Sheffield

Sheffield is a large city, almost exactly in the centre of England. This means that from here it's very easy to reach other parts of the country, and Wales and Scotland too. The city became world famous for steel production and innovation including stainless steel. However, the 1970s and 1980s were difficult years for the city with increased competition for steel and the decline of the coal industry. The population went down and unemployment went up and many hard years followed. Now the city is undergoing a strong revival with tourism and technology two of the main employers.

So what can you do in Sheffield? I'm going to tell you about just a few of the many things the city has to offer.

Firstly, you can watch the oldest official football club in the world. Back in 1857 a group of men formed Sheffield FC, and within three years there were fifteen clubs. Sheffield FC still play today in the oldest football ground in the world, but if you decide to go and watch them play you won't see Manchester United or Liverpool because the team plays in the amateur leagues. If you want to see a higher standard you must go to see Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday, that team which originally played only on . . . Wednesday.

If you don't like football but prefer alpine sports instead, you can go skiing at Europe's largest artificial ski resort. Or go ice-skating in one of the arenas and stay to watch the ice hockey team, the Steelers. In fact the city takes sport very seriously and there are top class facilities for most sports.

In the evening you are sure to hear music around the city. There is a strong tradition and many successful bands come from here. If you are my age, not yet 40, you probably remember your first visits to discos hearing songs by Heaven 17, The Thompson Twins and The Human League, all from Sheffield. Def Leppard didn't really make music to be played in the discos! Then, as you matured a little you played some Pulp on your stereo, progressing on to Gomez. Now your children are asking you for money to buy the new Arctic Monkeys cd. Grandma still says that Joe Cocker is a nice young man. All Sheffield.

Now, one of Joe Cocker's best known songs is 'You can leave your hat on', which Tom Jones sang for the film The Full Monty. This is the story of an unemployed man from Sheffield who desperately needs some money and has a good idea. He and 4 of his friends decide to form a dance group who strip to music. At first they don't take it very seriously but as the day of the show gets nearer they start to get very nervous and want to cancel it. However, the club has sold a lot of tickets so they decide to perform and in the end have a lot of fun. The show is a great success and the men eventually find new confidence after such a long time unemployed. It's a very funny comedy and a nice way to pass an hour and a half, even if some of the subjects in the film are very serious, such as divorce, unemployment and depression.