Back in 1990 I moved to Sheffield with a husband and two young children. We lived a seven minute car journey from the city centre ( I timed it door to door to the City Hall), in a green and leafy suburb. I had been nervous of moving back to a city from the wilds of West Yorkshire. There was a good reason for the move though - I wanted my children to have the experience of a Steiner education. It turned out to be a great decision. Sheffield was emerging from one of its lows. The Student Games were being held there. There was world music at every turn, a thriving folk scene, the Leadmill and of course the fantastic City Hall venue. All of this could have been a source of great frustration if we hadn't moved on to the most amazing avenue in Nether Edge.A cul de sac with a huge shared green in the middle and 75 children under 16 living there. Babysitters were legion, though we were all particularly fond of the sisters who lived next door. At the drop of a hat we could decide to go to a concert at very short notice. I saw Alan Stivell,the legendary Breton harpist at the Leadmill on the spur of the moment one Sunday night in this way. But the best last minute on a Sunday concert was when I spotted that John McLaughlin was playing the City Hall one summer Sunday evening. The Hall was half empty, but the audience made up for it with their enthusiasm. His voice had a hint of South Yorkshire still, and it was very much a home coming for him. His band were incredible. I especially remember the percussionist, and then his partner, Katia Labecque came and joined him on stage.
At a fabulous and extraordinary meeting of the Bakewell Vinyl Club last Sunday night (thanks Keith and Sue!) we played some John McLaughlin and I was reminded of that long ago summer Sunday night.
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