"RIGHT UP YOUR STREET" took place on 7th Dec 2019 and was the second AGM of Street Heritage Research Group. In contrast to the 2018 meeting, 2019 saw us meet at The Fat Cat, Kelham Island, Sheffield, among some of the most heritage-rich streets that the city has to offer. The venue was an excellent location with good facilities, hospitable and accommodating staff and the added bonus of hearty and good value fodder for lunch. A good thing as the afternoon saw the SHRG break out of the lecture theatre and take to the streets for a tour of Jo Peel's street art, on the way to the unveiling of a new interpretation board at the Bramall Lane Bridge site (see friends group here).

After a quick introduction by chair, Calvin Payne, highlighting the aims of the SHRG and the plan for the day, the first speaker rather surprised the audience by leaping forward in a body hugging neoprene suit. Peter Gilbert, spoke passionately about The streets as protest space and as a representative of XR (Extinction Rebellion) gave a first hand account of protest and disruption and the pressing concerns of global change. As XR and similar movements are challenging our ideas of what protest and resistance may look like. Common are the uses of dramatic performance and art as well as significant stunts. It is likely that in the future that we will see epic protests that will be accompanied by many elements of intangible or disposable heritage. It might not be quite understood as street heritage but the imagery will no doubt be part of our social-political and ecological history and it would be good think that a record of this is maintained. On the day that Peter spoke XR were holding a major demo in Barkers Pool, Sheffield. They had arranged for a yacht to be located on site to emphasise the immanence of rising seal levels (hence Peters Wetsuit!).

Following on from this, active citizen Nigel Slack, gave a rapid fire and comprehensive account of activism in Sheffield. It was a tremendous talk and succeeded in revealing the incredible richness of Sheffield's history of activism and political protest. Beautifully illustrated and eloquently delivered the lecture really emphasized Sheffield's central role in political change. Who knew Sheffield was home to one of the country's earliest Women's suffrage movement or that Sheffield was high on the list of touring spots for religious dissenters. Almost every significant political event in the last 400 yrs seems to have been played out at the local level yet served to inform national agendas and political processes. Nigel answered many questions and quite why Sheffield has such a involved and turbulent relationship with dissent and activism remains to be seen, of course the streets as public spaces play a central role in this.

While invited, the next guest, a representative from AMEY PLC failed to attended leaving a welcome gap in proceedings that allowed delegates to enjoy a longer coffee break. We hope AMEY will contribute to our future AGM. Following on was Calvin Payne (Chair SHRG) who spoke on Signs of change: The development of street signage in Sheffield. A really fascinating talk on what might have been seen as a rather mundane subject. Payne illustrated his talk with a number of case studies and showed how the unassuming street sign can give us a vital insight into the development and urbanisation of the city. From programs of street rationalisation to name changes to sign fabrication techniques the talk really emphasized the value of this heritage resource and the audience seemed even more convinced of the pressing need for this aspect of heritage to be valued. Of course it is easy to value something in principle but the emerging consensus from the group was that we need robust documentation of the resource so that we can manage its conservation. Without knowing what is out there we can not act so as to protect and cherish it. It is likely that a future initiative of the SHERG will be developing policies in cooperation with local organisations to better manage and recognise this resource.

Next up was artist Andy Cropper and what turned out to be a very special talk that was a real treat for the audience. ,Accompanied by some beautiful original examples of his work , Andy gave a very touching and human story of his own development as an artist and the role of the street in his work. It was a masterful talk and several delegates were reaching for tissues. Rather than reiterating the points he made the reader is simply directed to his work as it speaks volumes (see here). If you get the chance to hear Andy speak or see one of his exhibitions then do take up the opportunity.

Staying with the artistic theme next up was a showing of some of Jo Peel's artwork via the medium of video (examples here). Anyone familiar with Sheffield's streets will instantly recognise Jo's work which itself has stretched well beyond Sheffield itself. Following the showing we were privilidged to have Jo's mother in the audience and she gave a beautiful 10min account of how she saw her daughter and her work. It was an insight that any artist would have loved to have heard and likely shared thoughts that most artists would be too modest or reserved to mention. we all felt that Jo would have been proud of her mother and it provided a lovely perspective on her work as someone who grew up in Sheffield.

Lastly a change of theme gave Roger Doonan the chance to talk on the history of cycling in Sheffield. He highlighted how the great cycling craze of the 19th century arrived in Sheffield with force with hundreds turning out to see visiting cyclists or join in the craze themselves. The craze was exactly that with the cycle offering a new way to understand and perceive the world. He highlighted the shift from cyclists first using military parade grounds to then moving to dedicated circuits and then on to "touring" in the more modern sense of the word. Sheffield had among the earliest cycle clubs in the country which is surprising in light of the local topography. In addition some early and very high quality cycles were made in Sheffield but ultimately Sheffield maintained its relationship with metal tools while Coventry and Birmingham took over on the assembly of cycles. The talk concluded with a proposal to better map the origins of cycling in Sheffield.

Following on from lunch SHRG hit the streets with Calving Payne leading. After a great trek across the city we arrived at Bramall Lane Bridge for the unveiling of a new interpretation board. More info at the Friends of Bramall Lane Bridge site.