Original members of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, portrayed in the acclaimed film Pride, were in Sheffield to celebrate Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans+ History Month. The LGBT+ activists were at the Millennium Gallery as part of a weekend of events which also mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation in law of male homosexuality in England and Wales. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live
The fifth annual Sheffield Zine Fest took place at the Hallam Hubs, celebrating everything to do with zines, self-made magazines and booklets often given away or sold for the cost of printing. The event included workshops, stalls and exhibitions with a focus not only content, but also designs, styles and print methods. Many zinesters hand print covers, sew bindings, or colour in pages individually. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Detectives investigating the murder of Tommy Ward have released CCTV footage in an appeal to witnesses to come forward on the anniversary of his death. Ward died on 23 February 2016 less than five months after he was violently assaulted during a robbery at his house in Maltby. Around £30,000 cash was thought to have been stolen from the pensioner’s home in Salisbury Road. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has announced plans to open its first European commercial factory in Sheffield, creating at least 30 jobs. If approved, the company will invest £20m to build the plant which will be next to the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre founded in 2001 by Boeing and the University of Sheffield. The company said the factory, at Catcliffe in Rotherham, could also lead to new jobs in the supply industry.
Attempts to ban repeated marches by far right groups in Rotherham have been rejected by the Home Office. South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings sought a change in the law to ban marches on grounds of frequency, cost and community impact. Since 2012 sixteen protests have been held, the majority organized by far right groups such as the English Defence League and Britain First, with a combined policing cost of £4m. The Home Office said it had no current plans to change the law. The EDL are planning to march in Rotherham this weekend. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to Dr Alan Billings.
It will take 25 years to close the gender pay gap in the UK despite significant recent improvements, according to Price Waterhouse Cooper’s Women in Work Index. The labour market report measures levels of female economic empowerment across 33 countries based on five indicators. The UK has considerably improved its performance since 2000 and now ranks thirteen out of the 33 countries surveyed thanks to increasing female employment rates, a narrowing of the gender pay gap and a reduction of the gap between male and female labour force participation rates. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to Valerie Monti Hollad of Bounce Forward, a Sheffield-based women’s development agency.
The British Humanist Association have sent free copies to Sheffield schools of the book ‘What is Humanism?’ after a successful national crowdfunding campaign. The book, by Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young, is the first of its kind aimed at primary and secondary school children, and was published to support teachers who want to explore non-religious ethics and humanist worldviews. Carrying the subtitle ‘How to live without a god and other big questions for kids’, the book features contributions from well know faces who also identify as humanists, including comedian Shappi Khorsandi, physicist Jim Al-Khalili and actor Stephen Fry. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke with Mike Granville of Sheffield Humanist Society.
The British Universities & Colleges Sport Nationals (BUCS) brought over 6000 student athletes to Sheffield for three action-packed days at venues across the city. Now in its fifth year, the BUCS Nationals 2017 include indoor athletics, badminton, swimming, karate, fencing, shooting, judo, trampolining and climbing. Previous BUCS competitors have included local Team GB stars Max Lichfield and Bryony Page. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Dancing England 2017 brought together a host of traditional folk and dance groups to Sheffield City Hall at the weekend. The showcase concerts were originally held at the Derby Assembly Rooms from 1979 to 1987, curated by Phil Heaton and John Shaw, members of the Black Cap Sword Dancers and notable characters on the Nottingham and Derby folk scene. Heaton has now brought the event to the ballroom at Sheffield City Hall, in recognition of the city’s burgeoning folk scene. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to Phil Heaton at the rehearsals.
A permanent exhibition has opened at the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield to commemorate the World War Two bombing of the city.The German air raids took place over two nights in December 1940, killing and wounding more than 2,000 people. A recreation of life in the blitz, including recordings of the raids, has been unveiled at the National Emergency Services Museum.It was opened by 98-year-old Doug Lightning who worked as a firefighter during the bombing attacks. Simon Thake has this report for Sheffield Live!