From BBC Hereford and Worcester ,update 0733

River Wye search for two missing people near Hereford

A search is under way for two missing people in the River Wye, Hereford Fire & Rescue Service has reported.

The alarm was raised during the night and firefighters were called to the river in Swainshill at about 03:40 BST.

Police have closed the A438 near Hereford while a search is carried out.

Traffic is being diverted between the turn for Bridge Sollers and the A480.

HV has teamed up with Paul Daykin from T4C, I have offered to help and support his projects where possible.

Paul is keen to meet up and discuss how we could possibly work on some joint ventures particularly south of the river in Hereford to add to the existing Hereford projects that are already completed or ongoing.

Please check out the excellent T4C Website for all the details of this and other projects.

Not a clue what a 'Category Manager' is or does, and none the wiser for reading the following (written by the jargon machine I suspect), but it pays a good wedge ... what would 'a range of employee benefits' include do you think?

All my life I've been in turmoil. Throughout my sixty years I've been wondering, 'what does God have in mind for me'. Jesus must have had the same problem. He must have. For the best part of thirty years, he did buggar all. Not a bloody peep. And then, all of a sudden, he got busy and started doing things and saying things that he hadn't done or said in his previous thirty years. I mean, something must have happened to get him all fired up and co.ck sure of himself. I mean, folk must have thought, 'he's a one. He's said and done buggar all for thirty years and now he's got all busy healing the sick'.

Something happened! One night he got into bed, he was perhaps the most boring man in the world and the next day he got up and off he went changing the world forever. I reckon I know what happened!

He went to bed and all of a sudden, whilst dreaming as I do,about scantily clad women dancing round the bed chanting, 'be ours tonight', God must have intervened into his dream like state and said, 'you are now the Son of Man and I am bestowing upon you super powers'.

And that was that. Next day, he got up and realized that he had incredible gifts. Mind, he couldn't levitate. That never happened. There's no written evidence that he could levitate. Not one person in the bible said, 'And Lo. He began to levitate inside the house of Martha' My view is that had he levitated some bloody fool would have said so. It's not the sort of thing you forget is it. You don't miss that one out. I mean, if I'd been down the Commercial and I began floating around howling, 'look at me lads. I'm levitating' it'd sure to become news around the globe. 'Fat Man From Hereford Levitates'.

Folk would say, 'yes it's true. He'd just supped his tenth pint, nibbled on a piece of pork rind and up he went. There was no pulling him down'.

So what's God got in mind for me. I mean he's bestowed upon me gifts. Many gifts. For staters,women can't keep their hands off me, I can hold an audience like Jesus did and tell a story, I can sup ale until it dribbles out of my ears and I've a fertile imagination which I use frequently, so what does God want of me?

Well last night I got my answer didnt I. All was revealed to me. I crawled upstairs after nearly drowning myself on twenty pints of ale, I knelt beside me bed, said me Lords Prayer and then got into bed ready to dream about women who wanted me because I was the most desirable man on Earth when my wife said, 'you've still got your coat and clothes on'. So, bloody realizing that I'd just wasted a lot of time getting into bed, I got out of the bloody bed, popped on me nightgown and sleeping cap, threw me discarded garments on top of the ferret cage and then it happened. I was suddenly bathed in a white, bright heavenly light. I said to the wife, 'have we paid the bill and been reconnected', to which she replied, 'no and because you are a fat tw.at who's of no use to the world and we've no money, it's unlikely we'll ever get the electricity again'.

Then, pondering why I was getting the electricity when I shouldn't be getting the electricity I was delivered an unearthly jolt. It was like someone belting me over the head with a piece of four by two. I fell to my knees and I heard a voice. I said, 'who's bloody voice is this that's in my head'. Course it was God wasn't it. I said, 'don't ask me to give up the ale, quit smoking and watching The Wirral Housewives on my Web Cam'. He said, 'shut the f.uck up and listen'. So I did!

He said, 'you are one of the runts of your species that I created and for the most part of your life you've been wondering what I have in mind for you'. I said, ' Am I to become the Son of Man. The second coming. If so I'm ready for the power'. Course, God being as God is, says, 'Hell No Fatso. I wouldn't task you with a role like that. Your purpose in life is this!!!!!

And he told me. He didn't pi.ss about. None of this beating about the burning bush. He simply said, 'I want you to keep posting this codswallop until my little Bill Norman, Hereford Council's Chief Legal Officer can explain why he was able to take money from the public purse, why these financial gains were dressed up as Compromise Aggreements, how much money was appropriated and for him to explain why the meek, the mild, the downright stupid and all the other ratepayers should be kept in the dark over the spending of their money.

And so, I now know what my purpose in life is. Sadly for me, it's not to become the Son of Man. Apparently God doesn't think I'm up to that paricular job but he clearly thinks I should keep on writing this shi.te to irritate and mock those that hold power over us. And so it shall be. For as long as I've digits to tap and a brain to string together a coherent thought God has instructed me to lampoon the hierarchy who choose to spend our money in any way that they choose and not give you and I so much as a simple explanation about who gets paid what, why they got it, how much they got and what they did to be able to get it all in the first rotten place.

I was quite shocked to read the cost for refurbishing the Council offices in Plough Lane Hereford, yet due to cut backs the grass cuts have been reduced and the city looks a mess! 

Have a little read through this information which was obtained by one of our members through the freedom of information act. I have also added this information in the grass petition topic. 

Dear Sir,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST FOI IAT 7423

Further to previous correspondence, your request for information has now been considered, and the council’s response is set out below:

Q1 Can you please tell me how much has been spent so far since the start and  how much is budgeted for the renovation of the plough lane council offices in Hereford

 

A.    There is a capital budget for refurbishment work of £4m.

 

There is a revenue budget for works falling outside the refurbishment. This budget covers not only the Plough Lane offices but others also. There is a budget for ‘decant’ across all moves not only in connection with Plough Lane but with moves from and to other buildings. This budget is £500,000. £151,000 has been taken from this budget to date.

 

To date we have paid £2,273,124.81. The project is expected to come in on budget.
 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request or you would like a review of the response provided, please contact me on the contact details given at the top of this letter.

 

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 01625 545 745           www.ico.org.uk

Yours faithfully
 

claire jacobs

INFORMATION ACCESS OFFICER

 

FOI IAT 7423 LA Prov 29.05. 14.doc

From the Council website

Herefordshire is shaping up for the most action packed August Bank Holiday weekend ever with several events happening all over the county. The most notable being the Flavours of Herefordshire Festival and the official opening of Old Market

The Flavours of Herefordshire Festival will be holding its ninth annual free family foodie fun festival. The event will feature local producers, growers and retailers along with celebrity demonstrations and children’s activities. The event is expected to draw around 35,000 visitors this year with parking for the event located on the King George V Playing Fields and accessed from Hinton Road

The Old Market, which first opened its doors back in May of this year, is officially opening with a series of events over the four days of the weekend. The management team is forecasting 50 – 57,000 visitors to celebrate the opening of Hereford’s newest shopping and leisure facility.

There are events happening elsewhere in the county including the Weobley 29th Annual Art Exhibition, Sun Inn Ale Festival, World War One at Croft and Ledbury Carnival . See what else is happening in the county on the Visit Herefordshire website.

The events in Hereford City will be fully signposted but you can check out where to park ahead of the weekend on our parking map. If you are heading for the Flavours of Herefordshire Festival, follow the signs for the dedicated parking. If you want to check out the latest traffic information you can use our map of road works and traffic.

For those of you wanting to travel into town without the car we also have a map of cycling and walking routes.

Makes you think doesn't it? It's got me thinking about the way in which my transmitted words might be interpreted by the person I'm lampooning. Am I hurting the feelings of someone?
On another thread my friend Ubique implied that perhaps I was harsh lampooning someone I didn't know and hadn't met before. Now, I could have concluded, 'blast your eyes Ubique' and not given the matter a backward glance or I could have given the matter a little thought, which is exactly what I've done. I've had a good long hard look at the way in which I transmit my thoughts and views on this, that and the other and my conclusion is, 'perhaps I've become an online bully'.
I've taken the pi.ss out of them all. Nothing has ever made me think about the impact my words have on other people. Me? I can lampoon everyone because it comes very easily to me and, to be fair to myself, it's of no consequence to me if I get bitten back. My attitude is, I give it and so I should be able to take it.
I don't take things personally and throughout my tenure of 'tapping' I've kind of assumed that nobody else takes it seriously and therefore no one could possibly be offended by the drivel and nonsensical codswallop I shovel out. Of course, if I'm wrong, and my words can hurt, then I guess I've become an online bully. Without knowing or fully realizing it, I may have evolved into someone who's been unkind.
Course, that's not what I want for myself. I wouldn't want any person to be hurt or offended by anything I've transmitted. I've always hoped that folk would mutter, 'bloody idiot', dismiss whatever I've said and perhaps conclude that it's healthy to lampoon the great and the good who have power over our daily lives.
And that's where it began for me. Realising that no matter what we thought, said or felt, they, the ones who held sway over us, took absolutely no notice. And so, I began to lampoon them all knowing that satire and taking the pi*% is one thing 'they' hate. They cannot stand being mocked and laughed at and because I knew I could do it, I did it, never thinking that perhaps my words could possibly hurt another.
I don't want to be an online bully. I don't want people to think of me as an online bully and I don't wish to carry the burden of knowing my words have hurt another.
Mind, how do you stop possibly hurting another person who is in a position of authority. Do you stop lampooning them? If you do, do you risk giving them Carte Blanche to do whatever they like without giving 'us' a backward glance because we no longer laugh at them. Me? I don't know anymore. All I know is my words may have hurt the feelings of others and I do not want that.
So, have I become an online bully? I think I may have. I ain't certain but I think there's a good chance that by lampooning our leaders for as long as I have, I've unwittingly slid into being someone who can hurt another's personal feelings and that ain't a good thing.
Makes you think doesn't it!

Planning application P142315/F (why I just cannot copy and paste the link I don't know)

I did some of my formative drinking in the British Oak usually before popping off to Edgar Street to see HUFC.

I see that work has restarted on the former Palace Chinese restaurant in Hereford. There was a dispute which had halted the building work but I noticed yesterday that work had begun again. 

I posted this on the HT website and I really wanted to make a note of it here, because this is a very real chance to show the leaders of this council up for what they have and are doing to the place.
 
http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/local/10834739.Herefordshire_Council_leader_s_message_to_rivals/
 
They are inviting the opposition parties to collaborate with them to fix the problems of Hereford. They are doing this because they have run out of ideas. They are claiming, and pushing the fact, that anyone who doesn't join them is actively against fixing the problems in the county. This is wrong and a ploy.
 
My comment was as follows and something that I would like opposing parties to take into the boardroom with them whenever the issue comes up.
 
 
"But refusal would show that the opposition groups have no viable solutions to offer the people of Herefordshire. It will demonstrate an unwillingness to unite in the face of an unprecedented financial situation and would, I am sure, be noted by all Herefordians."

He's trying the old catch 22 here, I use it a lot myself, it's an easy way to win an argument. If they join the Tories, they've just been bent over and taken it hard. If they don't they are declared as being useless. He thinks it's a no win situation.

But in actual fact the best option would be to NOT step forward and take on his offer. It would be very easy to counter his argument with the fact that he has no idea what to do and no plans to fix things and that is why he's looking for other people to come up with ideas - which he can then lay claim to.

He'll take the ideas and when/if they work, that marks as a score on the Tory card, which would subsequently give them credit for solutions the in fact stole AND create a public perception that the Tories did the right thing and lead us out of the red.

The best course of action would be for ALL opposition parties to unit together AGAINST the tories and ALL refuse this offer. The consequence of such an action would show a majoritive support that the Tories are not fit to lead us and they will ultimately loose their grip over the council.

So, to the IOC, Libs, Labour and everyone else. 

Take up this offer and let the Tories lay claim to your ideas, keeping them in power furthermore and providing them with ammunition to use against you.

Or stand together, denounce this awfully transparent offer and show the county that even the Tories have lost faith in their own abilities and we need someone in now who can make the right choices.
 
This is a very valuable opportunity for all opposition members.

It's our county, it's your choice.

Since I live up here, I may as well post in here, if anyone will see it is another thing. Roads around here are being resurfaced, about time as some of them are awful.

Not sure what ones, I know Kingsway is being done by the Co-op and up a little bit and I see they are doing some work in Queensway.

Have been in the area of High Town , Hereford between 1100 and 1400 for the last two days - very busy with Parent / s with children , high number of families , holidaymakers etc .cyclists and motor vehicles wiz zing through after the 1030 closure ! All that's lacking is the visible presence of a Police Officer . There will always be a very good reason why but the sight of a Police Officer in uniform gives reassurance to the law abiding members of the public.

I am sure that a couple of posters will give good and valued reason why there are no Uniform Police Officers in High Town area but I will refer back to the last line of the previous paragraph.

Just checked mine - 1800 watts. Why not put 1200cc engines in all cars as well. I can see the EU bringing back the peoples' car endorsed by previous dictators.

A plea on behalf of British potato producers.  When buying potatoes and anything containing potato please make sure you are buying British.  Some supermarkets (not all) are sourcing their potatoes from overseas.  Thousands of tons of British potatoes this year will not be used because supermarkets are buying cheaper pots from abroad same old story. British potato producers have invested millions to produce the potato the public want and are in danger of going out of business.  Yes I know they can be a bally nuisance on the roads at certain times of the year they are only doing their job and are under such tight time constraints they have to keep pressing on.  Yes I know they receive huge subsidies but agriculture is hugely important in this county and many parts of the country.  

Generally if you can buy British food if you don't use it you will lose it!

Services to protect children in Herefordshire "require improvement", Ofsted inspectors have concluded.

The grading is one better than in 2012 when services were branded "inadequate", the lowest rating in the four-point scale.

It means there are no serious failures but the authority is not delivering good protection, help and care for children, young people and families.

The council said it was on target to achieve a "good" rating by 2016.

Councillor Jeremy Millar, cabinet member for children's wellbeing for Herefordshire Council, said: "We are very pleased that following our recent inspection we are no longer rated as inadequate and reassured that Ofsted are stating that no children being cared for in Herefordshire are at risk of harm."

Ofsted said the leadership and experience of care leaders "requires improvement" but rated the authority's adoption performance as "good".

The grading follows an inspection last month.

BBC

The latest Ofsted report was published today and is available to read in pdf format here (37 pages) 

Ofsted Herefordshire

I don't play golf. Never have and never wanted to. Mind, there's lots that do and very soon they won't be able to play at Belmont because its going belly up.
It's going to the wall because the main building is listed, its roof is in a poor state of repair and some years ago the bloody Council refused a planning application that had large investment behind it. The planning application was hugely impressive and was going to create jobs, a spa and other pleasant things that would draw people in to spend their money.
Of course the Council decided that 'it being a listed building' it shouldn't be touched and so the application was refused, the building continues to fall apart and very soon it'll be no more.
Another nail in our coffin!