Sheffield retro: Harping on about when the buses were cheap, Hole in the Road and other signs you're getting old

I no longer have any interest in playing football, a thing I thought would happen to me.

Some of the familiar signs are, police and teachers start looking younger, harping on about when the buses were cheap, the Hole in the Road, Kelvin Flats and many more memories of things no longer here.

Pointing out where things used to be to people who couldn’t care less.

I’ve realised there’s a phrase I use quite a lot these days which is - ’there was nothing like this when I was a kid’.

I’m really going to have to check myself before saying that as my son, Lyndon, will pull me up about it.

He often asks 'was the world black and white when you was growing up?’ - I hope he was joking.

No it was not, we had colours in those days too, maybe not too many colour photos or TVs, but the sky was blue, the sea brown, and the grass green.

Two occasions I had reason to use the phrase this year, was firstly Tramlines, I think I say it every year.

What a fabulous event it is held over three days in the city centre or Hillsborough Park - a three day event which is over in a flash.

I never had the opportunity to go to an event like this when I was growing up, because I’m sure there wasn’t one close to it in Sheffield.

Secondly Lowedges Festival was held quite recently at Greenhill Park.

A brilliant event, which had entertainment for all tastes and ages, with a music tent car show and lots more.

The key thing about the event was that all the rides were free, no charge for any ride, I never came across anything like this when I was young.

Free entry and free rides credit to Stephen Rich and the Lowedges Community Festival Group.

When I was growing up the two great events in Sheffield I enjoyed were The Lord Mayor’s Parade, what a spectacle that was, starting from Thomas Wards Stockyard on Saville Street near the Wicker Arches.

Thousands would turn up on a sunny Saturday morning to see numerous well decorated floats from various company’s in the city, with marching bands from all over the city and probably Yorkshire. It was a fabulous day.

I was lucky enough to participate twice, as a member of a marching band called Sheffield Corps of Drums, who were national champions at the time.

The Lord Mayor’s Parade was a popular event with over 300,000 turning out to see it.

Another great event we had was the Sheffield Show, this was normally held in Hillsborough Park or Graves Park.

This was also a free event with numerous stalls and displays.

Thousands would turn to see what was on offer. I liked the Star van which you could buy a bag containing a Star, a Green ‘Un, maybe a Telegraph with a bag of crisps, sweets, and a bottle of pop, all for a £1 real value for money.

It would be great if they could bring them both back or a combination of the two.