A guided history walk of Crosspool will depart at 10am from St Columba’s church on Tuesday 30 June.
The walk is led by Jan Millward and will take in historical places of interest in the Crosspool area with interesting stories about the people who lived and worked here. It’ll take about an hour and a half.
And if you don’t fancy the official history walk, get yourself a copy of Crosspool Chronicles walking guide, which will be on sale at the street market on Sunday 28 June and locally throughout festival week.
The walks cover Crosspool, Sandygate, Lydgate, Bell Hagg and Tapton Hill right back to 1695, looking at who lived here and where and what they did. There are lots of old photos and stories to enjoy.
After the success of their first event a couple of years ago, the 259 Scouts are planning another concert on Saturday 18 April to raise funds for the group and Stephen Hill church.
It will include solo performers and bands featuring members come from the group.
Doors will open at 6.30pm, ready for a 7pm start. The concert will finish around 10pm. Refreshments will be available.
Entry is £3 in advance, £4 on the door. The hall has a limited capacity so it’s recommended (and cheaper) to get your tickets in advance. To buy, contact helensmithsandygate@gmail.com.
Do you want to be part of a new Crosspool-based brass quintet?
Former British Army musician and Nicholas Barrett was part of similar groups during his time in the forces and is looking to set one up in Crosspool.
The Crosspool resident explains: “Inspired by the world-famous Canadian Brass, the group will perform a mix of musical styles. Initially it would be a rehearsal group, but we’d have a view to performing at community, charity and professional events.
“It would be great if we could have more players so we could pull from a pool to perform. There’s no age restriction, we’re just looking for committed players who want to make a good sound. The ideal standard would be grade 5 and above.”
Nicholas is looking for the following players:
Trumpet or Cornet
Trombone
French Horn or Tenor Horn
Tuba
Crosspool Brass is also looking for a local pub function room or community space to allow us a couple of hours a week to rehearse if possible.
The dates for the 2015 Crosspool Festival are Friday 26 June to Sunday 5 July.
Here’s the latest from the Crosspool Festival Committee:
The street market will return in 2015
We hope to repeat many of the well-loved elements of festivals from previous years, plus a few new things! We will begin as usual with the blessing of the Magna Carta-themed well dressing on Friday evening, and Open Gardens on Saturday 27 June.
Plans for the street market on Sunday 28 June are well in hand. We are delighted to welcome the Sheffield Folk Chorale for a concert on Thursday 2 July.
Illustrated talks/book signing events have always proved popular and we have plans for a talk on a climbing/mountaineering theme as well as something on the Sheffield Blitz.
New for this year will be a family film show with crafts, and a photography competition for 11-18s. Rumours are afoot of a possible Abba evening , and other ideas are still being tossed around…and of course the Summer Fayre on the Coldwell Lane field will be the usual fixture on Saturday 4 July.
We’re grateful to the uniformed groups, local pubs and businesses and everyone else who have indicated their support – what makes the Crosspool Festival special is its genuinely local feel.
If you would like to help create the well dressing, please contact Pat Lintott on 0114 268 1161.
If you would like a stall at the street market contact Chris Bachelor on 0114 266 7842.
If you’d like to help with/book a stall at the Summer Fayre contact Steve Reynolds on 266 3473 or Ian Hague on 0114 230 7265.
For other enquiries or offers of help contact me, Revd Frances Eccleston on 0114 267 0006.
This year’s Stephen Hill Youth pantomime is Snow White. It runs from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 February. Tickets are available online or from Bob Hodges on 0114 230 3207. More information is below.
Snow White, the 2015 Stephen Hill panto
It was back in 1968 when members of Stephen Hill Youth Club in Crosspool decided to stage a pantomime. A small group of young people met together over a period of months to write Puss in Boots which was staged the following year. It proved to be a great success and a new show has been performed every February Half term ever since. All the shows have been written and produced in-house.
This year the group of 40 or so 8 to 18yr olds is offering Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The show was written by Ian Delaney together with brother and sister Lucy and Paul Nelson. The producer is Helen Gill. All these young adults commenced their involvement some years ago as members of the chorus and have graduated through starring roles into a fine production team.
Producer Helen [30] has been involved with the show since 1996 and feels that the standard of the shows on offer has increased year on year. ‘ We have been lucky enough to hold on to a significant number of young people who return each year to help with all the backstage tasks and we have a smashing team of wardrobe ladies who make the show look dazzling,’ she enthuses.
This year the Part of the Dame is played by Ian Delaney, coming back to the stage after several years on the production side. The part of Snow White is played by Rachel Lister who says that she was thrilled to be offered the title role and is enjoying the opportunities which it presents.
Katie Craig is on her fourth year, starting as a chorus member and having had main parts in following years. She is finding her part this year very interesting. ‘Working out how to project my personality onto the part of the magic mirror is quite a challenge’, she reflects.
The show is a spectacle of colour, humour, music, dance and drama with an appeal to people of all ages. Tickets are available online this year for the first time but can be purchased directly from Bob Hodges, who was at that first meeting back in 1968. ‘I have been busy selling tickets since Christmas, ‘ says Bob. ‘Lots of folk bring their children but it is wonderful that some people who are in their nineties are still amongst the first to request tickets each year, having seen every show.’
The show runs in half term week from Wednesday February 18th to Saturday 21st. There is a matinee on Saturday afternoon which always sells out very quickly.
Residents of Dransfield Road celebrated the night before Christmas with carols on the street accompanied by brass musical instruments.
It’s the third year running that people living on the road have got together on Christmas eve to sing carols, drink mulled wine and eat mince pies. Despite a couple of rain showers, over 60 people joined in.
Happy Christmas to all in Crosspool and here’s to a good 2015 for our community.
For the last two years a well dressing has been produced in Crosspool as part of the festival celebrations.
There’s a meeting at Stephen Hill Church on Friday 26 September at 10.30am for anyone interested in getting involved with next year’s well dressing. No experience needed.
For more details call Pat on 0114 268 1161.
Make sure you take a look at Crosspool well dressing when you next go past. You’ll find it on the grass bank outside Crosspool Tavern on Manchester Road.
This year’s well dressing theme is the centenary of the first world war.
The well dressing was created by volunteers over the last few days and was dedicated on Friday night by
Revd. Stephen Parker of St Frances of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Crosspool.
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