What is long and winding and lots of fun? Sheffield Supertram
If you haven’t had the privilege of riding Sheffield’s trams, I am truly sorry. Because you haven’t lived. Personally, I am the biggest fan of Sheffield Supertram. If Sheffield Supertram has a million fans, I’m one of them. If Sheffield Supertram has one fan, I am that one fan. If Sheffield Supertram has no fans it means I’m dead. And while I’m the truest and most loyal fan of Sheffield’s tram system, I don’t claim to have an encyclopedic knowledge of every stop. But I definitely have a strong enough connection to a few stops that I can confidently pick up on their vibe and say what society they would join in college.
Cathedral – Goth Society
via Google Maps
As I stand on the beautifully carved concrete platform of the Cathedral tram stop, I feel it whisper and tell me how much it feels the call of fervent rebellion and how much it wants to act against the dogmatic religiosity it is associated with. . As a result, if turned into a human, I can tell you truthfully that the Cathedral tram stop would run to join the Goth Society. Go ask yourself and see if you can hear it whispering back. Mind your own joke at Justin Welby’s expense, because for legal reasons I can’t tell you anything.
Sheffield Station – The Tab
Via @IanBeardsley90 on X
Although we’re not technically a society, I’m including The Sheffield Tab in this piece because we simply can’t be ignored. Writing for The Tab instantly gives you certified campus cool status, if I do say so myself. And I do. It makes us kindred spirits with Sheffield Station tram stop, because it really is the king of the BNOTN (Big Name On Tram Network).
West Street – Sociological Society
Via @JedKendray on X
Here is the logic. The West Street streetcar stop would be associated with the Sociological Society because I think sociology students spend 90 percent of their lives on West Street. Apparently they can’t study because what is sociology anyway? Never, I repeat, never ask this question to a sociology student because their head will explode due to the frictional force of their neurons moving at top speed trying to find an answer to this question. At the Uni of, they’ve come up with a delightfully cheeky name for themselves: “Soc Soc”. Woe to anyone who runs into them on their West Street rambles.
Meadowhall – Design Society
via Google Maps
Meadowhall tram stop is part of the interconnected marvel of technology and transport design known as the Meadowhall Interchange. A feat of human construction not seen since the days of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, with buses, trams (hush, no, they’re not just a boring and expensive version of buses) and even trains – was the Meadowhall Tramway. to stop the person, they would join the Design Society only to surround themselves with horrible, ego-boosting abuse. Similarly, the Neo-Neoclassical retail cathedral next to it, after which it is named, would probably win Meadowhall tram stop a few fans in the Architecture Society too.
University of Sheffield – Maths Society
Via @bcs_lovelace on X
Most college students couldn’t point out stops like Hollinsend on a map, and haven’t even been halfway there. But for obvious reasons, the very creatively named University of Sheffield tram stop is one of the tram stops that university students are most familiar with. Despite Hallamers, we basically see it every day. That’s why it’s completely and utterly boring. And it also looks boring. Of course, not every tram stop can be Meadowhall, Cathedral or even West Street in terms of aesthetic stimulation, but this stop takes boredom to the extreme. It’s so incredibly, titanically boring that the only thing worth noting about it is how boring it is. And so, sorry, that means it would join the Maths Society.
Arena – Finance Society
Via @JamesTGlossop on X
They say money makes the world go round. And it does. We need it to survive. It is the most important tool in almost all of our lives. And although I personally don’t want to be a part of it, the dull life of urban fliers staring at spreadsheets all day is the only thing keeping the economic juices flowing in a slowly declining Britain. So while I personally wouldn’t want to be stuck at one of the UK’s meh-inspiring provincial concert venues, it’s crucial for a part of Sheffield that would otherwise be devoid of almost anything. Which is a very economic mood.
Featured images via @@JamesTGlossop and @JedKendray on X