Blocked drains

The photo is of gully grates on the north side of Fulwood Road, between Tapton Park Road and the junction of Manchester Road at Broomhill.
Blocked drainsBlocked drains
Blocked drains

The photos were taken on Saturday, December 2 at 11am.

As the photo shows they are completely blocked and have been for at least the last six months.

There is also a pavement on the same stretch of road showing that during the last 24 hours someone at Highways has authorised for the leaves to be swept away from the kerb edge?

What is the sense in that?

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Now in the interest of the health and safety of motorists and pedestrians would it not be better to put our council tax, speed camera and parking fines into keeping the drains and pavements clear?

No we can’t do that we are too busy chopping down trees to make the roads and pavements safer.

Christopher J Hines

Tapton Park Gardens, S10

Tech is not always good

I see that Nat West are having to lay off a large number of staff. I’m afraid that’s the price we have to pay for modern technology. People are doing their banking on line more and more.

It’s nothing new of course. I can go back as far as the 70s, when I was working on a maintenance job in Lincoln. There was a huge forge there call Smith-Clayton. I saw this man sitting on this contraption on tracks and was intrigued because my dad worked in a forge in Sheffield and it was like watching something from another world.

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As I watched, this machine he was on picked up about eight billets, pressed a button, the furnace lifted and he pushed the billets in while at the same time, taking one out which was ‘ready’, placing it under the hammer and proceeded to hammer it into shape. I says to the fella, what a piece of equipment that is. He said well it should be for what it costs,£40,000.

I asked him how many men worked there before you acquired that? He said, six. I said I bet the other five blokes that got laid off don’t think very highly of it.

Another example is the central boiler house at the Sheffield University used to house three Seaman’s boilers, which are the size of a petrol tanker and required about six men to operate them.

They were replaced by some gizmo the size of a wheelie bin that did the same job, again, operated by one man.

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And finally my personal pet hate, the dreaded answer machine.

Anybody remember the good old days when you rang your doctors or a business and someone would pick up the phone and say, how can I help you?

Not any more, you have to press this button and that button and after about five minutes you would get to speak to someone.

New technology is not always beneficial to everyone. Just ask those poor people who have lost their jobs because of it.

Ted Fowler

by email

Her legacy will live on

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Sandra Howard , founder of Fable (For a Better Life with Epilepsy) was one of Sheffield’s can do people who set out to achieve help and encouragement for those with epilepsy .

In founding Fable she was not only able to provide medical information and education for those who had epilepsy but encouraged them to reach their dreams.

She was able to get access to famous people to support her and meet with clients.

Her death is a sad loss for Sheffield but her legacy will live on.

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Fable has a walk in centre for anyone who wants to find out about Epilepsy or wants to know more about what help is available.

Roger Davison

by email

Park Hill in top 10 list

After Sheffield’s Firth Brown Research Laboratories, where Harry Brearley discovered stainless steel, made it onto Historic England’s list of 10 locations of scientific discoveries that made our country, we have a second accolade, this time in the top 10 Homes and Gardens: Park Hill, now ranked with the likes of Windsor Castle and Blenheim Palace (see https://historicengland.org.uk/get-involved/100-places/homes-gardens/#Section10Text).

Opinion may be divided on the flats, but one thing we should all agree on is that more national recognition for Sheffield’s unique heritage can only be good for the city, and more should be done to celebrate it.

Here’s to further success in the remaining categories to be judged over the coming months.

J Robin Hughes

Towngate Road, Worrall,

Sheffield, S35

Par for the course?

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Strolling through the jewel in the crown that is Kelham Island, several of us notice that Amey have tarmacked over the cobbles in Cornish Street.

Is this par for the course in what I presume is a conservation area?

Ron Clayton

S6

No scanning at Hillsborough

As an 86-year-old SWFC supporter, I usually access the North Stand via the Penistone Road turn-styles, where I understand that for this game I would have been searched and scanned!

However, I had an invitation from the club to watch this game from the director’s box.

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As I used the director’s box entrance of the South Stand I was neither searched or scanned. Perhaps The Star can ask the club to explain that anomaly?

I also understand from other spectators that they were advised that they would no longer be allowed to take into the ground any sealed bottled drinks, such as Coca Cola, as these could be used as “missiles”.

Strange, because such bottles can be purchased within the ground! (and presumably used as “missiles”?)

I suspect this is probably a ploy to sell more produce within the ground?

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Finally, fans are to be restricted in respect of the type, size of bag/case they can take into the ground, yet I notice there was no such restriction on the metal cases used by members of the band, which they used to carry their instruments!

The club’s comments would be appreciated.

Alan Gardner

Grenobank Road, Sheffield, S35

We love Star crossword

The Sheffield star double crossword tests one’s, for want of a better word intelligence, no mention of the compiler.

My guess is probably an old Etonian or of that ilk, a wordsmith springs to mind. Maybe he or she compiles for the Financial Times but saying that keep testing Star readers, we love it.

EB Warris

by email