Shakespearification weekend

This weekend I was away to Sheffield (which is always a pleasure as I lived there for a while and absolutely love the place) to see A Comedy of Errors at the Lyceum; it was part of the "welcome back" things I did with my young lady :)

A scene from The Comedy of Errors

We went on the train on Friday and found that yes Sheffield is the one place you can go to if you want to be rained on more than in Manchester. The hotel was brilliant however, and really well located right in the centre of town. Our evening consisted of walking down Devonshire road until we got to The Old House where the amazingly knowledgeable staff assisted us with our beer choices (they have a beer menu) and we enjoyed Pie Friday. From there to the Devonshire Cat which is an old regular haunt of mine and another pub with a menu for its beer list. Drinking these freshly brewed (and mostly local to Sheffield) ales makes you realise just how rubbish mass produced beer actually is.

I had only booked the one thing for the whole weekend (the aforementioned Shakespeare) which left us with all the time for serendipity and relaxation that we both needed. After a very lazy morning (with cooked breakfast only interrupted by a very rude banker or bankers husband, not sure which) we headed out to explore Sheffield on foot. First of all we wondered looking at the gorgeous buildings that are above the generic shop facades throughout the country (frankly) and then decided to wonder in the direction of the Fat Cat, a pub I have heard about but wasn't sure if I had visited, and who she had been recommended to visit.

This took us down towards the Don and to a region I used to work to work through however the council has ruined it largely by putting the ring road slap in the middle. Where there was an industrial quarter which would have been hundreds of years old, now there is a dual carriageway. So sad.

Industrial Buildings

Fortunately it hasn't all been destroyed and as we reached the Cat we realised there was a really interesting looking museum right next door. It was shut however would be open again on Sunday so we put that down as something to try to do.

A Bessemer Vessel

We wondered around outside the museum for a bit looking at the industrial relics on display and enjoying the peace and quiet of the wind gently rustling the grasses in the silted up length of river running past. Lovely.

Neither of us were hungry in the Fat Cat so it was one pint each (mine a pint of Kelham Best which was just incredible) and then we walked to get the tram two stops up the hill with the aim of walking to where I used to live and have a look around that area. The weather had other plans. Having been absolutely gorgeous all day all of a sudden then was a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder and the heavens opened. It was so bad we legged it to a bus stop for shelter and caught the bus back to the hotel. It wasn't all bad though as this meant we could watch the first Hobbit film and rest until going out for food and the theatre.

Food was Wagamammas which was tasty however the service wasn't great, and we were at the theatre early to have a pint before the show. This is where the difference between mass produced crap and real ale really came to me as I left most of my beer untouched. It was just too sugary and cloying and nasty.

Another scene from the show; including Squeaky Cop

So, to the purpose of the trip and what a great show it was. Seriously (and I know this link will expire soon and won't really be relevant in a few months but I don't care) go and SEE THIS SHOW! It was funny, irreverent but also so true to what Shakespeare should be. Absolutely fantastic and had the whole place laughing out loud throughout, resulting in about four or five returns to the stage by the troupe at the end to accept the ovation.

Afterwards my mind was so full of the show I couldn't even think of going anywhere noisy so we just went back to the room and talked about it for ages; it really was that good!

Flowers in the Peace Gardens

Sunday morning  had no desire to risk a re-run of angry-banker-couple so we went to the Peace Gardens for breakfast and to walk around the lovely displays of plants and flowers from around the world. It was also raining so being under cover was a bonus.

Some Cacti in the Peace Gardens

After spending a relaxing time slowly perusing we walked back over the the Kelham museum and got there in the dry. As we were about to pay one of the staff came rushing over saying "the engine is about to run, go and see it and come back and pay later". I do just want to say that this is the attitude that ALL museums should have; I found it inspiring that this person was so excited about his exhibits that he was aware of someone coming in a little late and wanted to involve us.

The video above was taken while watching this engine running. It is an incredible thing, and awesome when you realise that what has been saved is only a small part of the end to end process. There was a massive mill attached as well which could roll thick armour for battleships using the power generated by the engine.

After this exceptional experience (which brought forth applause from those watching) we went back, paid and then spent two hours walking around the informative and diverse displays in the museum. I learned what Bessemer meant (having seen references to it all over Sheffield including one pub I used to drink in regularly having be renamed to it).

A multi knife.... wow

The quality of steel which Sheffield produces is well known and there were loads of examples in the displays showing off the product of this excellence.

The Stagecoach (with benches on the roof)

The museum also included a small transport museum with cars and motorbikes made in Sheffield and a stagecoach which had been repainted but was originally used around Sheffield. Just imagine being sat on top of this on those benches; the information board said there is a story where all the external passengers froze to death it was so cold on one journey.

A detail of the Don River Engine

We were in the museum so long we actually got to see the engine running for a second time and this time we stood so close we could feel the heat from the steam; brilliant. I had spotted some wood working chisels in the shop and after thinking about it decided to buy them to take with me to Bulgaria; not only was I supporting the museum and the artisan who made them, I'd have a life long memento of this trip.

And so home via the train again.

It was a great weekend and just what I want to do with these last weeks; I got to return to a city I love but see so much in it which I never saw when I lived there. I will admit to a small shiver of fear intruding yesterday evening when I got home from the trip as this weekend is something I have been looking forward to for as long as I now have left in the country and it came round really REALLY quickly.