White Feather

Hello, I started to dig a hole for a new pond in our back garden and now have a decent sized hole, but am looking for a recommended expert to come and finish it off - e.g. level the edges and lay the liner. Hopefully a day's work, i.e. I've done the donkey work but now need someone with experience and skill. Any recommendations? Thanks!

Hello, Just wanted some advice on flooring for our garage. The concrete floor gets wet in the rain (we live on a hill, so rain trickles in under the door then dries without any obvious problems). I'm wanting to buy 4 square metres of something like Grasslok (e.g. http://www.playdale.co.uk/products/surfacing/grasslok/ ), so our feet don't get wet when entering the garage from the house to access the washing machine etc. Grasslok seems OK at about £20 per square metre, but postage from the websites I've viewed is very expensive, so I'm looking for either a Sheffield retailer I can collect from, or an alternative idea. Thanks!

Interesting! I was there at 9.30am, expecting to do a fair bit of shopping but it was closed. (We'd had a busy weekend so couldn't do much shopping before Christmas, and planned to stock up this morning.) Pretty disappointing really. I've e-mailed them to let them know. If their website were accurate we could have planned accordingly, but to give inaccurate information is a bit poor.

The train is worth considering - you can put your bike on fairly easily and they're every 30 minute coming home. The daily train cost is about the same as the petrol cost (cheaper if you buy a train season ticket).

Endcliffe Parkrun is fantastic - Saturdays at 9am. It meets most of your requirements and has an element of friendly competition. http://www.parkrun.org.uk/SheffieldHallam/Home.aspx

Fascinating! Where in Sheffield and where in London? Two hours on the train sounds good, but Docklands is >45 minutes from St Pancras, for example. Can you work at home? Or can you be based at home on a Sheffield salary (e.g. 2 x your current) with travel expenses paid for (e.g. two days at home and three in London in a hotel on expenses)? Just out of interest, what kind of job / industry are we talking about? 3 x is a big multiple. Well done for getting the job!

Hi, Thanks for the offer. I was thinking more of an initial service (either as soon as I've bought the bike, or after a couple of hundred miles) to tighten up spokes and check the moving parts are OK (not too sure what I'm talking about here...). For the measurement, I'm assuming that Halfords would do that, with the realistic choices being between Large and Extra Large (I'm 6' 2"). Does this make sense? Thanks again,

Hi, Thinking of buying a Boardman bike from Halfords (they are the exclusive distributer). Reviews of the bike are stunningly good, but tend to suggest going to a local bike specialist to get the initial set up right. Can anyone recommend somewhere (ideally in S11) that could do this please? Presumably JE James etc won't be too keen on setting up a bike sold by their rivals? Thanks,

Free bin bags. They're great.

E-mail Primary Admissions with details of your suspicion - as others have said, cheating is bang out of order. You'll then spark a brilliant Human Rights debate, whereby your neighbour's son could be denied a place at his chosen school because of a crime committed by his mother. But that's not your problem. If you're worried about your neighbour finding out, then be careful what else you post to this forum from your existing account.

A slightly related issue (didn't think it worth starting a new thread, but apologies if I should have)... we're redecorating and have a fair amount of chipboard, from old fitted furniture, to get rid of. Options include taking it to the Blackstock Road tip or burning it on the wood burner. So two questions: (a) is it safe to burn chipboard on a wood burner, or will it damage the fire / flue or poison us etc; and (b) is it better for the environment if we drive to Blackstock Road, put the chipboard in the wood skip, then heat our house using gas central heating or logs which somehow need transporting; or is it better to burn the chipboard to heat the house, and in doing so, release whatever chemicals are stored within it? I appreciate there are cost and time angles to this, but the safety and environmental angles are more important for now. Also, I'm assuming that it's legal to burn something that's safe and environmentally sensible. Thanks!

Fixed and all sorted (for now, at least). Thanks again for the responses.

Thanks everyone! Ours is still not working and the Virgin Helpdesk said it should be fixed by 4pm this afternoon. Apparently it's not affecting every customer - it depends on how the cabling is routed to the exchange. Surprised it's not affecting many others though. Let's see if they're right...

Hi, Is anyone else suffering from a Virgin broadband and TV outage? Ours has been off (in S11) since this morning. There's no known issues listed on the Virgin website, but the guy on their Helpdesk said the main cable is being replaced with no timescale for fixing it. Thanks,

Some really useful replies and PMs - thanks! Separate question (but linked - hence the same thread) is about Security Lights. Does anyone have advice on PIR controlled floodlights? I'm unsure whether 150 watt or 500 watt is best for installing on a driveway / backdoor. Also, this article http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/burglary/burglary45.htm puts a different slant on things. Thanks again!

Hello, Could anyone recommend someone who could fit a burglar alarm to a house in Sheffield please? Also, any tips would be great, on what to buy / what not to buy for a fairly standard semi-detached house in the suburbs, with young children living there. Thanks!

There's not much of a pavement, but I've jogged up Long Line a few times and it's been fine - give it a go!

I've mixed feelings about green bins. If they're the same size as a black bin, and collected monthly, then ours would be overflowing. At least the bags are collected on demand, so there's effectively no limit on the volume of green rubbish.

Quick question... the suggestions like 'wait until dusk, then go to the nest and xxx' ... what do people wear when doing this? I'm thinking that the wasps will get angry and sting anyone in sight. So, are people wearing full protective gear, or just jeans / t-shirt etc and making a run for it? Thanks,

SiSiSi - which Council charged 49 quid? I thought Sheffield CC would deal with this without charging?

I found a wasps nest in our garden last night, so have e-mailed Sheffield Council's Environmental health people asking for help. Does anyone know how long it should take from the Council receiving the e-mail to the wasps being gone? The nest seems to have grown pretty quickly (it's bigger than a football now and there's lots of wasps in our garden). Thanks!

This happens on our road all the time. Also, I once saw the lorry stopping next door, so asked if I could throw on my one extra bag, to avoid them having to make another journey, and they refused, because the lorry has a planned capacity so they have no discretion. But the planned capacity must be based on an average weight / volume per bag, so it's not going to an exact science. I don't see why they couldn't plan for the lorry to be 95% full rather than 100%, then they have some discretion to take extras and prevent more trips, which must be beneficial for them in the long run? Similarly, the lorry will sometimes come along our road three times per week, taking certain bags each day. Presumably a better way of route-planning and weekly scheduling could prevent this?

I think a few out-of-catchment siblings missed out at Ecclesall Infants; and some people (in- and out-of-catchment) missed out at Greystones. Apparently Greystones are having an extra class next year?

TOG. That's brilliant!! Did Dizzyblonde just invent a new phrase or am I out of touch?

Hi, There's plenty going on at Ecclesall Church - various groups for the kids that meet during the week, including Brownies etc. Have a look at their website (http://www.ecclesall.parishchurch.org.uk/) or ask around at the school gates. Welcome to the area!