Danielblythe

Loxley off twice today, and once a few days ago.

If you don't vote, your vote is not counted. There is nothing to distinguish the "sod the lot of you" voters from the "genuinely cheesed off with our political system" people, or the "too lazy to go and vote" or even the "What election?" people. If you vote, and you vote as a protest - e.g. by spoiling your ballot - your vote is counted in the overall tally so it is one less on the tally of the winner's majority. OK, you are one person - but if a few thousand people think the same way....

And you can check your current constituency on the BBC site, here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/default.stm

A non-vote is, by default, a vote for whoever wins. Your spoilt ballot paper would take one vote away from their majority.

DOCTOR WHO: AN ILLUSTRATED VOYAGE THROUGH TIME AND SPACE. Tuesday 30th March 2010, 7.00-9.00pm at Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus: Peak Theatre. FREE entry, suitable for all ages. Doctor Who returns to the BBC at Easter. So come along the Tuesday before and learn - or be reminded of - the story of Doctor Who from 1963 to the present day. See how it grew from a modest black-and-white teatime show into a world-famous phenomenon. Illustrated with slides and sound from 30 series of time-travelling adventures! Relive the memorable moments from each Doctor's career, and the ups and downs of the show's production history - as well as the story behind the books, comics and audio CDs. Prolific writer Daniel Blythe, author of three of the Doctor Who novels and contributor to several anthologies and magazines based on the programme, will be your guide through Time and Space and will give a reading. Entry is FREE. There will be the opportunity to purchase signed copies of Daniel's latest Doctor Who novel, Autonomy, published by BBC Books. Contact [email protected] or just come along.

This is now confirmed as happening on Saturday 17th April, 10am-4.30pm at the Quaker Meeting House. I still have a few places left.

This Spring in Sheffield, I'm going to be leading another of my occasional 1-day courses in writing a novel and getting it published. I have sixteen years of experience and you can check me out on http://www.danielblythe.com - I'm the author of ten books and have worked with several different publishers, and I'm represented by a leading London literary agent. I've written commercial fiction, literary fiction and non-fiction, and my last book Doctor Who:Autonomy was a No.1 bestseller. The course will include sections on openings, characterisation, dialogue, structure, voice, plot development and endings, as well as up-to-the-minute pointers on the role of editors and agents and clear tips on how they like to be approached - plus pointers on what they don't want to see! It's not a writing workshop and you won't be expected to bring any writing along to read out - there are exercises which involve some writing but we won't be looking to produce finished pieces of prose. The cost for the day will be £70, and this will include all tuition, an information pack, refreshments and a buffet lunch. I will also answer participants' follow-up queries by email (although I cannot read full manuscripts at the moment). The likely day is Saturday 17th April, from 10am-4pm, at a central Sheffield venue to be confirmed. At the moment I have about 10 people interested, and I'm happy to take another 8-9. Please let me know on [email protected] if you are interested.

Thanks. I booked tickets online via Trainline, which usually ties you to a particular train and gives you a seat reservation. Nothing like that with the bus. So do they lay on sufficient buses, or do they end up turning people away to wait for the next one? And does the bus go from the bus station or from outside the railway station?

Getting "train" from Sheffield to Manchester on 27th, which I'm told is a "special" replacement bus service (they make it sound like a treat) all day. Anyone ever got this? Which way does it go? Not across the Snake, I imagine?...

Hello everyone - thought you might like to see the details of the novel course I'm leading this term. It runs over 2 terms (20 weeks) but the WEA like people to enrol for one term at a time. If you want more info on me, please go to http://www.danielblythe.com ----------------------------------------------------------- WRITING A NOVEL Workers' Educational Association course with published writer Daniel Blythe (author of 10 books, including the novels This Is The Day and Doctor Who:Autonomy). At Sheffield Independent Film, Brown Street. Thursdays 6.30-8.30pm, from 24th Sept 2009. We cover character, plot, dialogue, viewpointing, marketing your novel, how to approach agents, plus insights into the publishing world and the markets for fiction. 2 terms of 10 weeks. For info email tutor at [email protected] Full fee for 10 weeks is £63.00. WEA is able to offer some courses at a reduced fee or free to certain students. If you are aged 16-18, all courses are free. If you are on benefit or a low income, you may be able to get help with fees. Contact WEA Yorkshire and Humber Region on 0113 245 3304 or email: [email protected]

Well, my daughter and I went down about 6pm, picked our way through the drinkers (atmosphere seemed very friendly, not threatening or "chavvy" at all), and asked a man in a fluorescent jerkin what was going on with regard to numbers. He said they were doing "1 in 1 out". So we got something to eat, came back and queued for a while - queue didn't move for ages, then moved quickly just as Athlete started. So it probably was "100 in, 100 out". We got in about 7, saw Athlete, Preston, Pixie Lott and Little Boots. My daughter got Pixie Lott's autograph and had a great time! Next year some clarification over the ticketing situation would be good. And it was a shame we couldn't keep the tickets as she'd have liked one for a souvenir. Otherwise good.

There is a Stop Press on the site saying the Devonshire Green part of the event is now going to be ticketed.

What makes it go down? And what makes it go back up? And let's be honest, these new boilers are designed to have a short shelf-life, aren't they? The one in our old house (standard back-boiler) was about 30 years old and still going strong. My parents had oil-fired central heating and their boiler lasted from the 60s to the 90s with intermittent servicing. Built-in obsolescence - the scourge of our time...

Thanks. Pressure has restabilised and it is working intermittently, but... Any idea of a ballpark overall charge for a comparable new model inc. fitting?

Got a combi, a Ferroli Optima 1001, a few years old. The pressure has always been a bit awkward but on previous occasions we've been able to bump it up by opening the lever to the filling loop and it's got going that way. For ages the pressure has hovered around 3 bar and although it has worked it has made a heck of a racket coming on. Today, pressure has rapidly dropped down to below 0 and opening the lever to the filling loop makes no difference. It just drops again. I think I know why - the pipe that drains outside (sorry, don't know the term - the one that drains water off if the pressure goes over 3 bar, to stop it getting too high) is continuously expelling water rather than just doing its usual short burst. Anything we can do?... Can we try filling when the system is cold? (Had quite a few problems with this boiler - it's had various minor problems fixed by local plumbers, as well as two replacement gas valves in two years, fitted by the Ferroli engineer. They fitted the second free of charge as they couldn't believe two had failed.)