Tuesday 3 May 2011

The Pub: The British institution that will never die out

The state of the economy has put many peoples lifestyles and jobs under threat. On a local level one lifestyle has been affected in areas all over the country is that of the pub landlord.

At the beginning of this year it was found that pubs were closing at an alarming rate of 29 per week. There are several contributing factors to this which include the rising prices of your average pint, increases in VAT and the matter of people not having as much money to spend freely. In 2001 the average price of a pint was £2, 2011 has seen that figure rise to £3.

If beer prices to continue to rise the way they are by 2018 a pint could cost £4.

The gap between prices in pubs and prices in the supermarket has widened as well to a measurable gap. The competition between supermarkets for business has also meant a further reduction in prices or we see continuing offers presented to the consumer, which pubs cannot compete with.

Harold Turner is the landlord at the George and Dragon pub in Mosborough and talks of how his pub has been affected in recent times;

“We have definitely seen a decrease in income since this time last year. It really is a shame but after talking to some of the regulars in the pub it just transpires that people do not have the spare money to be in here every night having a couple of pints. Instead they come every now and then for a couple. Sure you still get the odd person in here everyday but it is very rare now.”

“When I first came into ownership of the pub in 2004 every evening from around six o’clock we would be packed out and the atmosphere was amazing, now it is just on the weekends and quiz night. Other pubs closing in the area has meant that we have still maintained good numbers here. It is upsetting that the other pubs have had to close but I’m afraid that’s the way the industry has gone. If it wasn’t them it would have been me.”

Local pubs have also been forced to change a lot in order to keep their customers happy and willing to part with their money. People now expect affordable and quality food when you visit your local pub so kitchen staff has now become an integral part to the success of many pubs. With a lot of pubs now being owned by a larger corporation the pressure is continually on the landlords of family run pubs.

John Moorcroft is a chef at a pub in Halfway;

“There certainly is a lot of pressure on me to make sure every dish I serve is of a good quality. I also have to make sure that I am producing all your pub favorites as well as offering something alternative and different to make sure I keep the punters happy and coming back for more. One bad experience could mean that a customer goes looking elsewhere which is not what we want.”

The local pub is also the source of entertainment for many. Pub quizzes, Karaoke nights and charity events are all something extra pubs offer to keep people happy and make a bit of extra cash on certain nights. One form of entertainment which is currently costing landlords a lot more than it should is the license to broadcast football matches.

The pub provides a great atmosphere for watching the beautiful game on a big screen with a pint in hand and many fellow supporters and rivals around you, however this is increasingly under threat because of the hiking prices it costs for the TV license.

However the prices are under review after a landlady in Portsmouth won a European high court case against the English premier league, which allowed her to stream premier league, matches through a Greek television operator. This meant that the English premier league had to completely re think TV rights and how much they charge. However this is still going to be ongoing for years to come until a final decision is made.

Rob Gerrard, 22, from Mosborough is a keen Manchester United fan;

“Of course living here I can’t really go to games on a regular basis which means every Saturday I am often in the pub watching the mighty reds. When my local pub closed down it forced me to go to another pub to watch the games. The atmosphere is the same but I can’t help thinking that if football rights were more affordable then maybe my local wouldn’t of closed down.”

The past couple of years have certainly been a tough time for pub landlords all over the country. The pub is a British institution which although is under threat will never be extinct. However it is survival of the fittest. When you are a pub that is not backed by one of these big corporate pub machines with millions behind you, it really is a challenging time to provide for your customers everything they want and that bit extra to make a successful living.

A pub landlord does need to provide good and competitive prices, quality food and entertainment, but above all else all the customer wants is a friendly face and a listening ear, with those I’m sure success will not be a problem.

By Jonathan Bayliss

Original XV out to prove they still have it after 25 years.



This year sees Mosborough RUFC celebrate 25 years of competing in senior men’s rugby. To mark this event a very special rugby match has been organized. The final bank holiday in May will see the current team taking on the original XV who founded the team.

Alan Treloar the senior coach at Mosborough thought up the idea after talking to one of the original XV:

“We thought it would be a nice way to celebrate 25 years of playing at a competitive level. With a lot of the old boys still knocking around and able to play it should be a fun match.”

The match is a finale to a weekend of events, which will see the club rising money to continue the development of its junior teams and club grounds.

Heidi Newman is the clubs volunteer coordinator who has had a big part in organising the weekend’s activities:

“When Alan approached me with the idea of the game I thought it would be an excellent way to get the whole club involved in the weekend as well as a lot of the local people around the town.”

The weekend will see all players taking place in a mixed tournament of tag rugby as well as several stalls set up by local traders and the rugby club itself. The seniors vs old XV will be the finale on the Sunday.

The club was founded in 1984 when a group of ex. Westfield School pupils decided they needed an excuse to go to the pub at weekends.

Its first competitive season was the 1985/86 season where the club lost all its games.

Since then the club has gone from strength to strength competing on all levels.

By Jonathan Bayliss

'Please Mr Postman' hits number one with one particular girl in town.

A hidden talent was discovered in Halfway this week after a piece of music brought out the voice within.

Joan Phillips, 55, from Halfway was in her back garden when she discovered the new talent in the form of her three-year-old pet Labrador, Maisy.

“I was in the garden when I heard Maisy barking so I presumed something was wrong” said the librarian who lives on station road.

“I had left my radio playing in the kitchen and found that Maisy had taken particular liking to a song by The Carpenters.”

Maisy was barking along to the much-loved song ‘please mr postman’ by the 1970s soft rock duo.

Mrs Phillips had no recollection before this of Maisy’s talents with songs. Since the outburst though Maisy has been a queit girl.

Mrs Phillips said:

“I went and bought The Carpenters CD after this and Maisy stayed very quiet until the postman song came on, then she was barking her heart out again”.

Since the discovery maisy has been dsplaying her talents to numerous amount of neighbours and it has brought a nice piece of entertainment to the local area.

“I might have her go for Britain’s Got Talent next year” Mrs Phillips said of Maisy.

Keith Smith is a local dog trainer who wanted to lend his advice after hearing about the remarkable talents Maisy had to offer:

“Dogs often respond differently to a number of ques. It is strange however that in this case, Maisy only responds to the one song. Maybe she has a thing for postmen”

by Jonathan Bayliss

Pupils get extra boost as local rugby club lends a hand

Mosborough primary school is holding its annual fun run next week, in the run up the pupils received some training tips from some experienced athletes.

Mosborough RUFC players came down to the school to give their assistance to pupils taking part in the race next Wednesday.

The players had come down to the school to take an extra curriculum rugby session set up by the club. It is part of their expansion into the community project where they ant to bring through rising talent.

John Knight, Mosboroguh RUFC vice captain said:

“It was a great opportunity to come down to the school and teach the kids about rugby. Once we heard about the fun run we wanted to offer some advice because a lot of us are running the Sheffield half marathon soon.”

Both teachers and pupils were thrilled that they were able to help out and give the pupils further advice.

Mosborough RUFC hopes to continue teaching school children in the area about the game of rugby.

Chris Rosling-Josephs is the chair of the governors at the school, after hearing about the opportunity presented by Mosborough RUFC he said:

“It really is great for the kids to be able to see some local athletes who impact the community in a positive way. We hope to continue building our good relationship with the rugby club and hopefully these sessions will become more regular.”

By Jonathan Bayliss


What do you think?

would you like to see more sports teams get involved in the local community?

email us at: opinions@mosboroughandhalfwaytelegraph.co.uk

Monday 2 May 2011

Something Spooky in Sheffield

UFO’s, aliens, ghosts, spirits...whatever you want to call these paranormal phenomenon’s there is constantly a debate to whether they really exist.

Over the years there have been hundreds of these potential UFO and ghost sightings across Sheffield and South Yorkshire but no area of the city seems to have had as many reports as Mosborough, seemingly the paranormal hot bed of South Yorkshire.

Mosborough Hall Hotel is said to be one of the most haunted hotels in the steel city and rumours of ‘The White Lady’ roaming the rooms and corridors have meant specialist teams from Sheffield Paranormal Investigations have had to study the hotel. The team found dozens of signs of ghostly goings on such as strange lights, orbs and actual sightings of pale figures walking past windows.

Mosborough Hall Hotel


The hotel is also said to have gone through many different owners and tragedy has always befell their family in some way. Is this all an eerie coincidence or is there something darker happening in Mosborough?

Shannon Johnson, 19, a local college student who lives close to the hotel certainly thinks theres more too it than coincidence. She said she has noticed strange occurrences at the hotel for as long as she can remember. “The hotel has always freaked me out. I remember when I was younger me and my friends used to dare each other to run up to the building when it was dark and one time I saw a face staring at me from the window.”

However, the hotel is not the only place there have been out of ordinary sightings in the city. Thousands of individual reports in Mosborough and the surrounding area have shown a remarkable number of inexplicable lights and shapes in the sky that many believe to be UFO’s or aliens.

South Yorkshire farmer Andrew Leeton, 51, states that he has seen these extra terrestrial space craft’s on numerous occasions and is no longer shocked or frightened. “The first time I saw one I was obviously dubious and scared, who wouldn’t be, but I’ve seen them too many times to count now, like orange saucers in the sky, they leave me alone and I leave them.”

With so many strange sightings in the city it does make you wonder whether Sheffield's bizarre sighting's really are a hive of paranormal activity or just a number of strange coincidences.

What do you think?
Have you seen anything strange and spooky in and around Mosborough? Do you believe in the paranormal? Email your opinions to opinions@mosboroughandhalfwaytelegraph.co.uk

Fact Box

Records of paranormal activity in Mosborough and other areas of Sheffield.


By Rebecca Savva
Wedding? What Wedding?

http://www.latestinbeauty.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/william_kate_engagement.jpgHannah can’t stand the idea of the forthcoming royal wedding. She has something more important in mind, her own wedding.

What are you doing on the day of the Royal Wedding? Tuning in to see what Kate’s wearing? Eagerly watching as they exchange their vows? One woman who certainly won’t be is engaged law student and sales assistant, Hannah Richardson, 20, from Sheffield. Instead she’ll be doing her revision and planning her wedding.

“When they first announced the date I thought they meant next year. This April seemed too soon. Then it dawned on me, they can plan a wedding so quickly since people will be falling over themselves to be involved and the tax payers are funding part of it.”Hannah doesn’t see why she should have to fund the royal wedding since nobody from the royal family will be funding hers. “I'll have to scrimp, save and plan like everyone else.”

While the rest of Sheffield, the country and the world goes mad for the big day, Hannah couldn’t care less. “They’re just two people in love tying the knot. So what?” She’s all for people having a big white wedding , even wanting one herself, but believes the event has got nothing to do with her. “Despite the affectionate nickname the media are pedalling, I don’t personally know ‘Wills and Kate’ so I’m not going to get excited over two strangers getting married. It doesn’t interest me that one of those strangers is our future King.”

With the Government spending cuts lots of people are wondering how they’re going to live. They, like Hannah, can’t afford a wedding of their own, let alone fund a royal one. “Ordinary people are being hit by rising petrol costs and weekly shops while one young privileged couple will be the focus of so much wealth. To me it just shows the ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor.” To Hannah the royal’s are no more than the biggest benefit precipitants in the country and Buckingham Palace is nothing more than a council house. “It’s like they think were all stupid, a woman wears a pretty dress and everyone forgets about everything wrong with the country.”

However, like most girls, Hannah does want to see what Kate wears but doesn’t think that’s worth a day of coverage on every channel. Hannah knows that people crowded around there television sets to watch Charles and Diana exchange their vows 30 years ago but doesn’t see it as a traditional thing to do. She also knows that some people are planning on rioting and ruining the big day so a lot of money will have been spent on security to stop those people.

“You can call me an anti-royalist. I don’t care. I’ll celebrate in my own way and have a royally good time.”

What wedding?
The Fulford Arms in York is holding a five day beer festival from 28th April – 2nd May. There will be no TV coverage of the wedding; instead there will be a charity swear box for anyone caught discussing the big day.

Share your thoughts
Do you think Hannah is right to celebrate in her own way or should she celebrate like everyone else? E-mail your opinions to opinions@mosboroughandhalfwaytelegraph.co.uk

By Leanne Bolan
T.A.R.A back Citizen’s Advice Bureau’s bid

Mosborough’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau has had and Outreach Worker for the last two years and in December 2010 they applied to Your Community Your Choice for £8,056 to continue the service. It was deferred so that the South East Area Board could consider appointing a city wide debt worker.

Tenants And Residents Association Representative Shirley Frost believes the main problem of the scheme is that it does not provide an alternative to what the Citizen’s Advice Bureau provides and should not be put against their bid and that the bureau’s bid should be approved and put forward to the voting procedure at Beighton on 30th March.

At a recent city wide forum vote it was decided that £80,00 should go to the Housing Revenue Account and at a recent full council meeting it was decided that the C.A.B should not be on this account. If the status of the bid is not changed and they do not win the vote the Westfield and Halfway T.A.R.A will fund the maximum of £8,056 for one year.

As this would mean spending the members £5 yearly levy fee Chairman Paul Page put the idea to a vote. The majority voted to keep the service open to everyone in the area, rather than only to members of T.A.R.A.
Shirley Frost said of the decision: “This notes the value of the C.A.B worker in helping people with problems relating to unemployment, mental ill health, benefits and debt.”  
Fact Box
Citizen’s advice bureau was to close as the council decided what to do.
T.A.R.A decided to keep it open if they do not get funds from elsewhere.

By Leanne Bolan
Youth Centre Unveiled

The Lord Mayor, local councillors and celebrities including former boxer Clinton Woods, and Britain’s Got Talent belly dancer, Sophie Mei looked on as the Com.Unity centre opened with the teenagers behind the project giving demonstrations of martial arts, dancing and dj’ing.

Patrick Meleady, Positive Activities Manager at Sheffield City Council, said: "This is a world class community youth and resource centre. It’s now a very exciting time to be a young person growing up in the Westfield area.”

The Com.Unity centre will offer a broad range of activities which are designed to meet the needs of local children, teenagers, families and residents. Local resident and T.A.R.A Representative Shirley Frost believes: “If you don’t do anything for the kids they won’t do anything for you. They need help with their lives.”
Lib Dem Cllr Colin Ross and Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services said: “At a time when other local authorities are shutting youth centres down Sheffield is bucking the trend.” I can vouch that the hard work put into this by local teenagers is tremendous. They should quite rightly be really proud of their achievements.”

The regeneration of the Westfield area is a direct result of partnership working between Sheffield City Council, Westfield Sports College, Shortbrook Primary School, Sheffield Futures, Westfield TARA, Sheffield United Football Club, South East Community Assembly, Woodhouse and Mosborough Police Force and members of the local community.


Reader Response

Was the amount of time and money spent worth it?
Do you think they should have converted the pub or kept the pub and built a centre?
Hi. I am a resident who lives opposite the Golden Keys. To be honest when we initially found out about the proposals we were shocked and slightly disappointed to say the least. The rumour mill advertised the Com.Unity as a youth centre and being the mum of a 17 year old I was understandably concerned as I was well aware of the behaviour of certain locals and the last youth centre was wrecked on a regular basis.
However, it appears that the project is so far so good. I have only heard good reports from local people. I am out at work all day so by the time I return home it is usually closed and to be honest during these warm days it’s a relief not to have gangs of revellers outside until the small hours. Locals seem to be very impressed with the services provided.

The only criticism I have is that locals were not consulted directly regarding the proposals; it all appeared a little hush hush. You would have thought that residents who live less than 50 yards away may have been consulted a lot more with the proposals.  I have only received one leaflet regarding what actually goes on there and that was for an open day (which I could not attend as I was working)
All in all I wish the project every success but would like to be kept more informed of what’s going on.

By Leanne Bolan
Drug den pub becomes youth centre

The notrious Westfield's Golden keys pubs’ transformation into a state-of-the-art youth centre is soon to be unveiled.

Sheffield City Council has spent £452,000 on the purchase and conversion of the last pub on the estate. The money, from the government's Youth Capital Fund, forms part of the council's regeneration plans for the Westfield area with the teenagers involved being the main driving force behind the project.

Lib Dem Cllr Gail Smith said: “I believe that the Com.Unity project will be something the city can be proud of and hopefully we can roll the project out in other areas of the city. Pubs are often in the heart of the community, therefore make good community centres.”

The pub closed in March 2009 after complaints about drug dealing. Local resident Tony Downing over-heard other residents saying “Kids around here will soon wreck it.” Patrick Meleady, Positive Activities Manager at Sheffield City Council, admits that the centre was broken into in the first few days but since then they have received “lots of support”.

The centre opens it’s doors on the 26th March, 12.30pm – 3.30pm with a VIP night on the 16th. In September it will also become a resource centre for the rest of the community. Some of the centre’s facilities include an internet cafe, dance studio, gym, chill out space and music suite. Mr Meleady said: “It will be the best facility in Sheffield. I’m confident about that. It’s a very exciting project.”

Fact Box
The pub closed in 2009 due to reports of drug dealing.
In 2011 it opened as a youth and community centre as part of the council’s regeneration plan for the area.

By Leanne Bolan

Another unwanted Tesco store?

Tesco’s planning application to build a new store in Halfway; Sheffield was refused on 1st March 2011 due to public opposition.

Tesco were seeking to build a new store opposite the Morrison’s site on land that already has planning approval for industrial use. Tesco say they want to provide shoppers with a wider choice and a better shopping experience in Halfway which will offer over 450 new jobs and will be a significant investment in the area. 

Tesco's plans for the store
Tesco wanted to use the Oxclose Park Road roundabout as the main access and provide a road which joins the Deepwell housing estate a bus, cyclist, pedestrian and taxi only route.

Councillor David Barker said: “local residents were obviously concerned about the effect this would have and we had several meetings with Tesco. Whilst they made some changes to the application as a result they ignored the major concerns which were about the provision of a new link road - people did not want this, and the way the store was to be sited. Following much public opposition the application was turned down, but Tesco are likely to appeal the decision so the store could still go ahead.”

The council will have to consider if the new store will be a threat to the shopping centre, Crystal Peaks and the traffic implications.

Tesco's planning application.

If the decision does get approved, Tesco want to invest in the local area by providing a green wildlife zone to protect the existing wildlife and have said that they will continue to cut down their carbon footprint in every area of the business.

Local resident, Sarah Hubbard from Oxclose Park Gardens said: “Halfway doesn’t need another supermarket, we already have a Morrison’s store across the road it will cause a lot more traffic and pollution around the area”.

By Jessica Thorpe 

Car Collision

A collision between two cars on Plumbley Hall Road in Mosborough has caused both cars to be completely written off. Miraculously noone was hurt.

By Rebecca Savva

Joey Essex: Not So Reem

Hundreds of Sheffield party-goers were left angry and frustrated last night after ITV2 star Joey Essex took a premature leave from his personal appearance at The SteelHouse night club.

Joey Essex at The SteelHouse last night

Fans of The Only Way is Essex Pin-up, famous for his ridiculous and ‘reem’ behaviour on the popular TV show, paid £10 to gain VIP access to SteelHouse. They were told this would guarantee them a meet and greet with the man himself, but after only an hour Joey left the stage and more than half the ticket holders did not get to meet the reality celeb.

The star making a swift exit

Charlotte Johnston, a student in Sheffield said “I am fuming, I spent a tenner on a ticket to meet Joey Essex and all I experienced was a lot of pushing and some very rude security.”

The Steelhouse facebook page has found itself inundated with posts from angry attendees demanding their money back from the club. One girl posted ‘What an actual joke that was last night. What did my £10 actually pay for? Ridic.’

The Steelhouse are yet to make a comment on whether they will be providing a refund for the customers who were left disappointed.

Fact Box

Joey Essex took a premature leave from meeting his paying fans at Steelhouse.

By Rebecca Savva

Thursday 28 April 2011

COM.unity centre proves a success in Mosborough

The COM.unity community centre opened two weeks ago in Westfield, Mosborough. The Golden Keys pub on the Westfield estate had recently been causing serious problems with anti social behaviour and drug dealings. Councillor David Barker said: “young people told us there was nothing to do, so after much hard work we were successful in buying the pub.”

Patrick Meleady, Positive Activities for Young People manager  at Sheffield City Council, said that they got a loan from the council for £450,000 in order to design and produce a community centre for people aged 14-25. He said: “it has been a magnificent journey; we got 20 young people from Sheffield College to help with the design of the centre.”


The gym.

The facilities that it offers includes an internet cafe, a gym, a chill out room, a kitchen, an education room, four meeting rooms and a music room. Cllr David Barker said: “this has resulted in one of the best facilities in the country being completed. A facility that will be open for all the community to use and which will hopefully really start to make a difference in the regeneration of the area.”

The centres manager, Debra said: “the centre will be fully operational by September, we have many events and activities booked such as fishing trips and pamper days. I am very lucky  and privileged to be a part of it.”

On 29th April the COM.unity centre held a party for the Royal Wedding, offering people of all ages a fun day for the community to get together. 






By Jessica Thorpe 



Fact Box

The Westfield COM.unity centre now offers a drug free den to the regeneration of the area.

Monday 11 April 2011

Staff at Crystal Peak's Sainsbury's help raise money for Red Nose Day by having fancy dress and playing competitions on the Wii.
By Jessica Thorpe

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Almost Cat-astrophic!


A family in Sheffield have been left both shocked and delighted after their missing cat has been reunited with them having spent eight weeks trapped without food or water.

The Taylor family’s fourteen year old cat, Wizz, first went missing from their home in Mosborough at the beginning of January and the family searched the area nonstop to try and find their beloved pet; handing out flyers, putting up posters and getting friends involved but to no resolve.
After two months of searching the family were beginning to give up all hope of seeing their cat again, however, this week they have been reunited with their feline friend after a neighbour on the street heard scratching coming from her upstairs floorboards and discovered the malnourished cat trapped beneath.

Neighbour, Janet Williams, 57, said she was scared when she first heard the noises in her house. “I made my husband check the floorboards, I was terrified we might have rats but the minute I saw the little black cat I recognised her from the posters and went straight on over and gave her back, they’d all been so worried.”

The Taylor family were delighted to be reunited with their family pet, however, the severe weight loss, dehydration and fears of liver failure meant Wizz had to be rushed immediately to the emergency Vets and it was a close call as to whether she would pull through. Mother of the family Helen Taylor, 48, said the amount of weight Wizz had lost was alarming. “She had shrunk to the size of a kitten, if she was down there any longer I’m almost certain she wouldn’t have survived."

Wizz returned to the Taylor family’s home yesterday and is expected to make a full recovery. Mrs Taylor said “It's a miracle. We are so happy to have her back, now we are a proper family again.”

Wizz is recovering at her family home in Mosborough

Fact Box

A cat survived being trapped under floorboards for 8 weeks with no food or water.

By Rebecca Savva


Thursday 10 February 2011

A blast from the past: Memories of the city's Blitz

Audrey and Robert Staton 2009

Audrey and Robert 1940


The city of steel was always considered a key target like many other manufacturing towns and cities. December 2010 marked the 70th anniversary of the Blitz over Sheffield.

The German bombings of Sheffield took place over the nights of the 12th and 15th of December 1940 during World War 2. The city organised a series of events to mark the anniversary. Sheffield’s Central Library and Crystal Peaks Library had exhibitions of photographs and documents and talks from Suzanne Bingham and Neil Anderson about peoples experiences from the nights the bombs dropped over Sheffield.

On the night of December 15th 1940, 90 enemy air craft attacked the city over a period of three hours from 6.50pm to 10.05pm. The industrial East of the city was hit. Almost 700 people were killed.   
A bomb fell in Hawksley Avenue, Sheffield on the 15th. Audrey Staton lived at Dart Square with her aunt after her mother died in 1939, Audrey and her brother Robert were separated when she died and Robert lived with their grandad and gran at 39 Hawksley Avenue.

When to bomb went off, her brother aged six was sitting on the cellar steps & got out unharmed. There were four other family members in the kitchen, her grandad was seriously injured & came out of hospital two months later. They had managed to dig themselves out the next morning; unfortunately the other three family members living in the house were killed after being buried alive. 

Audrey Staton who now lives at Malham Gardens, Halfway, is a retired post office worker, she said:”the blitz caused devastation and heartache to my family and the community.” 

Audrey went to her neighbour’s house three doors down. When she returned home after the bombings there was a block of concrete on her pillow. She said: “my Aunt said there had been a miracle, for the place where I usually slept in the cellar kitchen, a block of concrete had crushed my pillow, and it would have surely have killed me if I had been there.” All of the windows were broken and part of the roof had been blown off, Audrey said rubble had completely covered the house. 

In Sheffield there were precautions against the air raids, Sheffielders prepared for the bombings by covering up their windows with sticky brown paper to prevent the glass from shattering when the bombs dropped. Anderson shelters, made out of steel were being delivered to many households. Friends and relatives had to bolt the shelter together, larger shelters were being built in school grounds – the shelters were later to become the classrooms. Audrey said: “the shelters let water in, but if my cousins had gone in theirs, which they usually did, they would have lived. Their neighbour’s house (in the same yard) had a direct hit as well but they were in the shelter and just got minor injuries. I suppose a lot of people owe their lives to those shelters.”

After the Blitz Audrey said: “we were left without electricity and the telephone lines were damaged, it was chaos”. 

There was rationing on certain foods – it became common practice to queue for food; all households had a ration book which they had to produce every time when purchasing food. Audrey said: “we had to stand in long queues for food, it was dark bread, lard, dripping, powdered egg, horsemeat and sometimes we had rabbit which the dogs had caught. The only fruit we got was an apple and orange at Christmas.”

Christmas was a tradition that actually survived the Blitz, much of the city centre lay in ruins. There was no ringing of the church bells on Christmas day, but survivors were so grateful they tried to lighten the mood. They celebrated Christmas in a strange surrounding, but Sheffield’s pantomimes Cinderella and Mother Goose still took place and 6,757 people spent Christmas morning at Hillsborough watching Wednesday and United draw. Audrey said she celebrated it with her brother and family, she said: “we had no Christmas presents or traditional Christmas food due to the rationing, it was a difficult time, I felt lonely without my mother and the Blitz had caused much sadness to local people the mood was very sombre”.

After the Blitz Audrey went to live in a foster home, a terraced house with 2 bedrooms, an attic and 2 rooms downstairs. It had no electricity upstairs so she used candles. At eight years old, she did the washing for eight people living in the foster house, using a tub with a wooden three leg posher and a large mangle with wooden rollers until she got married in 1954.  

The Blitz ended in May 1941, when the German air force were sent to prepare for the invasion of Russia. 

By Jessica Thorpe