samsmum

Hi Chocki I was in the same position about 18 months ago - my hba1c was up to 79 so was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. at the age of 49 - 3 stone overweight and not active - I was determined to get rid of that label, so followed a low carb diet, lost weight and got fit ... my hba1c 3 months later was back within normal limits and has stayed that way (39). its not easy, just depends how much you want to sort it out! I walked the 3 miles to work and back every day, then took up cycling - but I have arthritis which has impacted on my exercise levels while the weather has been bad. but hba1c still normal. its all about lifestyle change ... good luck!! you can do it!!

where do they earn £30k?? ive been qualified for 27+ years, currently work full time as a staff nurse in the nhs and don't earn £30k!!!. its not just about the pay - the staffing levels are dangerous (1 nurse to care for 12 patients!?), the support is minimal and the unpaid overtime is ridiculous!! I once did 5 long days in a row due to sickness 8am-6pm and didn't get a break on any of those days ... that's a rare occurrence, but I regularly work those shifts and don't get my full lunch break, work over past my finish time by 10 minutes or so ... that's the norm for most nurses on the wards. we have seen a cut in our unsocial hours payments, a huge cut in what we can claim in tax allowances (its now a basic £60/yr), and a massive rise in the yearly re-registration fee (from £30 a year to £120). I agree with striking, didn't use to - buts its more about nurses venting to the govt that we are fed up of what they are doing to us ... there are many nurses who wouldn't strike and we wouldn't leave patients uncared for. A couple of years ago the radiographers striked ... but all urgent and essential xrays, scans etc were done with virtually no impact on patient care.

3 miles there and 3 miles back ... just started cycling thanks to the salary sacrifice/cycle to work scheme (NHS). downside is there a hill either end (ecclesfield to northern general hosp) which can be trying as im 50 years old and not a spring chicken any longer! other downside is the shower/changing facilities at the northern are pretty crap ... I used to walk/run every day to work and back, so an upside is that cycling is much quicker - walk takes 45 mins, run 30 mins, cycling takes 15!

I don't enjoy walking either, however I do it out of necessity as I cant afford to run my car or pay bus fares .. its 3 miles to work and 3 miles home and ive done it every day for the past year or so .. not liking it is an excuse not a reason. get yourself some decent headphones/earphones and music to listen to, plug in and go. If you get out walking around your area you will come across lots of people to chat to - I now do a short detour on my way to work to talk to the dogwalkers, most are very friendly! You will also start to see the best blackberry/elderberry bushes .. soon be time to pick to make jam/cordials/wine .. always a cheap way of packing out your pantry on the cheap. You might also find things people have dropped .. ive picked up money - usually coins but those £5 notes spring out of peoples pockets on a regular basis!, valid bus passes (the weekly card ones - will help you get out of the house) and a friends son picks up the thousands of discarded scratchcards that seem to litter every street around here only to find they have winnings on them! only £1 or £2 but hes picked up around a dozen or so and it all adds up. On my walk past my local Asda I womble receipts people leave in trolleys and do the price comparison thing on their website .. had myself lots of free shops on those!! the best one I found was worth over £6, and I regularly (ie monthly) do a £20 shop with them .. its easy to find receipts as the lazy folks just drop them on the floor or leave them in the bottom of their trolleys .. Get yourself signed up to the websites that do surveys/freebie trials .. interesting walk to the delivery depot to pick up your parcels!! Due to having zero money, I also grow a lot of my own veg .. having a wander round the local allotments you get chatting to people and some are more than happy to swap/share seedlings .. you can even get very cheap allotments if that's something youd be interested in? Freegle sometimes has people posting stuff they need help with .. worth a look? plus the amount of stuff people now post as 'wanted' is amazing - good way to get chatting to people if you have something they need, good way to network and meet people. As others have said, lots of opportunities to get out of the house with volunteering ... homeless charities will always accept help. good luck

ive got two boys in y11 doing gcse's and im more than happy with the teaching, support and effort put in by the school ... its way off being a perfect school but I think inadequate is a bit strong. All parents were aware of the inspection too as we were all invited to submit feedback to the inspectors, as do all schools.

my outdoor tom plants got battered in the winds a couple of weeks ago and had lots of green toms on them - as the plants were so badly damaged I had to pick them. had them all on a tray on the windowsill and they are slowly ripening!! had about 20 ripen over the last couple of weeks. only had to chuck one away that had a tiny slug hidden on it. still got a couple of dozen small to medium sized toms to ripen

what age range are members? im 48 and would hate to be the oldest there ...

Hi, sounds great - do we need to book or can we just turn up? also, what do we need to wear? - footwear as well as clothing? thanks

I live at the top end of yew lane and our power has gone out about half a dozen times over the past 4 days ... nothing else since early hours of xmas day though, and when it did go off it was only for a few minutes at a time. amusing to see the kids baffled as to why the games console died though ... :hihi:

we have a couple of Japanese acers, they are still quite small and one of them had dreadful mildew. when we enquired at the garden centre the guy said the leaves would fall off and it may be the year after next before they come back ... did you have any mildew last year or early this year?

went to screen 7 IMAX on weds to see the new james bond film ... very comfy and roomy seats. no works going on when we were there (well it was the 11.30pm screening). however, the low spotlights flickered all the way through the film which was a bit off putting when the film was at a dark bit ... bit off topic, but is it usual when they show films that late to miss all the trailers out? it was due to start at 11.30, but didn't start til 11.45 and there was only the trailer to the new star wars movie before the film started ...

ah thanks for your replies, interesting reading!!

just wonder what peoples thoughts/experiences of this were? we have recently taken up tenancy of a large allotment (300sqyds with water) for £112/yr. im a member of several allotment/growing forums, and in comparison to the rest of the country, Sheffield council allotment tennents pay a heck of a lot more than anywhere else. across the country, allotment tenants were gobsmacked at what sheffielders pay for their allotments - the most I have come across is about £35/yr. Had a chat with the local allotment society shop chap on Saturday and he said that allotment rents in sheffield had quadrupled in the last year or so, and many local allotment societies were concerned it would put people off taking up plots, however was pleased to know that several plots had been taken up recently so tenants weren't being put off. perhaps this is due to ignorance on our part? I was a bit surprised it was £112/yr but figured this was the standard rent and was comparable to the rest of the country. are tenants aware of the enormous cost compared with the rest of the country? what are peoples experiences of the rents and provision of water services? does anyone have any comments or thoughts? is £112/ry good value in your experience? sue

that's the one, its just overgrown with grass and rather uneven so we are hopeful it will only take us a week or so to get it sorted. think it was the lady at 17 we said hello to (we were trying to find out where the water thingy was). Hoping to have the tenancy back by next week as we are off work all week so can use the time to really blitz it. Sue

well we got an offer from the allotments office today!! been and had a look, and its seriously overgrown but we are going to take it ... cant wait to get started! ---------- Post added 06-09-2015 at 22:44 ---------- Hi Becky, think we used to work together at the N! do you not have the allotment any more? someone we worked with has one on the same place still ... be nice to see you again if you are around! sue xx ---------- Post added 06-09-2015 at 22:46 ---------- we are taking the one down from the fire, went and had a look yesterday - was It you we said hello to? Im dropping the forms off at meersbrook tomorrow so as soon as we get that tenancy we will be there with some heavy duty strimmers and hedge cutters ... sue