would you call that building if you were arranging to meet someone there?

[Organgrinder 1,946]

32 minutes ago, hackey lad said:

What would you call that building if you were arranging to meet someone there?

I would call it "Coles" too as we have for all our lives.  Notice not" Cole Brothers" but Coles.

Anybody over the age of 20 knows exactly where we mean and, we wouldn't be arranging to meet someone we didn't know.

Anybody who wants to lay down the law about what we can call anyplace would soon get told to p off.

People usually get shouted down when they try to dictate to other people what they can or cannot say when it's damn all to do with them.

We don't put up with dictators around these parts.

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Organgrinder