0905.03 BOMBS AWAY

Last night I went to a World War II evening of nostalgic entertainment hosted by the High Green Women's Institute. How may you ask did I end up attending such an event? Well, Morticia was invited by a family friend but was unable to attend due to her been away on a jolly (in Camden, London). So I took (dragged) Harley along.

I've always see myself as a student of history, soaking up as much as I can when I can, so to experience something like this was a chance to see for myself what my grandparents have told me about. The first half was a light am-dram style collection of dances and singing from local people most probably connected to the WI, the second part was a showcase of Judith Hibbert who's singing and light-hearted banter were a joy. Even Harlz loved the show!

Sometimes it's important to remember the past, especially something that is still in living memory of our grandparents, it's easy to dismiss as not relevant but I believe it is. How they lived and laughed, cried and sang is at least as important as the events (in fact probably more important).

If you ever find yourself in North Wales and are interested in the events of WWII then a visit to the Home Front Experience is a must.

By the way, I won the raffle as well - nice bottle of Champagne!

0903.15 REMEMBERING THE PAST

This week saw the 25th anniversary of the start of the miners' strike. At the time I was a 12 year old boy living in the small mining town of Killamarsh. My father wasn't a miner so I never went through the deprivation of some of my friends. I remember the protests, not quite understanding the bigger picture. I saw friends claiming free school meals and big community charity drives. The biggest thing I remember during this time was when the fair came to town, perhaps to raise the spirits of a community on it's arse. It was a few days where we all had good time, rides were cheap (10p a go I think) and the soundtrack was Wham! Good times amongst bad times.

The pit closed soon after and devastated the area, we left a few years later (because of my parents jobs) but the area still survives all be it without me, I still have friends there and have driven through a couple of times. One day I'll ride my bike over there and take in the places I remember and cherish.

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All this reminiscing got me into looking at old pictures of Sheffield, my home city (I've got loads of books). Naturally I moved onto tinternet to search more. I came across the filmreel of 'Sheffield, City on the Move', it was used in an edited form at the start of 'The Full Monty'. It's a little earlier than I remember but nothing much changed between those times and my childhood in the seventies.

I'm including links to each part (it's split into 4) to show the glory days of my home city and a recent showreel promoting the city today and how it's risen from the ashes of the 80s. If you have no connection with Sheffield you may find it dull but for anyone of my age it's a walk down memory lane (fuck me, I can't believe I just said that, 40 is much closer than I realised!).

City on the Move part 1

City on the Move part 2

City on the Move part 3

City on the Move part 4

Creative Sheffield