I arrived in Sheffield in early September 1988 to spend the next academic year as a French assistant in two Rotherham schools. I didn’t know what to expect when the train finally stopped in Sheffield station and the culture shock couldn’t have been any bigger. The teacher who was picking me up had arranged accommodation for me near Hunters Bar where he lived, but that’s all I knew. I spent the next few months exploring this sprawling city on an old bike somebody had lent me and the more I saw, the more I liked it. It was big, green and friendly and I immediately felt at home. Even to this day, Sheffield never ceases to surprise me, with its new, bold buildings and whole areas getting a new lease of life. Sheffield parks are just as amazing and diverse as its people, and in the early days I used to spend a fair bit of time biking and playing frisbee with friends in the park area of the General Cemetery. When I first came to Sheffield I had no idea I would settle and have a family here, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.

General Cemetery