Tent city protest at university still going strong

Good evening readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.

What’s the longest you’ve camped anywhere? A week? Two? For some students in Sheffield, they’re now almost in their third week of sleeping in a tent. They’ve left their beds behind as part of a protest against the bombardment of Palestine, and the University of Sheffield’s links to the arms trade. That’s today’s big story.

As well as that, snogging is officially back in Sheffield and The Leadmill has its day in court.

Catch up and coming up

For our weekend read, regular contributor David Bocking explained how (and why) the humble skylark is adapting to modern times, abandoning the countryside for a more urban life. Even if you don’t already have a passion for “little brown jobs,” as Bocking calls them, it might still be worth giving this one a go. Reader Eileen Brooks said: “What a beautiful piece. I almost didn’t read it because I didn’t think a whole article on skylarks would be interesting. How wrong I was!” You can read it here.

Last week we sent out two great newsletters to our thousands of paying members. In the first, Dan spoke to Abtisam Mohamed, the local politician who has a good chance of becoming the UK’s first Yemeni MP later this year, representing Sheffield Central. In the second, Victoria offered an update on the years-long tug of war over the Abbeydale Picture House, which could finally be coming to an end soon. An extract from that second piece is below.

Robins, on the other hand, has his own reasons to be unhappy with the current state of affairs. Not only is his tenant suing him, the charity also stopped paying rent again in February, which caused him to forfeit their lease for the second time at the end of April. Butlin is confident that this will have no effect on their lawsuit but adds that failing to pay up was a decision CADS was forced to make, after the struggle over the building decimated their previously healthy finances. “If the legal stuff had not come through, we would basically just be walking away. It’s been a proper rollercoaster.”

This week we’ll send out two more, including a piece on a new housing provider for vulnerable adults that has rapidly cornered the market in Sheffield. To help fund a new way of doing local journalism funded by paying members rather than clickbait and celebrity, please consider becoming a member (if you haven’t already). It costs £1.71 a week or 24p a day if you pay for 12 months up front (£89).

The big picture: The Snog returns 💋

Pete McKee announced on Twitter today that his popular mural The Snog has now been repainted onto Fagan’s pub. It was first painted in 2013 but accidentally removed at the end of last month, during work on the building.

This week’s weather 🌥

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say we’ll see a spell of wet weather midweek, bookended by drier periods.

Monday ⛅️ Low cloud, mist and fog to start, slowly clearing to a brighter afternoon. Dry with light east-northeast breezes. Highs of 20°C after a cool morning.

Tuesday ☁️ Cloudier and cooler, with northeasterly breezes encouraging a few showers to drift inland. Some remaining dry with a few bright spells. Highs of 18°C.

Wednesday 🌧 Low pressure to the east brings thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain, persistent by the latter part of the day. Freshening NW winds and highs of 17°C.

Thursday 🌧 The low isn't going anywhere fast, with further rain possible, especially during the morning. Cool NW winds and highs of 17°C at best.

Friday 🌥 An improving trend with bright spells and drier conditions for all as a ridge of high pressure noses in. Highs of 19°C with lighter winds from the north.

Outlook: Low confidence as low and high pressure to the west do battle. Showery to start, but perhaps turning drier by the latter part of the long weekend.

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

The big story: Tent city protest at university still going strong 🇵🇸

Top line: The tent city outside the University of Sheffield’s Student Union has now been going for 20 days, after students walked out of lectures on 1st May to protest the university’s links to the arms trade and demonstrate their support for Palestine. Last week, to mark the anniversary of a sombre day for the Palestinian people, they were joined for three days by two activists, who were so impressed that they now plan to return on a weekly basis. Dr Sahar Awadallah spoke to The Tribune about her experience at the camp and how it makes her proud to live in South Yorkshire.

Campus Coalition: The camp at the University of Sheffield — which has also attracted temporary residents from Sheffield Hallam — was organised by Sheffield Campus Coalition for Palestine (SCCP). As NowThen reports, the University of Sheffield has made at least £72 million from the arms trade since 2012 and a director at BAE Systems has described its research as “instrumental” in ramping up production of the F-35 combat aircraft. In their statement to the press, SCCP said the university “helped streamline and produce the very instruments of warfare Israel used” to attack Palestine, adding that its members “will not sit idly by and watch our institution wreak havoc” through its support for the arms trade.

A sombre anniversary: On 15th May, Palestinians commemorate the anniversary of Nakba, a day in 1948 when 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes and villages by Israeli paramilitiaries and the IDF. Among them were the parents of Dr Sahar Awadallah, a local GP and one of the activists who joined the student encampment last week. Her father was only 13 when his family was forced out of their village, leaving all their belongings behind. “They left barefoot,” she told The Tribune, fully expecting they would be able to return home in a few days. Instead, they ended up living in a refugee camp in Gaza, where her father first met her mother, who had just been expelled from her own village.

Student solidarity: Sahar and her fellow activist Lena had originally planned to camp outside Sheffield Town Hall to mark the anniversary of Nakba but felt compelled to join the encampment at the university instead. They arrived on Wednesday and stayed until Friday, sharing their personal stories and the testimony of others affected by Nakba with the student activists. “They were actually fantastic,” she said, “very interested in what we spoke about and really keen to know more about the roots of the problem.” It made her feel proud to be in Sheffield, she added, particularly when she saw the support the students received from the community. “Every day, someone from the community donated food or cooked for them. It was tremendous.” The number of students camping reportedly ranged from 30 to hundreds during the time she was there.

Find out more about the protest on their website here or their Instagram here.

Our media picks 🔗

Court case to decide fate of legendary Sheffield nightclub looms ⚖️ The Leadmill’s day in court has finally arrived! Phil Mills, director of The Leadmill Ltd, will face off against his landlord Dominic Madden, of the Electric Group. Mills hopes to convince Leeds County Court to overturn the eviction notice his business received last March. Madden, meanwhile, wants to get rid of the long-term tenant to make way for his own venue in the building. Read our piece on the so-called fight “for the soul of Sheffield” here.

Sheffield charity shop busier than ever after 'vile' letter ✉️ A charity shop in Beauchief reports it is busier than ever after receiving a “vile” letter, saying it was not welcome in the area. Kreate, a homeware store and part of the charity Work Ltd, opened last November and is intended to offer retail work experience to people with learning difficulties. Manager Glynis Philliskirk told the BBC the letter had the opposite of its intended effect. “[It] has brought the community together in an incredible way, we could not have had a better introduction.”

"One of my New Year's resolutions was no one-hour sets" 🕺 NowThen have interviewed legendary DJ Graeme Park, as he prepares for the inaugural edition of Blueprint Festival, taking place at SteelYard Kelham next month. “Sheffield has always been a city that Park has felt close to,” writes Hamish Yewdall, given the part it played in the acid house movement of the 1980s. “It was from behind the decks in places like Sheffield that he saw music change forever, with the rise of dance music, the start of club culture and the birth of the superstar DJ.”

Home of the week 🏡

This week’s home for sale is all the way out in S17 but, on the other hand, it is an award-winning property that was featured on Grand Designs. This three-bedroom eco-home was built by its current owners six years ago, who are now looking to sell, for an asking price of £650,000. Find out more here.

Tribune Tips: If you want to tell us about a story or give us some information, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first poll instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.

Things to do 📆

Music 🎻 As part of Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, you can head to Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse tomorrow night for a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ most celebrated work: The Carnival of the Animals. Ensemble 360 and friends will also perform other often-neglected pieces by the composer and play the score live alongside a screening of his film The Assassination of the Duke of Guise. Tickets range from £5-21 and are available here.

Sing 🎤 Whether you’re a seasoned karaoke pro or struggling to find your voice, you’ll be welcome to join Sheffield Pop Choir. The choir meets at The Three Tuns every Tuesday from 6-8pm and there is no audition required to join. Find out more here.

Art 👶 Wednesday is the last day you can visit a free exhibition at the Charles Street Building in Sheffield Hallam University. Seen. Heard. Valued. was created by and with families from Sheffield’s Early Learning Community, a programme trying to make a difference to the lives of young children from north Sheffield. The exhibition features the families’ art, stories and voices — find out more here.