Sporting triumphs and detective shortages

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to this week’s Monday briefing. We’ve got more of a round up for you today, featuring an in-depth analysis of last year’s shocking riot in Rotherham, a list of the best things to do in Sheffield from Tribune writer Daniel Dylan Wray, and a local legend Joe Root making cricketing history.

As well as that, we have a “unique and quirky” flat on Chesterfield Road, and the return of the Abbeydale Road Beer Festival.

In case you missed it

For our weekend read, Dan did a hard night’s work reviewing Pulp’s triumphant performance at Tramlines. “Whatever hopes the other acts have for making it their night,” he wrote, “Pulp are the only band in town.” You can read that piece here. 

Earlier in the week, paying subscribers received a tell-all anonymous article from one of the city’s bus drivers about the highs and lows of his job, which received an amazing 75 comments of lively debate. You can read an excerpt of that piece below. (We’re looking for other secret jobs to feature. If you’re a teacher/bin man/bin woman/bouncer/police officer looking to spill the beans then get in touch.)

If there are a group of elderly people getting on you’re laughing. They all have bus passes so you can get half a dozen of them in and moving to their seats within 20 seconds. It can take just as long, if not longer, to onboard one single student. By the time they have shown me their student ID, I’ve set the ticket price on the machine, they’ve fumbled with their phone and the machine has taken three seconds to confirm the transaction and print the ticket, I’m already getting behind on the timetable. And that’s just one student. It’s all just seconds but it adds up. 

And, on Thursday, The Tribune exclusively revealed that Sheffield College is being investigated by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, who fear the institution may be fraudulently passing students who have failed their exams to secure extra funding.

The big picture: LionYESS!!!

Hundreds of fans gathered in Tudor Square last night to watch the nailbiting final of the Women’s European Championships, which England won on penalties 3-1. The crowd's reaction when Chloe Kelly scored the decisive spot kick was superbly captured by Tim Dennell.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

🎸 The big clean up operation has begun this morning at Hillsborough Park after this year’s Tramlines festival. Thousands of fans attended over the weekend, watching headline performances from Rotherham band The Reytons on Saturday night and Kasabian on Sunday. However, the weekend will inevitably be remembered for the return of hometown heroes Pulp on Friday night, who performed a special Sheffield-themed set featuring the rarely-played Sheffield: Sex City and The Last Day of the Miners’ Strike, as well as dozens of hits from their back catalogue and new material from their recent album More. Festival organisers (and the council) will also be breathing a sigh of relief that this year saw no repeat of the torrential rain which turned the site into a mudbath and made the park off limits for residents for weeks in 2023. Tickets for next year go on sale on Friday.

🏙️ There was more love for Sheffield in The Times last week courtesy of our regular contributor Daniel Dylan Wray. DDW (as he’s known in The Tribune office) breaks down the nine best things to do in the city, from soaking up the city centre greenery to ale trails and heritage to the great outdoors. The piece has lots of great tips for visitors and natives alike and is a good corrective to some of the doom and gloom you get elsewhere. “Sheffield is a magnificent city break and countryside retreat wrapped up in one,” he writes. “I’ve lived in Sheffield for over 20 years and, when I’m out walking the dog first thing up at Graves Park as the sun creeps up over the whole city, I never cease to be bowled over by its beauty.”

🏨 The Sunday Times has published a lengthy analysis of last summer’s attack on the Holiday Inn in Rotherham, raising the question of whether the horrific disorder could have been prevented. Just three years before the riot, the asylum seekers who were first moved into the hotel reportedly received a gracious welcome but tensions began to build after vicious rumours about its inhabitants — including an unsubstantiated claim that two hotel staff had been raped — started to circulate on a local Facebook group. Steve Kent, chairman of the South Yorkshire Police Federation, admits the local force expected a “small, low-level protest” but that the day gradually morphed into “a horrible monster of an event”. Asked in January if things had calmed down since, a former policeman sadly told The Times: “People here talk about civil war. They talk about revolution.” 

🚨 South Yorkshire Police has been criticised for not solving enough crimes by the police inspectorate, who raised concerns that high workloads were affecting officers’ wellbeing and leaving them struggling to properly investigate. Michelle Skeer of His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary wrote that the funding SYP receives “isn’t bringing about a good service for the public in some important areas” but acknowledged that the force is “particularly good at preventing and deterring crime”. A SYP spokesperson said an action plan was being developed to improve the service they offer but admitted that they are struggling with a “shortage of detectives”. 

🏏Sheffield’s finest, Joe Root, made test cricket history last week, moving from 6th to 2nd on the all-time leaderboard of test runs scored during the fourth test against India at Old Trafford. He would need to score another 2,513 to overtake Sachin Tendulkar and become the greatest of all-time, something that in his current form certainly seems possible. Not bad for a local lad, and if he isn’t added to the Sheffield Walk of Fame alongside his hero and erstwhile mentor Michael Vaughan there will be uproar.

⚽In other sports news, Sheffield’s Esme Morgan played a key role in the Lionesses Euro 2025 campaign. The defender was brought on as a substitute in the quarter final against Sweden, and started in the semi-final against Italy. Morgan went to High Storrs school and played for Ecclesall Rangers. Speaking to The Guardian last week, she said that: “We’ve just got such amazing character, grit and determination within the group that we’re never beaten.” — something proven true in an extraordinary victory over Spain in the final.

This week’s weather 🌥️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say this week will be changeable with bright spells and scattered showers. Temperatures close to the long-term average.

Monday 🌦 Windy from the west-northwest with bright spells and a risk of showers by late morning. Sunnier towards the evening with highs of 22C>.

Tuesday ☂ Starts dull and damp, though westerly winds will be lighter. Patchy rain and drizzle fades to a brighter but still quite showery pattern even by the afternoon. Highs of 23C.

Wednesday 🌦 Continues the shower risk but it looks generally drier and brighter with a better chance of getting away with a dry day. Breezy, but rather warm in the brighter spells with highs of 23C.

Thursday 🌦 Looks similar so we still need to be wary of a risk of some potentially heavy showers. Pleasantly warm in the sunshine though, with breezy westerly winds and highs of 24C.

Friday 🌦 Sees little change with bright spells and the risk, more by the afternoon, of some potent showers developing. Cooler northwest winds and highs of 22C.

Outlook: Fewer showers by the weekend hopefully but it depends how far east our reluctant high pressure cell can extend 🤔 Sunny spells, average temps, a few showers most likely.

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

Coming up

We’ve got some cracking pieces coming up this week. For tomorrow’s members’ read, we asked regular contributor Holly Williams to take on a vital summer assignment and review the best local ice cream you can get in and around Sheffield. Who will triumph, and is it really worth driving half an hour into the Peak District to get some of the best stuff?

Then on Thursday we’ve got the next instalment of Sheffield’s Big Questions, which has been on something of a hiatus after two of the big stories we’ve been working on (the nuclear warheads and Sheffield College allegations) both came to a head in recent weeks. We’ve asked data journalist Katherine Swindells to answer: how has Sheffield’s population changed over the last ten years?

The weekly Whitworth ✍️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the news that the government has ordered an inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave. For more on Don McPhee’s famous photo, click here.

Home of the week 🏡

This 2/3 bedroom apartment on Chesterfield Road is described in the listing as “unique and quirky”, and you can certainly see why. As well as a spacious private garden, the flat has lots of distinctive features including painted ceilings, bespoke wooden fittings throughout and even an internal workshop currently used as an art studio. It is on the market for £190,000.

Things to do 📆

Architecture 🏗️ On now at Western Bank Library is Peter Blundell Jones: Architecture, Landscape and the City, an exhibition about the former University of Sheffield lecturer who has been described as “the pre-eminent architectural historian of his generation”. The free show looks at PBJ’s professional life and offers visitors the rare chance to see the stunning model of Sheffield city centre in 1900 which was made by his students in the late 1990s.

Meditation 🧘 On Wednesday, join Dr Ranaa Farooq for a guided meditation session in the beautiful setting of Moonko on Division Street. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed, curious, or simply in need of stillness, this is a space to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with yourself. The session will include breathwork, awareness practices, and space for quiet reflection, helping you create inner space. The 90-minute session begins at 7pm. Tickets are £10.

Beer 🍻 Thursday sees the return of the Abbeydale Road Beer Festival for its fourth year. The concept is simple: drink your way down Abbeydale Road, trying at least one beer from each of the 12 venues. Those who complete the trail will earn a limited-edition festival print, specially designed for this year’s “War of the Roses” theme. Alongside the pints, you’ll find street food, DJs, and exclusive festival giveaways all day. The festival runs until Sunday.