Taylor and Emmet Solicitors is reportedly one of the most successful law firms in South Yorkshire and the north east part of Derbyshire; it has, apparently, retained this title for over 130 years. The law firm prides itself on delivering high quality legal advice to both private and business clients and, as a result, it now has a number of offices located across the region. The Sheffield office is located on Arundel Gate, neighbouring the O2 Academy. This year the firm had extensive renovations carried out in an effort to maintain their noteworthy position, as they have invested in opening new offices, utilising up-to-date technology and expanding their geographical location. The company’s overall goal is ‘to be the law firm of choice in the region’.
After a random night of talking to strangers in a pub on karaoke night, myself and Soul ended up back at my place eager for some exploring. Since we’d been out earlier; scouting around before we hit the pub, we had a good idea that a new rooftop might be on the cards. So, we quickly packed our tripods and a couple of cameras into a bag, grabbed a few beers for the journey, and set off into the night. When we initially arrived, the 02 Academy was heavy with partygoers and pissheads, and the local pub next door to the solicitors was closely guarded at its entrance by a mob of shady looking characters, veiled by the dark cloud of cigarette smoke they were discharging. We waited for what felt like an eternity, contemplating something philosophical, until the pub finally closed its doors for the night. We hastily ascended up the side of the scaffolding, and managed to squeeze ourselves through a gap in the sheeting a few floors up from ground level. Seconds later, however, and I mean, quite literally, seconds after we’d managed to get onto the scaffolding platforms, a group of people staggered onto the street below us. The snippet of conversation that drifted up to our prying ears went something like this:
Woman: “I gotta get off the fuckin’ street Gav, I don’t want the police to catch me smoking this again do I?”
After a random night of talking to strangers in a pub on karaoke night, myself and Soul ended up back at my place eager for some exploring. Since we’d been out earlier; scouting around before we hit the pub, we had a good idea that a new rooftop might be on the cards. So, we quickly packed our tripods and a couple of cameras into a bag, grabbed a few beers for the journey, and set off into the night. When we initially arrived, the 02 Academy was heavy with partygoers and pissheads, and the local pub next door to the solicitors was closely guarded at its entrance by a mob of shady looking characters, veiled by the dark cloud of cigarette smoke they were discharging. We waited for what felt like an eternity, contemplating something philosophical, until the pub finally closed its doors for the night. We hastily ascended up the side of the scaffolding, and managed to squeeze ourselves through a gap in the sheeting a few floors up from ground level. Seconds later, however, and I mean, quite literally, seconds after we’d managed to get onto the scaffolding platforms, a group of people staggered onto the street below us. The snippet of conversation that drifted up to our prying ears went something like this:
Woman: “I gotta get off the fuckin’ street Gav, I don’t want the police to catch me smoking this again do I?”
Gav: “Nah, probably not. You’re still on the street though”.
Woman: “Ya twat. I only need it for medicinal reasons, yeah”.
Gav: “Yeah, yeah. Me too”.
Woman: “Yeah, so like I was saying, right, I had to break up with him. He was decent alright, but he showed me his fuckin’ gun”.
Gav: “A gun!?” (laughs)
Woman: “I can’t be getting involved with that shit right now… You got a light Gav? Gav? Gav, I said have ya got a fuckin’ light?”
Gav: “Yeah”.
Moments later, a potent waft of weed met us up on the scaffolding. It was pretty strong. We continued to linger in silence, and as we waited for the rest of the group to spark up I remember briefly thinking to myself, as I reviewed the moment silently, I hoped the ‘gun’ was code for something else. It wasn’t long until the group moved on, and as soon as they had we made for the ladders which we hoped would take us to the top of the building. Indeed they did, and we were able to take in the views of the city from yet another different angle. It’s certainly not the highest rooftop in Sheffield, but from our vantage point we were able to get some of the city’s iconic buildings into a couple of our shots.
Explored with Soul.
1: Park Hill Flats and Beyond
2: Sheffield City Centre
3: The Three Towers
4: St. Paul's Tower
5: 02 Academy
6: Arundel Gate
7: The Towers by Moonlight
8: St. Pauls Closeup
9: The City of Sheffield
10: The Town Hall and Church Tower
11: Starry Night
