I’m now into my sixth day of a Hunger Strike. As I write this I’m experiencing feelings of disorientation, dizziness, I’m bloody hungry and my abdominal muscles are repeatedly cramping up and signalling to my addled brain that I need to eat before it’s to late.

Why have I done this? Because Hereford Football Clubs Board decided to dismiss Peter Beadle. Not only that, his replacements, two of them, and a raft of others support staff, who’s antecedent history appears to be unblemished by any measureable football achievements, seem intent on following a unique and radical football philosophy that’s built upon a belief that we don’t need to score a goal.

And the Chairman knows of my act of self sacrifice. Initially I told him that I was going to take my seat in the Merton Stand and engage in a Dirty Protest by covering myself in my own human excrement. His words to me, and I quote, ‘ not a chance you dirty bastard. The Stewards will not allow you into the ground’. Undeterred, I told the Chairman, ‘right then, you awkward sod, from hereon I’m on Hunger Strike and until such times as you lot reinstate Peter and rid our Club of the current management not one morsel of life giving nourishing food will be spooned into my fat face’. This cruel and insensitive power crazed Chairman then sent me packing telling me, ‘starve fatso. By the looks of your gut it’ll take twelve months before you meet your headstone.’

And so, here I am, barely able to walk, unable to climb the steps to take my seat in E Block and more determined than ever to carry out my Hunger Strike. And let’s be clear shall we. If I die of starvation, and God knows it’s bloody likely, my passing will be down to two people. The Chairman of my club and my wife who disappointingly seems overly enthusiastic in her steadfast encouragement that I starve to death.

And I won’t crack! I know what I’ll have, what I won’t have and what I might be forced to have if they hook me up to a drip to prolong my suffering and I ain’t having this. I demand the Board meet my demands and until such times as they realise what and who they are up against I’ll continue to starve to death unless Peter is reinstated.

What can any of you do to support my quest? Well don’t send me any food packages for starters. My wife won’t give it to me and I’ll be damned if I eat it. If any of you have little or no desire to watch me wither away into a skeletal state and you want Peter Beadle back then tell the lads on the Meadow End who’ll surely support my cause. If you can, Get on Twitter # bobby47 must eat or # Save the Merton 1 &Sack the Board.

And that’s it. My mind is set and there’s no going back. And should I die, my headstone will read, ‘Christ I was hungry’.

13/11/2018 Herefordshire Council

Development and regeneration programme Hereford Football Stadium refurbishment preliminary appraisal

Recommendations Approved (subject to call-in)

Decision details
Development and regeneration programme Hereford Football Stadium refurbishment preliminary appraisal

Decision Maker: Cabinet member contracts and assets

Decision status: Recommendations Approved (subject to call-in)

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: Yes

To approve the scope and cost of the first stage of appraisal services to be provided by the council’s developer partner, Engie Regeneration, in respect of a potential project to refurbish and redevelop part of the Edgar Street Stadium, the Blackfriars Stand and the West Stand, supported by funding from the provision of new commercial uses which meet the needs of the wide community of stakeholders and are complementary to the local area including the Old Market.

Here are a few good photographs taken over High Town during the Christmas lights switch on this evening.

Thank you to Simon Dimps for sending us these images.

This has to be a fine example of how to treat the beautiful buildings of our county.  Wonderful isn't it?  Hats off to the the developers responsible for this HERE

Super-observant Herefordians stuck in the morning rush hour into the city on Friday, may have observed black smoke emanating from that strange tile-clad chimney alongside the Stonebow Unit.

Such a phenomenon rarely occurs in our cathedral city, though in Rome, white smoke is emitted from the Vatican chimneys every time ex-Pope Ratzinga changes his Gucci slippers.

I understand that the reason for today’s Stonebow emission was to celebrate the fact that the hapless Dominic Raab MP (who lasted all of six weeks in the job) has been replaced as Minister for Exiting Brexit by none other than the gurning Michael Gooooooove. You just couldn’t make it up!

I am very frustrated today, some vile idiot has removed the donated duck feeding advice sign from the wall at the duck pond and thrown it into the pond. 

Toys R Us

Maplins

Chimi ................. eating place in the OLM

The first 2 have gone into administration and the last one closing places throughout the country and those are the ones that have been announced today.  What is causing these hard times?  Should the Cons be worried that a recession is on it's way?

It would be very interesting to know how many jobs in this country have been lost since Christmas and how many jobs have been created.

Plans have been passed for 80 new homes land between Gosmore Road and The Seven Stars Public House Gosmore Road Clehonger Herefordshire by Persimmon Homes East Wales.

The original outline planning application P173007/RM & P142349/O  - Non Material Amendment submitted P181775/AM.

So yesterday i noticed in the HT that there is to be a meeting on the 30th October at the Left Bank regarding the Southern Link Road, chaired by the representative from the Ministry. I mentioned this to a friend of mine last night in passing and he informed me that the head of Tarmac has been out to the local quarries asking if they have the load carrying capacity for the new road, as construction is due to start in March next year.

I thought that the Ministry had the final say on the go ahead after it was referred to them? Anyone heard anything else about it?

Special train to honour all of the GWR fallen

Intercity Express Train named after Herefordshire-born Lance Corporal Allan Leonard Lewis VC and Flight Sub-Lieutenant Harold Day DSC.

Intercity Express Train named after Allan Leonard Lewis VC and Harold Day DSC

Great Western Railway (GWR) marked 100 years since the end of the Great War by unveiling a very special train prior to a remembrance service for fallen railway workers at Paddington Station (Friday 9 November).

The Intercity Express Train features the names of all 2,545 men who worked for the GWR and died during the war, and was welcomed into London Paddington by relatives of those killed. 

The train was also named after two of those who died, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Harold Day, DSC, the only railway man to become a flying ace and Herefordshire-born Lance Corporal Allan Leonard Lewis VC, whose name had historically been omitted from the GWR Roll of Honour. Present for the ceremony were relatives of both Harold Day and Allan Leonard Lewis.

To recognise all of the lives lost, the full train has been given a distinctive design stretching over both sides of the nine carriages including the driving cabs at either end of the Intercity Express Train. The Roll of Honour features detail of where they worked for the company, their rank, regiment, where they were killed and where they are either remembered or buried. From the 2,545 names, one hundred will also feature in more detail on the train, including pictures and background stories.

Great Western Railway Deputy Managing Director Matthew Golton said:

Quote

“The role of the railway in helping mobilise the country and sustain the war effort was immense. Over 25,000 employees of GWR volunteered to serve, a third of the company at the time. It is therefore fitting that as we remember all those who took part in this terrible conflict, we honour those of the GWR who fell.”

Lance Corporal Allan Lewis VC's great niece Dawn Lewis next to the Intercity Express Train named in his honour

Allan Leonard Lewis' great niece Dawn Lewis said:

Quote

“Why Allan was never included on the GWR Roll of Honour is a mystery, but I am thrilled that his extraordinary valour is now commemorated in such a spectacular and moving way.”

Those being remembered worked in all areas of the company; engineers, labourers, solicitors, carriage cleaners and apprentices from across the GWR network. At the time the network stretched from Paddington to Penzance, and as far north as Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Allan in the uniform of the Army Service Corps (c) A L Lewis VC Memorial Fund

Lance Corporal Allan Leonard Lewis VC

Allan Lewis was born Whitney-on-Wye, Herefordshire, one of nine children. He left school at thirteen to work on the land eventually becoming a gardener at Truscoed House near Llandeilo in West Wales.

Lewis always enjoyed working with machines and this led to him becoming an employee of the Great Western Railway.  He moved to Neath and after a period as a conductor he drove a GWR bus on the Pontardawe route.

Lewis joined the army in Neath in March 1915. On 18 September 1918 at Rossnoy, near Lempire, France, Lance Corporal Lewis was in command of a section on the right of the attacking line held up by intense machine gun fire. He saw that two guns were enfilading the line and crawled forward alone, successfully bombed the guns and by rifle fire made the whole team surrender. On 21 September he rushed his company through the enemy barrage, but was killed while getting his men under cover from heavy machine-gun fire. 

Lance Corporal Lewis VC - Herefordshire’s only county-born World War 1 Victoria Cross recipient - was commemorated with a stone plaque dedication at Hereford Cathedral and bronze statue at Hereford Old Market on 21 September 2018, 100 years to the day of his passing.

From HCC today.

Update from @HfdsStreets
Welsh Water works on Three Elms Road, Hereford|
Welsh Water has informed Herefordshire Council that there is a water leak on their newly installed mains pipe situated under Three Elms Road in Hereford. The company is writing to local residents and businesses to inform them of the leak and planned work to repair it. This work will commence on Saturday November 24 and be complete by Friday November 30 at the latest. Temporary two-way traffic lights will be in operation between 8am and 4pm each day.
Clive Hall, Acting Assistant Director for Highways and Transport at Herefordshire Council said:
 “Local residents and businesses were delighted when Welsh Water works on Three Elms Road were completed and we had delivered a new road surface. We are extremely disappointed to learn of Welsh Water’s need to return to the site. If Herefordshire Council had known that work had not been completed to the required standard when Welsh Water withdrew from the site we would have delayed resurfacing work.
 
“We are insisting that work is completed by Friday November 30 at the latest. Further, Welsh Water will have to completely resurface the entire width of road where new work takes place and for some distance either side, not just patch where they dig. We will inspect the resurfacing after they are done to ensure that the quality of the road is of the same high standard recently delivered by Balfour Beatty Living Places.
 
“It is hugely regrettable that local businesses and residents are going to be disrupted again so soon.”
 
Welsh Water are informing residents that the leak is situated near the junction of Bakers Lane and Three Elms Road, by The Range store.

Birmingham business fined £29,000 following abandoned trailer on A49

Largest prosecution fine for unlawful waste disposal awarded to Herefordshire Council 

Birmingham business MJB Truck Services Limited has received fines and costs totalling £29,000, and Director Jason Bowser (45, of Old College Drive, Wednesbury) received a three year conditional discharge, following the unlawful disposal of hazardous waste on the A49 outside Ross-on-Wye.

In an earlier hearing at Hereford Magistrates’ Court (24 October 2018), MJB Truck Services Limited and Mr Bowser pleaded guilty to failing in their duty of care to transfer their business waste, which included hazardous waste oil from an industrial process, to an authorised person and to secure the transfer with a written description of the waste.

In December 2017, Herefordshire Council put out an appeal for information about an articulated trailer that was dumped on the A49 layby at Much Birch, between Ross-on-Wye and Hereford. Officers from the council’s Community Protection Team discovered that the trailer had been abandoned containing approximately 24,000 litres of waste oil.

The articulated trailer contained approximately 24,000 litres of an oil

Although the trailer had all of its identification markings removed, following an extensive eleven month investigation with assistance from the local Environment Agency enforcement team, officers were able to trace the trailer’s ownership from a hire sticker on the trailer. It was eventually established that Jason Bowser had purchased the trailer from an online auction site, giving a false company name to the seller.

The articulated trailer has a distinctive camel image on the back

Mr Bowser admitted that he instructed an unknown third party to dispose of the trailer and its contents for a £3000 cash payment. Bowser also admitted that he knew that it was possible that the third party may illegally dispose of the trailer and its contents, but he transferred the waste regardless.

David Hough, Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards Service Manager, said:

Quote

“This is the largest fine Herefordshire Council has been awarded for a trade waste prosecution, and reflects the considerable environmental risk posed by the abandoned contaminated liquid, which would have had a catastrophic effect if the liquid had leaked into the surrounding countryside and watercourses. All businesses must ensure they have appropriate duty of care measures in place so their trade waste is disposed of correctly, and we will take action against any business that illegally disposes of their waste.”

Councillor Barry Durkin, Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Regulatory Services, said:

Quote

“In this particular case, the significant fine reflects the potential environmental risk posed by the abandoned waste. By bringing this case to prosecution, Herefordshire Council has shown that we will take action against any householder or business that illegally disposes of their waste.”

Hello from across the Atlantic,

My sister recently attended Freedom Academy and it has turned into a disaster for our family and her mind. She was brainwashed, taken for her money and family support, abused, they did not report suicidal attempts, and then finally left her abandoned in her time of need.

I want to help families come together against this cult. Is there an existing group or someone I can contact?

What is already being done to stop them?

acitizen76

As a new member, I am not sure whether this has been aired before . . . but is anyone else sick and tired of looking at the scaffolding in High Town?

It is now three years since the fire at the River Island site and there is still no sign of a re-build. This inertia is particularly annoying at a time when the Council continue to give their unstinting support to the Old Livestock Market scheme - a project which will in itself challenge the viability of the historic city core.

I have repeatedly asked Herefordshire Council why they are not taking enforcement action in order to insist on the repair and refurbishment of these buildings but they are unable to reassure me beyond saying they are 'encouraging' the owners to re-build.

It is clear to everyone that the owners will not re-build voluntarily. They have pocketed the insurance monies and have no interest in re-investing in High Town at a time when the Old Livestock Market development is sucking up all potential new tenants in the city. In fact, the owners have a further motive for not refurbishing in so far as the buildings will remain rates-free while ever they are unusable.

This continuance of this eyesore is a scandalous dereliction of the Council's duty. At a time when the historic centre needs all the support it can get, the Council are allowing this carbuncle to remain while polishing it's new crown jewels at the OLM.

Please, Please, Please try and shake our Councillors out of this nightmare!

Anyone else find it absurd that Herefordshire Council planning committee refused permission for 

the wall painted sign below?

The reason for refusal makes a shameful laughing stock of everyone on that committee that refused it.

The Mee Mei Chinese Take-Away in St Martins Street Hereford freehold is for sale. 

This large building consists of a ground floor takeaway and kitchens and 5/6 bedroom accommodation.

The takeaway is still open at this time.

Hereford's Greyfriars Bridge (also still known as The New Bridge)

The bridge construction began in 1965 the bridge was finally opened in 19th January 1967 by The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Hereford, Alderman Edward Peter Carter.

Photograph from our Old Hereford Pics archives kindly sent to us from our friend Ed Hatton

The Railings which run along both sides of the bridge have deteriorated dramatically over the years and are in desperate need of sandblasting and re-coating. 

We are starting a campaign to hopefully encourage 'Highways England' to give this bridge so much needed renovation works to bring it back to its former glory. The view travelling north and south over the River Wye is beautiful however, the railings and weeds have become a real eyesore.