Visiting the Heart of Steel in Sheffield

Today I met up with my sister for the first time in a little while for a trip to Sheffield Meadowhall, to visit the Heart of Steel. We first heard of the British Heart Foundation's initiative for the Heart of Steel project after our Grandma's passing from heart disease last November, and we decided that together we would pay the fee to get her name engraved onto it. We came to this decision last Mother's Day, as we wanted to buy one last present for her - and I know that this would be something she never would have shut up about! Myself and my sister were very excited to see it for the first time, and to take lots of pictures for our mum who sadly couldn't come with us.

My sister and I took the direct train from Alfreton, as this meant we could meet up on the way and would be less hassle than Derby as Derby requires a change-over. Everything went swimmingly on the journey, and so we set off to find the Heart of Steel within the shopping centre. I felt quite shifty for having my camera out and often felt like I was going to be asked to "stop filming" in shops, but really I only had it out in preparation for the artwork.

It turned out that the Heart had been moved recently, up to Park Lane at the top of the centre near Debenhams, but it didn't take too long to find after referring to the interactive maps. On the way we saw the reference to the Man of Steel, which is an upcoming project linked to the Heart of Steel. Once the Heart is complete with engravings, sculptor Steve Mehdi plans to insert the heart into a steel man that will overlook Sheffield's skyline and motorway. This will not only be in memory of all the people whose names are engraved onto the heart, but also in memory of Sheffield's steel-workers.

After around three months of waiting for your engraving to take place, you get an email providing you with information of where to find it on the Heart as all the names are absolutely tiny! I anticipated that there might not be much phone signal in Meadowhall (although it actually seemed to be okay in the end) so I had saved all this information to my phone notes. The weird thing was that it turned out we had stood right next to the correct panel!

We genuinely loved coming to visit something that meant so much to us and our family. To others it may just be a steel man sat above the motorway, but we will know what it means to us, and that we helped BHF along the way. I used to volunteer for the BHF when I was at college and have supported them ever since, so I think it's great that they are continually finding new and inventive ways to fundraise. If you would like a name and date engraved onto the Heart of Steel, please donate here. It is a great way to honour and remember a loved one.