Big Up the Hill
Writing Challenge 2023
Posted by Chris Sissons on May 31, 2023
Writing Challenge ยป Chris Sissons
Walking through Ellesmere Green and then down Spital Hill these days, we are admonished by banners hanging on every lamppost to “Big Up the Hill”. There are a few more details but it is hard to work out exactly what we’re supposed to do by way of bigging up. Shopping locally is one of them and apparently, I should celebrate my diversity, although specifically what that entails is presumably left for me to work out.
I moved here in 1992 and the hill hasn’t changed much. The buildings are generally in poor condition but most shops are taken by local families and their businesses show remarkable tenacity. There are some subtle changes and last year a branch of Rassams opened, providers of caries and diabetes to the masses.
Thriving may be a bit of an exaggeration but then again, exaggeration is one way to big up something, I suppose. There’s lots going on, all the time and Ellesmere Green is a small space where people meet and the coffee shops do what they’re designed to do the world over and are places where friendships are made, furthered and broken.
It’s not a place for grumpy old men! Most days when I walk through Ellesmere Green, a man will leap in front of me, grasp another man by the hand and embrace him. But what the hell, these people are happy and breaking my pace is a small price to pay.
The photo is of the bottom of Spital Hill. My back is to the Wicker Arches, see day 4. It’s on a bus route and yet about once a year it is closed to traffic by police tape. Last year was an odd year, a building to the left burned down and then fell onto the road. It was closed for a couple of weeks while the authorities worked out what to do about it.
But usually, Spital Hill and parallel streets are cut off when there’s been a murder. There is a dark underside to this community. Guns and knives.
It’s not like the mass killings so frequently in the news. Guns can be tricky and so the drug dealers use them sparingly, usually for a specific warning within their community. Most of us can walk the streets confident that if we are hit by a stray bullet, it’s nothing personal. The only people to have them it seems, are senior dealers, for disciplinary purposes.
Knives are another matter. Gang warfare is drugs related too, territorial mostly but sometimes other matters of personal pride such as stolen girlfriends. But don’t get the wrong impression, we’re not talking daily blood feuds, just now and again.
Am I safe? Yes, hopefully. But some of the lads who get in my way, as I walk through the area are far from safe.
This year's Writing Challenge, fueled by prompts, is about the City of Sheffield. Be surprised by what's included and even more surprised by what's left out. This is Post 8 and there are 21 altogether. Share your thoughts and your love for the City in the comments. The first Post 0 is Context: Sheffield. The last post 7 is Phlegm. The next post 9 is Intimidation as Blessing.
Comments
Leave a comment.
Leave a comment.
)
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Palladium
Internal