Friday 3 May 2013

Where I Live.


I've lived in Sheffield for a couple of years now, and I must say, I've grown rather fond of this compact, cultural city. The city centre itself actually feels pretty tiny when you walk around, but there's still plenty of sites to see and things to do. In my illustration I've chosen to highlight some of Sheffield's famous landmarks, past and present. There's definitely an interesting mix of architectural styles, and one of my favourite buildings is the Winter Garden (that's the funny shaped building second from the left). It's a lovely place to relax, filled with exotic plants and flowers; it also contains the Millenium Gallery which is an awesome little place to explore. 

I also chose to feature one of the Hallam University buildings which you can see as soon as you walk out of the train station. The reason this building is interesting is because it features a poem on the side in huge letters, written by poet Andrew Motion. 
Seeing as you can't exactly see it properly in my illustration, I've written it out below for you. 

O travellers from
somewhere else to here, 
Rising from Sheffield Station
and Sheaf Square
To wander through the
labyrinths of air,

Pause now, and let
the sight of this sheer cliff
Become a priming-place
which lifts you off
To speculate
What if..?
What if..?
What if..?

Cloud-shadows drag
their hands across
the white;
Rain prints the sudden
darkness of its weight;
Sun falls and leaves the
bleaching evidence of light.

Your thoughts are like
this too: as fixed as words
Set down to decorate
a blank facade
And yet, as words are too,
all soon transferred

To greet and understand
what lies ahead-
The city where your
dreaming is re-paid,
The lives which wait
unseen as yet, unread.


Have you ever visited Sheffield, or do you have any favourite places in the towns/cities that you live? 

C xxx

12 comments:

  1. You have no idea how happy this makes me :) I live in Sheffield and barely know any bloggers who are close by. I love your illustration - you got it spot on. I'd like to think Sheffield is a colourful city too.

    Whereabouts are you based? I'm on the outskirts - near Halfway/Crystal Peaks, about 30mins from the city centre. My favourite places are the galleries (by far the best asset), the library, all the quirky shops on Eccelsall Rd, and sometimes Meadowhall (depending on how I'm feeling) xxx

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    1. Aaw! I'm glad you like it Alice - it's definitely full of some colourful characters anyway!
      I currently live in the Devonshire Quarter, which is amazing as it's so close to the city centre! I have to say, I haven't explored much of the outskirts - the furthest I've got is probably Meadowhall/hell (depending on how busy it is aha). Although, I absolutely love Chesterfield too - lovely town.
      I agree, there's a lot going on here and it seems like there's tons of renovations going on at the moment which is amazing :) xxx

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  2. This is beautiful Carly, what a great way to present Sheffield to us! My favourite place here where I live is definitely the park we have downtown, it's so pretty and its huge trees make it so fresh on Summer, I love spending afternoons there! xxx

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    1. Thank you so much Marta! I'm definitely envious of where you live, it really looks like such a gorgeous place :) xxx

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  3. Ooh I had no idea you lived in Sheffield, that's not too far from me, although the only place I've ever been in Sheffield is Meadow Hall which I wasn't a huge fan of - WAY too many people haha!

    Jennie xo | sailorjennie.com

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    1. Aha! I totally agree - it gets too busy in there and people get very pushy! xxx

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  4. Love the color palette reminds me of a carnival. It's so nice to meet people from different parts of the world and get to see their perspective on life. Thanks for sharing. Also love the poem!

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    1. Thank you so much Kay! I totally agree - it's quite fascinating :) xxx

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  5. This is such a cute idea, I've never been to Sheffield before but I love that the University has a poem on one of its buildings! We have Banksy and lots of graffiti which is pretty cool, it took me travelling across the globe a few times to realise I quite like Bristol...I guess there's no place like home. ;)

    Tara
    xoxo

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    1. Thank you so much Tara! I'd love to go to Bristol as I've never been but it seems like an awesome place! Aha, yes I completely agree - and there's always new things to find in the city you live in :) xxx

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  6. This is so cute! I bet it'd be quite nice to live in quite a small city, London is amazing but can be a little overwhelming sometimes haha xxx

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    1. Aaw, thank you Josie. Yes, I can totally imagine! As much as I love London, I'm not sure I'd be able to live there as I think I'd find it too intimidating maybe. xxx

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