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Education staff are exposed to an enormous amount of people, with often very little or no chance of wearing PPE at work. If flu goes through staff at a school, etc, then the "bubbles" put in place to ensure safety will be burst. They're trying to keep as many kids in education as possible, after so much disruption this year.

I've read a couple of enjoyable shorter books this week - taking just enough (but not too much) brain power in these weird times. I seem to be struggling to get into a heavy book at the mo. This seems to be fairly common among friends and family too. Ann Cleeves - Dead Water (a novel from her Shetland series); The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (psychoterapist tries to get a woman who murdered her husband to speak); and Paper Girls by Alex Smith (big city detective relocates to Norfolk and gets embroiled in a missing girls case). All good reads, rolling merrily along in an entertaining fashion. The Ann Cleeves one was by far the best, she writes her characters really well, just enough detail to be interesting, but no so much that you can't fill in your own details. Happily, my mum has just dropped me a large carrier bag of books off, so I have plenty to be going on with!

Regarding affordable housing - does anyone know what that equates to in Sheffield, ie how much to rent/buy? I'm too lazy to google 😉

We've been spending hours trawling that auction site! I'm tempted to get all my christmas presents from there. Waxwork of Prince Philip for my brother, replica cannon for grandma... 🤣

They can appeal or they might put in revised plans (I suspect very few developers expect a first time pass!). Quite interesting to read the objections and comments. Certainly a lot of NIMBYism, alongside genuine issues such as traffic concerns at Malin Bridge. I liked Funding for Sport's comments about needing people to make the community thrive and to ensure provision of services. This is what often gets forgotten when things like public transport is cut. Throughout the last year I've rarely seen a Bradfield bus with more than a couple of people on it - more houses in the valley will increase demand for those rural services, and will hopefully save them for the wider community.

We recently paid about £200 plus vat for sills, lintels and varnishing of wooden frames on the whole terrace house. It was one painter, and his lad doing the prep work, so that may be why it was cheapish.

Thanks Jeffrey! I searched for a four week block, and... nothing. I'll book one of the other sessions, and City centre next time. 😊

Is the main blood donation centre in town shutting? I've tried to make my next appointment, but the option to book into the main centre isn't available any more. I donated there in July, but wasn't able to book the next appointment at the time.

For general washing (including children's grass stained gear and OH's running clothes), we've found the best results are with non-bio powder (use half a scoop), and instead of any fabric softener, we use the equivalent amount of white vinegar. The clothes don't come out smelling of vinegar, and it really does neutralise any lingering sweaty smells. For any grease stains, we use Universal Stain Spray 10 mins before washing, which works well. A washing machine repairer told us that everyone uses way too much power - half a scoop is ample for a full load, and fabric softener causes build up on the machine, and on fibres of your clothes which mean they don't last as long. He recommended running a very hot wash once a month with an empty drum, with soda crystals instead of detergent. Remember to clean the door seal regularly, and dry the machine with the door left open - or your wash will stink like wet dogs!

Awful trying to get down Shalesmoor/Penistone Road end, even off-peak times now. Surely with the width of the pavements round there, the sensible solution would have been to split the walkway, and put a cycle lane on the path NEXT TO the road? Obviously it would need barriers for safety and clear pedestrian crossing points.

Recently got through Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. Booker prize winner, I think. I didn't really enjoy it, it follows 12 characters and how they are girl/woman/other. Their paths cross, but as none of the characters seemed to have any redeeming features, you don't feel any warmth towards them. I'm reading The Beekeeper of Aleppo now, it's very good.

I used to subscribe from the beginning, but stopped when it became very in-jokey and knowing, which put me off. It was a shame, as it was initially a great mag to discover things from. They started to write off huge chunks of music and genres if it didn't fit their personal tastes.

Absolute Proof by Peter James. Very much in the style of The da Vinci Code, it romps merrily along getting sillier and sillier, building up to.... Nothing much. Its another one of those books where the author seems to have no idea how to end it, and it just fizzles out.

Replying to JOHN HABS I saw a man in Boots in town with presumably the same problem, he had a small pad of paper and he wrote his questions down, and the Pharmacy staff replied likewise. Many staff also wear the clear visors for ease of lipreading.

Contact Harrisons on London Road for a price. We sold a couple of cameras to them earlier this year, they were able to test them in the shop (we had lost one of the chargers) and they gave a decent price.