In some respects 2024 was not a good year. Our plans for SVAG had been to attend the January Heritage Fair and recruit members from it. As many will know, the event was cut short and we lost the Sunday opportunities. Similarly, although we had a presence at the Heritage Open Day in September, this event did not bring any new members.
What we did learn from the latter was that we needed something more than a simple presence at the event. Minds thought back to the previous HOD when, in conjunction with Wessex Archaeology, we had conducted walking tours of the city centre artworks. In 2024 we did not have the personnel to conduct these walks.
Any walks or open air events are dependent upon the weather being favourable. To decide to hold an event on a particular day is hoping the weather gods smile on us. In addition, people who book to take part can be put off by inclement weather on the day.
What we are up to
SHEFFIELD City Sculpture Stroll
What was needed was a means to allow the public to take the walk at their own pace, at a time of their own choosing. We had a means; the walk could be described on the website. The walk was part of the “Unseen Scene” illustrated talks given to groups in the past couple of years. We had the pictures and the texts had already been researched.
In addition it was felt that a printed copy would make a useful guide to show the walker what could be seen on the walk. A sub group was set up to design such a printed copy. At the same time access to the website was gained and work could begin updating the website.
The initial design was using a sheet of A3 paper in the upright configuration, folded in half to give a landscape A4 size which was then divided into 3 columns. In effect giving twelve panels. After folding, Panel 12 would become the front.
It was decided to have twelve main points of interest, these being Edward VII in Fitzalan Square, The White Building, Mercury on top of the Lyceum, The Walking Man, Rain (the Stainless Steel balls), the three Fullard artworks in the grounds of the Upper Chapel, Cat and Bird in Barker’s Pool, Horse and Rider, the Covid Memorial, Women of Steel, the War Memorial and finally the James Montgomery statue in the Cathedral grounds. At some time a decision was taken to refer to the walk as a stroll. It’s not a route march, but the hope is the stroller will stop in places and admire the various artworks.
A map was needed and one was produced in a form which recalled the simplification of the famous London Underground map. The map showed the location of the twelve landmarks, using the same colour scheme as on the texts.
Checking through my records I found that nearly all subjects were covered. I knew I had a shot of Rain, it was one of the first digital images I had taken. Only Mercury had to be shot especially, although a later shot proved to be more suitable. It’s the one to be seen on the website and above.
The leaflet was designed using Writer, a word processing program found within the LibreOffice portfolio. Once the texts and images were matched, it was time for a proof copy. There was a lot of text and it was decided that a font size no smaller than 9 point would be used. Anything smaller would make reading difficult; anything larger would spill over on to a second sheet.
A document was created and the file was taken to a local printer to produce a proof. The file had been converted to include small file sizes. Even at this definition the proof looked impressive (See above image)..
After extensive perusal to sort out any typos, we thought it ready for printing. However textual alterations had been made and there was a worry alignment had been changed. A further proof was required, though to save on cost, this was in black and white. This was when we discovered there were severe bumps in the road.
The printer I normally use couldn’t handle the printing and folding necessary, but recommended another business able to handle large paper sizes. However this second place reported more problems, although they did suggest alternatives.
One of these was to go for an A3 sheet folded twice to produce A5 size – eight panels in total. This immediately caused problems. The front page had been designed as a DL sized image. Now we were being asked to increase the size by 50%. The image would not stretch to the new dimension. A further complication was that if the front page increased in size, this would result in less space for the other panels. The images, currently the width of a DL panel would need to be increased in size to fit the A5 format. Larger images would take up more space which would reduce the available space for text. Reducing the text size was out of the question.
The printer used to produce the proof quoted a price which seemed on the high side. The search for a printer continued. Another place was suggested, but when visited, appeared to be closed and the building up for sale.
Yet another was found and the file sent to them.
They rejected it as it had been produced using a word processor rather than their favoured program. After downloading the program,it was not the easiest to come to terms with. Probably after six months it might be easier to use, but at the present time it would not be easy to use.
The second printer visited had suggested that one solution might be to produce an eight page booklet, rather than a flyer. This idea had already been rejected for the same reasons as the A5 flyer. There was a solution to this Gordian Knot – the so-called Plan C. There would not be that much difference in cost between a twelve page booklet, as opposed to the eight page booklet. Images could be larger and more could be used.
The map could be displayed using the full rear cover. This left ten pages to contain twelve subjects. The image of the King Edward VII statue in Fitzalan Square showed the White Building in the background. The Walking Man and Rain were placed together on one page.
What was required was a twelve page pdf which could be sent to Vistaprint. The snag was that a decision needed to be taken imminently if the order were to be delivered in time for the Heritage Fair. The Vistaprint website was talking about a delivery just a few days before the Fair.
There was only one choice; send off the order for the booklet while persevering with the leaflet and hope for the order to arrive in time.
It did!
2025 Heritage Fair
It's fair to say that the 2025 Heritage Fair was a great success from Svag's viewpoint. In part this was a consequence of having the booklet mentioned above which attracted a lot of interest. I heard one comment about it being the best publicity material on display at the event. Some people who took it left donations - always very welcome.
When the event was declared open on the Saturday, the organiser, David Templeman mentioned that in previous years he had been assisted by Ron Clayton. Although Ron was unable to be present for the opening, David did call for a round of applause for Ron. Many would agree that a similar round of applause should be given to David for organising this year's event.
We were blessed with fine weather on the Saturday which boosted numbers; the Sunday weather was disappointing with heavy rain during the afternoon which was one factor in restricting the attendance.
Those who know the venue will recall how there is a big white wall opposite the windows in the square room. During the course of the event this was used to showcase a rollling slideshow of images of the participating groups. I only saw one of our images on screen and was not quick enough to grab a photo of it. The image below attempts to give a flavour of the image:
The event attracted a few former members, it's always good to see them to let them know the group is still functioning.
As on previous occasions we had a picture quiz running on the laptop. Many were unable to identify the locations of the latest images. Maybe this was owing to unusual viewpoints or cropping of the subjects. Some were embarrassed by their failure to recognise the familiar. The carved W on the old Woolworth building on The Moor stumped a fair number, but the younger element have the excuse of not remembering Woolies.
On the whole it was an enjoyable couple of days.
One option tried this year was to take the car and park in the Nunnery Square Car Park before catching a tram into the city centre. It's certainly an idea worth continuing for future events in the centre.
Future plans
We've committed to having another presence at the Heritage Open Days at Channing Hall this year. With any luck there should be a similar stroll type leaflet as well, although at the moment I can't reveal the exact route,
Suffice it to say I'm investigating my personal library of images of Sheffield.
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