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Hi, I'm looking for an Italian tutor to teach me Italian on a 121 basis. Does anyone know of anybody that may be able to do this? Thanks

Also a school worth considering is Dronfield Henry Fanshawe. Though we currently live in the catchment for Newfield we chose to send our children to Dronfield. we live at Norton Lees but i'm aware that there are children from Heeley that go there too and there's a private bus that goes through Heeley, Norton Lees, Norton etc. Have a look at the school online, their GCSE results are very good. The headteacher is excellent.

Housing benefit won't cover an amount for a deposit but they may be referring to the councils Local Assistance scheme or the Discretionary Housing Payment fund.

And now its my turn to apologise for the late reply!!! Yes, it would be great to meet up as i've tried to bully all my friends into buying bikes but none of them appear to be listening. I've booked onto a Breeze ride this Friday which sets off from Endcliffe park. Im also hoping one of the Breeze ladies is going to sort out some guided rides for novice riders soon, so that should be interesting. Her idea is to build up the routes as the riders get more confident. My husband probably does know some good routes but as he likes a challenge when he's on his bike, i'm not so sure that he is the best person to ask. If you are interested though please send me a PM and we can arrange to meet at the cafe. And if anyone else is interested - the more the merrier.

Hi, My husband and I are co-owners of a cycling cafe on Abbeydale Road (Amici & Bici). The cycling theme was his idea as he is a very keen cyclist. I'm trying to get into the cycling theme so have just purchased a bike, i'm trying to get out with other people to build up my confidence (no chance of the hubby taking me out, he's too serious). So far I have been on one of the Breeze rides but it would also be nice to go out with others too. I've been running recently so I wouldn't say I was super fit but I have a reasonable level if fitness which I hope to improve with the cycling. Let me know if you are interested

I'm a landlord and I have also just launched a letting agency in Sheffield that uniquely specialises in letting to tenants on benefits. I spent over 20 years working in Sheffields benefit service so this does put me at an advantage as I understand the benefit regulations and how to avoid incurring overpayments of housing benefit (this can be a nasty surprise for any landlord). I also spend a lot of time working with and supporting my tenants with any benefit related issues so they know that they can come to me if they do ever have a problem. From my personal point of view all of my tenants that are on benefits have been good tenants, they haven't trashed their properties and they pay their rent on time. In fact the one tenant that has caused me a problem recently was actually a working tenant. I find it difficult that many people assume that all people in receipt of benefits are bad, that they smash up their properties and incur rent arrears, this is simply not true. If we think hard most of us will know people who are in receipt of benefits i.e. tax credits, retirement benefits etc. Do you consider that those people would be rogue tenants? My bet is that you will know equally as many working people that would make a bad tenant. My point is that there is good and bad in all types people, its not all people that are on benefits that will cause a landlord a problem.

If you follow the media and politics at the moment letting agents are very much under scrutiny for applying such inflated admin fees and I don't think it will be long before this is stopped. At Landlord Letting Network we have chosen not to charge our tenants unethical fees for signing up to a tenancy. The issue of bonds and rent in advance is a different subject and you will find that most landlords will require one or both of these.

As somebody pointed out before, tenants want a variety of different things, depending on their circumstances. You may first want to consider what you want to achieve from being a landlord. A nice house in a nice area will probably rent very easy but will it give you the rental income/yield that you want? I always consider the area and surrounding properties when I purchase a property. Bad neighbors or problems in the surrounding neighborhood could potentially mean problems for you and for your tenant so weigh-up the risk. My additions to the things that other people have suggested are transport links, parking, gas safety certificate, electrical safety certificate and fire alarms. The gas safety is law but I still come across landlords who choose not to have their properties checked. This doesn't give tenants much confidence and you will find that your good tenant soon leaves for a better maintained/safe property. I hope this helps and if you need any more assistance please ask.

Not sure if you are still needing help but have you considered applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment? This is a scheme that is administered by Sheffield City Council and is money that can be awarded for bonds and rent in advance as well as other things. See the link https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/benefit/payments/discretionarypayments.html

Thanks for letting me know Cattyt. Glad he's ok.

Chesterfield Road is closed near Homebase and there are police cars flying around. Just wondered what had happened.

Hi Marc Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I can't PM you because I have not had more than 5 Posts. I'm looking to start doing 10 -20 Miles at first. I'm hoping to go out at least a couple of times a week but don't expect that to be convenient for anyone accompanying me so once a week with somebody else would be great. I'm not sure of my pace at the moment but i'm reasonably fit from going to the gym (spinning, running etc). Though that will be put to the test on the bike!! You can PM but I cant PM you.

Thanks for that. What does CTC stand for??

I have just purchased my first road bike and i'm hoping to enter the 'cycletta' event on October. As I am a complete begineer (other than gym spinning sessions), I am wanting a female cycling buddy to help me by showing me the ropes and accompanying me on some rides. My husband is also into road biking and is providing me with some help but as i'm not yet up to his standard he won't want to drag me along with him just yet.