budapest

Does anyone know anyone around Sheffield who would be able to set up an electric violin please?

I am not originally from Sheffield but went to a gramnar school in another part of Yorkshire in the 1980s. I also now teach. When I was at school, there were people from all walks of life, from the council estates to the posher areas of town at the school. I don't know anyone who had private tuition to get into the school. I don't know what the answer is but we seem to have the worst of both worlds now. It seems that only parents that can afford private tuition get their children in to a grammar where they are available. Unlike when I went, students travel from many mikes away, not just the local town ( my home town still has two grammars left). In the comprehensive system, to get into the best schools you need to afford a house in the catchment area. Both systems are heavily biased against the poor. I was lucky. My dad was a builder, I passed my 11+ and got to university at a time when far fewer school leavers went than go now. What the solution to the problem is goes far deeper than just the school system, and I admit I don't have a clue.

For the second time in less than a month I have had my windscreen wipers stolen from my car while parked overnight on the road outside. I have also had my aerial stolen this year, and previously had wing mirror casings as well as having had my windscreen wipers taken several times. I'm getting really fed up of it and wondering if other Astra (or any other car for that matter) owners in the area are having the same issues.

My husband witnessed this. He told me about it when he got in and I've asked him about it again now. He was the cyclist waiting behind the second bus. Another car was also stopped behind him. A car passed both of them at speed and was in the action of overtaking the buses when the accident happened.

Of more interest regarding planning matters is who the developers (or their agents) are. A planning application we are fighting against has a former planning officer of the council working for the developers. It is clear from the correspondance on the planning website that they all know each other well, on first name terms etc. It's not illegal but it does raise some questions about just where the council planning officers loyalties lie. They are supposed to be public servants. Sadly the whole planning system is skewed in favour of the developers, just look at what happened over Devonshire Green and the Rare and Racy block.

Can anyone recommend someone who teachers adult beginners on the viola? Thanks.

Sorry if I didn't quite get across properly what I was trying to say. Of course, plans need checking to stop time wasting before being submitted and I would never make a sweeping generalisation about planning officers being evil monsters. But the truth is the odds are stacked heavily in favour of developers, the vast majority of whom are not affected by their plans which often involve squeezing as much money out of a plot of land as possible regardless of the effects on the local community. They can appeal a decision but those who oppose cannot, at least not without risking financial ruin. At the appeal stage things get even worse. The developers can request a written appeal opposed to a hearing and will usually get that, meaning another officer based in Bristol will make the decision based on the reports and objections originally submitted to the council. If the original planning officer recommended approval the chances are good that the appeal will be upheld. On top of this, the person defending the council's decision to refuse will be the very planning officer who worked with the developers in the first place. The developers also have the final say, so they can argue against anything you write in objection but you do not have the right to reply. Lies and half truths are put forward (and also put in the original report by the planning officer) such as 'there will be no road safety or parking issues' which those who live in the locality know to be rubbish. One that's started doing the rounds is to not provide parking on the grounds that they are near shops and bus routes so residents will not need to have a car! Given the situation, it is hardly surprising that planning boards are reluctant to refuse many larger scale developments. This is what I meant when I said it's the system that's wrong.

From being involved in fighting a planning application in my own locality, I can tell you that the real problem lies with the planning officers rather than the elected councilors. To start with, planning regulations are so skewed in favour of developers and against objectors. Secondly the planning officers are on such good terms with the developers. Glancing at any of the letters between developers and the planning officers will show this, first name terms etc The one we have been fighting formally worked at the council themselves. They work with the developers to ensure that even if the plans are heavily objected to, if they don't go against planning laws they can't be refused. The officers are not against bending the truth and writing down everything the developers tell them at face value, even when many objectors know that much of what they say is not true. The officers are so pro the developers it is scary. It is them you need to turn your anger to and the system that allows them to operate the way they do. The councilors know that if they refuse an application and it goes to appeal the council will have heavy costs if the developers win. The officers know this and use this to push schemes through. I too am sickened with the success of this planning application. Officers recommend approval and persuade the councilors that an application satisfies planning laws so has no chance of appeal. The whole system stinks.

I've used Steve Jones at Scorpion Motorcycles since I moved to Sheffield just over 20 years ago. Top bloke, great mechanic and he won't rip you off. http://www.scorpionmotorcycles.co.uk/ Whatever you do, stay away from SMC. never used them myself but I've heard plenty of rip off stories from people who have. Also heard good things about Manhatten.

Sorry for resurrecting an old topic, but I really need a good piano piano tuner since the excellent Peter Inchley cut his work load down and no longer covers where I live Can anyone recommend someone good? Thanks.

Hope your friend finds their cat. Have they reported it to the police? A pedigree cat like a siamese may have been stolen, but I hope not. Could they have got stuck in someone's shed or garage who have gone on holiday? Knock round neighbors doors etc. A cat that distinctive my have been remembered. Good luck.

Another reason why Armstrong is so much worse than anyone else is that as well as bullying his team to dope too, he also encouraged the continuation / resumption of doping post Festina, putting the fight against doping back a good 10 years. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/12/us-cycling-doping-ullrich-mentor-idUSBRE89B0EO20121012 There have also been suggestions that his cancer may have been triggered by the use of drugs. Imagine what a force for good he could have been if he'd come clean at the time of his diagnosis. The only real surprise in all this was that he finally came up against someone in Travis Tygart who couldn't be bullied / bribed into silence.

Went past today and saw a JCB and a couple of workmen in there. I know the Tesco plan was thrown out a few years ago, so does anyone know what's going to be built here? Hope it's not yet another supermarket.

As far as the complaints about supply teachers go, don't assume that it is an actual qualified teacher taking a class, it is more likely to be a cover supervisor at FV. I work as a supply teacher, and yes like any other profession there are good and bad. What is disruptive to the students, however good the supply teacher is, is the lack of consistency. Unless you have a teacher qualified in that particular subject, who knows the school, who in effect takes over from an absent teacher completely, you are likely to get some problems. What you often get is a stream of different teachers who are not specialised in or knowledgeable enough themselves in the subject they are covering. The odd day you can perhaps get by, but not if this is long term. Some subjects are harder for a non specialist to cover short term than others. The fact that many students will not respond to discipline from a supply teacher ( if that teacher is not backed up by the school), will make any problems worse too. I only work only in a small number of schools where I know I get this back up. Some schools I wouldn't touch with a bargepole due to the lack of support after one visit there. Anyway, to get back to my point about FV. I used to do a fair amount of work at Wisewood. I always enjoyed going there. The staff were supportive, the students generally responded to you and the school had a good atmosphere. When it was closing, many of the older, experienced staff were being pushed out. I only did a couple of days in the first term of opening at FV. Many of the staff were unhappy, the atmosphere wasn't the same. I find many of these new build schools 'soulless' for want of a better description. Anyway, I stopped getting any work from FV because they only wanted cover supervisors to save costs (I was led to believe much of this was due to the money spent on the new building). I presume this is still the case. For those who don't know, a cover supervisor is not a teacher, only a few GCSE's are needed. Their job is to mind a class, deal with any behaviour issues and give out any work set. They don't have to teach it. This would explain why videos have been shown in some classes if there wasn't any suitable work available. This is happening in several schools. With academies it will only get worse as they don't have to employ qualified teachers. Being run as a business, they are even more likely to use cover supervisors instead of qualified teachers to cover staff absence. I am suspicious that it seems to be schools still under local authority control that seem to be getting more of the 'special measures' and 'notice to improve' categories. A school with high staff absence (across a large number of staff rather than a small number taking a lot of absence) suggests there are issues with the school that need addressing.

That might be true if she'd known she was leaving last time I saw her, but I don't need to go that often (not been since christmas). The fact she was working in someone elses clinic (who in the last year or so has tried to to persuade her patients to see them instead) probably means that she wasn't allowed to take details with her and contact people.