FIRETHORN1

As far as I'm concerned, the whole ethos of public ownership is that that everyone should be entitled to at least a basic level of service. Of course, some bus routes in heavily populated and heavily used areas will make more profit than those in more remote, less used areas, but the profits should be ploughed back into subsidising the less profitable areas and into maintaining the system, not just used to line the pockets of the rich shareholders. The same argument could be used for any basic service. It costs more to provide and maintain gas, water and electricity to remote areas. It costs more to deliver mail - or provide broadband - to remote areas - it costs more to empty the bins. Does this mean that these essential services should only be provided in built-up areas and that people who live in less busy areas should have to do without - or should have to pay an extra charge just to access basic services?

These postcode walks are a great idea Dozer - such a brilliant way to discover new areas, find your way around Sheffield - and keep fit into the bargain! I grew up in the S6 area and as a non-driving family, we did most of our walking around S6 and (in our younger and fitter days) we often walked around S35 areas too. Some of my recommendations for S6 walks would include Loxley Valley Rivelin Valley Low Bradfield & High Bradfield - including the surrounding reservoirs, like Dam Flask, for example Wadsley & Loxley Commons Beeley Woods Some S35 walks would include Wharncliffe Crags/Wharncliffe Chase Glen How Park Ewden & More Hall reservoirs Jawbone & Back Edge I hope you enjoy your adventures and explorations - please keep us updated on some of your experiences.

Thanks for this info Retro Queen. It's good to hear that at least some sort of service will be restored to the 52A bus and that the 32 bus will run every half an hour, instead just hourly. I agree with you that it's not fair that there will still be no evening or Sunday services. I think buses should be run as a service, not just for profit, but these privately run bus companies are only interested in running routes that make them money

I think Hillsborough is quite good as a shopping area. It's a good place to do a food shop, with a big Morrisons supermarket and a few independent butchers and a greengrocers. It has a few decent cafes and a few nearby pubs and bars, if you fancy a drink or a snack. It also has a few cheapo shops, like Poundland, BM Bargains, etc. Public transport links are quite good, with plenty of buses and trams serving that area - and there are quite few charity shops, if you want to browse around them. The Hillsborough area could do with a few improvements though. It would be nice if it had somewhere to buy clothes and shoes. A decent proper fishmongers and a decent bakery would be nice - and it would benefit from better parking facilities for those people who need or want to drive, rather than use public transport.

As far as I'm concerned, the state pension shouldn't be taxed at all. If you've worked all your life and paid your full NI and taxes all your life, you should get a state pension that is, at the very least, the same amount as the "minimum wage". I also believe that the personal tax threshold should be raised to £2Ok - and if your income, from either wages or pensions, is less than £2Ok, you shouldn't be taxed at all. To make up the shortfall, I would increase the top rate tax level to 50% for anyone earning over £80k per year.... & to 60% for anyone earning over £200K per year. On the other hand, I wouldn't give a state pension at all to those people who had never worked and had never contributed to society by paying taxes or NI . To those people who had never worked or contributed. I would keep them on subsistence level benefits - enough to keep them in basic food and pay their day to day bills - but certainly not enough to lead the sort of luxury lifestyles that many of them currently lead - like running cars, having foreign holidays, eating out, etc. etc when the people who worked and kept them on benefits all their lives can't afford that kind of luxurious lifestyle are living in much worse poverty than those who never worked at all!

No, El Cid, I wouldn't necessarily want to switch places. My resentment and bitterness is not towards my friend personally, it's towards the system, that rewards people for not working. I think your wife's case is different, because I do believe that it often makes sense for one parent not to work and to care for a child full time. It doesn't necessarily have to be the mother - a stay-at-home father can be equally beneficial at raising a child. However, both my friend and I are childless - and I do think it's morally wrong to pile benefits onto a single, childless person who is perfectly fit and able to work. I'm quite happy for my taxes to support stay-at-home parents, or disabled people, or people who are full-time carers to a sick family member & who are genuinely unable to work, but I balk at paying people who don't work just because they don't want to. My friend's attitude has always been "why should I use my time going to work when working fools like you can keep me in everything I need"? Maybe she has a point, but I would have felt embarrassed to spend my whole life leeching off the backs of working people when I was perfectly capable of supporting myself. Choosing to live off benefits just because you can, not because you need to, is morally indefensible. People who can work should be made to do so, or their benefits should be stopped - then surely there would be more "state" money available to increase the benefits to people who really need and deserve help?

The taxing of state pensions is deeply unfair - it punishes people who have worked and paid taxes and NI all their lives and yet rewards the lazy loafers who've lived all their lives on benefits. I turn 66 in May this year and have been told recently that my state pension will be £884.80, paid every 4 weeks - which equates to £221 a week, and £11,060.00 a year. I will have to pay the full 20% tax on my entire state pension, because I am already over the personal tax threshold , as I also receive a "final salary" pension of just over £13k a year from my previous employer. I worked and paid taxes and NI since I was 16 years old. I also paid a chunk of my salary into my employers pension scheme. I own my own flat and the mortgage is fully paid off. I have never claimed a single penny off the state in my entire life. By the same token, my old school mate, who turns 66 in April, will get exactly the same state pension as me - £884.80 every 4 weeks. She has always lived entirely on state benefits - she has never worked a single day in her life and has never paid a single penny in tax or NI. She lives in a Council Flat & has always had her entire rent and Council Tax paid by the state Now that we are both 66 years old, I am knackered from a lifetime of hard work and she is full of beans from a life-time of loafing. There's no reason why she couldn't work - she just chose not to - and the state has never cut her benefits - or encouraged her to find work. Our current situation is that we will soon both be receiving our £221 a week state pension, I will pay £42 a week tax on my state pension and will get no state help at all. My old mate will pay no tax at all on her state pension. She has also been granted "pension credits" on Universal Credit. Her entire rent will be paid Her entire council tax will be paid She gets £1.200 a year @cost of living payment She gets free dental treatment She gets free Opticians treatment a free glasses She gets vouchers to food-banks....and even to a pet-food foodbank, so she never has to buy food for herself or even for her pet dog! This all seems so very, very unfair to me. My mate just thinks I'm jealous and bitter.... and she's right about that! I'm indeed very jealous...and very bitter!

I think the pub you mentioned at the bottom of Cambridge St, near the back entrance of John Lewis (or Cole Bros, s it was then), may have been The Barleycorn pub. My mates and I used to have a drink in there in the mid-70's, as part of our Friday night town-centre pub crawls. It had a bit of a bad reputation at the time, but as teenage lasses, we always found it quite friendly. The posh book shop in West St was W. Hartley Seed.

When I was akid, I absolutely hated gravy and insisted on eating all my food 'dry' - even roast dinners and Yorkshire pudding! I started to love gravy as I reached adulthood - and now I'm in my 60's, I love lashings of gravy on everything . I've never acquired a taste for olives though. I thought they were disgusting when I first tried them in my teens - and I still can't bear the taste of olives even now - more than 50 years after I first tried to eat an olive! Black or green olives - it makes no difference to me - I just can't stand the mere taste of olives - they taste really acrid to me... like rotting flesh ...or something going seriously 'off'!

You just keep on trying love. that comment bove is just so breathtakingly patronising!!

I'm not an anti-vaxxer. I had the covid jabs and having them has completely destroyed my health for the rest of my life. Being covid-jabbed has also destroyed my brother's health and the health of several other people I know personally. I don't believe that the covid vax protected anyone - it just did no good for most people and actually did harm to many. The only people who benefitted from the covid vax are the big pharmas, who made billions from it.

Rhubarb is seasonal, so I think this is the wrong time of year to buy fresh rhubarb. It's at it's best in spring/early summer - like April to June/July.

Has anyone heard if there are any plans to re-introduce the 52A bus route between Hillsborough interchange and Wisewood/Loxley? My sis-in-law was speaking on Monday to a couple of ladies in the Riva Project cafe at Wisewood and they told her that this much-missed bus route is coming back into operation. I hope so, because Wisewood and Loxley are very poorly served by buses - making it very difficult for the elderly, disabled etc to get out and about - even in the daytime...let alone making it difficult for anyone at all to get a bus anywhere in the evenings

I have fairly recently been diagnosed as having RRMS - (Relapsing/Remitting Multiple Sclerosis). It's a very scary diagnosis, but my only symptoms so far have been 3 periods of sight problems. I have had seriously blurred vision on one of these occasions, double vision on another occasion, and most recently, a complete loss of vision in my left eye. All of these relapses lasted no more than a few days, after which my vision returned to normal. At my most recent appointment with my neurological consultant she has urged me to accept a " Disease Modification Therapy" which would involve going on a course of powerful drugs called Cladribine. I am in a real dilemma about whether or not I should go on this course of treatment. There is no cure for MS, but the advantage of this treatment is that it may slow down the frequency & severity of my MS relapses. The disadvantage is that the treatment itself will destroy my natural immune system and leave me wide open to all sorts of other viral and bacterial infections - plus other side effects, lie hair loss, skin diseases, etc ,etc. At the moment I feel quite well and I'm very reluctant o accept a treatment that would make me feel worse. On the other hand. if I don't accept this treatment, I risk my MS symptoms becoming more frequent and more serious. I really feel caught between the devil and the deep blue sea! My question is, are there any more MS sufferers out there who have been on course of the Cladribine drug? If so, what were your experiences? Did it make you better, or worse? I know that, ultimately, only I can make this decision - but I would appreciate feedback from any other MS sufferers who've taken this nasty Cladribine drug. Thanks

oops! The title of this post was supposed to be Why is Sheffield so rubbish at football?

As a city with 2 footie clubs, we've never really been any good at it, have we? I'm a lifelong Wednesday fan. We've never won the league in my lifetime and apart from doing quite well in the early 60's and reaching a couple of cup finals decades later, ( which we lost), since then, we've had no real success in my lifetime. United are much the same. Both teams have spent more time in the lower divisions than they've spent in the old first division or the premier league. Other big 2-club cities, like Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool etc have had their lean times, but have also had quite a bit of success too. Even the 1-club cities like Leeds, Nottingham. Derby, Leicester etc have had some domestic league or European successes down the years. Both Sheffield clubs have big support and still draw decent crowds, so why don't either of them ever succeed?

My personal experience has been very different from hackey lad's. I've looked at 35 people that I know well personally - all family members or friends. Of this 35 people, all of us were previously fit and healthy, leading normal lives, then when the vaccine was rolled out, 27 of us (stupidly) decided to take the vaccine and the other 8 (sensibly) decided from day one that they would never willingly have this dangerous poison injected into their bodies. Since then absolutely none of the 8 vaccine refusers I know have suffered any serious health problems at all. 5 of them tested positive for Covid at various times and became a bit unwell for several days, but none of this 8 were seriously ill. From the 27 of us who were vaccinated, the following has happened as a result of taking this jab. I ( in my mid-60's),had a bleed on the brain, developed several brain lesions and partially lost some of my eyesight. I have since been diagnosed as having RRMS (relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis).This is a life-changing, debilitating condition. My brother (in his early 60's) ,developed a life-threatening aortic aneurysm and was only saved by emergency surgery. He survived, but is still very frail and will never fully recover. A close friend (in her 60's) has developed severe arthritis and joint pain A friend's daughter (aged just 26) developed a brain tumour and had to have major surgery to cut it out. Again she survived, but has been left permanently disabled. How can it be that all the people I know who didn't have the jab have suffered no health problems, but so many of us who were vaccinated have suffered from major, life changing health problems? Is it all just coincidence? Whatever lies the government tells us and whatever 'the science' says, I remain convinced that the covid jab is a dangerous poison and that those of us who willingly took it are fools and are paying for our foolishness by the loss of our health

Speak for yourself. I’ve followed the rules, had my vaccines and paid no price and enjoying life as Covid is no longer an issue. I'm glad you paid no price Delayed, but many of us did. All I know is that I was a reasonably fit and healthy person. I'd barely had a days illness in my 60-odd years of life, then I took those vaccines and my health has gone down the abyss ever since. So has the health of many people I know. We re of all ages, many different ethnic backgrounds. None of us has actually ever had Covid itself. The only thing we all have in common is that we all took that damn vaccine and we have all suffered terrible health deterioration since. On the other hand, none of my unvaccinated acquaintances have suffered any major health issues at all. Covid is a horrible disease, it made many people very ill and killed many vulnerable people - but the vaccine has killed and maimed many more people than the disease ever could....and it's continuing to kill people on a daily basis. Why has the unexplained death rate rocketed since the vaccine rollout - particularly among young, otherwise healthy people? Why - if it was so effective - has the Astra Zeneca jab been completely discredited and with drawn from use?

I'm still banging the same old drum, because I foolishly took the Covid jab and have been left permanently disabled as a result. Everything that redruby quotes below has been proven to be true. The vaccines did no good - they just killed and disabled many people and made billions for big pharma. Lockdowns did no good - they just trashed economies, ruined children's education and destroyed many, many lives. As for mask wearing. It was - and is still is - totally pointless All of this has now been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Those of us who followed these rules are just gormless sheep and we are now paying the price of our gullibility. On 12/01/2024 at 21:33, redruby said: I believe many of your views are supported by medical experts such as Dr Vernon Coleman https://www.vernoncoleman.com/main.htm This is from Dr Vernon Coleman’s website. I’m sure this supports many of your views: There are ten rock-solid, certain facts about covid-19 and the fake pandemic which cannot be denied. Anyone who denies or disputes these facts is a liar or a fool. Fact checkers who dispute these facts are lying. 1. Covid-19 was never more deadly than the ordinary annual flu. 2. The PCR test for covid doesn’t work and was never reliable. 3. Useful treatments for covid were suppressed and dangerous ones were promoted. 4. The lockdowns were responsible for far more deaths than covid-19 and have destroyed the lives of thousands of children. 5. There were no more deaths in 2020 than average. There was no pandemic. 6. The authorities lied about the number of covid-19 deaths. 7. Face masks were never of any use. They were (and are) dangerous in many ways. And will increase the risk of cancer deaths. 8. Social distancing was artificial and useless. 9. The covid-19 jabs do not do what the authorities said they would do. 10. It was known before they were given that the covid-19 jabs would kill or damage millions who were jabbed. Doctors who didn’t know the dangers should lose their licences to practise and be sent to prison for manslaughter. Doctors who did know the dangers but gave the jabs anyway should be

Has anyone been to Enver's Turkish restaurant, Langsett Rd , Hillsborough? If so, what did you think of it? Haven't been there myself yet, but my cousin and his partner really sang it's praises after going there in December last year. They said the food was delicious, the portion sizes very generous and the prices very reasonable. They also thought the service was efficient and the staff nice and friendly. I'd be interested to hear any more reviews of this place.

yes. I have put in a claim for a vaccine damage payment but they want a statement from my neuro consultant stating that my brain condition has totally been caused by the vaccine. She is not abl to provide this. She has told me that she feels that the vax is 'probably' the cause but is unable/unwilling to risk her career by saying it's definitely the cause. To be honest, I don't care about getting any sort of payout - no amount of money could compensate for my ruined health. I know in my heart and in my bones that this bloody vaccine has finished me off. One day it will come to light - just like the thalidomide situation did - but by then, it will be too late for we victims

I'm not a liar or nutter and I haven't got an agenda - other than a wish to share my experience and a hopeful wish to warn others about the potential dangers of believing what we're told and about the inadvisability following government advice. I'm just a woman in my mid 60's who's physical and mental health has been wrecked and who's confidence and independence has been destroyed by the much-vaunted covid vaccine. When Covid first became an issue I was still in full time work and had been working for almost 45 years, never having had a serious illness - and I'd never taken much time off work, ever. I was perfectly fit and healthy but like a lot of the gullible public, I believed what the government told us. I followed the lockdown and mask rules and I willingly and voluntarily took the vaxx when I was offered it. Shortly after having the 2nd jab, I experienced unexplained fainting, muscle weakness and a loss of eyesight. My GP sent me straight to A&E believing I may be having a stroke. MRI scans ruled out a stroke but revealed lesions on my brain. I have subsequently been diagnosed with RRMS (relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis) and multiple lesions and small vessel bleeds in my brain. Since then I've continued to experience muscle weakness, spasms, eyesight loss on a regular basis. I guess it could just be coincidence, but my sudden decline in health happened soon after I had the vaxx. My brother - in his early 60's and also previously fit and healthy, suddenly developed a massive aortic aneurysm after having the vaccines, my friend's previously fit 26 year old daughter has developed a malignant brain tumour since being vaxxed, another friend's 35 year old super-fit son has developed myocarditis - also after being vaxxed. We were all previously healthy, then we had that damn jab and now we're not healthy at all. Having the jab is the only thing we all have in common. Surely it can't just be a coincidence that so many of u had such problems only after taking a vaccine - that has now been utterly discredited. We were fools and dupes and gormless morons to take the vaccine. We've willing allowed ourselves to be injected with a toxic, life-changing - even life threatening- poison. The other side of the coin is that I have a number of friends and family who chose not to have this vaccine and none - I repeat - NONE - of them have suffered major health failures. Quite a few of them have had covid, but none were seriously ill from covid. I believe covid is a nasty, dangerous disease - but I believe that the covid vaccine has harmed and damaged far more people than the virus itself ever could.... and if you don't believe this - well you're an even bigger fool than I am. I signed my own suicide note with this jab - but at least I know that I only have mostly myself to blame!

Hmm - here we are. long after the initial outbreak of Covid - and what has really changed? People are still being infected by Covid. People are still dying of it. The only difference is that it's not making the screaming headlines and MSM news all the time. It's now clear beyond any shadow of doubt that 1. Vaccines didn't work. They didn't prevent spread of infections, or minimise severity of infections and didn't save a single life. Quite the contrary. Vaccines left thousands - even tens of thousands - seriously ill and disabled and actually killed many people. I'm one of the people left permanently disabled because I was stupid enough to have the vax. More fool me! The Pfizer & Astrazenica vaxxes have been utterly discredited and even withdrawn now. Too late for many of us. 2. Lockdowns were pointless. They didn't slow down spread or prevent a single infection. The only thing lockdowns did was trash the economy, destroy the education of children, throw tens of thousands out of work and introduce the daft concept of WFH and hybrid working - so all public services collapsed as phonecalls and emails never get answered, queries neve get resolved etc. 3.Mask wearing? What a joke! Wearing masks didn't prevent the spread of infection or protect a single life. Most of us - including me - gormlessly went along with it, because we weren't allowed on the bus or in the shops without a mask. I curse myself daily for my weakness and gullibility. Plenty of brave souls on this forum - like Top and The Daddy - saw through all this crap from the start. How I wish I'd listened to them! If I'd listened I may still have been the robust person I was a couple of years ago - not the broken, half-blind, gibbering wreck I have now become . Am I bitter? You bet I am! Do I blame the government and their scientists for lying to me? You bet I do! Mostly though I blame myself. I had choices but I made the wrong ones - especially my choice to have those damn jabs! Happy New year everyone

My first legal alcoholic drink was in The Yorkshireman , in town. I went there with my workmates to celebrate my 18th birthday, although I'd been out boozing in town and in local pubs for at least a couple of years prior to that. I only got done once for underage drinking. My friend and I got nabbed by a couple of plainclothes coppers, in the Hofbrauhaus - of all places, We didn't go to court - we pleaded guilty by post. I'd just turned 17 when we got nicked and was fined £5. My friend was still 16 at the time, so she got fined £10. Does anyone remember the Hofbrauhaus, back in the mid 1970's? I bloody hated it there - the crap gassy lager...the relentlessly irritating oompah music...the bar staff all dressed in lederhosen and other daft fake-Aryan 'traditional' uniforms! It was an awful place!

Yes, the closure of Simmonites is a big loss. My family used to shop for their meat whenn they had a stall in the old Castle Market. They didn't move to the new Moor Market, because they objected to the rents and they moved to Division St instead. Their premises in Division St were much posher and their clientele suddenly became more middle-class, but their prices were still reasonable and their products were still good. Their staff were friendly and helpful - always willing to give advice on which cuts of meat to buy and how to prepare and cook these meats. It's not clear why the have suddenly decided to close - but they will definitely be missed by a lot of their customers,