Sunday 10 August 2014

London Road


I love my adopted city of Sheffield. Apart from a brief sojourn across the Pennines in Manchester, I have lived here for 32 years. It's home. 

It's easy enough to show you Sheffield's best sides (it has many) - the city centre, the fine Georgian and Victorian architecture, the parks and public spaces, the trees.

One of my favourite roads in Sheffield isn't remotely glamorous, but it represents something real and true about this city; its history, multicultural nature, grit, diversity and ever-changing character.



It's a 15 minute walk into town from our house, along London Road.

You coming?



These are the sights of our road.

Green space, terraced houses with added ducks, the remaining arch of a Victorian tram shed (1878), and a view of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in the distance. 

That bloody streetlight is right outside our house and it's on day and night. Yes, we've reported it (repeatedly) to the council. No, they've not been to fix it.




Our local Indian restaurant, just at the end of the street. We're on London Road now!



The White Lion still has its original Victorian tiles and stained glass.



This oddly-painted building used to be the local train station, closed in 1968.



The River Sheaf at Heeley Bridge. 

We did this walk twice; once on Friday, when torrential downpours curtailed our fun, then we retraced out steps on Saturday while the sun shone. The photo on the left is from Friday, and you can see the moorhen's nest in the middle of the river. By the next day, it had been submerged.

Hopefully the breeding season is over and there were no eggs or babies in the nest. I presume they built it in the middle of the river to escape attacks from urban foxes.



This old bank is now an antiques centre.





Those Victorians built a lot of schools; this one is dated 1874.




Highfield Library was built in 1876, and is a Grade II listed building.



Various beliefs are catered for...



as are many tastes in food; Mexican, Indian, Japanese, Turkish, Italian, Chinese, Polish, Vietnamese, Greek and Thai. 

That's without the chippies, kebab, falafel and jacket potato shops. 

When Lloyd Cole played in Sheffield earlier this year, he mentioned on Facebook that he was wandering along London Road looking for somewhere to eat. I recommended the Hong Kong Wok, our favourite Chinese restaurant, and that's where he went. 

I think that means we are Best Friends now, don't you?



Ozmen's; Best Supermarket Ever.


We stepped off London Road for a pit stop at the Harland Cafe, another favourite.

Eton Mess cake and raspberry lemonade for Nina, Sticky Toffee Cake and a cappuccino for me. Mmm.



You can have your hair cut, but you'll have to get your Pukka Pie elsewhere today.



Cool street art.



This building was opened in 1914 as the Lansdowne Picture Palace. 

From the 1950s until fairly recently, it was a nightclub. Its changing name reflects the history of clubbing - the Locarno Ballroom, Tiffany's, Vicars, the Palais, the Music Factory, and Bed (when all those lovely tiles were painted black). 

I may have shaken a tail feather in there once or twice...

Only the facade and decorative turret now remain of the original building.




Chimneys on the Baan Thai restaurant. Another listed Victorian building, built 1894.




And this is the end of the road. 

That red brick building is called Moorfoot, and was opened in 1981, the year before I came to live in Sheffield. It is owned by the  Council now, and Simon has an office in there somewhere. 

The huge City Gate building is new, as is the Premier Inn hotel next to it. Sheffield city centre is a constantly changing landscape.

From here, you head onto The Moor, a pedestrianised shopping area which includes the new indoor market.



You are now in town. Which is what everyone calls the city centre. 

Does that happen where you live?



Sheltering from Friday's downpour!



And this is what I wore. 

Some neon 1960s psychedelia, just in case Nina needed to spot me in the crowd of Sheffield United supporters who flooded out of Bramhall Lane onto London Road as we were walking to town on Saturday.

(First game of the season. They lost.)

And bright enough to be truly visible, so I'll  joining Patti and co for Visible Monday as usual.

 

1960s Davisella maxi dress - Ebay
Sunglasses and bangles - charity shopped/gift
Necklace - gift from Leisa
Tapestry bag - gift
Ancient black cropped cardigan and sandals - retail (sale)


So there you have it, the joys of a walk into town along London Road.

It may not be pretty, but it's lively and interesting and varied, and I love it.



It's good to be happy where you are.

xxx

43 comments:

Porcelina said...

Aw, I enjoyed this little virtual tour very much! I haven't been to Sheffield for years, and it was just to visit a friend so all we really saw of the town was the inside of a nightclub and the inside of her house. It's great to see all of that interesting architecture, I love the Sainsbury's best! At least it wasn't torn down. The outfit is super too x

mondoagogo said...

These kinds of posts are always my favourites, I love seeing new places from a local's perspective. It's great just seeing the variety of signage, isn't it? And what is it about Royal modern hospital buildings? I see the Royal Hallamshire squats on the skyline exactly the way the Royal Free does when you're on Hampstead Heath...

And yeah, most people I know do say "going in to town" instead of "the West End" (which now sounds incredibly old-fashioned but people used to use it when I was a kid), although I do have one friend who says "going in to central" which is just annoying.

Gracey the Giant said...

Oh, this was fun. I especially like seeing the old buildings. Here on the West Coast, especially in Oregon, we don't really have anything that old.

And it was kind of you to wear neon psychedelic for the children. ;-)

Sheila said...

What a lovely little tour of your neighbourhood. I also live very close to downtown Victoria - it's a 15 minute stroll from my house. Nowhere as interesting as yours, though!

Anonymous said...

I read once that finding happiness in your location is one of the best things you can do for yourself. When I first read that that's when I knew I needed to move back to the city. We tried living 40 miles out for about 7 years and I was just down almost the entire time. Too far away from stimulating walks and options. You're very lucky to love where you live. A lot of people don't.
I would love to walk to town with you. I can imagine lots of laughs along the way. I love these photos of you hanging out with your kids. I miss those days. I'm about to embark on an empty nest. Exciting but at the same time a little sadness is in the air.
Thanks for sharing your hood. And that gorgeous dress. I want it!!

Patti said...

What a lovely town center - and the path to get there looks wonderful too. We have a much newer, smaller downtown but it's charming. Yesterday they had a BeatlesFest with all manner of British food and drink for sale. Love the pics of your darling daughters, and your gorge maxi dress. xox

Mother of Reinvention said...

Where you live looks great and so lively, like your frock which I think I am in love with. You find the best stuff. Love the photos of you with your family. Lucy doesn't like going out with me these days as I cramp her style. I have always thought that Sheffield looks beautiful as I've passed through there a few times en route to meetings. We got caught in the rain too (in Edinburgh) and there was great thunder & lightning.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the tour, looks very interesting! Love that street art! Another fab dress by the way! :)

Olga Rani said...

This was an interesting walk along the street of your town, Curtise! Those small familiar things that we see everyday and fall in love with them and they are what makes the place we live home.

Jayne H said...

It's a long time since I was in Sheffield. Thank you for sharing your photos with us. Your local cafe looks fantastic, so nice to have an independent cafe to spend time in. It looks really homely and cosy. Love the neon. xx

Fiona said...

Thanks for your tour of London Road Curtise, I enjoyed the ride. So many interesting things to see...loved the street art and how about Sainsbury's, that frontage must beat all other stores hands down. What marvellous Victorian buildings, imagine all the people that have passed through them during the years. Harland Cafe looks my sort of place...cake Mmmm. Lloyd Cole's obviously no fool and knows a good recommendation when he gets one. How are the crispy duck pancakes? xxxx

Debberoo said...

Oh I love it too! Thank you for the tour. Plus Lloyd!!!

Miss Magpie said...

Thank you for a tour of all those amazing buildings and no I didn't recognise any of them ;-P

Asparagus Pea said...

Ours is called City Road - me and all the otner foreigners in Cardiff, cheek by jowl. Feel right at home - and strangely exotic at the same time! xxx

Veshoevius said...

Oooh love the dress! Very Pucci but without the crippling price tag I imagine! Thank you for the Sheffield tour, I've actually been a couple of times but never had the time to look around - particularly loved the street art photos.

Goody said...

Thank you for the fun tour. From my side of the computer, it really IS pretty. Liking where you live is a good thing-since moving to the city last year I can honestly say this is the happiest I've been in about fifteen years.

The Victorians really went on building sprees. Ozman Food Centre looks like fun shopping. A good international market is a treasure.

Kezzie said...

It looks a lovely place- very pretty in places and varied! I am especially enamoured by the ducks- they are cool!
I used to have an international market round the corner from my old house like that-I loved it- it had everything!x

Jazzy Jack said...

I feel a little sad looking at this because that is the sort of place I would love! Unfortunately work calls us to be here, which is lovely but a bit suburbanised.
Thanks for sharing your lovely neighbourhood:-)
Those neon colours are the best!
Reminds me of some dresses Mum made me and my two sisters so we wouldn't get lost when we travelled from PNG where we lived to the big smoke.
Our city centre is called Civic, but the name is never mentioned on maps :-)
XO JJ

Kylie said...

I should write a post like this - it won't be as interesting as yours Curtise, nor as richly layered (we don't have the history) but there are some lovely old buildings etc so perhaps one day I will...
Now apart from that wild and crazy dress you're wearing I have to mention that photo of your girlies - they both look gorgeous, but special mention must go to Nina's spectacular smile in that pic of the two of them. She looks like sunshine (sounds silly but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw her)
I say "go into town too"

thorne garnet said...

It's beautiful! Your children are so lucky to live in a city that has so much different. And you can walk to someplace. I really do enjoy seeing where people I know live.

Helga said...

I most certainly AM coming along, and if you don;t mind, I would like to linger. Sheffield is really rather gorgeous! I never think of it that way; due to the steel industry I suppose I have always assumed it was just industrial and grey.....clearly it isn't!
Funky colours in that frock, and I definitely need those shoes!
Loving YOU! XXXXXXXXXXX

bahnwärterin said...

love your pucci style frock!!!!

thank your for taking us on this walk - i have a heart for victorian - here its wilheminian - architecture and the foodie who i´m i would like to eat in every of the restaurants and snackbars....
my walk into "town" is half a asphalt backstreet along the railway and half a nice, bike/pedestrian only, way alongside the river elbe. 3km, no shops, nothing to eat, but great views at the valley and mountains. usually i ride my bike into town, one very snowy winter i was on ski :-)

xxxx

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Curtise,

It is good to be happy where you are but we suspect that wherever you go you do see a positive side of things. That is such a great quality to have and we really cannot bare people for whom the glass is permanently half empty.

We enjoyed our trip down London Road and think we should love to be lost in the aisles of Ozman for an hour or so. We sometimes miss the diversity offered by cities such as Sheffield, something we appreciated in London, since it really does spice up life in so many different ways.

Sue said...

I totally enjoyed the walk and are happy to go on any others you wish to take me on!! Councils must be the same world wide, USELESS when dealing with street lights! I laughed at you shaking your tail feathers, I used to shake mine a few years back too!! Love your colourful frock, where are we going walkies next??

Angels have Red Hair said...

How wonderful to be a 15 minute walk from the city. We're in a regional area ... so it's a good hour and a half from town and you're totally stuffed if you don't have a drivers licence.
Loved the tour ... I almost feel like a local now :0)
xx

Unknown said...

What a lovely tour! I love it when you show us your town -
I could say i llive in a kind of same environment but not as pretty as you sometimes -
I love all the Victorian buildings but also i love all the diversity in your town -
We have an Ozman, it's called Adonis here, i love going there -
Our favorite restaurant is 5 minutes away, isn't great?
All is close by here as well, we can walk everywhere -

Take care

Lots of hugs

Arianexo

Melancholy and Menace said...

Thank you for the tour, you have so many gorgeous buildings there. All your photographs are lovely!

You have a beautiful family and I'm loving today's outfit xx

silvergirl said...

thanks for sharing all of the fantastic pictures
love the colors in your dress!
Brett

Val said...

What an interesting walk! It's good that you still see it with fresh eyes - there's so much that is unique and beautiful. What stood out for me were the ducks painted on the side of the house, and Eton Mess cake!

Lovely outfit!

Jessica Jannenga said...

Love the colors and style of your dress, looks great with the little shawl Thank you for the little walk through your area. I want to really visit sometime. I love historic places and buildings, so interesting sounds wonderful
from the link up,

please stop by, jess

http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

Vix said...

Wow, what an incredible dress! Good old eBay!!
Loved this walk and am green with envy over all those phenomenal eateries down London Road. Its curry, sponge-y pizza or rancid Chinese round these parts.
That antiques centre looks like a great place for a rummage and the White Lion a proper Victorian pub. Bet they don't do Porn Star Martinis, though!
Love you! xxxxxxxxx

Krista said...

Amen Curtise is is very good to be happy where you are. Thank you for taking us on such a lovely walk. This could be one of my most favorite posts ever! I adore Sheffield from your eyes, it seems to have a bit of everything. The Victorian buildings are erie and enticing and the wildlife connecting it all so many sights to see.
I'm terribly envious that you can walk to all of this. We live out in the suburbs so the only thing we can walk to our unappealing chains....for both food and clothes. I hope our next neighborhood will have bars and restaurants I like and a farmers market all within walking distance but for now I am happy with my space, privacy and kick ass view of the moon:)
Love this dress on you, I think the colors are so fresh, but the smug look on your face is by far my fav. It's like you are saying, what are you looking at to a nosey neighbor.
Lotsoflove!
XXXXX

freckleface said...

Oh i did enjoy that walk, good job you were taking photos, because I was too busy gassing to notice anything. Having said that, i think i bought my bed in that antiques centre that was a bank. Q's brother and sister in law used to live on Glen Rd, just off Abbeydale, and it was just round the corner from them. It's good to be happy where you are and you chose a good spot. Fancy being able to walk into town in 15 minutes, that's perfect. So Simon can walk to work every day! Great planning. Look at all those restaurants and look at you and Nina. What a pair of beauties. Love that fab frock on you. Hope to see you in real life soon for a bit of mooching! Xxxxxxxxx

Unknown said...

To have all that on your doorstep must be amazing. But far more importantly, BEST DRESS SO FAR! Love it! x

Peaches McGinty said...

It's a wonderful walk down London Road! the Locarno has prompted Friday Night, Saturday Morning The Specials, love that song! your psychedelic dream of a dress is a beauty and I would have loved some Tea and cake, Eton Mess cake and Sticky Toffee? how do you pick just one! how! haha! so much fabulous restaurant choices too and yes, I do think you are best friends with Lloyd Cole now! I would be dropping that in every conversation! x x x

Pull Your Socks Up! said...

You and Lloyd are def BFF now. I love the look of The White Lion and the old train station, in fact, I really fancy exploring Sheffield, I've heard so much about it and you've highlighted so many of its beauty spots with your thoughtful, inspiring photos. Claudia certainly has grown tall, look at her towering over Nina! And that dear sweet face poised over her raspberry cake - delightful! Oh yes to bright colours so the kids don't lose you, your maxi and bangles are simply divoon! xoxox

The Style Crone said...

To be happy where you are is a gift! Your gorgeous colorful dress reflects your pleasure. London Road is a delight, and enjoyed the tour. I can see that you life is rich and full!

Beth Waltz said...

How wonderful it would be to walk to Ozman's! We have Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati, but that's two hours away by car. Like Krista, I daydream of living in a pedestrian's paradise of parks and shops.

Your Pucci print is vibrant! It displays your joie de vivre! Truly, it is good to be happy in your own skin.

ArgentGal said...

How wonderful to be walking distance from so many great restaurants and shops. We have a small downtown walking distance from us with a bank, library, and one or two decent restaurants. For anything else including groceries I have to get into the car. As usual, your outfit is stunning! (In all the possible meanings of the word. ;) )

Unknown said...

Lovely the use you put that little cardi to with this summer dress. Excellent look, and on you especially.
I'm always envious of your part of the world, and I love to see the pictures you send. I'm always sad that we have so little in the way of ethnic diversity, especially the cuisines ... but tomorrow I get to go to a new Indian restaurant in the Big City ( and like you say, " in Town" ). We have one other that I know of but it's complete crap. I've heard the right things about this one, though, and am all enthused!
I'll let you know how it goes.
The children remain adorable. Give them all a big sloppy kiss on the head for me, please.

Forest City Fashionista said...

Thank you for the trip along your favourite road. We all have our regular routes we take to get to work, shopping, friends, etc. and I don't think we're conscious of all the little details that we notice as we walk. Your town has some lovely buildings, and a great variety of eating spots. I love the street art featuring the girl with the camera and her kitties.

I think that you and Lloyd are certainly best pals now! Don't you want to know what he ordered for dinner??

Vintage Bird Girl said...

Fab fab fab print on that maxidress....I love the label. Something about a good vintage label makes my heart sing. Thanks for the wee tour of your city. Xx

Trees said...

First up - your dress is amaze. Secondly, thanks for taking me on a wee tour! I hope sometime we can do it in the future for reals. Also I always tell people I live in "town" even though I actually live in the central city ;)