She has lived in her house in Crookes since 1979 and believes Sheffield is one of the nicest places in the world.

See www.sheffieldphil.org

Crookes

My favourite place in Sheffield is my home in Crookes, as it is such a peaceful place with very little noise, a lovely small garden and perfect neighbours. Yet all the wonderful facilities of Sheffield are barely ten minutes away.

I love music, theatre and good food and all these are within easy reach. A five-minute walk brings me to green space and the splendour of the hills which overlook the city.

City Hall

My next favourite place is probably the stage of Sheffield City Hall, where every few weeks or so I have the privilege of singing with the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, of which I am now chairman.

There are few finer and more exciting sensations in life than when a top-class orchestra such as the Hallé or the BBC Philharmonic play the first chords of a favourite work such as Handel's Messiah or Verdi's Requiem.

Singing in a choir with an orchestra is the ultimate in teamwork, as no-one can be a 'passenger' and everyone's contribution is necessary to the whole. I use Braille music and have to be very alert to listen carefully and not come in at the wrong time or tempo.

Sheffield University

The 'Sheffield Phil', as well as being Sheffield's premier choir, is an extremely friendly and sociable crowd and rehearsals in the university's arts tower and the very necessary post-rehearsal pint in the University Arms are both experiences I should deeply miss if I wasn't a member.

Therefore I would have to include both places in my list of favourites, though the arts tower is hardly the city's most aesthetically pleasing building and there are more atmospheric pubs – but where the Phil are hanging out, whether working or relaxing, is generally a good place to be.

Cultural centres

I am totally blind and one of the wonderful aspects of the Crucible Theatre is the fact that, wherever you are, you are always within good hearing distance of the stage, so it's easy to tell where the cast are and often what they are doing.

This is enhanced for many productions by touch tours and audio-description, which both fill in some of the visual stuff you can miss out on if you can't see it.

The City Museum in Weston Park, during its refurbishment, has done much to make the exhibitions as accessible as possible to all disabled groups of visitors. Many exhibits can be touched, or there are replicas, and there is plenty of audio around to build up an atmosphere.

I particularly like the oak tree that you can climb into and through, the tactile aerial plan of the city and the reconstructed butcher's shop.

In my role as a member of the city council's access liaison group, which champions the access interests of disabled people, I've had input into developments both at the museum and the present changes at the Crucible, so it's great to be able to enjoy, and introduce visiting friends to, the results of some of the suggestions I made.

Boardwalk

On a different cultural note, I love to enjoy a local ale and hear some great music at the Boardwalk. The wide variety of music featured there, plus great sound and a knowledgeable and attentive audience, makes this small venue the perfect place for listening to popular music.

Small wonder it was voted last year's number one music venue in South Yorkshire – and I counted it a privilege to hold my 50th birthday bash there.

Goodwin Sports Centre

Another favourite place is U-Sport at the University's Goodwin Sports Centre, where I enjoy exercising in the gym and particularly my swim in the 50-metre pool.

For an enthusiastic swimmer such a pool is pure joy and the staff are fantastic and always do everything they possibly can to make life easy – they always give me my own swimming lane so no-one gets in my way and I don't crash into anyone, which makes the whole experience much more relaxing and pleasant.

Rail station

Sheffield rail station is another place I really like to be, as it often signals the beginning, or end, of some of my happiest travel adventures.

These can be anything from catching the train to Manchester airport for a visit to one of many European cities that I love, a trip to London to visit a particular exhibition or theatre production, or just departing for a convivial weekend with friends.

As with the museum and Crucible, I have had input into the recent refurbishment and the access features – such as talking/Brailled lifts and tactile paving to indicate steps and platform edges – have made it very easy to use almost independently.

Restaurants

There are lots of really good places around the city. One thing I try to avoid is pretentiousness – I most like friendly, small and cheap if I can find it…

For fresh food which is ready quickly I'd nominate the Blue Moon near the Cathedral and for a more relaxed session that might take up the whole evening I'm very fond of Piccolo's in West Street – the second time I went in there they remembered exactly what I'd ordered the first time and I don't think it gets better than that.

The food is freshly cooked so can be made according to your own specification and, given this, is very reasonably priced.

Staff always have time to go through the menu (they don't currently provide Braille) and they achieve the perfect blend of being helpful without being patronising.

I like the atmosphere as people of all ages seem to be there and even when West Street is heaving on a Saturday night it is quite a haven of peace and civility.

52 bus route

My final favourite place has to be the section of the 52 bus route as it turns round the corner at the Old Grindstone pub and heads up on to Crookes. Every time I sense the bus taking this curve I rejoice inwardly because I know I'm nearly home; so if anyone ever sees me smiling to myself at this point in the journey you now know the reason – Crookes is a lovely place to call home and I can't imagine living anywhere else.

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