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Council force repossession and take control of HUFC grounds
Do who didn't see this coming? It's amazing how untransparent this council is yet everyone can see right through them.
Nothing but lies, deceit and plotting behind the scenes at EVERY SINGLE turn.
With November 5th coming up, I think someone needs to go and burn that ******* place to the ground. Nowhere have I seen so much ineptitude, lying, secrecy and ripping off of the public.
Literally putting the CON into Conservatives.
Left Bank Sold to "Local" Family
So reports the HT Here
I "" local because I don't know how local or who they are - according to the Knorr gravy advert, 70 miles away is "local" :P
Anyway, risky business, but well done to them for having the balls to invest in a side of the city that the council has left to squander.
Here's hoping they get the work done swiftly and have some nice things back up and running. Personally, I think the resturaunt and bars were fantastic, ideal for the locality and, from an investment and development point of view, a good cheap bet.
Is it possible to post too much???
This is the question!
We all know that Our Good King Bobby has retired from blogging....exhausted by his efforts over the past few years!
We've all suffered bouts of "The Tappers" over the years, but is it really possible to post too much??
In seven months I've clocked up nigh on 1,100 posts. Beyond ridiculous!
This really is a heartfelt plea, to all those who have signed up in the last few months, and indeed, those who have been members for years,(You know who you are...you log in regularly!!) to post your thoughts. Share with the group!
This forum is being read by many. The next 12 months are crucial. We want our voice to be heard, but to keep a forum like this vibrant, we need as many views as possible.
Too often, there are only a dozen or so who post regularly.....so I ask you politely....Get Involved! Get Busy! and Get Posting!!
Getting Old!
I've absolutely no problem with the ageing process. I'm more than happy to be the age that I am and frankly, I wouldn't want it any other way.
The fact that I'll never see my testicles again is of no concern to me. As my waist size gradually catches up with my years upon Earth I know that unless I take the trouble to stand above a mirror my testicles will never be seen by my eyes ever again. I'm comfortable with that.
I'm also content knowing that I talk to myself and have done for years. Truthfully, I enjoy talking to me. I find myself to be a very interesting character and given the choice I'd rather It be me than some other fool who you've no wish to talk to down the battle cruiser.
Whether its my thinning hair, an ability to repeat myself over and over again until someone says, 'we've heard that before' or that when I gaze into the mirror to shave I no longer recognize the man I once was, I couldn't care less. I'm happy getting old.
What does bloody bother me is humming. Yes! Humming. I wake up humming, i spend my day humming and I've absolutely no control over it. Worse still, its Delilah! This song, originally gifted to us by Tom bloody Jones is a melody strongly associated with men who get drunk and for no apparent reason, climb upon a table in the pub and start singing it. This is the tune I hum over and over again.
It's bloody relentless. I'm humming the blasted tune now!
Couple of weeks ago I was sat in the fourth row at The London Palladium listening to bloody Nadine Coyle, her of Girls Aloud, who was appearing on the Michael Flattley production, Lord of the Dance. Dangerous Games. While she was slaughtering some melodic ballad I was humming Delilah.
Course, not only did everyone around me here my senile humming, bloody Coyle did as well. As she gradually raised her tones to follow the progression of chords in the song, she glanced down at me, threw me a glare which moreorless said, 'I'm going to jump off this stage and crack your skull if you give me one more note from Delilah'.
Course, whilst no words were exchanged, I gave her a look didn't I. I moreorless said, ' just you bloody try it Coyle. Leave that stage and attack me with your hand held microphone and I will defend myself'.
And, on the subject of Girls a bloody Loud, if bloody Cheryl Cole or whatever her name is nowadays, delivers me more tears on the Xfactor I'm for turning the tele over. She's got that Scarey bloody Spice doing it as well. They're trying to outcry oneanother. It's a bloody disgrace to light entertainment.
Bloody Scarey Spice my right nut! There's nothing Scarey about her. If she wants to meet Scarey she should pop down the Commercial for an half and hear the list of girls we'd like to kiss. That'd scare her. That'd make her think that perhaps she ain't as Scarey as she claims to be.
Anyway, I'm content getting old!
Vandalised picnic benches
Did they respond with a date? A month on from my last cycle ride past these vandalised benches and, guess what? Nothing done. Why am I not surprised. In fact more pieces have been removed.
This is brilliant!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x2b1xymflU.
If I've managed to buggar this up, go onto Youtube and type in woman kicks mans head on the beach.
Jesse Norman MP on Any Questions tonight, 4 April
Kirsty Williams AM, Peter Hain MP, Neil Hamilton and Jesse Norman MP on Any Questions tonight, Radio 4, 8pm.
Any Questions, or as I call it 'The Jonathan Dimbleby show, its all about me, me interrupting and then some more of me'.
Great programme spoilt by the opinionated Chair (and very often appallingly amateurish sound).
Jesse will be up against the deputy chair of UKIP and two others!
Rockfield DIY RIP

DURING its projected lifespan, the temporary car park on the site of the former Rockfield DIY store, will earn the council in excess of £300,000. A nice little earner, though a drop in the ocean compared to the sum the Wolversons banked.
So where goest all this wonga? I hear you cry.
Is it, perhaps, being invested in the forward planning of the much-vaunted Transport Hub? Like the one which Bromsgrove will have next year, costing £17-million? An all-singing, all-dancing, state-of-the-art structure, providing travellers with a stress-free interchange from one mode of transport to another? Car-to-train; train-to-bus; bike-to-train; train-to-hire car?
'Fraid not. Apparently none of the above is currently under consideration by Herefordshire Council's blue sky strategists. They've simply been told: 'Just bank the cash!'
Do we really need more houses!
Why are we really building so many houses. It ain't the fault of the ageing population who are the ones the establishment like to blame when it comes to explaining why our overstretched public services are crumbling under the pressure of demand. Surely, we can't blame the ageing population again and again for all our woes.
The ageing population are not responsible for the high demand for housing which is driving up the cost of rent and affecting each and everyone of us who live within our fragile economy.
It ain't the ageing population who cram a dozen people into one house and it ain't the ageing population who require the bin men to collect a dozen bin bags from one family home and one or possibly two from the homes of the ageing population.
My wife's a Nurse. She doesn't think the ageing population has anything to do with the fact that our Health Service is crumbling. She and her colleagues would never say its the fault of the ageing population who have become a burden on our society. In fact, many of our Health Care staff would say that it's nothing to do with the ageing population and more to do with thousands and thousands of people arriving in Hereford within a very short space of time that's brought about the havoc that has impacted upon us all.
So what happens to all the landlords who've invested huge sums of mortgaged money developing their properties if and when we get the chance to get out of the European Union. What will happen then? Surely, they can't blame the ageing population again. If it happens, and I pray to God it does and we get the opportunity not to become a satellite of East Europe and we exit the European Union, what happens to our housing market.
Yes, the rents will shoot downwards because the ageing population don't tend to rent, but what of the economic knock on factors. Well, many, many people who've ridden this housing bubble will suddenly find they can no longer fill their dwellings with dozens of people who are prepared to share a room with three or four strangers because the demand is no longer there. These entrepreneurial poor souls will suddenly find that they cannot make ends meet and they'll go bust.
And what'll happen to our local agricultural economy that is so dependent on the cheap labour that sees their employees sharing a room with a number of strangers and causing the bin men to work harder and the Health Service to blame the ageing population for its predicament. Well, my guess is it'll destroy this economic success story that sees thousands and thousands of highly qualified people picking fruit for a pittance so that they can live in a room they share with complete strangers.
And round and round we go. Despite the obvious. Despite the clear leanings toward exiting the European Union, still, even now, we choose to build houses for thousands of people who may not be resident here in Hereford after I get my chance to say, 'I want to get out of the European Union'.
The tragedy is, despite my deep need to get out of this madness so that our Natuonal Health Service can be saved, I know that we in Hereford will pay a terrible economic price for pinning our hopes on a vast legion of cheap workers who only ever wanted to become wealthier than they once were.
So here we are! Building houses, haemorraging the talents of our local children who've long since moved away, paying pi.ss poor wages and paying sky high rents so that our fruit can get picked quickly and cheaply!
Makes you think don't it!
A distorted view of things!
Course the problem we all have nowadays is the news isn't it. The media give us the news. They are the ones who control the way in which we discover what went on up our High Street and how we should react to it.
For example, some poor soul staggers around minding his own business and through no fault of his own, he gets completely flattened by a Concrete Mixer. It's a terrible thing isn't it. Getting flattened by a Concrete Mixer.
I wonder how you'd feel if you were able to know in advance that today you were going to get flattened by something large. Would you choose it to be a Concrete Mixer that did the flattening? Call me an odd sort, but out of all the heavy commercial vehicles available upon our roads, all very capable of flattening the life out of you, I don't think I'd pick out a Concrete Mixer to flatten me. Then again, it's all a matter of opinion isn't it. Me? I simply don't know which type of vehicle I'd wish to run over me and to be frank I'd rather not think about it if that's alright with you.
Course, it doesn't really matter does it because its highly unlikely you'd ever be told, 'today you will die and you'll be flattened by a Concrete Mixer'. If, for some odd reason I found this out about myself, I'd stay indoors. I would. I'd think, 'I'm not going out today thank you very much.' Mind you, if you stayed in doors hidden beneath the staircase and the Concrete Mixer suddenly came crashing through the wall and still managed to flatten you, I suppose you'd say, 'it was inevitable. I was going to get flattened today whether I liked it or not'.
But anyway, back to the death of this poor man who, minding his own business has managed to get flattened by a Concrete Mixer. The headline would of course be, 'Man minding his own business gets flattened by a Concrete Mixer'. That's pretty much what the media would report. It's all doom and gloom isn't it?
Course, they could have reported this tragic event very differently and given everyone a bit of a boost. Instead of 'Man, minding his own business gets flattened by a Concrete Mixer', if they wanted to and chose to cheer us all bloody up, they could have said, 'man minding his own business got flattened by a Concrete Mixer but luckily twenty six thousand good souls who were also minding their own business in the same street didn't get flattened by a Concrete Mixer. I know which one I'd prefer to read!
All I'm saying is lets have some balanced reporting on the facts. If the Council have wasted near on a million pound on a poorly procured IT system, let the headline read, 'The Council have not wasted two million pounds. They've only wasted a million pounds' which, when read, gives us all a boost muttering, 'that's good news. They could have wasted a lot more than they did'.
Hereford Traffic

I have to ask the question , is it not about time that we the Hereford people got organised and started a protest group to try and get something done about the absolutely horrendous traffic situation in the City?
All members of the community should get involved, we all need the emergency services to be able to reach us in times of need, we would all like to pass around the city in a safe reasonable time, regardless of what our chosen mode of transport is, and was it not the conservative prime minister who said that it would be the small business's that would drive this country out of recession?, that one must have got past the conservative members of the various councils who govern us, you try delivering around the town with its gridlock traffic, unhelpful parking attendants and some very out dated parking restrictions.
The council policy of driving motorists out of Hereford is bonkers to say the least, yes they do with parking restrictions, refusing to allow business to build car parks, and driving the parking problems out on to the estates, you try driving up Hinton Crescent its blocked by cars parking to avoid the charges in town. Do councillors still have the right to free parking?they did when I worked for the council, many a weekend saw councillors parking in the rear of Garrick House so that they could take their families shopping. As a council employee I was also entitled to free parking and was given a permit to park in the swimming pool car park when I worked in Garrick House, I live in Hollybush walk so that was very useful We need people to come and spend their hard earned and limited cash on goods and services, not spending hours in traffic jams to pay ridicules parking charges and for our local trades people to be able to transact business in a free and easy manner which allows growth and jobs.
Their are job opportunities, Paul the ex Treacle mine Burger Van could open a mobile cart selling food and drink to the people waiting on the Belmont and Ross roads, full English for me.
I believe that it will be the pubs and restaurants and other eating places that will save this city next year so lets get behind them and create footfall and jobs,
The council seem to be shoehorning in more developments in to an area in which the infrastructure is failing at every level, I see that there is another back street housing development in the pipe line, more cars more people more traffic misery.
Public Transport is poor to say the least, the state of the roads is abysmal, our councillors are rubbish , all to eager to give excuses as to why they have not done something
and ready to blame someone else, I just wish they would man up ( or woman, equal rights for all) join together regardless of what political party they support on the day and simply put the citizens of Hereford first for once instead of the petty minded squabbles that they all engage in for their own satisfaction and self importance and to get their pictures in the paper again
Creeping changes threaten view from Aylestone Park

THE original Aylestone Rise development in the 'protected' zone along the side of Hereford's Aylestone Hill was for three unobtrusive buildings with turf roofs sited behind an earth bank to preserve the view from Aylestone Park.Several amendments to the planning application were then approved. The result is four monstrous white/orange wood eyesores with solar panel roofs.The partial earth bank does not hide the development. Trees have been removed elsewhere, providing walkers in the park with a view of both an orange-panelled fence and the eyesores themselves. The appearance of the ridge-line approaching Hereford is now too hideous to describe.I am sure that the planning department fulfilled all of its minimum statutory requirements in the advising of these creeping changes but when will we learn that environment includes vision?Where was the protection of the environment, openness, considered judgement or regard for anybody other than the developers?JIM SHAWLugg View Close, Hereford
Free NHS care packages

Hi Folks,
As you know I often find myself encountering dishonesty, fraud, obfuscation and secrecy...once again it happened at the awful County Hospital and involved my 92 year old Nan...
My Nan was paying a fortune for private care in her home and had lots of falls which resulted in a prolonged stay in Hospital....the care was appalling but that is not why I am here....
I am here to tell you all about a secret package of funding that can provide a minimum of £110 a week for nursing care in your own home or a care home...see link:
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2392.aspx?CategoryID=68
Of course nothing is done properly in Hereford and the Hospital did a secret assessment and found my Nan did not qualify...I found out about this challenged it and she was awarded £110 a week to start with and as her condition progresses it will be reviewed..
The beauty of this funding is ..it prevents someone with a house and savings having to eat it all up in costly fees ....it can provide completely free care regardless of your savings or home ownership status
I am currently involved in highlighting this care package via the offices of Healthwatch Hereford and would be happy to help anyone obtain an assessment....
There is also a whole raft of info about help with Health Care for our elderly loved ones...
Hope you find it useful
Armed Robbery At Symonds Yat Services

I drove past Symonds Yat Services on my way home from South Wales yesterday afternoon and noticed that the shutters were down and police tape was all around. I assumed there had been some sort of accident but I have just read this article in the HT that there was actually an armed robbery.
HOODED robbers – one with a shotgun – have raided the High Noon Service Station at Symonds Yat.The pair struck while staff were preparing to close the service station, demanding money and making off in a vehicle, believed to be a short wheel base four-wheel drive, either light blue or grey in colour.An exact amount of money taken is still to be confirmed.Detectives want to speak to witnesses who were on the A40 at Whitchurch on Tuesday between 9.30pm and 10pm.Anyone with information or who may have seen any suspicious activity in the service station in the past few weeks can call Detective Inspector Richard Rees on 101.
An invitation from Jesse.
Not quite sure what I have ever said to qualify for receiving todays email from Jesse Norman!
Am I free on September 5th and 6th to assist on two volunteering days.....?
Errr, no.
Not even the promise of tea and biscuits - even chocolate ones - at either Saxon Hall, or Clehonger Village Hall can tempt me.
Husband killed wife after gypsy camp battle : Ledbury

By Bill Gardner, and Nicola Harley
6:30PM BST 13 Aug 2014
A retired company director who was “devoted†to his terminally-ill wife shot her dead and killed himself after battling to stop a gypsy camp being built next to their picturesque home.
John Knott, 71, is believed to have used his own shotgun to kill Anne Knott, 70, who had Alzheimers, when the stress of caring for his wife while fighting the travellers' plans became "just too much for him".
After family members raised the alarm at 10:20am on Monday, police entered the house to find the bodies of the couple lying alongside the weapon, each with a single gunshot wound.
Mr Knott had spent recent months struggling to stop plans to allow the travellers to move permanently onto a field next to the £500,000 cottage near Bosbury, Herefordshire, that he shared with his wife.
The camp was initially granted permission for two families, but a fresh application was made two months ago to allow a further eight more families to move onto the field.
The couple’s next door neighbour, who helped Mr Knott draft objections to the plans, said the stress of caring for his sick wife while struggling against the plans may have caused him to "snap".
She said: “It was terrible. John spent every single day trying to think of ways to stop this happening, and it caused him a lot of stress. It was all he thought about.
“It was a huge source of trouble for him, and Anne hated the idea too, although she was very ill.
“He found it very difficult to accept, and he couldn’t get his head around why the council would even consider allowing this to happen.
“It got worse and worse, and he was getting more and more agitated. With all that was going on at home with Anne, it all got too much for him.â€
Neighbours yesterday expressed their shock at the deaths and described the couple, who organised and took part in village fundraising events, as "pillars of the community."
One woman, who said she had been in contact with the couple every day in the weeks before their deaths, said: “They were absolutely lovely. They were sweet, devoted to each other, and very much in love. It’s an absolute tragedy.
“He was lovely, a very clever guy. He was still full of beans and had so much to give. I knew he was very stressed about the travellers, but I could never have believed that this would happen.â€
Mr Knott and his wife paid nearly £500,000 for their Bosbury home in 2006, after he retired from his role as managing director of Birmingham-based Ashford Construction Plc.
However, another of the couple's neighbours said they had recently been informed that £100,000 would be wiped off the value of the cottage if the gypsies were allowed to move in next door.
The neighbour said: “He and Anne loved that house, and they had worked their whole lives for it, so he couldn't bear to see it ruined.
“It was terrible for him. He spent every day battling this application, and he thought he was getting nowhere.
“He was very upset about the whole thing. He never stopped talking about it. It all just built up and up.â€
The original plans were to allow the travellers to camp in the front part of a field next to the couple’s cottage, nearer a main road.
But Mr Knott told neighbours that at a recent planning meeting, one councillor had suggested the camp be moved away from the road and nearer the cottage, so people did not have to see the caravans as they were driving into the village.
Six weeks before the couple's deaths, Mr Knott wrote a letter to the planning inspector at Herefordshire Council begging them not to allow the larger camp to go ahead.
He wrote: "There are at least eight settled (gypsy) families within a one mile radius of the proposed site. The area cannot sustain any more."
West Mercia Police are treating the deaths as a possible murder-suicide and are not looking for anyone else involved in the incident.
A spokeswoman said: "Police attended an address at Bosbury, Herefordshire at 10.20am on Monday following the concerns of the occupants family.
"Police unfortunately found both elderly occupants, a man and a woman, at the property deceased. There is an ongoing investigation as to the cause of their deaths."
Hereford Council Budget for 2014/15 - Help us please!
I am absolutely exhausted with this constant crap! Just when you thought someone had some integrity and your faith is restored someone comes along and kicks you in the guts! We are totally wasting our time, we will never achieve anything other than notoriety for being persistent moaners and groaners who will never beat this administration. The very instant someone asks for some positive action everyone goes conspicuously quiet! Only to return when the proposed action dies a death! I will be at the first demonstration organised to stand up to these idiots who are devoid of any moral conscience but until then I'm done! Trust me I have more to lose than most and not once did I not pledge my support, have fun going round in circles you won't achieve anything until you organise yourselves. On the forums you're a formidable force and you all have my respect but you achieve nothing!
My warmest regards to you all and my apologies if I've upset anyone this is not ment as personal attack but I have to be honest with myself.
Oh Flam, don't be disheartened - there are quite a few of us who are prepared to stand up and be counted, myself included. Timing, I feel, is everything. We will have our day, don't you worry.
Q: About the Black Wheelies (councillors please?)
I've been meaning to ask for a while now.
There's been a lot of delivery on the black wheelies now, but no one can use them until November.
Now I'm assuming this is because of a weight issue? And that the black bag lorries will need to be retrofitted with lifting mechanisms - yes? no?
My questions are:
A: If this is the case, how much will it cost to fit the lorries and how does that balance with the alleged savings being made?
B: If this is not the case, then why can't we use them?