Gligs

Saturday Barnsley road is severely congested at the moment, (Saturday Afternoon), with queues, both ways, from Fir Vale, (Tesco's), right up to the traffic lights at Toll Bar. The reason is that a hole has been dug in the Barnsley Road footpath, on the same side as, and just below the Norwood Road Junction. The lane at the side of the footpath hole has been cordoned off and temporary traffic lights are in use. After waiting in the queue and then driving down past the "Roadworks", I could see that no one is working at the site, and that there no construction work being done on the road itself, just the footpath, therefore the lane closure is just to protect anyone working on the footpath. If someone IS working this is good safe practice, but as there is NO work being done at the moment, I can see no reason as to why the lane closure and temporary traffic lights have not been moved. From what I could see, it would take no longer than 30 minutes to put boards over the hole and erect a safety barrier around it, move the traffic lights and then reinstate the lane for traffic. But NO... For however long it takes, motorists will have to queue and put up with delayed journeys, whilst residents will have to suffer the unnecessary excess air pollution that is caused by this congestion. I can never understand why congestion such as this is allowed by the City Council and why the companies employed to carry out the work are given free rein to do as they please.

Regarding the committee system, the majority party would not always get a vote through as the majority of councilors are not sheep, they are elected representatives who are quite sensible,(unlike some, or at least one, in the planning department---See Shalesmoor Fiasco).

I've been away for a few days. I see the mess that is the Shalesmoor cycle lane project is to be dismantled, no surprise there apart from that it took so long to see the hopelessness of it all, not to mention the cost. Yes we know, it was paid for by the government so that's all right then. Whoever planned the scheme in the first place obviously has led a sheltered life as regards being out in the real world, knowing how few cyclists would be using the new system, and knowing the difficulties regular traffic would face getting from place to place with the least inconvenience and stress. Would this ridiculous scheme have been voted through if Sheffield Council's "Strong Leader" system had not been in place and all the councilors were allowed to vote? Sheffield is a good place, so why can't we have sensible people making sensible decisions?

Utopia, Sheffield style....

I cycled through it before and since the closures, not really any different to what it is now from a cycling perspective, bla, bla, bla.......

I have driven through this road layout and can only be amazed at the stupidity and lack of real world intelligence of those who proposed and enacted it. It can only be a result of the Sheffield Council ‘Strong Leader’ system, where just 10 out of 84 elected councillors have the power to make nearly all decisions. The other 74 councillors have virtually no power, so cannot represent the people that elected them. What is the point of voting if your councillor has no power? This undemocratic system was forced on Sheffield by the government in the early 2000s. Had the elections taken place in May, we Sheffielders would have had the opportunity to vote against the 'Strong Leader' system and for a committee council system where all elected councillors have a say in the running of the city. So using Covid-19 as an excuse, this ridiculous traffic system has been forced upon us, at what I imagine is great expense. Only Sheffield council could use social distancing as an excuse to push through a road closure scheme. Councillor Bob Johnson, the council's transport spokesman, said: "With public transport limited due to the pandemic it is more important than ever we help people get to where they need to be". Yes it is important! But what Councillor Bob Johnson doesn't mention is that there is not and never was any public transport in the area affected by these road closures. Come on Bob, tell us how it is going to be so marvellous with all the queueing traffic as drivers are left with fewer roads to reach their destinations. I drove through the area last night just to see what the restrictions are and I could not think of a logical reason for what has been done. There is the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"....... Sheffield council's mantra, "If it ain't broke, break it, and tell everyone that it's for their own good". If you approach by car etc. from Rutland Road and turn left on to Penistone Road to access the 'Kelham Quarter', it is a journey of at least 1 mile to find your way back to the Neepsend area due to the closure of Ball St bridge. It appears that only the fools at Council Towers believe this to be in everyone's interest. The sooner common sense prevails and this mistake is put right the better it will be for all road users in the area.

I'm a frequent user of the 75 service to Shiregreen. When I travel north out of the city to Shiregreen, the destination displayed on the front of the bus always shows "Batemoor", apart from when the bus terminates at Firth Park, (Firth Park is displayed). This is very misleading as the 75 travels round the Shiregreen estate in a circular route, including the Butterthwaite Road/Dunninc Terrace stop which used to be the 47 service Shiregreen terminus.Then, the buses had "Shiregreen" displayed as their destination, not so the 75. On more occasions than should be considered usual, the 75 bus has been turned round at Firth Park after dumping the passengers at the bottom of Bellhouse road with the cheery message to "Get the next bus to Shiregreen. 75 or 76 will take you round". At the risk of sounding cynical, (which I am), I believe that as Batemoor is the only destination displayed, if it is late, the bus company can tell the driver to ignore the Shiregreen leg of the journey and get back accross town to catch up on the timetable at the expense of the Shiregreen passengers. Can't be late for destination Batemoor. I think that in the main, the drivers do a very good job and we all know it was not the drivers who implemented these changes. As for the operator, I am of the opinion that First put First first and passengers ninth. Addendum: It is now the day after making the above post and I have just seen a No 75 displaying "Shiregreen" at the front. I doubt it has anything to do with my scribbling.

I couldn't get my car off my drive one day last year because someone had parked accross the entrance and was there for four hours. When he returned to move it, I told him it had cost me a £40.00 job, not being able to use my car, and that I would go through the small claims court to recover the money if neccessary. Surprisingly, he apologised and paid me the £40.00.....Result!

Wot abaat the tree. Who gives a fig. I'll tell you who.....Fig tree farmers.

You forgot to mention the guitar.

Just go to Job Lot on Barnsley Road, Sheffield Lane Top and nick one. According to one of the staff, everyone else does.

I am sorry to hear that Iris has died. I didn't know her name was Iris, I knew her as "Ma Webster",(class 1S 1962/63). She was a very good science teacher and did very interesting practical lessons, in fact I remember her classes more than any other. She was the most interesting science teacher I ever had and I still have my science text book from that time. Among the many experiments she showed us was one where she demonstrated how a barometer worked. She filled a long glass tube with mercury, placed her finger over the top, inverted it and then immersed her hand with the tube into a trough of mercury before removing her finger to allow the mercury in the tube to fall to show how atmospheric pressure caused the mercury to rise and fall. I assume the dangers of mercury weren't known then as she didn't wear protective gloves. I can still picture her with her rich red lips and her black polo neck sweater as she chalked on the blackboard and taught very interesting science. Fond memories.

She didn't really deserve it. It was because she reported myself and John Mayor for spraying her with some stinky stuff,(John Mayor supplied it, I sprayed it), can't blame her for that. We had to face Mr Birkby and as punishment we both lost our merit half so I was a bit peeved and took her face off the photo. I've nearly grown up now.