Dick

7.30 am April27 Looking north from the south west side of Sheffield I can see a huge cloud of black smoke. Is there a big fire somewhere?

Wouldn't it be worthwhile putting advertisements and programs on TV channels in their own home countries showing these rickety boats sinking and that if they do make it to Europe it's not the Eldorado they think it is.

The latest reports of rickety boats packed with would-be immigrants trying to get in to Europe just emphasize the dreadful conditions in these African countries. Until they are sorted out this will continue. The problem is, how do you sort it. When they were colonies there was no pressure on the population to get out. By and large they had stable government that wasn't corrupt. Colonial rule has had it's day and is unthinkable today, but couldn't we offer them some of the benefits of our civil service to set up non corrupt government, local and national. Similarly a police force that didn't exist on bribes. Most of the African countries got independence in the 70's, and let's face it, they've made a lousy job of self governance. If I lived there I'd probably be risking death in the Med as well.

Magpies slaughter blackbirds and other song birds. But the hawks will go for them. I photographed this in our garden http://s1083.photobucket.com/

I own a property where the gas is paid for using a card. You take the card to a shop, put, say, £10 on it and expect to get £10 worth of gas. I assumed when the £10 was used up the gas would go off. But apparently not. The card gives credit after the £10 is used up. If it has allowed £2 of credit, next time you put £10 on you only get £8 of gas. But for every day the card is overdrawn without being used it charges £1. Next time you use the card it will deduct an amount to cover some of the arrears, but not all of them, so the debt goes on. I only discovered this because the property has been empty since Christmas due to illness and when I put £10 on the card I only got £3.40 of gas. I had always thought the whole idea of prepayment by card was that you didn't get into debt, but this works out far more expensive than an ordinary meter. Has anyone else on the forum encountered this problem, and if so what did you do about it? The company is Southern Electric who so far have ignored all my emails and phone calls. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3032095/Do-live-safe-seat-Use-postcode-one-25million-voters-know-MP-be.html Put S17 into this mail online link. S17 is, of course, Nick Clegg's constituency.

Try Homebase at Woodseats.

Don't you have a course Tutor? I should have thought he would be the first person to talk to about this.

Another news story piling on the votes for UKIP

B&Q have probably got it.

Thanks very much for that info.

Has anyone with BT infinity fibre optic broadband been experiencing a bad crackling noise on the phone line? The broadband is working OK. BT want £135 call out fee before they do anything.

Yes It's cringingly bad and amateurish. I just hope no public money goes into it.

Apparently this youth has already had to be moved to a different YOI for his own safety. Yesterday afternoon a large maroon coloured helicopter landed near the young offenders secure unit at Limb Lane and was there for about an hour. I wonder if these two things are connected. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2821684/Ann-Maguire-s-schoolboy-killer-moved-young-offender-institution-24-hour-suicide-watch-threats-fellow-inmates.html

I shouldn't have thought it would be very difficult to mock up an old card index. All you need is a long narrow drawer and some cards with a hole punched in the bottom.

She'd been writing hateful things for a long time while hiding behind a username. Those sort of people would not do that if they couldn't be anonymous.

Does this mean that despite Sheffield Live saying it's going to be streamed on the internet, in fact it isn't?

National lottery odds are ridiculous. The shortest are 1 to 57 to match 3 numbers. That wins £25. I think tickets are £2 now, so you'd spend £114 to get an even chance of winning £25. To match 4 numbers the odds are 1 to 1,033 and that wins you £37. How many people would bet on a horse race with 1000 runners and no favourites? And for the jackpot, a race with 14 million runners?

Lavers, on Little London Rd £1 a cut

That link takes you to the Sheffield Live home page with a link to their radio, but nothing for the TV

I still can't find it on the internet. Has anyone got a link for it?

Has anyone managed to find Sheffield Live TV on the internet? All the links just seem to bring up the radio.

Just got back from seeing the Lancasters. Super sight, 2 flying in tandem. Also The Spitfire and Hurrican. But the traffics pretty bad out there now. 3 mile standing queue on the A57 from the Strines road to Ladybower. It'll take hours to clear.

A pity that out of all these millions they couldn't find £100k to keep the little local museum on Ecclesall rd near Hunters Bar going.

No! You're not missing anything!