A regular haunt of mine when visiting Sheffield was Rare and Racy on Devonshire Green. It was a second hand book and music shop which had a eclectic mix of stock, and was always playing fairly hardcore improv jazz when you went in. For many years it was on the route that I took that took in a number of bookshops and music shops and also a wonderful pub called the Red Deer. It's also one possible route between the GA HQ and the train station / city centre.
Jarvis Cocker was among the people who campaigned to save the shop when it was threatened with closure as part of the redevelopment of the Devonshire Green area. This has always been at the heart of cultural events, and I've seen quite a few bands there including John Martyn in a tent...
The redevelopment seems to have been delayed as the shop closed five years ago, and in 2020 it was still there. It's a reminder again of what we lose when regeneration happens, and what replaces it rarely has the same impact because what is lost is the community and the heritage which can't be 'built' in the same way. We are told this is the way to 'save the High Street' but the strategy for many years has been the opposite of that, and to remove people out to identikit malls. And as an Icelandic tour guide I once had quite rightly said: "Once you've seen a mall, you've seen 'em all..."
I've parked in that car park many times over the years by the way....
Comments