Top 5 under appreciated things about Sheffield (times two)

Last month Neil kept us all entertained with a rather splendid top 5 meme. My favourite was undoubtedly his Top 5 under appreciated things about Sheffield.

The things that I’m going to pick are certainly appreciated by at least some people in Sheffield, but maybe not further afield. I’ve also picked some things that I don’t appreciate as much as I ought to.

Mr TLC and I had great fun debating what would go on our own lists, so I thought we’d share them.

Here’s my list:

  1. The Sheffield Round Walk. (Not a round Sheffield walk, that would be quite long.) We walked the whole of this urban ramble for the first time last summer. It’s ace, and worthy of its own blog post (note to self: that’s something for the weekend).
  2. Henderson’s Relish. (Which amazingly doesn’t make Mr TLC’s list. What is the world coming to?)
  3. Art. I spent ages trying to pick one favourite piece, but I can’t, there are just too many to chose from. Galleries and graffiti, sculptures and paintings – I’ve lived here for over 20 years and I still find new things as I perambulate around my home city.
  4. Sheffield History Forum. Actually I’m guilty of under appreciating that myself, I don’t post there nearly as often as I should. Must. Try. Harder.
  5. The village effect. I remember my first boss solemnly informing me that Sheffield is the biggest village in England. I thought he was a bit mad (actually I still think that, but for entirely different reasons), but strangely he was right. Sheffield doesn’t feel like a big, faceless city, it’s a pretty friendly place where I seem to keep bumping into the same people in different contexts. I like that.

And here’s Mr TLC’s list (with accompanying waffle by me. Sorry.) :

  1. The weather. People keep telling us how bad the last two summers have been, but we got out walking and didn’t get particularly wet – except when a certain TLC kindly navigated us through the middle of a flood in the Lake District. And when a certain TLC navigated us through the middle of a bog. (There’s a pattern emerging here isn’t there?)
  2. Cabaret Boom Boom. A recent discovery for us. You’ve not been? Why not? Get yourself a ticket and try it. You’ll laugh, I promise. It’s Jaw Dropping, Eye Popping, Live Entertainment. Oh yes.
  3. Farmer’s Blonde, a most splendid beer. (Mr TLC is also quite fond of Abbeydale’s Moonshine.)
  4. The Broomhill Festival. We ended up doing two events some evenings and we still had to miss some that looked good.
  5. The Showroom Cinema. Just so much nicer than Centertainment.

What about you? Care to join in?

5 comments to Top 5 under appreciated things about Sheffield (times two)

  • Katie

    Aww. See, it’s so true. Love Sheffield

  • Yorkshire Pudding

    As a naturalised Sheffielder, I would add…
    1) The walk from Endcliffe Park to Forge Dam along The Porter Valley.
    2) The Kashmir Curry Centre – authentic and unpretentious curry fayre.
    3) The trees. Sheffield has so many trees and in terms of the area of urban parkland is second only to London in the UK.
    4) Sheffield cutlery is second to none. Why eat with cheap and nasty implements when you can eat with real Sheffield knives and forks?
    5) Football. Sheffield boasts the world’s two oldest clubs – Sheffield FC and Hallam FC whose Sandygate home is the oldest football ground in the world.

  • Ro

    I’d never even heard of Henderson’s Relish until a foolish mention of cheese on toast on Facebook (for clarity, that should, perhaps, have been “a foolish mention on Facebook of cheese on toast) …

    Where was I?

    Oh yes, until a mention on Facebook resulted in two northern lasses debating who would supply me with some!

    It’s sitting in front of me now as it happens and, yes, I can say that it’s good with cheese on toast. Beyond that? Well, time will tell 🙂

    On your point (3), I couldn’t possibly tell you which galleries I’ve visited (“been taken around at hurricane speed”) but I will admit that I was surprised by what Sheffield had to offer 🙂

  • @YP – great list! (How did I miss the trees?)

    @Ro – Henderson’s is lovely stuff, but I’ve never seen it on sale outside Sheffield. Cheese on toast is cool, but it’s also nice in casseroles, pies, chili, bolognaise… I limit myself to putting the stuff in food that I’m cooking, but Mr TLC, being a good Sheffield lad, sprinkles it liberally over just about everything that he eats.

  • Ro

    Son and I tried a few splashes on scrambled egg yesterday and it got the thumbs up not only from me but from him too … that’s quite something!

    I shall be trying it in plenty of things over the coming weeks, I’m sure. The one risk is that I’ll become hooked and then have to deal with the limited supplies!