Story: Eirini Apostolidou (Sheffield Live presenter)
In Easter 2009, while visiting an internet discussion forum http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk, I came across a discussion about Burngreave. The original post abused it for being a dump and pointed out that the money spent on it was a waste. Many posts then followed in the same lines, but many as well defended the neighbourhood and its people.
As I was a newcomer to Sheffield, reading the thread made me really curious about what had happened in Burngreave and why it would arouse such a heated debate. I have to admit that up to then my relationship with Burngreave was purely a culinary one. Coming from a country of the eastern Mediterranean (Greece), the restaurants and grocery stores in Burngreave were my personal paradise: here I could feel closer to home and I could find all the ingredients for my cooking. Of course, this experience could not make me any wiser as to my query.
My project for the next months was an exploration of Burngreave’s recent history, especially since New Deal for Communities came. I’ve used articles in the press to get me started and then I focused on interviews with people who were, in one way or another, related to New Deal and the neighbourhood.
Rather from a historian’s perspective than a journalistic one, my aim was to record (a part of) the oral history. I have tried to abstain from suggesting any conclusions, and leave this for the listeners instead. The result of this work is a feature programme portraying the effect of BNDfC on the local community. I hope this programme will contribute to the community’s effort to learn from the past and move forward. At the same time I hope it will give other Sheffielders the opportunity to know their city better.
The programme will be broadcast from Monday 5th to Friday 9th October on SheffieldLive! 93.2 FM at 12:00, repeated at 5pm. It will also be available as a podcast on http://www.sheffieldlive.org. You can send any comments to communitieslive@sheffieldlive.org or call 0114 2814092.
Eirini Apostolidou has a degree on Political Science & History and volunteers for SheffieldLive! 93.2FM as a producer and presenter.