Howlinbob

I need barcodes for my new products. I've been on GS1-UK the official barcode site where you have to pay membership and annual fees and £16 per barcode. They give you a unique company number which will make up the first 6 digits of your barcode. Then there are other sites which will generate a barcode free of charge. But how does free barcode generation work, when you need a unique company number from GS1-UK?

South Road in Walkley is a dark and depressing road surrounded by steep and narrow streets and lined with depressing shops. It's always winter on South Road with that strong wind blowing down it all year round. So I applaud the efforts to regenerate it, but given that cheerful Crookes is only a stone's throw away, you've got a job on your hands.

OK, so the good news is that the price of a book of visitors' parking permits has been reduced from £5 to £2.50. The way I found out, was that I sent the usual cheque for £10 for the maximum permitted order of 2 books, only to have it returned 3 weeks later with a letter saying 'you've sent too much money, please send the correct amount'. Well hang on, couldn't they have just sent me 4 books? Or cashed my cheque and sent me a fiver change? Or sent me 2 books and kept the rest of my payment on account for next time? Instead of which, it's more postage and likely another 3 weeks to actually get the permits. If I run out of permits in the meantime, I don't suppose my visitors will be exempted from a parking fine...ah, I think I've just answered my own question.

The prospect of being on a 3-year fixed contract is a valid concern especially if you're coming from so-called permanent employment. Further, I do not claim any advantage from being an ex-student. Thanks for the info on numbers though.

Butt Hole Road, Conisborough. Seriously.

Yes, the funding is for 3 years only.

Thanks. I'm looking at a Grade 7 admin job at the moment. It's a fixed-term post for 3 years only. The job sounds great but the fixed term is a concern. If all goes well, would I have a fair chance of applying for another University post internally at the end of the 3 years? Are these fixed term posts common in university employment and do people just move around?

Sheffield University, Western Bank.

I'm thinking of applying for a job at the University. I got my degree there in the 1990's and it's the reason I came to Sheffield. It seems like a good place to work. Does anyone have any experience of applying for jobs or working there? Thanks!

My butcher and farm shop will get me beef heart, ox tongue, pigs' lights, and beef trim, if I order them a couple of days in advance. A heart and a tongue comes to at least 3kgs of beautiful quality meat for about £7. Beef trim they sell as 'dog food' - it's just the bits they cut off the decent cuts for the counter.

Hey, I don't have a dog but I've been raw feeding my 3 cats since January. Raw is great for cats too, after all, they are obligate carnivores and are not able to process carbohydrates. The mainstream feeding of grain-based dry food to cats, endorsed by vets, is nothing short of a scandal. Anyway, without getting into all that, I get some of the pre-ground mixes from Donna at Real Pet Grub at Hillsbro, and I get frozen mice from the Lizard Lounge on Holme Lane (opposite). Yes, whole prey is the absolute best you can do for your cat, if you can stomach it. I know some people who feed rats and baby chicks too (can't go there myself, although the cats would love it). A great online supplier of raw pet foods is Woldsway in Lincs: woldsway.co.uk Rabbit, beef, chicken, offals, etc.

There are some excellent FB groups on raw feeding, with lots of experienced raw feeders of dogs on there, tips, advice, pictures, etc. Check out 'Raw Feeding', and 'Raw Feeding Lifestyle' on FB.