The Attractions In And Of Sheffield, A Steel City [Season 1, Episode 15] - a podcast by Sheila Dee & Evo Terra - Third World Survivors
from 2015-04-14T18:00
Full Show Script
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[pull my finger]
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EVO: Our last show might have left you with the impression that there's nothing to do in Sheffield other than drink beer. True, they do have a brewery inside their train station. And it's also true that we sought shelter from the elements in more than one pub. But the weather got better, and we were able to leave the relative safety of the pubs to see more of the city.
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SHE: Sheffield isn't exactly a hotbed of tourist activities, but it's not without its own attractions.
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EVO: We took our new friend Kath -- she's the astrophysicist who bought us lunch last week -- and her husband Jeremy up on their offer to for an evening out. The destination was Owlerton Stadium, the local dog racing track. Sheila's recently departed grandmother was a huge fan of watching the greyhounds run, so our visit with Kath and Jeremy felt a little like we were paying our respects to her at the same time. This one's for you, Jeri.
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[Race]
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EVO: By our voices, you might think we had lots of money riding on the race. You would be wrong. We only bet once, £2 on a 75:1 longshot. And that dog didn't win, in case you were curious. But we still had a great time, and are now even more confident in our decision to not become professional gamblers. I guess we'll have to find another way to fund our traveling lifestyle.
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SHE: Sheffield is known as a steel town. But even before the industrial revolution, Sheffield had a history of metalworking.
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EVO: Cutlery, to be exact. Situated just a few miles from the city center is The Shepherd Wheel, a free museum. I know, I know... I'm not all that great with museums. But you won't find paintings hanging on the wall here. Instead, you find a nearly fully-functional water-powered industrial complex, where the power from the turning water wheel is converted to energy for a myriad of belts and pulleys. You're hearing them under this right now. For over 500 years, these belts and pulleys turned dozens of polishing and grinding stones for craftsmen with a singular purpose: Sharpening and polishing blades.
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[Wheel]
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EVO: Sheila posted one of her One Minute Memories so you can see the belts and pulley system. Volunteers keep it running almost exactly as it operated hundreds of years ago. I know it's a little crazy for me to keep blathering on about something you can do with a gadget in your kitchen drawer, but it's really, really cool. Check it out if you get to Sheffield.
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SHE: It can get a bit dreary in England, where the trees are without leaves for half the year.
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EVO: And that brings us to our final Sheffield "attraction", of sorts, the Winter Garden. As you'll hear our friend Bruce tell you in the next clip, it's smack-dab in the middle of the city center, and isn't...
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