If Yer Not Ard Ya Shunt A Come

[Guest Margit]

The Old Walkley where my husband grew up in the 1940s & '50s has gone completely - considering the state of their house you could say that's a good thing. There were hundreds of terraced houses under what is now Ruskin Park. In those days kids played out on the streets all the time and so knew the area really well - every building, lamp-standard & man-hole. Lads were fascinated by the trams and spent a lot of time watching them turn round at the terminus on South Road. All now gone. St Joseph's RC church is now a Buddhist centre. The RC primary school is to be made into flats, I've heard. My husband has vivid memories of all this area and has always told us stories about it. Over the last couple of winters we've been writing them down and have published the results in a book called If Yer Not Ard Ya Shunt A Come. It's a real walk down memory lane for anyone who knew the area in those days and probably an eye-opener for younger generations. You can get it from www.acmretro.com or the Star Shop in Sheffield city centre

[Guest Margit]

Caving In Derbyshire In 1960's

Caving is one of those 'extreme sports' that has become very sophisticated in recent years with high tech equipment. In the '60s things were much more 'home-made'.

Caving, or ‘pot-holing’ as it was often called, was a sport in the early stages of development in the 1960s. The young men (and most cavers in those days were male) who ventured into previously unexplored cave systems made many new discoveries. They also pioneered the development of the kinds of equipment that cavers of today take for granted, replacing rope ladders with light wire ones and making their own wetsuits. I was fascinated by my husband's stories about those days - the discoveries, cave rescues and the sheer stamina needed by those young men of whom he was one - and just had to include them in my book 'If Yer Not Ard Ya Shunt A Come'.