Spice Girl Memorabilia

Deborah Reilly meets South Yorkshires very own Spice Girls super-fan, Liz West. We met at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield, where Liz works as a steward in her free time. Over a cup of coffee she tells me what made her want to become the Spice Girls biggest fan.


What is it that you believe got you hooked on the Spice Girls?

I was hooked as soon as I head their first single ‘wannabe’ play on the radio when it reached number 1 in 1996. I marvelled at how much energy they all had and I loved their tacky outfits and platform shoes. I loved every song they released because they were always so catchy.


How does it feel being the Spice Girls biggest fan?

I’ve always been competitive so I feel happy to be the biggest collector and ‘fan’. I have showed my fandom through collecting their stuff and buying their singles, other fans show it by stalking the girls, which I don’t agree with. I believe they are entitled to their privacy. I am constantly on the look out for new stuff to add to my collection, its an every expanding thing, unlike other collections which are static.


What was the very first Spice Girls product you bought, and why?

The first thing I was given, and it was the first album, ‘spice’. The first product I bought myself from my pocket money was the photo album and cards to go it in. you had to collect 120 in total and I would treat myself to a pack of 6 whenever I could for £1 to swap with my friends at school. I eventually completed the album! Among other things.

What is the most expensive item you own? And how much did it cost?

I splashed out on a green tasselled Geri dress which Geri wore in 1998 on the world tour, I went to the concert where she wore it, so it has huge sentimental value. It cost too much, I probably overpaid for it, but I didn’t want anyone else to get it before me.


What’s your favourite Spice Girls item? Why?

My favourite item is probably one of my costumes that they wore or Geri’s union jack glitter platform boots I got recently. My favourite dress is Emma’s pretty pink and blue sequin, but its so fragile with all the sequins on it.


Have you ever met any of the Spice Girls? What did they think to your unique collection?

I have met Emma, she joked that I had more than her. I also have met mel B, she thanked me for supporting her charity CLIC Sargent which the proceeds of the auctions I took part in went to. That’s the auction where I got several of her spice girls outfits.

Have you done any other exhibitions since the one at Cusworth Hall?

Yes! After Cusworth hall in Doncaster I had a summer exhibition at Clifton park in Rotherham. I included a few new items to make it a bit different from the Cusworth hall one, but it was equally as successful.


What Spice Girls item would you love to own but haven’t managed to get hold of?

The holy grail for any spice girls collector, including me, would be Geri’s union jack dress. But unfortunately the Hard Rock Café own it in Las Vegas. It was the most expensive piece of music memorabilia ever bought at auction sold at £36,000 at Sotheby’s in 1998! That’s without commission! Ouch.

Story by Deborah Reilly

Sheffield Makes Some 'Noize'

Sheffield Hallam’s student union building was buzzing on Sunday night, for a festival of unsigned local bands. The ‘Make Noize’ festival was organized by 2nd year students Tom Davison and Mikey Corns as part of their university course, and was a fantastic success.

The 5 hour event featured six unsigned bands from in and around Sheffield, handpicked by the event organizers after an audition process. Each act had a set amount of time to impress, with very brief changeovers between bands. The result was a fine-tuned, sharp show that never dragged but never felt rushed.

In recent years, Sheffield has offered some of the country’s biggest bands, which has led to a stream of young bands emerging out of Sheffield, many offering completely new styles of music, and some refining an already established sound. All surely hope to achieve the same success as names now synonymous with Sheffield, such as Arctic Monkeys, and Reverend & the Makers.
The six acts on show at the Make Noize festival played to a crowd of over 300, and as the night continued, the crowd began to become more involved. The event was very well advertised, using Facebook as its main promotion spot.

Adam Carter, a student who attended the festival, said ‘Its great to see quality bands getting a good crowd… if it weren’t for this festival, they might not have got the chance to be heard.’

David Adams, another student amongst the throng, said 'I'd never seen a live band before tonight, I'm definitely going to more gigs after this... the atmosphere is fantastic'

The Make Noize festival was originally planned as a one-off event, but its overwhelming success has led the organizers to begin plans for a similar festival next year.

The bands:

The Silver - www.myspace.com/thesi1er

Kiss Track Comeback - www.myspace.com/kisstrackcomeback

Modern Eulogy - www.myspace.com/moderneulogy

The Talk - www.myspace.com/thetalkband

Side Passenger - www.myspace.com/passengerthenextgeneration

Cabfire - www.myspace.com/cabfire

Modern Eulogy get the crowd going

Crucial Blow For Job-Seekers

People seeking to get a job in Sheffield have been dealt a crucial blow following an on-going investigation.

With the recent job cuts across the country, the most recent being the loss of 500 jobs at Vodafone, is the time now harder than ever to find a job?

More importantly, how difficult is it for a student to earn and finance themselves? We hit the streets to find out.

Armed with 20 CV's, we went undercover to investigate if we could actually find someone out there willing to employ us.

We went into 25 seperate shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bars to discover who, if anyone, was willing to give us a job.

Our first stop - Marks And Spencer. After being greeted by a friendly lady on the door, we enquired about jobs - "We're not currently taking anyone on", she snapped back in an instant.

After being knocked back a series of times from Footlocker, H+M, WH Smith, Topman and embarrassingly Somerfield of all places, we struck a bit of luck.

Walking into video store Game, we were half expecting a polite 'no chance' when asking "I don't suppose you're looking for any part-timers are you?"

"Yeah we are mate, have you got a CV?", the big chap behind the cash desk replied, before he changed his mind we handed a CV in and made a hasty retreat with a quick parting, "cheers mate, bye!"

The afternoon seemed to go on forever, with time and time again the same response, "No sorry" being thrown at the pair of us. After around 2 hours of trying we gave up.

Of the 20 CV's we had, we managed to hand out a mere, depressing, pathetic... 6

Of those 6 we handed out, we were invited to just the 1 interview... our good old friend, Game.

Either it's true when they say now is the hardest time to find a job, or the guy at Game needed a friend to play his Xbox with.


Story by Jack Nesteruk and Anil Pattni

Charity Pro Evolution Tournament

A group of Sheffield students are organising a virtual soccer tournament to raise money for three major charities.

James Parkin,20, Ashley Thorpe, 19, and Jamie Maw,20, who all study Sports Management at Sheffield Hallam University, are planning the event to raise money for Help the Heroes, Cancer Research UK and Kick it Out racism campaign.

The tournament, which will take place on March 6th at The Hubs, Sheffield Hallam University’s Student’s Union, is expected to attract more than 300 people. It will feature popular Playstation game ’Pro Evolution Soccer’ or ’Pro Evo’ as its known. Participants must enter in teams and the prize for the winners is £250. There will also be live entertainment from local bands, an auction and a raffle.

Ashley Thorpe said: “we wanted to do this event as we have learnt a lot about event management on our course, and wanted to have a go at doing it for ourselves. Also, my brother is serving with the army in Afghanistan at the moment so I particularly wanted to do something for ‘Help the Heroes’ as it’s a charity close to my heart”.

James Parkin added: “So far we have had lots of support in planning this event. The Student’s Union have kindly agreed to let us hire the venue free of charge, and businesses such as Currys and Game have donated products for us to auction which is great. We have also had some signed football memorabilia donated by Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United football clubs, so we are extremely grateful.”

David Crouch, spokesman for the charity Kick It Out said: “We are delighted that these young people have chosen to support our charity. I hope their fundraiser is a success.”

Lock and Key Night at Carling Academy

The lonely hearts of students in Sheffield had something to look forward to this year. With Valentines Day here O2 Academy decided to throw a 'Lock and Key' party in order to promote their Vodka Nationwide club nights.

I attended the night to see whether it would deliver and it turned out the night had mixed reviews. Although I was fortunate to receive a key after paying an additional £3.00 on top of the £7.00 for the ticket, some others were less fortunate. Those that turned up to the club later on during the night received no key as the club promoters had ran out of them.

This was evident that the club had a great turn out, by the time I got in all the bars were 'rammed' with thirsty and half sober students all eager to find the lock for their key! A few students tried to look for their 'partners' during the beginning of the night, however this did not last long, by the middle of the night alcohol started playing its role and the novelty wore off.

There were upsides such as even though lock and key concept wore off, the turn out was great. The dance floor was packed full of crazy students 'strutting there stuff' to a great choice of music. Personally, (speaking as a student) the combination of alcohol, great music and the opposite sex proves always to be a great night and if that night is on Valentines Day then that's a bonus!

Story by Anil Pattni

Credit Crunch Valentines Day Special!

With the credit crunch crippling purses and wallets, we here at the A-team had a look at cost effective places to wine and dine your partner this Valentines Day

From Chinese to Italian, we’re sure to suit everyone’s taste buds with our selection of up market, value for money restaurants.

Here are our top restaurants for Valentines Day:


1) WokMania - £8.50 per person – All You Can Eat


With its variety of 70 different dishes, WokMania basis itself on an All You Can Eat menu where you help yourself to what you want.

It is the UK's largest all-you can-eat oriental restaurant




2) Zizzi’s - £18.95 per person. Includes glass of Champagne

Zizzi prides itself on its fresh Italian flavours and homemade dishes. Perfection is key. “The Italians have a law that states traditional dried pasta must be made with 100% durum semolina flour and water and then allowed to dry slowly for up to 50 hours. The result of this is a pasta that has a firmer, denser texture and a superior sauce holding quality.”

3) Nirmals - £38.00 per couple

This restaurant is recommended by various Food Guides and is in the Top 100 Curry Restaurants in the UK.

With its two tier restaurant and party room, this restaurant is highly recommended.

4) Popolo - £14.99 per person (2 course meal) Includes glass of Champagne

- £19.99 per person (3 course meal) Includes glass of Champagne

Popolo is a bar and restaurant serving Tapas, light bites and full a la carte menu. All food is freshly prepared and the restaurant gives off an authentic rustic feel. The restaurant is located upstairs overlooking Leopold Square.

5) Platillos - £40.00 per couple

Platillos is a relaxed Latin American / Mediterranean style restaurant.

“Welcome to Platillos, where it's all about little plates and big flavours. Here we eat with abandon, so feel free to lick your plate, eat with your fingers and play with your food. Swap your favourites, feast with your friends, feed the family and if it tastes good, pass it on.”

6) Strada - £24.95 per person. Includes coffee and glass of Champagne

Strada is well renowned for its Italian origins, especially its pizza’s. Strada serves pizza and pasta from the Amalfi region of Italy cooked in traditional wood burning ovens. “We use only the finest and freshest ingredients such as single vineyard extra virgin olive oil, prosciutto and Buffalo mozzarella to provide exactly the kind of rustic, traditional dishes you would expect to find travelling around Italy's regions.”

7) Café Rouge - £24.95 per person

The Cafe Rouge is a French themed cafe-bar, complete with authentic looking French waiters and waitresses. If you want something different then this is a great place to try.
“Our menu covers a range of French classics from croques and baguettes, ideal for a quick and easy snack, to more substantial fare such as steak frites and boeuf bourguignon.”

Contacts:

WokMania : 0114 2755 885
Zizzis : 0114 2781 178
Nirmals : 0114 2724 054
Popolo : 0114 2758 405
Platillos : 0114 2763 141
Strada : 0114 2795 948
Café Rouge : 0114 2682 232

http://www.zizzi.co.uk/zizzimenu.html

http://www.sheffieldrestaurant.co.uk/restaurants

http://www.strada.co.uk/about


By Jack Nesteruk

Valentines Day in Sheffield

Sheffield is going all out for Valentines Day this year. From 9th to 22nd February there will be a number of events taking place in the city centre. Sheffield City Council has been working closely with small businesses to make this a Valentines to remember.

There will be a number of events and activities taking place over the Valentines period. These will include a fun fair in the city centre from 13th to 22nd February. Bars and restaurants across the city centre will also be taking part by offering a number of special offers this Valentines. There will also be a number of roses and chocolate giveaways on February 14th itself.

With Valentines Day being an event in everyone’s calendar, The LoveSheffield campaign brings opportunities to all. Councilor Sylvia Anginotti, Cabinet Member for Employment and Enterprise at Sheffield City Council, said: "The LoveSheffield campaign demonstrates the joined up thinking between the city council and businesses in the city.” Some of the venues taking part will be Graves Art Gallery, Plug, Sheffield Hallam University and The Showroom. So if you thought the credit crunch was going to ruin your Valentines then think again, with offers such as 2 courses for £15 you can’t go wrong, there’s no excuse to stay in this Valentines.

One of Sheffield’s most upbeat night clubs is also in on the action this year. Embrace nightclub is hosting ‘My bloody Valentine’ on 13th and ‘Embrace Love’ on 14th February. We will be writing reviews of the nights so stay tuned. So whether it is a night on the town or a romantic meal for two, you won’t be lost for ideas. For more information about Love Sheffield events, please visit www.eventsheffield.com

Story by Deborah Reilly