Blaiseebee

Have you read 'the idle parent' by Tom hodgkinson? I think it would help.

We're just in the process of moving up from London with family, 7, 5, 3. Coming from N16 we liked S7, Nether edge area, beautiful houses and tree lined roads, good local shops and close to city centre. The downside seemed to be big houses on small plots, not much garden. Also schools a bit of an issue - we liked Porter Croft but it seems a lot of kids go to private schools so you don't have all the kids on your street heading off to the same school. But we liked the area well enough anyway. Millhouses, which people bang on about is very nice, but seemed way too suburban and boden for a london sensibility. Endcliffe and broomhil areas also seem to have a lot going for them. The typical thing to do if you are selling up in London is to search S7, S10 & S11. In the end we've fallen for a beautiful house with a big garden in Totley, S17. Villagey, very close to Peaks, but great schools and pubs and decent local shops and good transport links. Hope that helps?

Thanks mush, So far colourstrings method has been working 'wonders' for my kids, my 7 year old has made incredible progress in just one year of colourstrings violin tuition following 2 years of kindergarten colourstrings. The one thing she said when told we were moving was 'but who will teach me violin?'. Our 5 year old is now 'ready' to start violin following 3 years of kindergarten, but will probably have to adapt to a different method, which seems a bit tough. My youngest has just been diagnosed with hearing difficulties so it would be fab if she could continue with colourstrings for the continuity. We just fell on that method and I do see it's merits but also realistic and open to alternatives. I think my kids are still too young for the Sheffield music schools, and what I'm really after is an experienced violin teacher who can relate well to young children and feed their appetite for learning and playing music. My only concerns with the 'conventional' approach is that it will often focus too much on grade exams and rather than the enjoyment of playing and performing music, but a good teacher is a good teacher.... All suggestions are extremely welcome. Thanks.

Trouble is uswitch site only shows the usual suspects who pay to advertise with them. I would not use those suppliers, people think they are good because they recognize the brand but they get really bad ratings for customer satisfaction etc. *I've used and recommended Utility Warehouse for years, they don't advertise but have come top for broadband with 'which?' magazine for 4 years in a row, fastest speeds as standard, good contention ratio and the key thing is that there is no minimum contract so if they aren't as good they say they are you aren't tied in. I don't think anyone else does that. And if alker is moving into a new property and needs a new line installed it is only £24. plus all their other stuff is good too. See http://www.happysaving.co.uk or ask. I'm genuinely happy to help.

I reversed over mine in a similar incident. The funny thing was I couldn't understand why car couldn't move backwards... Only realized when car tooted me. Glad you didn't leave a child behind!

Can anyone tell me how frequently these buses run, is it a reliable service and approx how long is journey into town in rush hour and during day? Thanks

Is anyone familiar with the Colourstrings method for music tuition to kids? Or Kodaly? I am currently in the process of moving my family and 3 kids up to Sheffield and looking for ways to continue their music education. *In particular I'm looking for suggestions for suitable violin tuition for a 7 and 5 year old? I'm grateful for any pointers. Thanks.

I know exactly where you are coming from. S17 does have modern telephone exchanges or (LLU - local loop unbundling) which means you can get faster speeds. What you actually get depends on distance from exchange (check for green box on street), condition of infrastructure, and then the key thing is contention ratio - how many other people you are sharing the 'line' with. Often the big name companies give impressive quotes of what you CAN get but are shocking on what you actually get, but by that point you are tied into a contract. When I asked for your address I was going to do what I did when sorting my move and get the technical guys at the office to run test. It's still only estimated but better than just an online job. If you don't want to post your address online, just email - I think you can? Or let me know. We all rely on our communications so much and we've just been going through same thing relocating a business, I'm happy to help.

Hi, if you want to let me have your post code I can check speeds for you? I was worried about speeds when moving to totley, but they may not be as bad as you think.