A southern yank with questions

[msjhord]

Good luck with your novel.

Sheffield used to be called "a dirty picture in a beautiful frame" beause of the heavy steel industry but now it has changed for the better.

Some of the working class areas are Darnall, Attercliffe, Pitsmoor, Heeley and a few more but because of redevelopment it is now a beautiful, vibrant city with quick access to lovely countryside.

There is a very good university which is open to any class who have aspirations in life.

I was brought up with blue-collar parents during and after the war. Sheffield had a bad hammering from German bombing which destroyed much of the city centre and killed and injured thousands of people. I luckily escaped from this as a baby.

 

Hope to read your novel.

 

Thanks for the input, 1066. I hope you get to read it, too !

 

I have seen some photos online of the shelling that the city took in the war. I think it's a testament to the hardiness of Sheffield and it's people that it didn't let that get in the way of its progress. It just rose from the ashes, rebuilt, and thrived.

[glennpickard]

If he grew up 1960/1970s your character would have been at the tail end of the Sheffield Iron and steel business, it was beginning to slow down as Japanese vehicles/implements took the market over. Probably born in 1950s when food rationing was still around, and money was scarce !

 

Steel was produced in very working class areas such as Attercliffe, Brightside, Tinsley, Darnall etc. But I would be surprised if your character would open up a restaurant in these areas in those days. High unemployment and little money. He would likely choose somewhere downtown or around London Rd, I would guess, where there would be people with higher disposable incomes.

As I recall Sheffield's favourite eateries were the old standby, fish & chips, Indian curry, some Chinese and some Italian

 

Sheffield's history is cutlery starting about 400 years ago. And because of the proximity of rivers and fresh water, started producing specialized steels in the 19th century.

 

Thousands of old row houses were built in the late 19th/early 20th century to accommodate people employed in the expanding steel business, and the city eventually reached a population of over 500K.

 

Another part of the city's history is where "Football" began (English style of course) in around the 1840s/1850s. As you will know it is now the most popular sport in the world eclipsing all others in terms of participation and spectators. Two major teams in the city, the Owls and the Blades.

And finally there is some beautiful scenery to the west and south of the city.

 

Good luck with the project. Recommend a visit (summertime, winters are cold) if its possible, before you put pen to paper. Please make sure you pass on the book title when you have finished, I would like to read it. When might it be completed ?

Edited April 13, 2017 by glennpickard
missed a few words