The Milestone, Sheffield

The differences between city and country living are almost incomparable. In the country a mans house is his haven, a place which he fills with all the resources he needs for day to day living. For some its a prize and a showpeice that he makes constant improvements to in order to better himself. As the most expensive item someone buys their house acts as an ultimate possession to show what a man has acheived. In a city centre people do the majority of their living outside their home, because the city is filled with everything they need, so their living space is more minimal. If he wants to buy bread, for example. he can go to the bakery, so there is no need for a breadmaker. He can buy his food as and when he needs it, so there is no need to fill his fridge with stock for the whole weeke. His home acts as a simple comfortable retreat where he can go for a good sleep and cook a good meal. This, I think is why city and coutry restaurants are so different. Probably the reason cumbria, for example has more michelin starred restaurants than Sheffield, Manchester and leeds combined. Most of the Sheffield restaurants are bargain buckets where you can have a large meal for cheap. Unlike coutryside restaurants they rely less on reputation and regulars because a larger amount of customers come from passers by. This brings me to the milestone.

Unlike most of Sheffield's other down to earth, comfort food eateries the Milestone is going for something different. Here I will review the food. Because of the lack of higher end restaurants in Sheffield the milestone has developed 'sun shines out its arse' reputation. It's one of the only Sheffield restaurants which pushes the boundaries and shouts about it. It's in the redeveloped modernised area of Sheffield called Kelham Island, filled with old factories that have been renovated into trendy office blocks. The setting for the restaurant is perfect, old high rise buildings and cobbled streets. The restaurant uses produce from local allotment owners, a novel idea and great way of sourcing local produce and developing links within the community. I have eaten in the restaurant 3 times to date and one point I have always found odd about it is there is a restaurant and pub run within the same building. The pub is on the ground floor and the restaurant is upstairs, run by the same kitchen and waiting staff. This makes the whole experience very confusing, as you don't know which menu you're getting. There is a lunch and dinner menu for the pub, an early bird menu and a dinner menu for the restaurant. I think this makes things much more confusing, and it would be better to just have one menu for upstairs and downstairs, lunch and dinner. Every time I have eaten there the upstairs restaurant has been closed, why?

The last time eating there I was disappointed at the poor value for money. It was average food for expensive prices worded on the menu to make it sound swankey and different. But then again I was used to cheap prices for the rest of the city and after going elsewhere have realised they are perfectly reasonable for england as a whole. So I felt the restaurant needed a third visit. I sat down and ordered the plaice with celeriac remoulade and brown butter sauce.The plaice came whole including bones so you had to go through the laborious process of de-boning it yourself, however the plaice was tenderly cooked and well seasoned. The plaice came with a spoonful of red onion pickle on the side, I'm guessing this is the celeriac remoulade? And the brown butter sauce? oblivious to where that was. As the dish came with no veg apart from the pickle I ordered a side salad. This lacked creativity! just leaves, no tomato, onion, oil, vineger, nothing. All over what would I award the restaurant?

Service: 8

Venue: 9

Food: 6.5

Local produce? Yes lots!

http://www.the-milestone.co.uk/

Rip Big L,... gone but still inspiring people through his music

So... I’ve been working in this school lately, only about 3 weeks and only for one morning each week so I’m not fully familiar with it yet and have definitely not got to know the playground politics. But I know its considered a very rough school. Although the kids misbehave they seem to still have fair values and do what they’re told. But its kind of taken me back to when I was that age and used to be massively into hiphop. I used to listen to the glorifications of the gangster lifestyle and kind of loose myself in it, as an escape from my middle class rural upbringing. And it kind of set me off thinking, after one kid had been saying in class that he didn’t give a shit about maths because he was going to be a basketball player, that although people such as dizzee rascal, who have found school a waste of time, through their music give kids a lot of vision, which is positive, often students edge their bets on being able to make it so don’t have their basic education to fall back on because they believe it’s a waste of time. Big L is a prime example of somebody who has clearly risen from rags to riches and is/was a role model for young kids, and makes them feel they can achieve something spectacular but kind of puts them out of touch with the real world, as it is only the lucky ones that make it, because they are all trying to strive for something that you would have to be very lucky to achieve. After thinking this I came across his song street stuck, and every lyric rang true to what I was thinking, here are the lyrics:

Yo where I'm from it ain't cookies and cream
There's a lot of peer pressure growin up as a young teen
You never know when you gonna get wet
Cause mad clowns be catchin wreck with a tec just to get a rep
Instead of cool friends, they'd rather hang with male thugs
Instead of goin to school, they'd rather sell drugs
It's best to go the right route and not the wrong one
Because it's gonna catch up witchu in the long run
Brothers be on the corners, actin stupid, gettin lifted
They life is twisted, and most of them are quite gifted
In other words, they got TALENT; but they'd rather sell cracks
and bust gats and run the streets actin violent
To them it's all about hittin skinz and makin some easy green
Cause that's all they show you on the TV screen
All they care about is a buck or bustin a sweet nut
They don't give a (WHAT?) cause they street struck

Before the rap contract, I was sellin crack
Stay strapped with a Mac, I was into alla that
I started rappin and got nice as hell
If it wasn't for this I might be doin life in jail
And some of my peeps are still in the game sellin 'caine
If that's what you gotta do to maintain, go 'head and do your thang
But with the cash profit make an investment
And try not to go to the grave like the rest went
Cause you can be rich with crazy loot, own a house and nine cars
What good is that, if you're dead, or behind bars?
And yo it's not even funny
I've seen a lot of my peers give up they careers for some fast money
They could've been boxers, ballplayers or rap singers
Instead they bank robbers and crack slingers
Aiyyo they used to be legit kids, now they corrupt
They had dreams but gave em up cause they street struck

I still chill with my peeps in the streets; but most of the time
I'm in the crib, writin rhymes to some dope beats
Or either callin up some freaks to bone
But word up, I try to leave the streets alone
But it's crazy hard kid, in other words, it's spooky
The streets be callin me, like the crack be callin Pookie
It ain't a dumb joke, listen to this young folk
Cause where I'm from -- you can choke from the gunsmoke
Stay off the corners; that might be your best plan
Before you catch a bullet that was meant for the next man
Or end up with a deep cut
Or relaxin on a hospital bed, from bein street struck

Maybe it isn’t directly similar but can definitely be related. Rest in peace Big L you live on through your music.

check the tune here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwff61MTOUo&feature=PlayList&p=08AA3657426DF3A1&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=35

Buena Vista Social Club –so I dont really know alot about this band. I remember watching a film about them when I was about twelve in one of those independant theatres/cinemas that middle aged middle class folk such as my parents love. The film was a documentary about getting a group of old school cubans together to play together as a kind of reunion gig and record a cd. I’ve had the cd for a few years and its fucking brilliant. Has that great vibe to it that makes you think of men in straw smoking big cigars that is great to chill or drive to. Check it out.

Johnny Flynn –many think of folk music as the music revolving around the kayleighs put on in village halls where the only young people you’d see turning up were strange folk wearing wellingtons and tie dye t-shirts with personalised tankards hanging off their belts. I love these events and have been to many at university over the years which probably explains why I am such a fan of Johnny Flynn. Johnny Flynn is one of the many trendy new young folk musicians emerging from around south west london donning checked flannel shirts and skinny jeans. I have his album “A Larum” and its full of absolutely cracking tunes. Playing in a traditional folk style Johnny looks like a teen heart throb and sings like a tortured wise old man. I would say check out his myspace but its just full of 30 second samples so you don’t really get a chance to listen to his whole songs. You can buy his album here:

www.amazon.com

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