We've had a worrying few days when a member of our team came down with Swine Flu and had some difficulty accessing information and treatment - but she's completely better and back at work now.

Also, you may remember that a little while ago we sent Memnos down to Cornwall to learn to surf, at the Big Blue Surf School, where teacher Becky gives instruction in BSL. We were delighted to find out that a couple of viewers were inspired by Memnos's heroics on the high seas and have gone for lessons themselves. We've also heard from Deaf Surf dude Harry Hilliar, who went to Hawaii to compete in the World Deaf Surf Championships. Harry did well, coming 3rd for the Under 30's short boarding and 3rd for the under 30's longboarding competition. He got through to the open short board final but wasn't placed and is determined to make it to Brazil for the next Championships, in 2011.

And, if you're the sort of person who's fascinated by our Stories Behind the Signs and you're hungry for a deeper knowledge of linguistics, DCAL is going to be running a Linguistic course for 11 weeks on Thursdays from 8th October to 17th December and they're looking for Deaf people to enrol. For course information look at http://www.dcal.ucl.ac.uk/course/bslling06.html

And some other members of our team managed to get a good helping of mud and sunshine at Glastonbury, where they were filming with a crowd of young Deaf festival-goers and brushing shoulders with Tom Jones and Lily Allen. In case you think they're having too much fun in the line of duty, they would like to point out that they managed to lose the stoppers for their inflatable sleeping mats and were forced to sleep on very bumpy ground...

We're also working on an education special, looking at the difficulties of a family who are trying to work out how to educate their son who is Deaf and autistic, and following the NDCS campaign to improve acoustics in school classrooms. Acoustic design is also at the heart of a story we're filming about restaurants, where we've been finding out that some pared-down canteen-style chain restaurants are too uncomfortably loud for hearing-impaired diners.

Memnos has been working on his Stories Behind the Signs and we have discovered that Radha has definite potential as a biker chick...

Are there other Deaf or Hard of Hearing stories you'd like to see us covering? Please let us know and we'll do our best.

On this week's show we meet renowned children's author Julia Donaldson - who has written over 70 books and sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide. Her works have been translated into 40 languages, including BSL. Her most famous creations include The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Stick Man and Monkey Puzzle. Julia has suffered mild hearing loss since her twenties, and has now drawn on her experiences to create a new book about a Deaf Fairy. See Hear visited Julia at her home in Glasgow to talk about her stories, her sources of inspiration, and her collaborations with artist Axel Scheffler.

Also this week, we meet Kate Pepper, a deaf woman who works with police horses at the West Hampstead branch of the Metropolitan Mounted Police. She has learned to use the body language of her horses to feel more secure when accompanying officers on their patrols.

We also have the latest instalment of Memnos' Stories Behind the Signs, which highlights some of the BSL signs that have caused the most confusion.

To watch this programme on the iPlayer, click here. If you want to have subtitles, just press the 's' on the right-hand side of the bottom bar that appears after you have pressed play.

Deaf Parenting UK is now growing into an internationally recognised charity, and has organised a key education conference on Friday 12 June at London's City Hall. The conference will focus on three key areas: educating professionals about the needs of Deaf parents; accessing children's education; and educating Deaf parents on their rights and entitlement.

For more information on Deaf Parenting UK, or the education conference, visit:

Also this week, Radha returns with another Culture Review, this time focusing on the latest developments in Deaf film. She is joined by Cathy Heffernan - a film critic for The Guardian, and the TV and film director Louis Neethling. They discuss important new Deaf films, as well as the representation of Deaf characters within mainstream movies.

FILMS FEATURED

Voices from El-Sayed

Also in this week's programme, we speak to Deaf athletes who feel they have been short-changed by the sports funding system and are now having to pay for themselves to go to the Deaflympics in Taipei. Hammer thrower Bethan Lishman has had to borrow £3,000 to pay for her flights and accommodation, while Liverpudlian footballers Gary Crofton and Gary Spotswood are having to raise similar sums.

Continuing our sporting theme, we also speak to 18-year old Wigan-based deaf rugby player Ryan Owen, who plays for the Warrington Wolves Under-18s and is now perched on the brink of stardom. Despite being advised by his doctors that an injury could further damage his hearing, Ryan is determined to carve out a successful career in the Super League. He has had a special skull-cap made to accommodate his hearing aid, so that he can hear specific sounds like the referee's whistle or the calls in the scrums.

Finally this week, we have the latest instalment of Memnos' Stories Behind the Signs, this time looking at cultures that have developed their own specific groups of signs - including gay, Greek, Jewish and black cultures, as well as schools.

To watch this programme on the iPlayer, click here. If you want to have subtitles, just press the 's' on the right-hand side of the bottom bar that appears after you have pressed play.