Remembering the Hillsborough Disaster: 35 Years Later
On 15 April 1989, during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield's Hillsborough Stadium, a tragic crush killed 97 and left hundreds injured.
The causes of the Hillsborough tragedy are deeply rooted in a series of systemic failures and poor decisions. Overcrowding, inadequate stadium design and a lack of effective crowd control measures contributed to the fatal crush in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium.
The aftermath saw a prolonged battle for justice as families of the victims sought accountability and truth, challenging the initial narrative falsified by South Yorkshire Police which blamed Liverpool supporters for the tragedy.
Debbie Caine, of The Hillsborough Law Now Campaign, said: “The pain and suffering of the past 35 years have not diminished. Today, we pay tribute to all 97 supporters, they will never be forgotten, and we fight on in their memory and for all those who have suffered such injustice at the hands of the state."
Investigations and inquiries revealed a pattern of negligence, cover-ups, and scapegoating, highlighting the failures of authorities, including the police and emergency services.
In 2016, a jury finally concluded that the 97 (96 at the time) victims were unlawfully killed, and subsequent inquiries have led to criminal charges against individuals and organisations responsible for safety and security at Hillsborough Stadium.
Ms Caine said: “The truth of what really happened on that dreadful day was not revealed for decades because public authorities and officials concealed the truth in their own interests.
"Yet, 35 years on, the experiences of Hillsborough families have been repeated countless times, currently with the Post Office scandal. Little has changed.”
This week Labour Party leader Keir Starmer confirmed a Labour government would prioritise bringing The Hillsborough Law into being a parliamentary bill.
This would introduce a legally enforceable, positive “duty of candour” for police and all public authorities to assist investigations into a major incident, and equal public funding for legal representation of bereaved families at inquiries and inquests.
The bill, drafted after the 2016 verdict, is aimed at ensuring that other people do not suffer police cover-ups and mistreatment, as the Hillsborough families did.
Pete Weatherby, the solicitor who represents 22 of the affected families and co-writer of the first draft of the proposed Hillsborough Law, said: “The fact that he [Keir Starmer] has come out publicly in support to the bill is good news.
“Hillsborough Law is the legacy project of the Hillsborough families after establishing their loved ones have been unlawfully killed.”
Mr Weatherby compared Hillsborough to other tragedies that has struck the nation in more recent years. He said: “You can substitute Grenfell, COVID, the post office, whatever you like, for Hillsborough. It is an issue that goes on in every single investigation and inquiry.
“The Hillsborough Law is an attempt to make practical and effective changes to the law to prevent public servants and others from covering up wrongdoing or hiding error.”
As we honour the memory of the 97 lives lost in the Hillsborough disaster, let us reaffirm our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of fans at sporting events. May their legacy serve as a reminder of the ongoing pursuit of justice, accountability, and solidarity in the football community and beyond.
World mourns 35 years since the Hillsborough Disaster
Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of football’s greatest tragedies - the Hillsborough Disaster - when 97 people were unlawfully killed attending an FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
The tragedy unfolded primarily due to overcrowding in the Leppings Lane stand, which led to a crush of fans in one of the standing terraces.
The situation was exacerbated by inadequate crowd control measures, poor stadium design, and the failure of police to properly manage the influx of fans.
As fans entered the stadium, many were directed towards the already congested central pens, rather than the less crowded side pens. This led to crushing as the central pens became overcrowded.
Despite pleas from fans, the match was not halted. The response from emergency services further contributed to the severity of the disaster.
Over the past 35 years, multiple investigations and inquiries unravelled a series of conspiracies and cover-ups.
This led to a second inquiry being ordered which concluded gross negligence by police and ambulance services resulted in 97 unlawful deaths.
The incident led to significant changes in stadium safety regulations in the UK, including the introduction of all-seater stadiums for top-flight football matches and improved crowd control measures.
Labour leader Keir Starmer took to X [formerly Twitter] to express his condolences to the victims and their families.
He said: "Today on the 35th anniversary of Hillsborough, I'll be thinking about those lost, their families, and their enduring courage and determination to pursue justice.
"Making the Hillsborough Law a reality would be a priority of my Labour government."
The Owls will host the annual memorial service to remember the 97 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives in 1989.
The service will commence at 2:55pm at the permanent memorial site adjacent to the South Stand bridge and run for approximately 20 minutes, during which time Parkside Road traffic will be suspended.
Hillsborough Stadium will be open to all visitors wishing to pay their respects throughout the day from 10am to 4pm.
Second Sheffield man charged with attempted murder after alleged stabbing in Darnall
A second man from Sheffield appeared in court today after being charged in connection with a reported stabbing in Darnall last week.
Adil Mohammed, 24, of Acres Hill Road, Sheffield, appeared before Sheffield Magistrates' Court earlier today after being charged with attempted murder.
Mr Mohammed pleaded not guilty today and is the second man charged in connection with the alleged assault last week.
It comes following an alleged stabbing on Staniforth Road on Tuesday evening left a 21-year-old man with serious injuries which are now thought to be life-changing.
The man had multiple suspected stab wounds and remains in hospital.
Mr Mohammed has been remanded in custody and is next due to appear before Sheffield Crown Court on 13 May.
Sheffield man hopes to fundraise £40k for human trafficking victims
A Sheffield YMCA worker is aiming to raise £40,000 for human trafficking victims before his 40th birthday by running four half marathons in a month.
The Snowdrop Project is a Sheffield-based charity which provides long-term support to survivors of modern slavery and exploitation.
Jonathan Buckley, 39, decided to fundraise for the organisation after he volunteered to drive trafficking victims to safe houses for the Salvation Army.
He said: “For us, these weren’t just people you saw on the news in boats crossing the channel, or on trucks. They were real people with real stories and real lives too.
“You always think, what happens to them next? Do they just get lost in the system, do they go back to their home countries, what happens to them?”
He discovered the Snowdrop Project through friends who volunteered there, and decided to raise money for long-term support of human trafficking victims.
So far, including gift aid, Jonathan has raised £2,000 of his £40,000 target. He admits raising £4,000 is more realistic than £40,000, but he is determined to raise as much money as possible.
He said: “Encouraging people to part with their cash has always been a gift I have had.”
Jonathan aims to completes the Sheffield Half Marathon, which took place on April 7, Rugeley Half Marathon, which took place yesterday, and the upcoming Roche Abbey Half Marathon and East Yorkshire (Hull) Half Marathon.
He said: “Carrying the Olympic torch last Sunday was hard. I’ve not carried it since I carried it in 2012, and that was only 300 metres, rather than 13 miles. My arm muscles hurt quite a bit on Sunday night.
“The torch has been behind the TV for the last ten years, so it was good to get it out again!”
Jonathan said doing back-to-back races is a challenge, but he has friends and family members joining him on the way to cheer him on.
“Having planned this for the past five or six years, it’s good to actually do it. Come May, I think I will be at a loose end and wondering what is next!”
The Snowdrop Project said: "As a small charity, we rely on the generosity of supporters like Jonathan to fund the work we do.
"We're lucky to have an incredible community of people who fundraise and donate to enable survivors to rebuild their lives after exploitation."
You can donate to Jonathan Buckley’s Just Giving fundraiser here, or donate directly to the Snowdrop Project by visiting their website.
Friends band together to run the Sheffield Half Marathon in memory of an ‘inspirational’ racing driver
The death of an "inspirational" Rotherham racing driver by suicide has led a group of friends from Sheffield to raise money for mental health in his memory.
Jake Cook, a father of two, had competed in a variety of competitions, including the Formula Ford EuroCup and British Formula Renault Championship. His death led to 14 of his school friends coming together to honour his memory by raising money for the mental health charity, MIND.
His friend Jojo Quattrocchi, 32, said: "It's been something so tragic but we've managed to try and spin that into something positive by running for Jake's family, for MIND, and just sharing our solidarity for mental health and how we can maybe break these stigmas."
When asked about their memories with Mr Cook, the friends had an abundance of experiences they wanted to share. James Brodie, 30, bonded with Mr Cook over their joint love of auto racing.
He said: “He was just the sweetest guy. Even though I live down in London now and he was living up in Sheffield, we would stay in contact and we sometimes messaged each other about F1.
“He was just someone who I really enjoyed that world with.”
Olivia Parker, 30, spoke about what Mr Cook was like in school. She said: “He was very hard-working. He was very determined because not only was he incredible at sport and at such a high level, but he was also very intelligent.
“He was also very humble. He was never someone to particularly brag or rub it in your face.”
Miss Parker detailed why they had chosen a marathon to raise money and pay tribute to their friend: “He had competed as a Formula racing driver for his whole life. He was an extremely sporty and inspirational person and I think we thought what more could we do in his honour than a sporting challenge?”
The group decided to start a fundraiser for the mental health charity, MIND, to help increase awareness of men’s mental health. Men make up 80% of suicides that happen in the UK each year.
Originally, the group had set their fundraising target at £5,000 but after receiving generous donations, they decided to double it to £10,000.
Miss Parker said: “It’s really been quite amazing to see the generosity of people coming together. I think people really understand that MIND is a charity that they want to contribute to.”
MIND puts 83 pence from every pound they receive directly into helping people with mental health difficulties.
In spite of the progress made by mental health charities in the past few years, there is still a stigma around being open about mental health, especially for men.
The group are all taking a different approach to training for the marathon but are updating each other along the way.
Mr Quattrocchi, who is starting his own mental health charity, has found the process challenging but enjoyable. He said: “I’ve never run 10K in my life. I've gone years without running and it has been really good, personally, to get back to feeling the benefits of running, and then obviously the end goal is to finish it, all in honour of Jake."
The group will be running the half-marathon on 7 April.
You can donate to their fundraiser here.
Owls Glide by Millers in South Yorkshire Derby
The Owls made it three in a row after a comfortable 1-0 away win against Rotherham United.
Sheffield Wednesday needed three points against out-of-form Rotherham United to keep their survival dreams alive.
Pre-match, Wednesday boss Danny Rohl said: “We know the situation is still serious and it goes very quickly in this league in the other direction.
“But at the moment, we are going in the right direction.”
Although only seven miles and one league position separate the clubs, the gulf in class between the two sides was evident at the New York Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Wednesday spent the majority of the first half camped inside the Millers’ final third but lacked composure in and around the box.
This was evidenced after 21 minutes when Owl’s winger Poveda flashed a shot around the post after a positive run, cutting inside from the right.
The visitors did have the ball in the net from Akin Famewo but it was disallowed for offside in a questionable decision by the officials.
The goal didn’t come for Wednesday in the first half, but they were certainly on top, boasting 60% possession and 11 shots to Rotherham’s solitary effort.
Leam Richardson’s side started the second half with more intensity during the first ten minutes and had a few flurries around the away side’s area, but they didn’t create any clear opportunities.
The lack of quality in the Millers’ attack was met by a collective groan from the home fans on the 64th minute, when a seemingly promising counterattack culminated in a 30 yard back pass to their goalkeeper, Viktor Johansson.
Danny Rohl’s men finally broke the deadlock in the 66th minute when Ike Ugbo swept the ball in from close range after a quick passing exchange from the Owl’s on the edge of the box.
The last half an hour was fairly straightforward for the Owls, despite Barry Bannan clearing an effort off the line to keep the clean sheet intact.
Second half substitute Mallik Wilks also hit the post for the visitors with a headed effort in added time.
After the match, Rohl said: "From the beginning we were on the front foot, and we created a lot of chances and at half-time I had a clear message.
I said to my team it was great what we were doing, but it was about what we did in the box.”
The win for Wednesday was crucial and has pushed the Owls to within three points of safety.
When Rohl took the helm in December, they were struggling on 13 points at the foot of the table.
Wednesday play host to Plymouth Argyle tomorrow for another ‘six pointer’ in the relegation scrap.
From Sheffield to Sydney: 40 years of Rock and Roll photography with Tony Mott
A former Lowedges chef who became one of the most esteemed photographers in rock and roll, working with over 3,000 musicians including The Arctic Monkeys and Madonna, talks about his 40 years in the industry.
From touring with The Rolling Stones to having dinner on Paul McCartney's yacht, and being forced to shoot Blink-182 in a bathtub, Tony Mott reminisces about his time shooting some of the world's most famous bands.
"The reality is that I've shot thousands of bands and musicians," says Tony. "I've only met three a***holes, and that's after more than 40 years experience. They're not great time keepers, nor are they hugely reliable. But they're definitely not all a***holes."
The son of a steelworker, Tony, born in 1956, a loyal Blades fan, was raised in Lowedges. He lived in the city until he was 18, where he studied to become a French Chef in Granville Catering College and can recall clearly the 'buzz' of the Moor on a Saturday morning.
After qualifying as a chef, Tony worked in Surrey, before meeting an Australian girl and moving 'down under', but he soon discovered his real passion, and what would become his true calling in life, was photography.
Tony was introduced to what became his vocation by his childhood friend, Paul Mitchell, from Hackenthorpe, who worked on black and white portraits. He taught Tony how to process and print photographs, and this was the start of his lifelong love of the art.
Despite being born and bred in Sheffield, Tony has spent most of his life in Australia, admitting when he returned to the city in the late 80s, while working with the band U2, he got lost. “That period, when all those steelworks disappeared, Sheffield changed radically. When I left in ’76, people, including my dad, worked in the steelworks. That was the industry. So, it's a hell of a shot to just be wondering around Attercliffe going to myself, ‘where the f**** has everything gone? You’ve got to remember, when I left, there was no Meadowhall or anything like that."
Although Tony moved away from Sheffield almost 50 years ago and may have lost his Yorkshire drawl, he’s never lost that classic, old school Northern sense of humour. The anecdotes he has are endless, and his delivery when telling them is as magnetic and entertaining as the world's best stand-up comedians. Referring to the Arctic Monkeys, he says: "The first time I worked with them, they asked me, ‘are you United or Wednesday then?' As soon as I said United, that was sort of the end of that relationship really - I guess they’re all Wednesday”.
In the early years after moving to Australia, Tony would take his camera into local pubs and photograph local bands. This is how he stumbled across the rock band Divinyls, known for their hit 'I touch myself' and went on to be a big success in Australia and the United States.
"I got lucky that they got famous when I was starting and so I rode their coattails to certain extent", Tony says. “I never really ever meant it to happen, it just happened. Being a chef was bloody hard work, but taking photos of musicians was fun," he added, with a smirk.
In 1987, Tony got his self-confessed 'big break' in the industry, when Mick Jagger landed in Australia on a solo tour and asked him to be his photographer. He toured with The Rolling Stones three times as well as working with Fleetwood Mac, Iggy Pop, Blink-182, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Madonna and Paul McCartney just to name a few.
Tony once spent an afternoon in Sydney harbour with Paul McCartney. "I was told by my management that I had to go and photograph Paul on the harbour in his boat." says Tony, "So you immediately think, 'Oh it's going to be some f***ing great big luxury yacht. But he just loves sailing and I ended up having lunch with him, and he told me how he misses double-decker buses. He was a lovely bloke."
Tony has also witnessed some hilarious behind-the-scenes moments, including finding Travis Barker, the drummer of American punk band, Blink-182, in a bathtub. "I did a front cover for Rolling Stone magazine," he says. "But Travis wasn't answering the door and hadn't come out of his room. He was so hungover in the bathtub of his hotel room that he quite literally couldn't get out of it. He's still, p****d, so I said, 'let's shoot it in there', so I got them all in and just shot them in the bathtub."
Tony reveals, though, sometimes, he was the cause of the mishap, including a time he forgot to put film in his camera during a session with Guns 'n' Roses. The rock group were at the pinnacle of their popularity and Tony spent the entire session disguising his mistake before confessing his rooky error. After the session, Tony had a chat with their manager, forming a cunning lie to save himself, "It worked out alright because the next day, I said to the manager, 'I'm not even gonna show you. They're not good enough'. So I managed to con another session out of them, I suppose!"
After four decades, Tony has now hung up his cameras, and retired from what he calls 'rock and roll photography', and is working in Australian television production.
"I've been doing it for 40 years. The best 40 years of rock and roll photography. It's all been a joy. I feel I've been quite blessed because making money, and good money out of photographing musicians is not something everyone gets to do."
Purchase Tony's book here: Rock N Roll Gallery: A Journey from Sheffield to Sydney 1983-2023: Amazon.co.uk: Mott, Tony: 9781922810748: Books
Ukraine war anniversary: Sheffield’s Ukrainian community gathers for ‘precious’ commemoration
Over 100 people gathered in Sheffield Cathedral last night to commemorate the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
The event consisted of an evening eucharist with Ukrainian orthodox prayer and was followed by live traditional Ukrainian music. The cathedral is also hosting an exhibition of artworks created by wounded Ukrainian soldiers.
Organised by the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, the music was performed by Ukrainian refugees and included songs played on the Bandura, an ancient Ukrainian instrument.
Event organiser Tanya Klymenko said: “It means a huge amount to the refugees because despite the warmest welcome we got from locals who opened their hearts and homes, it is still important for people to have a sense of belonging and to speak their own language.”
According to Sheffield City Council, more than 800 refugees have arrived in Sheffield during the past two years as part of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. Mrs Klymenko, however, estimates that there have been around 1,000 new arrivals, accounting for those with an extended family visa.
Anna Kovalenko, a Ukrainian refugee attending the event, said: “It is unfortunate that this is the second anniversary of the war but this was really precious for us. We try to keep together because it is really important for our people and for our children.”
Mrs Kovalenko came to the UK in 2022 with her two sons and had to leave her husband in Ukraine.
She added: “I think this is the best place for us to be in. I am really grateful to Sheffield and can say that our lives continue here.”
Many women refugees have had to leave their husbands behind and are counting the days until they are able to go back to Ukraine.
“I want to emphasise that the war in Europe is still raging and Ukraine needs your support as much as it did two years ago. Please don’t give up on Ukraine," said Mrs Kovalenko.
The event connected different communities, including the Ukrainian Society at the University of Sheffield.
Founder of the society Roksolana Rohozhynska said: “I loved it. I am so grateful that we now have a big Ukrainian society in Sheffield. It is great to see so much support from people from other countries uniting with us for one purpose.”
‘We won’t go away’ says anti-abortion group holding 40-day vigil outside hospital
An anti-abortion group holding a 40-day ‘vigil’ outside of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield claim they are there to raise awareness, rather than judge women.
40 Days For Life is an international Christian organisation that claims it is ‘helping to end the injustice of abortion’. Its first campaign took place in 2007, and has reached over 1000 cities in 63 countries.
Rachel Wood, who organises the Sheffield vigils, told Sheffield Wire that the group has been in the area for three years and aims to pray outside the hospital from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days a week, which is when abortions are performed in the hospital.
Mrs Wood, who also assists in running two helplines that aim to end abortion, said: “We believe life is a gift. Abortion hurts women – they think it’s a right to choose, but it does hurt women.”
The group do not consider their actions to be a protest, with Mrs Wood stating that 40 Days For Life considers it a “peaceful prayer vigil.”
Another one of the vigil attendees, Andrew, declined to provide his last name due to fears surrounding his safety.
He said: “We’ve had vigils interrupted where we’ve just been praying, people have come along and smashed our signs up.
“An elderly gentleman had his sign ripped out of his hands and stood on and torn into small pieces – it was quite shocking, but it wouldn’t deter him from coming.”
Marie, who also declined to provide her surname, said: “People mention rape making it okay to abort, but it’s still a life.
“We speak up for the babies – they have no voice. We won’t go away.”
The group faces heavy criticism in Sheffield. Alexandra, 23, from Sheffield Solidarity Group, said: “We think that being harassed whilst undertaking one of the most difficult decisions a pregnant person can take is an awful thing and should not happen.”
Sarah, who declined to provide her last name, helped to set up the Facebook group ‘Sheffield Protecting the Right to Choose’ in September 2022, after reading about 40 Days For Life. The group aims to establish counter-protests and figure out how to support people in Sheffield.
Sarah believes there should be more buffer zones in place to protect people using the services.
“Everyone’s got a right to their beliefs, but I think there needs to be better securities and systems in place.
“It’s already such a stressful time, adding that stress and judgement on top – I can’t imagine what that feels like.”
Sarah also added that she doesn’t think there are a massive amount of people in Sheffield who aren’t pro-choice.
Vigil attendee Marie disagreed, saying she knows “plenty of people who are pro-life. Maybe they don’t see that.”
According to BPAS, 1 in 3 women will have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old.
Next month, MPs are expected to get a free vote on decriminalising abortion in England and Wales after 24 weeks.
Homeless people at risk of being criminalised by council plan, charities and public say
A draft proposal which would criminalise begging and loitering in the city centre has been criticised for marginalising the homeless by charities and the public.
The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) has received backlash that it will drive homelessness into other parts of the city rather than addressing its causes.
The policy, which is open to public consultation, has been pitched by the council to tackle antisocial behaviour.
Benjamin Archer, a law lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who specialises in anti-social behaviour and public space management, said: “PSPO’s are a tool to deal with symptoms of behaviour rather than addressing its root causes.
“They disproportionately target vulnerable groups through financial penalties and open them up to a cycle of criminality.”
The PSPO is designed to crack down on antisocial activities, but many issues such as drug-taking and public drinking are already covered by other laws.
This has led to the view that the policy’s only purpose is to tackle begging and loitering which are not currently illegal.
As part of the PSPO, temporary structures such as tents would be banned, while anyone sleeping rough could be charged for ‘loitering’.
The Archer Project, a charity for homeless people based at the Cathedral, said: “If people are without accommodation, excluding them from the city centre will only lead to homelessness elsewhere and the city doesn’t want that either.”
The PSPO will be enforced through fixed penalty notices, and would encompass everywhere within the ring road as well as the train station.
Councillor Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, said: “I don’t think there’s necessarily any evidence that introducing PSPO’s moves the issue of antisocial behaviour outside of a city centre.
“We do need to take a very firm line on antisocial behaviour and make sure our city centre is safe for everyone.”
PSPO’s have been introduced in cities such as Doncaster and Barnsley since the government repealed the Vagrancy Act in 2022, which removed begging as a prosecutable offence.
Sheffield previously tried to implement one in 2019, but it was dropped after failing to gain public support and meeting similar criticisms from charities.
The council will be taking public opinions on the policy until 25 March.
Black animals are harder to rehome says Sheffield-based sanctuary
Black animals have a harder time getting adopted due to the superstition surrounding their colour, according to local North Anston animal sanctuary.
Based in south Sheffield, Thornberry Animal Sanctuary was founded in 1988 and rescues animals from abandonment, and neglect.
While the sanctuary have had great adoption success stories, and have strong support from their local community, at times they have struggled to find homes for black animals, specifically cats and dogs.
Dating back to the European witch craze, black cats have often been regarded as an omen of bad luck, deterring people from adopting them.
Cattery and Small Animals Manager, Courtney Berry, said: “They’re a lot like marmite – people either love them or they don’t. We get a lot of them and they are very difficult to rehome.”
Additionally, at this time of year, it is particularly difficult for animals to be rehomed and as Christmas is a high travel period, animals can’t be homed with those who have upcoming trips booked, resulting in animals staying in the centre for longer periods of time.
In the kennels, black Lurchers and black Greyhounds are notorious for sticking around.
Hannah Armes, Thornberry’s Kennel Assistant said: “It's just the colour – people are put off by black dogs. The other colours of Lurchers and Greyhounds usually go quite quickly, but the black ones are less desirable,”
Desirable dogs have also been sent to Thornberry due to owners not foreseeing certain characteristics of their animal, or their medical costs.
A misconception around animal adoption is the underlying costs of taking care of small animals. According to Battersea pets, cat care is roughly £1587 per year, and rabbits at a similar cost of £1550.
Thornberry Animal Sanctuary hopes to hold classes in the new year to educate new pet owners on caring for their animals.
Entirely run on donation, fundraising plays a big part in keeping the centre afloat. Thornberry regularly holds events to entice the local community to support the centre and the animals it houses.
In early November, the sanctuary celebrated its 35th anniversary with a dinner gala. Last weekend, they held their annual Christmas fair, where they promoted local businesses.
Thornberry invites the local community to volunteer to help them day-to-day. Anyone is welcome to volunteer and can find an online application form on their website.
Thornberry Animal Sanctuary will soon open up a charity shop in Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre.
Maddy Cusack “broken by football”: the women’s game in the UK remains an afterthought
Former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack’s early death at 27 has spotlighted the ongoing struggle which still dominates women in football. The pressure of the game is growing but the money in the game is not.
Maddy’s family have criticised the “half-baked” nature of the women’s game. Players have no choice but to work multiple jobs due to the lack of funding for salaries, equipment and facilities.
There has been an increasing demand for the women’s game after the 2022 Euros, but the lack of commitment from clubs for the women’s game, shows the stark contrast between the women and men’s game.
Maddy’s brother, Richard Cusack, 29, spoke out on the pressures his sister faced during her career. He said: “Women don't get paid enough for the effort they put in. They've got to find a way of making the balance work in women's football.
“What you're asking players to do at the moment is live as a full-time, elite, professional athlete by eating, training, and then playing on a Sunday. You’re going out all day Sunday and then players have got to get up for work on a Monday morning and with some away games it’s a weekend-long event as well.
“We have got to find a way of making this work for everyone. At the moment, it feels a little bit half-baked.”
Mr Cusack emphasised the difficulty for players to fully commit to playing football when a risk of injury one game could impact their full-time job.
Maddy’s mum, Deborah Cusack, 55, claims her daughter, who also played for the Lionesses, was “broken by football”. She told the BBC: “Maddy worried about her career in football. Because football, to her, was everything.
“At Sheffield United, last year their players were part-time, which means that they all had full-time jobs and trained three times a week. They often travelled on a Saturday to play on a Sunday, for minimal amounts of money. I think Madeline was on £6,000 a year, last year, to play football.”
Mrs Cusack, from Horsley, Derbyshire, spoke to the Sheffield Wire about a campaign for Maddy to participate in the FA mixed gender trials held across the country, while she was still in secondary school. Unfortunately for Maddy the campaign was unsuccessful despite backing from “every manager and every team”.
Olivia Cusack, 24, explained her sister had a huge ambition to develop opportunities for young women who were pursuing football careers.
She said: “I remember at clubs she'd been in, some female clubs were completely separate from the men's and she could never get her head around why they weren't working together. It wasn’t just funding, but equipment too, and even general relationships between the men and the women. Why was it not more merged?”
After moving to Sheffield United, Maddy noted men and women were gradually integrated which Ms Cusack explained was good for Maddy as the absence of a gendered hierarchy allowed all the players to learn and progress more.
She said: “I think she wanted a level playing field for both men and women. She wanted young girls to be able to achieve what the men have in a way, or even, the females that are in the Euros now. I think she just wanted to make it not so difficult for women to be able to achieve in football and get as much out of the sport.”
The Sheffield Wire’s campaign last May on the retention of teenage girls in football showed a large spike in girl’s interest in football as well as the challenges the girls faced.
Data from Sports England showed that 777,000 girls at the end of the 2021 school year played organised football and a 200,000 increase in the numbers of girls playing informally.
According to FIFA, there are over 29 million women and girls playing football globally, which will be expected to increase to 60 million by 2026.
In school, Maddy participated in the Sports England’s ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, which aimed to challenge stereotypes of girls in sport.
Maddy became known as “Miss Sheffield United” and continued to encourage girls to play football. Throughout her career she participated in various events including multiple visits to Charnock Ridgeway Girls FC.
Olivia, social media manager for Derby Runner, who lives in Horsley, said: “The young girls and parents I spoke to, they believe it's really difficult for girls teams to actually have access to equipment or places where they can carry out training sessions.
“A lot of the time, it's already kind of reserved or bought for boys, men’s, teams. The priority is not the same for females.”
Hana Bhatia, 14, saw Maddy Cusack as a role model for her own pursuit into a football career.
She said: “There’s still stereotypes. I feel like getting on to a team is a lot more difficult for a girl than a boy, because there's so many more divisions for the boys than for girls. I feel like boys don't understand that girls know how to play football”.
Hana also pointed out discrepancies at a professional level. “The women only get one shirt for the entire season and the men get one every single game.”
Rachel Iball, Hana’s mother, explained: “There's a lot more opportunities for the boys to develop and be scouted and we've looked for more teams for Hana. It's just been really difficult to try and go to the next step.
“One of Hana's friends got scouted just so easily. Whereas for girls, it's a lot harder. And there's less teams around. So we end up travelling all over the place to go to matches for a Doncaster, Barnsley, all over.”
Brett Hawke, Barnsley Ladies FC Chairman for the Junior and Development teams, 43, explained that there is an increased pressure from clubs investing in the women’s game for teenage girl players to be elite despite the lack of funding.
“The problem I’ve got with it is, if you read the press, you’d think there’d be a lot of money going to the women’s game because they go on about how much funding has gone into it and how it’s going to improve it”, he said.
“But when you dig into it you’ll find that the funding’s there for already established men's clubs to bring women’s football in. So they go after that funding, bring one women’s team in, and spend the rest of the money on the men's team.”
Mr Hawke has been involved in the women's game for seven years but was originally from the men’s football background.
The financial constraint and overshadowing of the women’s game, as Mr Hawke explained, has risen with the introduction of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations to clubs which has further limited their spending.
He said: “For me there should be a special kind of fund that is specifically for the women’s game and it shouldn’t be included in men’s Financial Fair Play Regulations, it should be rolled out to the women’s game and it’s got to start out at the grassroots.
“Because some of the facilities that we have to play on, if it were boys they would not be playing on that.”
As the number of women in football continues to grow, so does the financial pressure. This reinforces the importance of The Maddy Cusack Foundation that aims to provide funding and opportunities for young girls in their football careers.
#MarkedbyMaddy: The impact of Maddy Cusack on the next generation of players
"She helped so many young people. I was always really shy because I thought that if I said something wrong, then I would regret it but I think I should have spoke to her more because now I can't."
As soon as Hana Bhatia, 14, saw Maddy Cusack play the Sheffield United midfielder became her favourite player. Her passion on the pitch was mirrored in the generosity she gave to younger players.
Hana, who plays for Hallam Rangers Junior FC, recalled: "Anyone who came across Maddy could just tell that she was a really nice person, on the pitch and off the pitch. She treated me more like a friend than a fan."
Rachel Iball, Hana's mother, said: "Hana's dream was to play with Maddy on the pitch so to be able to talk to her and have a relationship was really meaningful. She was a really good role model.
Maddy gave so much time to her supporters. Every time Hana plays football now, she writes MC 8 on her hand and when she scores, she points up and says that was for Maddy."
Hana isn't the only young player or fan who has been impacted by the much loved player. The Maddy Cusack Foundation has been sharing stories using #markedbymaddy and highlighting her impact.
It's evident Maddy has inspired so many young players to want to go on to have a career just like her. However, it can be a hard path to follow.
Ms Iball explained the cost of playing football can make it difficult. She said: "I'm a single mother ferrying Hana around. I love that she's a footballer but the costs can add up."
With the lack of local teams girls have to travel miles to play matches. When they do get to play it's often with less facilities than boys teams.
It's these and many other barriers that The Maddy Cusack Foundation, created by Maddy’s family in October, seeks to address. Their hope is to continue Maddy’s inspirational legacy.
‘It was a privilege to have grown up around such talent’: Cusack family reflect on the fierce woman Maddy became.
Maddy as an adult mirrored her much loved childhood personality, she was fierce, determined and spirited – three words that would eventually become the slogan for The Maddy Cusack Foundation.
Her passion and enthusiasm on and off the pitch inspired many. During the footballer’s childhood, she crafted her talents under the guidance of her beloved teachers, including Anne Cox, and the support of her family.
After completing her A Levels Maddy enrolled at Derby University, so she could stay near her family, and was awarded a first-class honours degree in Marketing, Advertising and PR. By this point, Maddy was working part-time, studying full-time, and playing at Aston Villa on the weekends.
As Olivia entered adulthood, the bond between herself and her older sister strengthened. Maddy helped Olivia gain a job in marketing at Derby Runner, where she still works today.
“Towards the end of our teenage years, into adult life, we were always super close – we came together a lot more. I think it was because there were four years between us and during that time, you go on similar journeys,” she says. “We found a lot of similarities between us as we could open up more, and could relate to each other. I'd do her makeup. I think she liked to humour me in that way because it could bring us closer. At the beginning, she’d say ‘You’re making me look completely different,’ and I’d say ‘Maddy that’s the point in makeup so sit down and let me do your eyelashes!’”
It was the friendship of her family Maddy cherished above all else. “When Maddy had down days from football or work, she would be with me, my little sister and my mum – she and my mum were best friends. I’d always say to Maddy ‘Don’t you want a group of girls to go out with for a coffee or a night out?’ She’d always be mortified at the idea and say ‘You're my best mate – you, Mum, and Felicia are. I don't need friends,’” the social media manager recalled.
Maddy juggled a lot during her adult life. She had a full-time job as a Marketing Executive for Sheffield United, in which she would work Monday to Friday. On Sundays, she would swap the office for the pitch and turn her focus to her career as a semi-professional footballer.
The COVID-19 lockdown forced Maddy to break from her hectic lifestyle. She immediately moved back to Horsley and back into her childhood bedroom. “For the first time in 18 years, her fast-paced lifestyle had slowed down – not stopped because she was still working. I think she was quite annoyed she wasn't furloughed like everyone else,” says Olivia.
“Everything slowed down and that was really nice for her because we got to just spend time together – we were all just locked in the house together. We did a lot of walking, playing games and just messing about. She liked the simple things, I think because it wasn't an option for her all the time.”
Although Maddy loved being at home with her family, she was also eager to move back to Sheffield, with her flatmate and football captain, Sophie Barker. The Yorkshire city was not only home to her beloved football team, but also home to her father’s family.
Maddy’s brother, Richard, 29, recalls, “She instantly fell in love with the city – moving to Sheffield was quite a big deal for Maddy because that's where my dad's side of the family is from and all his relatives are up there. My dad was very proud of her for doing that. She always said the city felt so warm to her – just home away from home.”
During the footballer’s time in Sheffield, the siblings would often visit her and take a trip down Ecclesall Road to grab a drink from Pom Kitchen. Other times they’ve opted for a bite to eat at Kelham Island’s Cutlery Works.
Despite her love for a caramel latte, and obsession with Greek wraps, Maddy was strict with herself when it came to training, diet and work ethic. When she wasn’t working, a lot of the time she could either be found at the gym or training.
“She was like a manager's dream,” Richard says, “She was professional, she trained well, ate well. She was always on time. Last year, we had a Christmas dinner around my house and she bought her own – weighed out. She had football the next day and said ‘look, this is what I'm going to have to do’, but even that shows that she was so dedicated to football, and to her family as well. She wouldn't have missed out on the Christmas meal, she just had to make a few adjustments. She really was a marvel – an example of how to conduct yourself.”
Richard works as a sports journalist for Football London, and is based in Birmingham with his partner, Emily, who was also very close to Maddy. “She always welcomed me with open arms. We were quite different, but that didn’t stop us from having a brilliant connection. We got on so well. She'd always take the time to talk to you and get to know you. And she was like that with everyone.”
Emily witnessed the bond between Maddy and her siblings, as well as the mischief they caused. “They would always play football in the house. They'd break something, but no one would ever admit to it. Deborah was always finding something that was broken because they had kicked a ball around the house.”
Maddy never lost her cheekiness, nor did she ever lose the love and affection of her friends and family. “We're so lucky that we know how much she loved us, and she knew we loved her. I think that's very lucky because sometimes you can fall out with people and you might regret things. In this family, there was no question,” Emily says.
For the Cusacks, the festive season remains a very special time of year. Emily recalls a moment from their final. “It's so vivid. We were all just opening presents and Maddy disappeared, we thought she'd just gone to the toilet. Eventually, she came back down and was head-to-toe in a full Santa suit. She put on this funny voice, and she gave out all her presents. We were all laughing, and she was so happy. It was a really happy time,” the primary school teacher says.
Olivia, Maddy’s sister, added, “I remember looking at her and thinking, she was absolutely crazy.” The
Maddy’s love for the season was infamous but in contrast, she wasn’t typically overly sentimental about Christmas, but Olivia still has a card her sister wrote each member of her immediate family two years ago. “To have something that you could actually read and that she took the time to write meant so much. It was just so left-field for her, but it was so amazing.”
During Maddy’s memorial, Olivia read out a part of the note written inside the Christmas card her sister wrote. ‘Thank you for everything you do for me and for always being there for me. I love you so much and I don’t know where I would be without you.’
‘Madeleine displayed a unique spirit, an indomitable spirit’: A glimpse into Maddy Cusack’s childhood
Madeleine Cusack was a star in women’s football – hailed as Miss Sheffield United. Boasting an enviable, professional career, the star midfielder, who hailed from Derbyshire, went on to become vice-captain of Sheffield United.
It is easy for anyone to see why the athlete excelled exponentially in her career: according to her teammates and clubs, she possessed great talent, took any given opportunity to improve, and had unconditional love and support from her family.
But where did Maddy come from? At one point, she was simply a young girl from the small Derbyshire town of Shipley View, Ilkeston. She came from a tight-knit family, close to her parents, Deborah and David, grandmother, Judy, with unbreakable bonds with her siblings, Richard, Olivia and Felicia.
At Scargill Primary School in West Hallam, Maddy was a shining light with a special talent for sport. “She would spend all of her time playing football with the lads. Her school shoes had to be boy shoes, because they were the only ones that would last,” Deborah, 55, says. “Even then, she was very competitive. On sports day she won absolutely every race she ever entered. The school had a little marathon at the end of the year and she'd always win that as well.”
Maddy’s younger sister, Olivia, shared her mother’s sentiments about her competitive nature. “We learned very quickly to just let Maddy win, because she would win anyway,” she says, laughing.
Maddy also enjoyed horse riding and would often ride with her cousins. “When she was a child, her favourite film was Black Beauty and so her fifth birthday present was a horse riding lesson,” Deborah shares dotingly. “We also tried ballet as her grandmother wanted to take her, but that lasted about one week.”
This time of year is particularly hard for the Cusack family, as she loved Christmas. It was a time to spend with her family and take a break from the passions of the pitch. Deborah recalls, “She made an angel at school when she was little, and that goes on top of our tree every year. I've kept all the Christmas decorations from when all the children were five. The others used to get a bit cross when the angel went back up every year.”
Following Scargill Primary School, Maddy moved to Kirk Hallam Academy. Similarly to when she was a younger pupil, the football prodigy spent the ‘majority of her waking hours’ dedicating her time to sports.
“During secondary school, she was a part of the netball team. I went to watch every game she was ever in. On one occasion Maddy nearly went to kick the ball, and I had to shout ‘Don’t boot the ball!’ In netball, she was like a little Jack Russell because she wasn’t tall and lean, she was just on everybody like she was in football so it was funny to watch her play,” Deborah recalls, chuckling at the memory. “I'm very, very proud – I'm proud of everything she's ever done,” Deborah says.
Popularity came easily to Maddy, who was respected by the boys and idolised by the girls. She had a large group of friends throughout her time as a student and was still close to them years later.
She and her boyfriend of the time were crowned prom queen and king in her final year of school. Her ‘prom queen’ sash still remains in her childhood bedroom. It was the first, but by no means the last time she would be celebrated for her popularity and excellence. On the day, there were group pictures of Maddy and her friends taken outside West Hallam Community Centre. The park in the centre is the starting location for the foundation fundraiser, Miles for Maddy, on December 10.
At school, she impressed many of her teachers with her talents and fierce personality. One in particular was Anne Cox, her PE teacher and Key Stage 4 Head of Year.
She worked closely with Maddy on and off the pitch and recalls, as an athlete, she was impressed with her dedication and determination to her interests. As a pupil, she was also in awe of her selflessness, confidence and optimism.
“As a PE student in year seven, she was part of a very talented group of girls,” the retired teacher says fondly. “However, Maddy always just stood out that little bit more. You shouldn’t have favourites in school as a teacher – never. Having said that, there was a group of girls in that year, along with Maddy that were just outstanding beyond belief.”
Branded a ‘cheeky monkey’ by her former teacher, Maddy would often lead the group into mischievous fun which always left a smile on everyone’s face.
“In the early years, the children would perform dances to each other, Anne says. “Maddy would try to break into fits of laughter with her dancing. We once performed a dance to West Side Story and she loved that because it was full of strong, confident movements.”
When the athletic powerhouse wasn’t dominating her way through sport, her focus moved to her studies. Maddy received all A*s, As and Bs in her GCSE subjects, including Psychology and PE, and retook maths three times to secure an A. After GCSEs, she then went on to study English, Biology and PE for her A Levels. It appeared as though she shone as much when reciting Shakespeare, as she did when dribbling on the pitch.
A standout memory for Anne was when the school football team made it to the national finals. “Maddy led the girl’s football team to the National Finals. We had never made the finals before, and this was the only team to have ever done it. She was an integral part of that team with regard to raising motivation and getting everybody to train. She was an absolute star.”
It was while Maddy was at secondary school, the Cusack family moved from Shipley View to Horsley and moved next door to Zoe Stannard, who went to school with Olivia. “I was in year four at the primary school in the village when Olivia started,” Zoe says. “We became best friends that same day. Liv introduced me to Maddy and from then on, we were either always at my house, or theirs. Because I was best friends with Olivia, I always saw Maddy as a big sister. I was an only child and so I felt as though Olivia, Maddy, Felicia and Richard were like my siblings. She was the first person who bought me makeup, the first person to straighten my hair – she was a big sister. We looked up to her so so much.”
During separate conversations, both Zoe and Olivia agreed that once somebody befriended one of the Cusacks, that person automatically became friends with the entire family. Living within a close bubble of family and friends, the entrance to the Cusack house was a revolving door.
Zoe was present for many milestones of Maddy’s life, such as getting her first job as a waitress at the Horsley Lodge Hotel. During Maddy’s exam period, Zoe remembered watching Maddy revise so intently, that it inspired her to mimic her friend’s work ethic when it was time to revise herself.
By this point, Maddy was playing for Aston Villa and would have to drive from Derbyshire to Birmingham three times a week for training sessions. As her father drove her back and forth along the A38, Maddy’s head was in her books, revising for her next exam. Her dedication to ‘being the best’ is something that inspired all those around her.
“She achieved everything she set out to do. She did everything first and set the benchmark for the rest of us: GSCEs, Sixth Form, and even her driving test – She was the first one out of all of us to pass driving,” Zoe, a deputy safeguarding lead, recalls.
Some of her favourite memories of her time with Maddy centre around simplicity: whether it be going for walks with their mums, or going for long drives with Maddy and Olivia. “As she got older, she loved being in her car – she loved listening to R&B, and would literally blast songs in her car as loud as she could.”
Like Deborah, Zoe also cherished the memory of seeing Maddy at her secondary school prom. “It is probably one of my favourite memories. I just remember thinking, she looked amazing. Everyone thought she looked the best.”
Legendary Golf Club Closes After 122 Years
Renishaw Park Golf Club, established in 1911, is set to cease trading after ongoing financial hardship.
Despite club members raising a substantial fee of £20,000, it was not enough to keep the club open during the upcoming winter months when trade is slow.
Renishaw Park Golf Club has also confirmed that multiple donators have come forward to offer further payment, but they will be declining.
The club released a statement to members that said: "We are respectfully declining the very kind offers made and will not be using your money to prop up the club for the next couple of months with no future beyond."
Despite the situation, Renishaw Park Golf Club have stated that they will be exploring options so that a club may continue to operate on location, "in whatever form that may be."
On Sunday 3 December at 4.30pm, the club is scheduled to shut its doors for the last time.
Sheffield FC and Eagles RLC Join For Stadium Move
For the first time in over 20 years Sheffield FC are returning to the city with a brand new state of the art stadium.
The oldest football club in the country will share the site with Sheffield Eagles RLC.
The proposed stadium, which is aiming to be ready for autumn 2025, boasts a capacity of 5,000 and will be located in Meadowhead, on the same site as the former Sheffield Transport Sports Club. The proposal also includes a plan to include a club museum for Sheffield FC.
Richard Tims, Sheffield FC's chairman, said: “This is about being proud of the region’s sporting heritage and making it a hub for sporting excellence and community engagement in Sheffield and the South Yorkshire region."
Sheffield FC have been forced to postpone matches due to bad weather at their current ground in Dronfield, including a game yesterday, against Ashington AFC, following a waterlogged pitch.
Fan, Philip Staton, 70, of High Street, said: “The ground is always flooded. You wouldn't believe the amount of games that are called off."
The proposal for the new Home Of Football Stadium features artificial turf, which would make the pitch resistant to wet weather conditions.
The current ground is just south of Sheffield’s county border with Derbyshire.
Sheffield FC fan and club historian, Andrew Dixon, highlighted the importance of bringing the club north into Meadowhead, and back to the city.
He said: “Crucially, we will be back in Sheffield. I love Dronfield but it doesn't feel right for Sheffield Football Club to be playing in Derbyshire.”
Mr Dixon also compared the similarities between this stadium switch and a previous one made by the club, leaving their old site on East Bank Road.
“For well over a century, the club led a nomadic existence, playing at several grounds. So securing our own home was essential to the survival of the world's oldest club and I hope that the next move will see some success on the pitch. We're definitely due some after the last few years,” he said.
Sheffield Eagles will celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2024 which will coincide with the new stadium project.
The Eagles currently play in the Rugby League Championship, the tier below The Super League, which is the pinnacle of professional Rugby League and a division they haven't played in since 1999.
“There will be more facilities, a gym for players, an indoor supporters club and bar, the ground will be developed and it’ll allow us to push for the Super League. For us, there are no negatives. We’re beyond excited. It's something we've wanted for a very long time,” said Eagles fans, Kate Peat, 54 and her husband, Alan, 52.
Despite the plans for the Meadowhead site exciting some fans, others are worried about the travelling implications.
Mark Webster, 41, of Ellenbro Road, who believes having a ‘Super League standard’ stadium is essential, said: “There’s one negative and it's a strong one. The lack of public transport links to Meadowhead.
"As a non-motorist, it's going to be difficult to get home after games. It's ideal for motorists, and there are buses from the city centre, but they’re not very frequent, but I'm sure this is something the developers will address."
Sheffield FC and Sheffield Eagles have announced that full planning permission will be submitted early next year.
They have also invited the public to two meetings in which they will discuss the plans in more detail. The first on Tuesday, 28 November, and the second on Wednesday, 6 December: IMPORTANT: PUBLIC CONSULTATION EVENTS | Sheffield FC
Kameron Kielly Leaves Sheffield Steelers For More Ice Time
Sheffield Steelers player Kameron Kielly has left the team to return to North America after a short stint in South Yorkshire.
Kielly began his career in 2012 at the Gatineau Olympiques before spending time at the Charlottetown Islanders, Atlanta Gladiators, and eventually the Sheffield Steelers.
Kielly joined the Steelers in the summer of this year, making it his first season overseas.
After his initial signing, head coach Aaron Fox was sure of Kielly’s future success on the team.
He said: “Kam will start off in a bottom 6 role, but I feel he will be one of those guys that will be pushing that internal competition in our group for a bigger role as the season goes on.”
While playing with the Steelers, forward, Kielly, made six appearances and scored one goal on October 21 against the Nottingham Panthers.
The Steelers media manager, David Simms, confirmed that the Charlottetown native would be moving back to North America to secure ice time.
Kielly will be expected to pick up a new side in the East Coast League. It hasn’t yet been confirmed which team he will play for.
Following his departure, fans have shared words of support on X:
Other Steelers fans connected his lack of ice time to his reason for departure.
Kielly has not made a public statement, although he did repost the Steelers’ official announcement on X.
Barnsley apologise following FA Cup removal
Barnsley have apologised to everyone associated with the club following their surprise expulsion from this season’s FA Cup.
It was announced on Wednesday that Neill Collins’s side had fielded an ineligible player in their First Round Replay clash against Horsham last Tuesday.
In a statement released on the club’s website, the Tykes said: "We would like to apologise to our fans, players and staff for this regrettable error."
The player was not named, and the club are not expected to appeal the decision.
Barnsley cruised to a 3-0 victory against Horsham in front of the ITV4 cameras after a dramatic 3-3 draw at Oakwell earlier this month.
However, it is the Isthmian Premier League side who will now face Sutton United in the tournament’s Second Round next weekend.
Photo credit: 19andy76 (Flickr)
Sotona Loan Exit Confirmed
Doncaster Rovers winger Deji Sotona has joined non-league side Boston United on loan until January.
The Irishman joined the club in the summer from Burnley but has struggled to find his feet in Grant McCann’s side.
A product of the Manchester United academy, a 16-year-old Sotona was the fastest player at the Red Devils in 2019. He clocked a top speed of nearly 23mph, more than 1.2mph faster than the previous record holder Diogo Dalot according to the Daily Mail.
Sotona has featured six times under McCann this season, scoring on only one occasion. The Rovers boss confirmed a first-team player would be leaving the club at his press conference yesterday.
Photo credit: David Dixon
Emboldened Blades host Bournemouth in attempt to break free of relegation zone
Sheffield United host AFC Bournemouth at Bramall Lane tomorrow in a match that could see them finally break free of the relegation zone following Everton's points deduction.
After a disappointing start to the season, the Blades have been emboldened by a draw against Brighton and a win over Wolves in their past two fixtures.
With these four points and Everton’s 10-point deduction last week for breaching financial fair play rules, Sheffield United have climbed into 18th place in the table.
At yesterday’s press conference, manager Paul Heckingbottom said: “In terms of where we are, we want to keep momentum going.
“The message hasn’t changed. We’re going to have difficult moments but we have to ride them out and capitalise when we’ve got good momentum.”
Heckingbottom confirmed both Oliver McBurnie and Anel Ahmedhodzic have recovered from recent injuries and will be in contention for starting positions on Saturday, news that will bolster many fans’ expectations of success.
However, Bournemouth is riding its own resurgent wave after a shock 2-0 victory over Newcastle before the international break, paving the way for an exciting basement battle between the sides.
Sheffield’s propulsion out of the danger zone also relies on Crystal Palace beating or drawing to Luton at Kenilworth Road.
On the topic of Everton’s points deduction being to his advantage, Heckingbottom refused to be distracted, and said: “It’s not going to help us get the points we need.”
But he did fire a warning shot towards the Premier League over its investigations into other clubs, such as Manchester City and Chelsea: “You can’t punish one team and not others. There has to be consistency.”
The match will be played on the two year anniversary of Heckingbottom taking over as club manager, an appointment which saw the Blades dominate the Championship and regain their place in the Premier League.
It also follows an international break which saw several impressive performances for members of the squad, including midfielder James McAttee netting a superb brace for England in the U21 Euro Qualifiers against Serbia to help them claim a 3-0 victory.
Supporters have been invited to join a minute’s applause in the 37th minute of the game in memory of Blades fan Matt Hardy, who died aged 37 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Sheffield United v. AFC Bournemouth kicks off at 3pm tomorrow at Bramall Lane.
Bereaved families of students who died by suicide to give evidence at Parliamentary committee
Grieving parents are preparing to tell their stories to the nation’s MPs at a government committee next week in a fight to get a duty of care enshrined in law.
The evidence will be given to the Petition Committee, a parliamentary group which will go over the contents of a petition submitted by campaign groups #ForThe100 and The LEARN Network.
This is ahead of a debate at Westminster Hall on June 5 which MPs will attend and voice their support in order for it to be passed to the next stage of the legal process.
One of the families attending is Dr Mark Shanahan who lost his 22-year old son Rory while he was studying at the University of Sheffield in 2018.
“We want the law to have teeth,” Dr Shanahan said. “This is not something that is going to finish on June 5. Think of Everest. We've got to base camp so there is a long way to go.”
MPs who have spoken in support of the petition include Helen Grant, the MP for Maidstone and the Wield who joined The Learn Network in delivering the petition to Downing Street ahead of the debate next month. Conservative MP Caroline Nokes was also present.
Other MPs such as Darren Henry for Broxtowe, attended the event after the petition was handed in where the families of those who had lost their loved ones to suicide at university read out testimonials.
Sheffield MPs, Olivia Blake and Paul Blomfield as well as Andrew Western for Stretford and Urmston were also at the event.
A spokesperson for Matthew Western, the Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington, said: “Matt is aware of the campaign and has met both campaign groups in Parliament and elsewhere. He will be the Shadow Minister responsible for responding to the debate on 5 June.”
Professor Edward Peck, the government’s first Student Support Champion, said in relation to the time it would take to put the duty of care into legislation: “18 months to two years to do all of what is in training around student mental health, some changes much sooner.”
In response to the petition, the government said: “Higher education providers do have a general duty of care to deliver educational and pastoral services to the standard of an ordinarily competent institution and, in carrying out these services, they are expected to act reasonably to protect the health, safety and welfare of their students.”
Ahead of a debate next month, the Petitions Committee will hear from those involved in the petition, and representatives from charities such as PAPYRUS, Student Minds and Universities UK.
They have received more than 128,000 signatures for their joint petition which concerns the introduction of a statutory duty of care to be made a legal requirement in higher education.
Duty of care is defined by #ForThe100 as protecting students from reasonably foreseeable harm, caused either by direct injury or failing to act. It is already in place in employment law in the UK.
“We can’t sit around for ten years”: father of student who took her own life on the battle for a legal duty of care in universities
“Why is nobody listening? Why is nobody understanding? Perhaps it’s too simple and so fundamental no one believes we’re asking for it.”
These are the words of Bob Abrahart, the 67-year-old father of Natasha, a university student who tragically took her own life while studying at the University of Bristol in 2018. A member of Lived Experience for Action Right Now (the LEARN Network), he is campaigning alongside #ForThe100 for universities to have a legal duty of care.
Bob believes the whole campaign comes down to a fundamental concept: people should be cared about.
The LEARN Network and #ForThe100 are two campaign groups, set up by bereaved families, fighting for the introduction of a statutory duty of care to be made a legal requirement in higher education.
Their joint petition has received more than 128,000 signatures and debated at Westminster Hall on June 5.
The campaign groups estimate 100 university students a year take their own lives, with an estimated 319 in the period between 2017-2020 in England and Wales according to a Freedom of Information request.
Duty of care is defined by #ForThe100 as protecting students from reasonably foreseeable harm, caused either by direct injury or failing to act. It is already in place in employment law in the UK.
Natasha’s story
“We discovered after Natasha’s death that, in a second-year physics module, the students had interviews. All we know from the first one-on-one interview is that she ran out of the room,” Bob, a former university lecturer said. “We have never had any more detail on exactly what happened. That was followed by another failed attempt at an interview. We don't know what happened there either.
“Natasha was diagnosed as having social anxiety disorder. At home and amongst her friends, you wouldn't have noticed it. It's only when she was put in some stressful, performance situation such as a one-on-one presentation in class, when she went shopping, when she went out for a meal, that’s when it caused a problem.
“She only managed to be marked on two laboratory assessments. One at the beginning, which she ran out of and one just before she died. That did not go well either. For the rest, she just got zeroes because they failed to address the problem. Did they fail her? The judge ruled they caused her death. So yes.”
20-year-old Natasha took her own life on the day she was expected to participate in an oral presentation which would have taken place in front of 40 staff and students.
“They should not have subjected her to six months of non-stop, that was in effect for her, torture. It is this torture which caused her to become depressed and it's the depression that led to the suicide and they still did nothing. They carried on regardless.
“So why did they? The answer is that they didn’t have to stop.”
A civil court ruled that the University of Bristol failed to make reasonable adjustments for Natasha under the Equality Act 2010 and the Abrahart family won £50,000 in damages.
However, the judge refused to accept that the university was negligent under a duty of care - because Bristol University successfully argued that none existed.
Natasha’s father argues that if a duty of care had existed, the university wouldn’t have subjected her to the distress associated with the oral assessments that she was struggling with.
“Natasha was a wonderful daughter. She was methodical in everything she did,” the former associate professor at the University of Nottingham said. “She loved computer programming and was musical. She played piano and cello.
“She had one thing holding her back: her social anxiety disorder.”
The Abrahart family are prepared to go all the way to the Supreme Court, if that is required, to get justice for Natasha. This could take up to ten years and they believe other families should not have to go through the same process.
The University of Bristol declined to comment on the matter.
UUK response
Professor Steve West CBE, the President of Universities UK and Vice-Chancellor of UWE Bristol said every life lost to suicide is a tragedy but “although universities are investing in student support and developing partnerships with NHS services, their primary role is as settings for adult learning not health care.”
“We do not believe the proposed additional statutory duty of care, beyond the existing duties that already apply to universities, would be practical, proportionate, or the best approach to supporting students.
“We question whether a compliance-led approach will drive the cultural changes needed to promote awareness and disclosure, conversations, and co-production – all of which are needed to act on prevention and early intervention.
“We continue to work with the government, and its Student Support Champion Professor Edward Peck, on proposals to improve outcomes for students.”
Government response
In response to the petition, the Government released a statement that says higher education providers already have a general duty of care.
“This can be summed up as providers owing a duty of care to not cause harm to their students through the university’s own actions.
“Over the last decade, higher education providers have devoted considerable resources to their student support services, and a good deal of support is now widely provided to students who struggle with their mental health.”
They point to Office for National Statistics data that shows a significantly lower rate of suicide in Higher Education students compared to other people of similiar age.
Looking forward
#ForThe100 and Learn Network met with MPs in Parliament after handing in their petition to Downing Street last month.
Bob said the debate in Westminster Hall in June will need backing from them in order to get promoted through to the House of Commons.
“I think people are starting to understand that we’re not going anywhere. We’re only going forward.”
You can find out more about The Learn Network here and #ForThe100's campaign here.
EXCLUSIVE: University of Sheffield may be hit by strike action after Easter
Strikes are likely at the University of Sheffield after Easter, after ballot results showed that UCU members voted in favour of industrial action.
Sources confirmed that 74% of members voted to withdraw their labour, with 82% voting to take action short of a strike.
The turnout for the ballot was 57%.
The dispute relates to planned cuts worth £46 million by the university management, with staff redundancies of up to 600 projected.
Restructuring plans, if given the go ahead, will particularly affect parts of the university such as the Department for East Asian Studies and may lead to a number of courses being merged.
Ben Golding, a foundation year student, chose Sheffield because he wanted to study Physics with Philosophy. He was informed that the course would be cut after the UCAS deadline.
It comes as strike action took place last week at Sheffield Hallam University in response to a delay in paying staff the nationally agreed wage increase from the previous academic year.
Strike action at the University of Sheffield’s International College (USIC) was called off last Friday after management withdrew the last of the compulsory redundancy notices if had issued to staff.
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) had been involved in the long-running dispute
A meeting will be held tonight at the University of Sheffield Student Union Building at 6pm after students there voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to support staff strike actions.
Dates for any strikes are yet to be confirmed.
Sheffield GP surgery stops hormone therapy for transgender patients
A Sheffield GP surgery has announced it will no longer prescribe hormone treatment for adult transgender patients which could result in some being driven to the black market.
Far Lane Medical Centre sent a letter to all its transgender patients stating that they would no longer be prescribing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or hormone monitoring from April 1 this year.
The Hillsborough-based GP practice said after an “exceptionally challenging” year they have decided to “opt out of the enhanced services” for transgender healthcare.
Sheffield resident, Cameron, 37, who has been receiving hormone treatment from the surgery since 2023, said: “I think the best word to describe it is panic. It wasn’t a complete surprise, but it was definitely a shock.”
Cameron received a letter on March 5, which has been seen by SheffieldWire, giving him just under a month’s notice to find an alternative care provider for the treatment.
He said: “I would probably want to go down the route of DIY if there was no other available option. If I go off Testosterone that will lead me to be misgendered more often and just put me at increased risk of violence.”
Cameron said that reaching out to other GP practices has been a real struggle with some in Sheffield saying that they are no longer accepting new transgender patients.
He has reached out to Councillor Minesh Parekh, who lives in Hillsborough, but represents Crookes and Crosspool.
Cllr Parekh said: “I completely support trans constituents in appealing against Far Lane Medical Centre’s decision.
“I have concerns that the decision could discriminate against trans patients, contrary to the 2010 Equalities Act, particularly because I understand that the surgery is continuing to offer HRT prescriptions to cisgender patients.”
In response, Far Lane Medical Centre said the provision of HRT specifically to trans patients does not form part of their ‘core contract’ and is an optional enhanced service with separate funding.
They added: “The prescribing of hormonal medication for adult transgender patients is almost solely initiated by specialist secondary care services, with the continued prescribing and monitoring undertaken under a shared care agreement, often with significant support from these specialist services.
As well as stopping HRT for transgender patients, the surgery is also cutting other services, including Anticoagulation Monitoring and Suspected Cancer Two Week Wait Dermatoscopic Imaging.
Earlier this year, several Nottingham GPs sent similar letters to transgender and non-binary patients stating that they would be ending gender-affirming care.
Gender affirming care can include hormone therapy or having surgery to make your appearance better align with your gender.
Stopping HRT can lead to many of the changes it instigates being reversed, such as hair growth or fat redistribution.
In order to be prescribed HRT by a GP, transgender adults have to be seen by a private or NHS specialist gender clinic.
The average waiting time for an initial assessment at The Porter Brook Medical centre in Sheffield is 71 months.
However a freedom of information request revealed the real-terms waiting time can be as long as 22 years at Sheffield’s only gender identity clinic, which forces many people to seek assessments at private clinics which can cost upwards of £500.
Chay Brown, director for health care at charity TransActual said that these actions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to failings in trans healthcare in the UK.
He said: “It’s desperate. If you can't find a GP who's willing to prescribe, you’ve only really got a few options depending on how much money you have. You either go private and spend money that you probably don’t have and have to go short elsewhere, or, for a lot of people, if they can’t afford to go private, they’ll go on the black market.”
He added that there is no guarantee that medication bought online is not counterfeit, and if GPs are refusing to do blood tests to monitor hormone levels, there are serious health risks for patients.
Charlie*, a former nurse, said the risks of abruptly stopping HRT can also have serious medical implications. When trans people have had lower surgeries they will no longer be producing hormones of their own. Without hormone treatment this can lead to them developing conditions like osteoporosis.
They said: “The GPs are actually creating more work and expense because those people are going to get very very sick.”
Mr Brown added: “If your doctor stops prescribing you a medication that you need, for a reason that’s not to do with your health needs, then what does that tell you about your GP’s attitude towards you? What does that mean for people’s willingness to go back to their GP in the future when they’re ill?”
In the initial letter sent to Far Lane Medical Centre’s patients the surgery said: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly but due to the closure of NHS centres including the Tavistock, we feel we are not in a position to provide this additional service.”
The Tavistock Centre is a gender identity clinic based in London, which for adults is still operational.
Sheffield Wire has contacted Gill Furniss, the MP for Brightside and Hillsborough, who has also been in touch with the medical centre, raising concerns about discrimination, as the surgery confirmed that it will still be prescribing HRT to cisgender women going through the menopause.
Cllr Parekh has contacted South Yorkshire Mayor, who is also chair of NHS and South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.
He said: “I hope that the GP practice will reconsider its decision and resume providing gender affirming care – and that the NHS and South Yorkshire ICB will consider the issue and work to ensure all trans people face no barrier to the gender affirming care.”
The NHS and South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board were contacted but said they were unable to comment due to the impending local elections.
In South Yorkshire, only Doncaster voters are set to go to the polls in May this year.
Cameron, who is very concerned about his future, said: “I would like to see Sheffield become a city of sanctuary for trans people. I would like to have care reinstated and a commitment from the ICB to ensure ongoing health care for trans patients, including shared care.”
*not their real name.
Sheffield students stand strong in denim against sexual assault
A Denim Day is set to take place tomorrow as students from the University of Sheffield pledge to wear their jeans as part of a worldwide sexual assault awareness campaign.
The annual event came about after a 1990s Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction on the premise that the victim's tight jeans implied consent. The next day, women in parliament came to work in jeans to show solidarity with the victim.
Campaigners working on the project aim to combat victim blaming, support survivors and educate themselves and others about all forms of sexual violence.
Emilie Bonay, a student collaborating with the University of Sheffield Student's Union to organise the event, said: "I really wanted to make it a big deal this year.
"We wear denim to remind ourselves of the cases people go through every day and to remember this activism that was done in the nineties and to keep that ball rolling."
Profits from the event, gathered through donations, badge sales, and a toast bar in Roar, will go to Peace Over Violence, the charity which founded the movement in response to the original case.
Campaigners also urge people to donate via this page.
Sheffield bin strikes explained: recycling sites remain closed in face of ongoing dispute
Sheffield residents have voiced their frustration at the disappearance of recycling sites as industrial action enters its eighth month.
Workers for Veolia, a Paris-based corporation which provides the city’s bin and recycling services, have been on strike since August last year.
Their demand is simple: that their employer recognise their union, Unite.
The closed recycling sites are mostly located in supermarket car parks, and provide a place for people to recycle items which cannot be recycled at home, as well as excess recycling which they do not have space for in their own bins.
With tips being few and far between, and keeping limited opening hours, people have found themselves stuck with bags of recycling for months.
Residents have described the closures as "inconvenient and annoying", as they have found themselves with piles of excess rubbish.
Joel Mayfield, one of the striking workers, said: “I understand that people are frustrated but imagine how frustrated we are.
“It’s not easy, but the principle is too important to give up.”
Since 2004, Veolia’s Sheffield branch has recognised the GMB Union, but has failed to recognise Unite. A union must be recognised in order to negotiate on behalf of their members on matters such as pay and working conditions.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Workers have a basic right to be represented by their chosen union, Veolia is very much mistaken if they think Unite and our members will go quietly into the night. Instead, we will be turning up the volume and targeting Veolia across its business.”
With a reduced workforce, the company has prioritised the collection of household bins, and has consequently closed all recycling bring sites across the city.
On 19 March, striking union workers were joined by their French counterparts, as well as the Birmingham bin workers, who made national headlines and are currently in dispute with their city council following pay cuts.
The protest saw French workers cross the Channel in solidarity.
Mr Mayfield said: “It was a massive morale boost to know that there is global support.”
The striking worker used to be a member of GMB but left because he was unsatisfied with its poor organisation and communication, and other workers have done the same.
However, Mr Mayfield emphasised that this does not absolve Veolia of responsibility.
He said: “Veolia is our employer and they alone have the power to grant us equal recognition. Veolia already has a national recognition agreement with Unite, and joint recognition in most places is the norm.”
Veolia claims they are in the "crossfire" of an inter-union dispute between the two bodies, but Unite has denied this.
The multi-national waste-management company has said it believes if it recognises Unite, GMB workers will retaliate with their own strike.
However, Unite has disputed this after 150 workers at the refuse depot, including GMB members and non-union staff, signed a petition calling on Veolia to recognise Unite. Unite says this shows strong support from staff across the board.
According to Veolia, over 80% of their Sheffield workforce are represented by GMB, although Unite says the actual figure is smaller.
Unite regional officer, Shane Sweeting, said: “Veolia could end this dispute tomorrow by doing the right thing and recognising the workers’ chosen union, Unite.
“It is treating both its own staff, on whose backs its business is built, and the communities of Sheffield it is meant to serve with complete contempt. We will be targeting not just its business but the political infrastructure in the city to make our members’ anger heard.”
A spokesperson from Veolia said: “Instead of negotiating with the existing union, Unite has chosen to protest at our offices and sites around the world for months; campaigning against our employees, customers and partners to bully us into breaking our existing agreement with the recognised union.”
In December 2024, the parties came very close to a resolution, but Veolia backed out of the recognition deal at the last minute in what Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, called an "act of utter cowardice".
In the weeks before Christmas, Veolia had offered recognition to Unite, and the union had accepted, but Veolia went on to withdraw from the deal "at the 11th hour".
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “In all my years in the union movement I have never known a deal to be this close only for the employer to back out and betray the workforce at the last minute. Veolia’s management should be ashamed of themselves.”
A Veolia spokesperson said it delayed signing the recognition agreement because the GMB union raised a counter-dispute with both the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Veolia.
In February, Unite members at the refuse site voted to continue striking, and as of today, action is still ongoing.
Rotherham fans voice opinions on Steve Evans sacking and potential replacements
In the terraces of the AESSEAL New York Stadium, there were chants of "We want Evans out" and "You're not fit to wear the shirt" as The Millers faced a heavy defeat this weekend against Crawley Town.
Following the news of the Steve Evans departure from Rotherham United on Sunday, fans have had their say on the situation.
After being relegated last season with a total of just 5 wins in 46 games, and the club now sitting in the lower regions of the League One table, supporters hold strong views on the current struggles being faced.
The New York Talk Podcast that covers all things Rotherham United held an emergency podcast immediately after the sacking.
"It’s a real shame it didn’t work. But this is the right decision."
New York Talk podcast
There were loud boos of fan disapproval within the opening 15 minutes of the Crawley game.
Rotherham conceded their second goal just after half-time, causing what was already a depleted crowd to head to the exit of the stadium.
Sarah Ogden, a Rotherham fan, said: “Finally sat down to digest it all, I have to say I'm shocked. I didn't think Tony Stewart had it in him to let Steve Evans go.
“He'd have gone after Barnsley away for me and should never have come back. We'll see what the next chapter has.”
Evans has only lasted 50 games in charge of Rotherham during his second stint at the club, winning just 18 of them.
He has become the 15th head coach to lose their job in League One this season where managerial changes have been aplenty.
Matt Hamshaw is taking charge of the side for the remainder of the season but there are no long term plans in place regarding the managerial role.
Rob Stanton of BBC Radio Sheffield said: “Matt Hamshaw is an inspired appointment until the end of the season. He knows the club inside out.”
There have been rumours that former Rotherham manager Paul Warne could return to the club for a second stint.
He was head coach of the Millers between 2016 and 2022 before joining Derby County, but is no longer contracted to a club after his recent sacking from The Rams.
Michael Jennings, a Rotherham fan, said: “It took Warne four years to get a decent team together. Don't think he will get that time again. For me, we need a new manager with a different ethos all together.”
Other contenders for the managerial position include Damien Duff, Danny Cowley and Neil Warnock.
Whoever takes charge of Rotherham United will have a tough task on their hands to change the fortunes of a struggling team and a disillusioned fanbase.
“Everyone looks forward to Monday lunchtime”: Open Kitchen Social Club builds bridges for the refugee community in Sheffield
At Monday lunchtime at St Andrew’s United Reformed Church, there is a feeling of warmth and contagious energy, and the room is filled with lively chatter and aromatic scents wafting from the kitchen.
Young children run around the rows of tables where people share smiles and stories and a ping pong ball bounces on the table at the back.
In the kitchen, the volunteers laugh and chat as they prepare a menu of "Masoumeh's rice", "Luisa's mushrooms", "Nina and Luisa's aubergine", "Jay's roast vegetables" and "Oleana's chicken".
Running the Open Social Kitchen Club (OKSC), which offers free Halal lunch every Monday and welcomes a range of asylum seekers, refugees, and homeless people across Sheffield, is an enthusiastic and welcoming man, Firas Sharefy.
He co-founded OKSC in 2014 and his mission is to share cultures through food and build bridges between communities.
Since 2018, the volunteers also provide a second weekly lunch on Tuesday at the City of Sanctuary, a safe space for asylum seekers and refugees in the city centre.
In recognition of this work, Iraq-born Firas won the Lord Mayor’s Award for Oustanding Contribution to the local community, earlier this month.
Lord Mayor, Jayne Dunn said: “The event showcased people who would never normally have their voice heard.”
Running OKSC is his “dream job” but it has not always been easy.
After moving to Sheffield 16 years ago, Firas began his volunteering career at a local charity shop through Voluntary Action Sheffield and, at first, struggled with learning English and the culture shock.
“I came from a completely different background, different language, different culture, different system. So working at the charity shop was quite a challenge for me.”
"But I said to myself- I cannot escape just because everything is different. I need to stay there and face it."
On top of serving food, Open Kitchen collaborates to provide English classes, digital and employability skills as well as “away days” to the seaside and Peak District where Firas says he feels “free”.
Changing the narrative on migrants
During the disorder in South Yorkshire which escalated to riots in Rotherham last summer following the Southport stabbings, many larger organisations closed their doors as immigrants were targeted. However, Open Social Kitchen Club kept its doors open and Firas was determined to challenge the image of immigrants that was being painted in the media.
“We support a lot of people who are homeless and under the influence of drugs and alcohol and they often want to blame someone else for their problem and it is easy to blame migrants, particularly when the media shows them this way.
“When they see 90% of our volunteers are refugees and asylum seekers they start to see us a different way.”
“They are blamed for taking houses, for longer NHS appointments, and say they are taking the benefits. They don’t add any value to the UK/Sheffield.”
“Refugee and asylum seekers don't sit not doing anything, in my experience. They have this energy and they want to be useful and good about themselves. Despite the barrier, these difficulties they want to volunteer.”
Helen who came to Sheffield from Ukraine when Russia invaded three years ago, said: “I always want to be useful to society and help people and it is a good opportunity to do something kind.”
Nina, also from Ukraine, said: “It makes me happy and brings me joy. I do not only live for myself.”
Masoumeh, who also volunteers at City of Sanctuary, moved to Sheffield from Iran eight years ago. She said: “We smile at and respect each other here so emotionally, it’s really important for us.”
"The people here are like my family."
Travelling the world through different recipes
Unlike traditional soup kitchens, people who attend OKSC can get involved too, whether they are helping in the hall or helping with food preparation, setting the table, or cooking their own cuisine.
If someone wants to share a recipe from their culture, the volunteers will provide the ingredients, often donated from Beanies Wholefoods fresh on Monday morning, and help them make it. For many, especially those stuck in hotels, it is their only opportunity to host.
Ken, a volunteer, said: “They give you the recipe and you can easily travel around the world.”
OKSC also covers the costs for Food Hygiene Level Two training for those who lead the lunch service.
Firas said: “The volunteers cook food from scratch for 60 to 70 people in a really positive way. This energy comes from their hearts.”
OKSC runs a catering service under the same name which generates 50% of their income and allows them to provide lunches for free. They serve a unique style loosely based on Middle Eastern, South American, and West Indian cuisine.
Luisa, a Brazillian who moved from Soa Pualo to Sheffield two years ago said: “I didn’t know much about Arabic food because we don’t cook like that in my country, and I have had the opportunity to learn about herbs and spices from the Arabic community here.
“It’s an opportunity to get to know each other better and meet people from different backgrounds you would not meet.”
Giving people a sense of belonging
Chris, who has been homeless several times in his life, and volunteers at Andy’s Man Club: “I work with broken men and this provides a good place to talk.”
"Anyone that puts their heart and soul into doing something for people who are on the street, I think they deserve a medal."
“There’s no need for any street people to starve, or to be cold or lonely because there are places like this dotted about the city.”
In a classroom next to the kitchen, Caroline Bland, a smiley woman who puts you at ease, teaches a free English class alongside Monday lunch.
“We cover topics like transport, going to the doctors and the shops. Today we were learning how to describe people and what is polite and not polite in English.”
Hope English School has been collaborating with Open Kitchen for a year.
“It is confidence building for people struggling with their English. It provides a safe space to practice with native English speakers.”
“There’s a real sense of community built up by Open Kitchen. We have people here who come week after week and we can see great progress in them.
“It’s the companionship and delicious food and other services such as the hobbies and our English classes that keep people coming and gives them a sense of belonging.”
OKSC has recently launched its outreach program and last week volunteers helped new arrivals at an asylum seeker accommodation in a Sheffield hotel, for the first time.
They reached out to welcome them to Sheffield and tell them how they can access their services such as digital skills and employability courses that offer one-to-one interview preparation. And, of course, where they can come for lunch on a Monday.
Ken said: “I crack on with everybody that comes in. It is all about mutual respect and with that, we can easily get along.”
“I was very happy Firas won the award because it shows that we are doing is being recognised and appreciated. It gives us that zing to do more.”
Sheffield parents unite to protect children from social media
An increasing number of Sheffield parents are signing Smartphone free childhood’s pact to choose to “wait to give their children a smartphone until at least the end of Year 9".
According to their parent pact statistics, parents from over 149 schools across South Yorkshire have signed the agreement. The school with the most signatures is Hallam Primary School, where 158 parents have agreed not to get their child a smartphone until they are at least 14.
Last year, a Sheffield secondary school, Forge Valley, banned the use of mobile phones in school entirely. While another school, Firth Park Academy, introduced Yondr pouches to stop students having their phones out during the school day.
Smartphone free childhood was started in Suffolk last year by two mums, Clare Fernyhough and Daisy Greenwell, who were concerned about phone usage in young children and it is steadily increasing in membership across the country.
Despite parental concerns, however, last week, a report from youth parliament concluded that social media should not be banned for under 16’s in the UK. The investigation said banning teenagers from using any social media is neither “practical nor effective.”
Wania Eshaal Ahmad, the chair of the committee, said: “Social media companies should do more to protect young people from violent and harmful content. Tech companies must be held accountable.”
Despite the youth parliament’s conclusion, many parents do believe that children should not have access to social media until they are 16.
One parent, whose children go to Walkley Primary School in Sheffield, said that she “definitely” believes there needs to be a cap implemented by the government due to the countless online dangers to young people, especially “not knowing who is on the other side of the screen.”
She said that she will get her children “an old phone with no socials just to keep in touch with them” once they start secondary school, believing that the “risks [of social media] outweigh the benefits.”
Another 33-year-old mum said that she is “terrified” for her 10-year-old son to start secondary school since his peers will likely already be on social media.
She said: “Parents these days have no idea who their kids are talking to online, what friendships they’re making and what videos they’re watching. I think the only way to reassure parents is for the government to flat-out ban social media, then I’d be more reassured and open to my son having a smartphone. It’s difficult to balance the safety of being able to contact my child, but not wanting him to be exposed to Instagram and X.”
According to Ofcom, by the age of 11, nine in 10 children will have a smartphone, and 70% of parents have expressed concern about their child being bullied online.
Sheffield woman trekking 100km for breast cancer charity in memory of grandma
A Sheffield woman from Totley is trekking 100 kilometres across the Isle of Skye for CoppaFeel! in memory of her grandma who lost her life to breast cancer.
Hannah Catterall, 23, who lives with chronic back issues, will take on the arduous five day challenge in June in the hope of raising £2500 for the charity.
She said: “CoppaFeel! is the only charity in the UK that focuses on young people, which I believe is very important as I know someone my age has been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.
“A lot of women in my family have breast cancer. My mum, my sister and I are very susceptible to getting it."
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and second in the world. In the UK, 1 in 7 women and 1 in 400 men are diagnosed with the cancer.
Coleen Catterall, Hannah’s mother, said: “I cannot be any prouder for her.
“She is a wonderful young woman who has developed such deep feelings about things and she is going to make the world a better place.”
Hannah is training to prepare herself for the challenge with yoga and walks, building her stamina and endurance.
Last Saturday, she set up a bake sale in a mental health support centre in Totley, Unravel, to further raise money and awareness for her challenge.
Her bake sale alone raised £400, bringing her closer to her fundraising goal, and one step closer to making a difference.
To help her with the fundraising, Hannah has been promoting her training on her Instagram account.
To donate to Hannah's cause, please visit her JustGiving here.
Mothers campaign for stricter measures: “People are being stabbed in schools and no one is seeing it as a crisis”
With over 40,000 signatures so far, two mothers have launched a petition for airport style security in schools across the UK.
Eileen Roche and Rebecca Phillips have started the campaign in response to the fatal stabbing of Harvey Willgoose on February 3 at All Saints Catholic High School.
Aiming to reach 100,000 signatures and take the matter before parliament, the petition calls for mandatory bag checks and bag scanners and the installation of metal detectors to keep weapons from entering schools.
The campaign pushes for greater transparency and immediate action from schools, requiring schools to inform parents of violent or weapon-related incidents promptly, and stricter policies on students caught with weapons so that they do not return without the necessary intervention.
Ms Roche said: “My son was in detention that day and thank god they were in detention, and he didn’t see anything. But there’s kids who have seen that young lad get stabbed, you know, they’d be traumatized for the rest of their life.”
The petition has seen many comments from those who have signed.
Eve said: “Earlier preventions need to be put in place to make a change.”
Wendy, from Rotherham, said: “Scanners could save lives of so many children and teachers. Parents, families should not have to lose loved ones in a place setting that should be safe.”
Laura, from West Yorkshire, said: “Our children need protecting and the fact that metal detectors haven’t been introduced to schools yet is mind blowing!”
Knife arches, or metal detectors, aren’t widely used in schools and small sample sizes mean that there is little evidence to indicate how effective they are at preventing knife crime.
However, Boyce Logue, Director of RISK Metal Detectors said: “Schools have doubled the amount of imports from us in the last year. Schools are now tied, I think they’re probably going to surpass the police pretty quickly in terms of who our largest customer is.”
Mr Logue indicated that knife arches can successfully prevent knife possession in nightclubs by 60-80%.
They work through different levels of sensitivity which sets off an alarm when metal is detected.
He added: “What a lot of schools do is they go for a portable knife arch which you can build and unbuild in five minutes, and they will put it up at random times.”
Walk-through metal detectors can be expensive, generally ranging from £2000 for a portable option and higher end detectors up to £8000.
Ms Roche raised that: “The only resistance is funding, but it’s also the school's choice if they want to put it [a metal detector] up or not. So it’s left on the schools shoulders to decide, whereas I think it needs to be a mandatory thing.”
Visit the Urgent Action to Combat Knife Crime in UK Schools petition at: https://www.change.org/p/stop-knife-crime-in-our-schools-security-is-needed?source_location=search
‘Lick of Paint Fest’: Sheffield’s first street art festival aims to celebrate local creatives
Two Sheffield artists have co-founded a street art festival which is launching this year and will include opportunities for local artists to work on murals in the city.
Co-founders of the Lick of Paint Fest, Megan Russel, 31, also known as Peachzz and Alastair Flindall, 33, are determined to “bring arts back to the forefront of Sheffield.”
Both artists are keen to share their expertise with local artists who want to break into the industry.
“I don’t think I’d be where I am without the people who shared information with me," said Megan. "Sharing is important to me, if it was all kept a secret, there would be no development in the art scene and everything would come to a standstill.”
Her mural Reverie, which overlooks Pound’s Park in Sheffield city centre, won runner up in the Street Art Cities ‘Best Mural in the World’ competition for 2024.
“The experience was overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “It was so exciting. Everyone’s buzzing now, it feels like the perfect time for the festival.”
The festival dates have not been confirmed yet, but will span over the course of a weekend. There will be a range of activities, including:
- Workshops, where people have the chance to get involved creating a mural
- Drawing sessions
- Film screenings showcasing Sheffield’s rich street art history
- Cycling and walking tours
- Pop-up events
The events will take place in and around the city-centre including: Fitzalan Square, Castlegate, Wicker, Five Weirs Walk and Kelham Island.
Community is at the heart of this project, and Megan and Alastair want to ensure that local artists are equipped with key knowledge and resources that will help them produce high quality art.
There will be applications sent out before the festival which artists can apply to, giving them the opportunity to work on permanent pieces that will add to the legacy of Sheffield’s art scene.
Megan and Alastair want the festival to be accessible for as many people as possible. All of the events will be free, but will be ticketed to ensure there is enough space.
The workshops will have accessible options for people in wheelchairs who may not be able to go high up.
“Their design could be painted by someone else, we can find walls that are more accessible, and they will be given more time to paint than those who are more able-bodied," said Alastair.
“We want the festival to be a stepping stone, rather than a barrier,” says Megan.
There will be partnerships with different community projects, like the Children’s Hospital, Art+ programme, The Becton Centre for Children and Young People and ArtWorks South Yorkshire.
ArtWorks South Yorkshire supports adults with learning difficulties and autism to thrive as artists and collaborators. They have creative studios in Sheffield, Barnsley, and Rotherham and produce murals, exhibitions, films and zines.
"We're thrilled to be working with Lick of Paint, a first-class festival that actively champions our artists who are autistic, have a learning disability, or both," said Kayleigh Cruickshank, the founder of ArtWorks. "Their commitment to inclusivity and breaking down barriers in the arts is truly inspiring."
Some of the workshops will focus on the use of technology, like augmented reality and projections, which will create conversations about how artists can make their practices more sustainable.
At the festival, Megan and Alastair will also share their advice on how to apply for a community project, how to upscale your artwork and share key business skills.
Alastair, who is an ex-teacher, said that he learns so much from teaching people.
“By sharing and bringing each other up together, there's more work for everyone because the more people see the art, the more they’re going to want to have it," he said.
Both Megan and Alastair have been building up partnerships for the last year and a half and have gained support from the public, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield City Council.
Alastair said that places like Bristol and Birmingham have huge spaces where people can paint legally.
“There’s so many wall spaces in Sheffield, it’s a no-brainer to have a festival here.”
Peak District visitors “shocked” as annual parking price rises by 95%
Visitors to the Peak District have criticised a sudden hike in parking prices, which has seen the cost of annual passes double for the first time in over a decade.
However, the Peak District National Park Authority has said the rise still represents value for money, with parking permits in the popular tourist destination among the cheapest for any national park in the UK.
The National Park Authority, which operates 31 pay & display car parks across the area, increased the cost of all hourly tariffs on 24 March, rising the price of an all day permit by almost 40% from £4.75 to £6.60.
Meanwhile, annual parking permits have soared by 95% from £40 to £78, prompting several angry customers to leave one-star reviews on the National Park Website.
One disgruntled reviewer said: “Putting the price up this much is really stupid. It just increases the number of people walking onto the footpaths from various grass verges and adds to the congestion in small village centres or laybys near the car parks.”
Matt Dearden, a commercial pilot who regularly visits the park to climb, said he decided not to renew his annual pass after the rise as “it just doesn’t seem very good value anymore.”
He said: “Whilst the price increase is frustrating and I cannot accept it, I do wish they would increase the amount of parking available for that extra cost. That would feel like you're getting something for your money.”
Concerns have also been raised that the increase will encourage visitors to park on road verges to avoid paying fees, which has become a growing problem in the National Park in recent years.
The issue made national headlines in January, when a jam of almost 200 cars parked at Rushup Edge blocked gritters from accessing the road, and hampered emergency services in rescuing an injured walker.
Zachary Louth, a 27-year-old climber from Sharrow Vale, said increasing parking fees would likely make the problem worse.
He said: “Personally I can see the value in the permit because I’m always out in the peaks and really appreciate when things are being looked after. So if I know that I’m contributing to that then that makes me feel good.
“But often you go to Burbage and the car park will be empty, but there will be cars all up the verges. So I hope they will make the car parks bigger and more accessible, and improve the services there.”
A spokesperson for the National Park Authority, which has faced a shortfall in government funding of around 50% over the last ten years, said the new fees reflect rising costs in maintaining its car parks and other facilities.
They said: “Our annual permit has remained at a very low cost of £40 since 2013 and the latest change reflects broader increases to day visit fees.
“The new annual permit still allows a regular user to pay just £1.50 per week; less than the cost of an hour’s visit at any of our Pay & Display locations, which we believe is excellent value for money for frequent visitors or residents.”
The spokesperson said funds from car parking contribute to maintenance across the National Park, including looking after public toilets and improving all-user trails which are free to visitors.
They added: "It is always the driver’s responsibility to park legally and not disrupt use of neighbouring land or restrict emergency access along roads in the Peak District.
"We are continuing to work with a range of local partners, the police and the highways authorities to understand the needs and potential solutions to parking capacity, but this must be balanced with the very same landscapes and views that people have come to enjoy – across all 555 square miles of the Peak District National Park.”
Sheffield Photographic Society’s annual exhibit invites public to get involved
Unique pictures including a leaping hare, striking shots of the Arts Tower and queuing cleaning ladies all feature in an exhibition currently being held inside Sheffield Cathedral.
Organised by one of the oldest groups of its kind, the Sheffield Photographic Society (SPS), the annual event showcases work produced from across the city.
This year marks the 145th anniversary of the society's first exhibition, which took place in Cutlers' Hall in 1880, and it will run until Sunday 6 April.
Mike Smith, winner of the Fred Hague trophy for the 'Sheffield (its Life and Environs)' category, spoke about his entry that featured a merry-go-round in a rainswept Barker's Pool at night.
"This was part of Sheffield Christmas market...we went on a Sunday afternoon and it was really rainy. We thought 'we might as well go home' but then, I saw all the reflections and I thought, well, there's gonna be some nice pictures here, so I went and took that with its reflections, and it's worked out quite nicely."
The photos on display cover a range of themes, from nature to street photography with subtle takes on social commentary.
For the first time, submissions were open to members of the public to compete in a separate category for non-members this year.
Jenny Owen, a society member, suggested that the move was an attempt to be “more outward-looking by inviting other people to get involved, to take some pictures, to send them in and see how they get on”.
She also expressed an interest in possible collaborations with other local photography societies, such as groups within the city’s two universities.
When asked whether people with disabilities and/or mental health issues would be able to participate, Ms Owen said: “People can come along as visitors, and we do try as much as we can, absolutely. The only requirement is to be interested.”
Keith Brown, a long-standing member of SPS and a fellow member of the Royal Photographic Society, offered the opening speech and spoke warmly about the support he received from photographers in Sheffield after his wife’s cancer diagnosis.
He also paid tribute to Ken Doney, a former President of SPS who facilitated the transition from film to digital, and “brought with him all his city contacts, especially here at the Cathedral” which helped secure the venue for the annual exhibit.
A number of members spoke about how technology has changed, and the extent to which they are grappling with the use of AI in developing their photos.
On this point, Ms Owen said: "There is quite a lively debate about how far should we go with that. Is that great because you can be even more imaginative, or is that murky ground because, you know, is it really your image or is it something else?
"Where does your work end and something else begin?"