How does ROTHERHAM town centre recover?

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I went to Rotherham
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Welcome to my Channel,

My name is James and I live full time in my tiny van, however this is not just a van life channel. I enjoy travel, food and drink and making videos 🙂
When I turned 50 I decided I’d had enough of the rat race and working long hours just to pay rent and bills, life was passing me by and I needed a drastic change.

FAQ

Where is Helen?
Helen has a responsible full time job and two children so unfortunately she can’t join me on every trip. I really wish she could.

What equipment do you use?
My vlogging camera is a GoPro Hero 9 but I also use my pixel 6a phone and Lumix G80 camera for other footage
For editing, I used Premiere Pro on an old laptop but I’m saving to buy a more powerful computer.

Do you have children?
Yes I have a 6yr old daughter who lives with her mum but I see her quite a lot. I don’t usually put her on the vlogs and if I do, I block out her face for privacy reasons. I also have a grown up son.

How do you fund your lifestyle?
I don’t need as much to live these days since going full time van life but I receive a small percentage of income from the ads that YouTube put on the videos.

Why the sponsored videos?
I only accept sponsorship from companies I use and trust, this is my fulltime job and my income, it’s how I support my family. (I have Patreon if you prefer videos with no ads).

How do I contact you?
Please contact me here: james@bythecurb.co.uk

Hey I hope you’re all all right can I just thank you for all your comments in the last video uh when I ask you about what sort of content you want and I think it’s almost unanimous that people are getting a bit fed up with sort of depressing towns and as

Somebody described it poverty porn there’s a lot of people doing it and there’s people doing it better than I can so I’m going to try and be a lot more upbeat and do nicer places which creates a dilemma for this video because I’m in rotheram and the reason I’ve come here

Is because a subscriber contacted me and they said that they came back to Rotherham they used to live in Rotherham and they come back for a look round after a long time and they said it was upsetting at how bad it’s got and I thought well I know it is bad

But is it is it that bad so I thought I’d come and have a look a lot of my family live here my Grandma had an antique shop in rodam town center I’ll show you that my dad had his first shop here not his first shop he had one

Of his shops here which I worked in and the ran people are absolutely lovely so I thought we’d have a look around and let’s try and be positive about it if that’s possible so I’m starting off here in Clifton Park and this was a Victorian crew ation because Rin was a very

Industrial town there was steel works and Mining so this was built 1890s not built but sort of created as a recreational area for the local community now it’s still winter in the middle of the week so this place is closed at the moment but there’s a big

Sort of like mini fun fair my daughter loves it here and my nephew they absolutely love it there’s a a mini roller coaster there’s a big pirate ship that’s new is the pirate ship lots of little rides and you buy tokens and it’s really reasonably priced

As well you’ve got crazy golf there what we’ve just gone past you’ve got a play area here for toddlers then you’ve got the the normal sort of park rides here I tell you if you come here on a Sunday Saturday or Sunday in summer it is busy oh you’ve got the paddling pool

There as well it’s a lovely area with fountains and stuff as we used to call it the ping pool is this sort of skate park thing here where all teenagers come and hang around doing the stunts it’s really funny I brought my daughter here on a

Little pink bike and no on a pink scooter and there were all big kids all posy and I’m like out the way big kids like pushing me daughter through she thought it were brilliant and of course at the main entrance to the park we’ve got the Museum 60 miles of strike T South C field at the cost of 20,000 cups we in for a t anyway some stage St but we didn’t expect it on S own back and we know3 were coming M18 and M1 then we knew that this would turn the start so that was the

Museum and it’s reminded me there’s an exhibition ition about the 40th anniversary of the start of the miner strike and in there there was a a model of the or Reeve cing plant I’ll uh I’ll talk about that in a bit cuz I might go up there depending on how much time I’ve

Got but what a a sad Affair that whole was so also in there we’ve got Nelson the lion which has been there for years and years really famous it’s like part of rotheram is Nelson and the lion and then there’s some uh rocking on Potter now if you remember a couple of Vlogs

Back I talked about I was at the Kil Rockingham Kiln and I talked about my love of Rockingham Potter and how I collect it I’ve not got that much I’ve got five or six pieces and in there you’ve got a famous what it’s called the rhinoceros vase absolutely beautiful and

Probably virtually Priceless well not but it’s you know wonderful thing so I’ve come around the back of the Museum here and we’ve got some Roman sort of ruins because it was I don’t think I think these might have been put here after yeah they were they were from

Temple but rather him but it was a Roman settlement I’ve got a vanilla mustache I’d like to send a shout out to why foods for supporting me in this video cuz as you know I’m traveling all over the country and I’m always on the go trying to film these Vlogs so I’m like

Getting I’m grabbing like bacon sandwiches and McDonald’s and stuff and it’s not healthy so these are really good they’re like a meal replacement and they contain all the vitamins you need all the macronutrients and minerals and everything uh so I’ve always got these in me in my rock sack and they’re great

This one is vanilla flavor and it’s very tasty if you want to give them a go uh there’s a link in the description off flash it up on screen and you get 10% off to give them a try so yeah thank you very much to W Foods so what do you

Think of that beaver’s Lea Flats built in the late 60s early’ 70s 13 floors 48 dwellings brutalist design of stacked Simplicity it’s interesting isn’t it and it’s a major part of the rotheram skyline now as you know I hate brutalist architecture for some reason I like that and I was thinking

About it earlier I was trying to think why I like it and I think it’s Nostalgia it’s got to be Nostalgia because I sort of spent a lot of time my grandma just lived up the road and we spent a lot of time around here and in

Clifton Park so it reminds me of childhood a bit so that’s why I like it if it was anywhere else I’d hate it but there there’s a lot of brutalist architecture in ROM even new tesor bloody horrible I’ll show you that if I’ve got chance so if you’re from ROM

You’ll remember there used to be Cooper’s toys there one of the most famous shops in ROM and I spent many an hour in there when I Were Young when I were a young lad it’s not changed at All that book Shop’s been there for years it’s like a proper Market that is it it’s very quiet and it’s changed a lot a lot of room is shot God it was so different in’ 70s This Market Cafe hey wol how long you been here Market Cafe 15 year 15 year I’ve not been back for years I’m doing a video about R room trying to be positive about it cuz it gets a lot of bad steak don’t it so I’ll have I’ll have a cup of tea

To take away if that’s all right I just got myself a cup of tea front Cafe £12 when you think that one in firey were £75 and that was from Market Cafe oh this must be the Bricker brat Market I was chatting to a subscriber

Actually who come up and talk to me in the market he’s got a stall in there and he says he watches me Channel and uh apparently they’re doing a lot they they’re regenerating the whole I’m mean that Indo Market’s not been touched for for years and apparently they’re doing the outdoor one

And putting a big roof on or the re I think there’s a roof on already and they’re going to move them all out under there while they regenerate the uh indoor market and then move them back in there so that’s a positive so let’s wander down here so yeah

B&M it goes all the way around FR back and that used to be Woolworths cracking shot Woolworths right we’re going to have a look at this uh sculpture here cuz it’s very controversial they’ve just put that up I think I believe it moves and I think it’s been half funded

By rham Council and half funded by is it Arts England it’s a bit of a monstrosity I think they’ve used local uh Foundry apprentices at the local Foundry to sort of mold it all and and build it but it’s not very nice is it I mean it’s

And that’s right in front of Minster there so you’ve got the front of B&M there and that beautiful building the mock chuda there that one Marks and Spencers I think there used to be some big shops on here you’d gotten next and at Dorothy Perkins and that was British Out Foundation that

Used to be wh Smiths look at that it’s horrible building right next to that now this is High Street this is a very old Street a lot of history fantastic Street this used to be these Shops look nice look at that monstrosity look at that behind it next to the oldest building in

ROM God when were that it’ll tell you outside built 1470 Masons Mason’s Jewelers obviously is not Mason Jewelers anymore it’s a tattoo uh parlor shop but that was there for years that clock face was very famous that was my dad’s shop it’s a coffee shop now that was my

Dad’s shop and I worked in there we used to put all this furniture outside it used to be really busy up and down here that was a flower shop that was a butcher and in here in the center and I’ll flush a picture up that was my grandma’s

Shop back in the day look at it now what a wonderful building my uncle had the shops and my dad had these shops as well were used for storage there was a what was it like a key cutting in locks Smith’s place called liels in the corner there were fruit and veg and

There were a sandwich shop here and I used to get the best crispy bacon sandwiches from there look at it my grandma spent years sat in that very Corner she had a counter she had all a Bricker Brack and everything at window and it would like a bit of a meeting place for

Family we’ve got Rother and Minster here which again looks it’s a lovely church this and it’s shot there was a building here and they’ve demolished that there was uh the ringer Bell’s Cafe on the corner and there were a sandwich shop there were a book shop there were a sandwich shop

Called grafton’s travel agents but they’ve demolished all that for a bit of green space so that building ahead there that’s still out that used to be the Halifax Bank I think and I’ve got a funny story to tell you about that years years and years ago I was parked on The

Pedestrian Zone about there I was parked up I don’t know what I were doing fortunately it was a Sunday and I’d left hand breake off and car had run down and it’d run into one of these uh columns or something knacked car up but can you

Imagine if them columns AR been there to have gone through doors at bank it’ have been like a heist they’ve knocked that down there as well obviously that used to be uh it’s all coming back now Hillard remember Hill ards lillards well that boat by Tes Goes look at that that was the art deco Cinema then it was the I think you can just see the the signs it was the Gara Bingo as well and there’d be concerts and all sorts in there wow that looks like it’s burnt that burnt through it’s been a

Fire I’m not saying any comments on this I’m not going to be negative It’s really weird that there’s a lot of these uh restaurants that seem to have burned down for some reason I wonder if there’s a firebook going around r you what there only three in is it three yeah yeah I thought they were one in staff one upor there’s one

In W field isn’t there yeah yeah yeah yeah a lot of burnt out buildings what’s all that about well I can tell you what it’s about because those people on the bridge I was speaking to I didn’t film them but I was having a chat with them off camera

And apparently the Indian restaurant I went past it was all burnt out they were growing and it all caught fire so that’s what caused that look at this building is that beautiful I seem to remember there used to be a fountain in the middle there and that was boots this is a grand

Building I’m going to have a look I think Argos was here oh yeah Argos is shot it’s going to parkgate retail world that’s something I need to mention actually because the biggest problem for Rotherham is that you’ve got parkgate retail World about a mile up the road and you’ve got

Meall about a mile the other way and they’ve been the death of this town that clock’s being there since time of Memorial and of course you got Tesco which is a hideous building but it’s just fitting in with surroundings there’s are lots of horrible buildings in R and there’s some

Beautiful ones as well but a lot of this depressing Stuff I that used to be Burton back in the day right this is the last bit really and this is wellgate which used to be a nice area a lot of independent shops let I promised it weren’t going to going to be a depressing video I promised I was just

Going to do positives about rotheram but when it comes to the town center you’ve seen it you’ve seen for yourselves haven’t you so what I’ve done is I’ve come on a little drive a few miles out of the Town Center to the wonderful Village of Wentworth and it’s a sort of detox for

Rotherham Town Center because you don’t believe this is in rotheram have a look at this that’s Wentworth woodh house and it’s one of the largest residences in Europe it started off as a a fairly modest uh country residence in the early 17th century but then it was expanded in

The 18th century and it was home to the uh Wentworth and Fitz William families the Marist of Rockingham there was a lot of damage caused by mining because the guy the Marquis you have to correct me if I’m wrong on some of this he was obviously

Very wealthy and there was it was in mining so there were mining right underneath the house and there is a lot of subsidence apparently Now The Marquis of Rockingham had a an interest in sort of Roman architecture and statues and there’s actually a famous statue inside of a Roman general called

Germanicus I think I think I’ve pronounced that right and it was by the same sculpture who modeled some of the statues for the Trevy Fountain I don’t think it’s open I think you can only go on special Private Tours but we’ll have a Wonder we’ll see we’ll see what what we can uh Find so you can certainly see the ran influence in there unfortunately it’s you can’t really go in you can’t go around the house you can book Private Tours and there’s the coffee shop but what I’ve done is I’ve spoke to a lady on reception and I’m trying to set up a

Private tour for just us lot and we’ll get to see parts of the house that doesn’t normally get seen that get seen on the tours that’ be fantastic so fingers crossed I’m going to keep working on that and I’ll Chase it up absolutely beautiful house would have thought this would

Rotheram it’s not all negative Ram you know we went to Clifton Park well I’ve not told you by the way it’s the day after because after I went into town yesterday I would a bit I a bit upset and I didn’t feel like vlogging I’ll tell you things that

Affect me so I thought right I’ll come back in morning with a fresh sort of uh a fresh head on so yeah I think rotheram has a lot to offer there’s other places there there roach chabby it’s a bit too far away absolutely beautiful old ruins you’ve got yesterday I talked

About the the or Reeve uh cooking plant where there was all those terrible riots in the’80s but that now has been completely redeveloped and it’s the advanced manufacturing Park and you’ve got like McLaren and uh Rolls-Royce and companies like that there so that’s quite good I’m just going to have a walk

Down to one of my favorite churches and it’s been on some of my other videos but I do love it it’s a a bit foggy today so it’s not best for filming but it’s Wentworth Church you need to come to the Village of Wentworth so you’ve got the Wentworth

House and if you book on one of those tours then go to Garden Center if that’s your thing it’s not my thing walk around the village a beautiful Village and some good pubs and then walk down this path to the church anyway I hope you enjoyed this

Video bit of a mixed bag for you uh if you did like it please like and don’t forget to subscribe if you’re not already subscribed I’m just going to have a moot around this uh graveyard because I’m a bit strange like that and I will see you in the next video which

Trying to think that might have Helen in if it’s not the next one it’ll be the one after but she’s coming up soon in one of the upcoming videos all right s SA A