Favourite Things: Hard work, ice cream and a lifelong love of Sheffield Wednesday

Mark Staniland, aged 52, has just become joint managing director at Airmaster air conditioning and mechanical services. His first '˜proper job' was furnace repairer at Bradwell Electrical in Attercliffe. Times were tough in a single-parent family after his dad left and Mark remembers having a paper round from 11 to earn necessary pennies. A bright spot in young Mark's life was Granelli's ice cream. His Grandfather Staniland married Sylvina Granelli, setting up a business selling fruit and veg in the old outdoor market, moving into Sheaf Market when it was built next to Granelli's Café. They set up Sheffield's first ice cream business off Park Square, behind the famous sweetshop and Granelli's. Mark lives in Killamarsh with wife Karen, daughter Hannah and son Daniel.
Mark Staniland is the new joint managing director at Airmaster air conditioning and mechanical services and his favourite place is Hillsborough as he is an avid Owls fan
Picture Dean AtkinsMark Staniland is the new joint managing director at Airmaster air conditioning and mechanical services and his favourite place is Hillsborough as he is an avid Owls fan
Picture Dean Atkins
Mark Staniland is the new joint managing director at Airmaster air conditioning and mechanical services and his favourite place is Hillsborough as he is an avid Owls fan Picture Dean Atkins

Sheffield Wednesday

I can never forget the first time I watched them at the infamous Boxing Day Massacre in the late 1970s when I was about 14 or 15 and they beat Sheffield United. I went with a friend from school – my dad had left home and he was a big United fan – so I guess I rebelled then got hooked. I’ve had a season ticket on and off for the last 10 years. I get to most home matches, but now Airmaster has expanded so much down south, I do miss games occasionally. I’ve been taking my son Daniel – now 26 – since he was three or four; fortunately he has now stopped working weekends, so he’s got his own season ticket and we can go together. Football takes up a lot of my time, but my wife’s got used to it – she’s very understanding. Apart from when they’re playing away and we’re due to go on holiday the morning after on the early flight.

Millhouses Park &

Granelli’s ice cream van

As a child, I remember the big treat was getting on the bus from our home in Norfolk Park to explore Sheffield’s wonderful green parks – Rivelin Valley, even as far as Bakewell – to feed the ducks. My favourite as a kid was the walk to Millhouses Park where I got free ice cream from my Uncle Peter’s van! My estranged family on my dad’s side were the Granelli’s ice cream family: my Gran came from Italy with my Uncle Peter, my Gran’s brother. Like so many youngsters in the 60s and 70s, I have many happy memories with my mum and sister at the free lido outdoor pool, paddling pools and boating lake. I think we should be so proud of our green spaces within 20 minutes’ drive of the city centre, how many big cities have facilities like ours?

People

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I never fail to be impressed by our region’s hardworking, direct and honest people who tell me what they think and say good morning when they pass you on the street. I speak as I find, it’s a Yorkshire thing. My neighbours talk to me up here, but no one does when I’m on business down south.

Henderson’s & fish cakes

I can put Henderson’s Relish on anything – this spectacular sauce results in the best fish and chips or meat and potato pie. Just tasty! Tony’s in Mosborough serve the best fishcakes, closely followed by Shaws in Killamarsh. They are the best I’ve ever found. Tony cooks his chips in beef dripping for that proper taste and either his fish or fishcakes are fantastic. Can I just clarify as a purist – proper fish cakes are two slices of potato with fish in between, battered then fried. Mashed potato mixed with fish in breadcrumbs is a rissole!

Central location

It’s fantastic to be so central – and so near to the Peaks, of course. Sheffield is at the heart of the motorway network with the M1 and A1 right on our doorstep. You can be at either coast in under two hours. I like the east coast: Scarborough, Whitby, Filey.

When the kids were little I used to take them to the Blackpool Illuminations, now it’s more likely to be the football-themed Shankly Hotel in Liverpool where I took my daughter shopping for her birthday.

Matlock and Bakewell

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My wife loves shopping but since she works at Meadowhall, she prefers to go further afield. We love Bakewell for its quaint pubs and plenty to do when the kids were little.

Matlock suits everyone in the family – for me it’s a link back to my childhood. I went, then took my kids, now I take my grandson Charlie who is almost two.

York

I know it’s not Sheffield, but it is Yorkshire and I just love it. Once you’re off the main street with all the usual retailers you can stroll through the world-famous Shambles cobbled streets of quaint shops, it’s such a different experience with a real old-world feel. So much more relaxed, not the same hustle and bustle. One day I’ll face queueing for Betty’s!

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