Meet our newest recruit

It’s been a week of two halves. We’ll start with the bad news. For those of you checking our website and refreshing your inbox for our Thursday edition, we’re sorry we let you down. We had a story that we were trying to pull off but it just didn’t work out. We probably drop editions like this a couple of times a year, and we hate it. It’s the unfortunate but occasionally unavoidable result of trying to do big stuff with a small team. (NB we’ve included our recommendations of things to do this weekend further down this e-mail.)

But that leads us on to the good news… The Tribune team has just grown by one! We now have a new reporter — Mollie Simpson — joining us full time, and our dream of filling our fourth and final desk this year has been fulfilled.

“But wait”, you cry. “You haven’t even advertised the job!” Yes readers, this is true. That’s because we’ve poached enticed our newest recruit over from our sister title in Manchester, The Mill, where she’s been doing great work for the last four years.

The quiet subversive of Sheffield

How Ethel Haythornthwaite ‘found her truth’ in the Peak District

Sheffield TribuneMollie Simpson

If Mollie’s name rings a bell, it might be because you’ve already read one of her stories for us here. She recently reported on suspensions at Sheffield College (know anything? Drop her a line) and has previously written for us about tensions over Travellers in Beighton and Peak District legend Ethel Haythornthwaite.

Or it might be that the reverberations of Mollie’s Manchester reporting have been felt all the way over here. This year, Mollie’s reporting on the University of Greater Manchester (formerly the University of Bolton) revealed evidence of bullying, racism and major financial irregularities so serious that Greater Manchester Police's major incidents team are now investigating fraud charges and several homes of senior staff have been searched. You can read her gripping write up of the “Casablanca Deal” here.

The Casablanca Deal: Secret contracts and unexplained payments at the University of Greater Manchester

EXCLUSIVE: Senior executives at the university tried to divert hundreds of thousands in tuition fees into a private company which one of them owns

The MillMollie Simpson

We often chat to our Manchester friends, and we’d started to notice that Mollie was spending more and more of her weekends over on this side of the Pennines. Mention “Sheffield” and a sort of dreamy look came into her eye, a beatific vision of good pubs, lovely parks and affordable housing. And so, our people spoke to her people, and an agreement was clinched before the transfer window closed.

We’ve asked Mollie to introduce herself directly to you below. But just before then, let us say that this is a big step for us. We’ve pulled forward our plan to hire a bit because it was an opportune moment for Mollie to move, and we can see how much an extra reporter of Mollie’s calibre will add to what we can do here. But we’re still running on a shoestring. If you’d like to support a scrappy news operation trying to do things differently, then please join today.

(Meanwhile if you, or someone you know, fancies filling Mollie’s shoes over at The Mill, you can apply here.)

'Moving to Sheffield had been a little dream of mine'

Hi, I’m Mollie. I grew up in a small village in Dorset, which was very scenic and pretty but not ideal if, like me, you have a low boredom threshold. I spent a gap year doing almost nothing, and in 2017 I moved to Manchester for university. For the last four years I’ve been a staff writer at The Mill. Highlights have included breaking into the Chanel afterparty, tracking down one of those creepy Manchester Nightlife filmmakers and sitting down with the chairman of Peel Group, the vast, all-powerful property group that owns most of the North West.

But during that time I’ve also been spending lots of weekends over in Sheffield, mostly hanging out with friends from university who moved over this way. My editor there, Joshi Herrmann, would often ask me why I visited Sheffield so frequently. It wasn’t hard to find reasons. Seeing various DIY bands perform at Delicious Clam has made up some of the most fun nights out I’ve ever had, there’s an excellent variety of pubs, there’s that falafel place by Endcliffe Park, there’s an annual pickle festival, (need I go on?). Out and about in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire I’ve been able to see the northern lights at a campsite near Bakewell, swim up at Redmires, traipse around that lovely bookshop in Tideswell and sit somewhat precariously on Stanage Edge soaking up the sun. 

Then, this summer, conversations about taking on a new member of staff at The Tribune began in earnest. Colleagues sounded me out to see if I wanted the role.

Have you ever had it where the thing you’d hoped might happen at some point in the future is on offer now? Moving over to Sheffield had been a little dream of mine. One day, I thought. But all of a sudden there was an opening. It would mean a fair bit of upheaval, but who knew when The Tribune would next be recruiting? I needed some time to think about it.

Not long after, I noticed myself plodding into work, passing scaffolded buildings and cranes teetering over Manchester’s next tallest skyscraper, getting annoyed at men in suits brushing past me, barely noticing any of the lovely architectural details that I used to love about Manchester. I realised that yes, it might be time for a change.

I’m now over in Sharrow, no longer spending most of my income on a cramped, tiny room, peering out of the window to watch the police conduct their weekly raids on my neighbour's house for their various drug dealing-related crimes. I'm now sharing with some great people on a peaceful tree-lined street in a house with high ceilings and big windows. I also live with two cats, who I am trying my best to connect with (any tips on how to bond with nervous cats, leave me a comment). Perhaps I’m getting swept along in the thrill of the new setting, but I’m going to say it’s already my favourite place I’ve lived. Having gone from one extreme (Dorset) to another (Manchester), Sheffield feels like it’s perfectly in the middle.

September is still feeling warm, and I’m enjoying this brief seasonal window where I can freely explore the city on foot without getting too cold. I’d love to hear your recommendations for places I should try — I like live music, swimming, yoga, old bloke pubs and indie cinemas. And of course, I’d welcome any tips for stories I should be covering in my first months. You can email me on mollie@sheffieldtribune.co.uk.

Things to do 📆

Saturday

🪛 On Saturday as part of Nether Edge Festival, St Andrew’s on Psalter Lane are hosting a repair cafe (10am-2pm). Volunteers will be on hand to make small repairs and teach people how to fix things themselves, with the aim of reducing waste and recycling items that would otherwise be thrown away. There is no charge for repairs, but donations will go to the Archer Project. The festival closes on Sunday with Party in the Park in Chelsea Park (10am-4pm).

🎤 The second and biggest weekend of the Castlegate Festival gets under way on Saturday with a music festival on Exchange Street. As well as a main stage on the street itself, there will also be performances taking place at Delicious Clam, Panke Social and Plot 22, where the legendary Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam will play from 10pm-12pm. There will also be events taking place at SADACCA on the Wicker, Haymarket and Canada House on Commercial Street.

Sunday

🌱 On Sunday, Pollen Market — the inner city flower market which takes place monthly at Grey to Green in Castlegate — will be four years old! As well as all the usual florals, food, live music and family entertainment, there will also be a special performance and a Q+A with Natural Symphony, who will be teaming up with Sheffield plant shop Gravel Pit to bring you an audio-visual immersive show powered by plants! The market is free and runs from 10am-4pm.

😷 Also on Sunday at Manor Lodge, become a Tudor doctor for a day and discover the weird and wonderful things used to “cure” illnesses in Tudor times, when being a doctor (and being a patient) could be gruesome. Activities include learning about Tudor illnesses, designing your own Tudor “cure”, a Tudor doctor trail in the grounds and, best of all, the chance to craft a plague doctor mask and pomander. Tickets are £5 per child and the day runs from 10am-4pm.

Coming up

Tribune members were treated earlier this week to Holly Williams’ report from Sheffield’s oldest and smallest theatre, The Lantern. Tribune reader Jim Coleman called it “a fascinating read” in the comments, and we couldn’t disagree. Tomorrow we’ll be going to the other end of the spectrum, and have asked theatre critic Matt Barton to review Dancing at Lughansa, the Crucible’s first play under new artistic director Elizabeth Newman. What did he make of it? Check your inboxes tomorrow to find out.