Over the last 5 years - I wonder how many web sites the Council has had, paid for, and discontinued (such as faster4herefordshire.com).

Several years ago I was told I'd failed in a bid to write one for them because I had come in under their advised limit. They were looking for quotes over £5000 and I had quoted £3000.

So - tell me, anyone who writes web sites - how can hereyoucan.co.uk the latest Council web site possibly have cost over £20,000? Be clear - the brief alone cost £15,000. This was JUST for writing it - seen how much is on the site??

>>the development of the electronic website to enable easy access to businesses and community to the toolkit, guidelines and examples for use. The total cost to design, host and manage the interactive website is £21,821.25. <<

Please find attached minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 6th February 2014 at Northolme Community Centre, Northolme Road, Belmont Hereford.

Minutes 6.2.2014.pdf

Please find attached minutes of the extraordinary meeting held on Thursday 23rd January 2014 at Belmont Community Centre, Eastholme Avenue, Belmont Hereford.

Minutes - 23.01.2014.pdf

Agreed budget and precept request 2014-2015.pdf

Who knows. I don't. I know buggar all and what I do know ain't worth a jot of notice but, a Director of Hereford Council, Jenny Lewis is about to jump ship and scurry off to join Hertfordshire Council.
Why? I mean, huge salary, massive pension, do little or nothing all day long, attend a few meetings and create confusion amongst the staff beneath you, so why go?
I think something's gone wrong and nows the time for her to go. But, what do I know? I know nothing!

If you thought Herefords potholes are bad, have a look at pothole britain-drivers beware on ch5+1 now 

Or, if my view is worth a jot of bloody notice, a violation of your human dignity. Whichever way the NHS dress this thoroughly brutal and unpleasant practice, its moreorless bloody Guantanamo Bay style Waterboarding except they don't ask you any questions other than,'who are you?'.

Good bloody grief! I'd sooner eat the placenta of Kerry Katona's latest birth than submit myself again to this devilish practice.

This is what happens. You go down to the Hospital and in my case my bloody wife went with me to make sure I didn't run off. You go in, your'e met by bloody shiney, happy clappy people who thrust a form in front if you that moreorless says, 'you gave us permission to do this terrible thing to you and, if you come out of it a vegetable and unable to control your bloody bowell movements, its not our rotten fault.'

Course, I didn't want to sign it but bloody 'she' insisted I did or else she'd hit me in the face with a frying pan when she got me home. Then they say, 'you've got two bloody options. Firstly we drug you so that you're literally out of your mind or, if you choose,we can spray the back of your throat with a spray that'll give you a small anaesthetic. Having then learned that the drug was Rohypnol, commonly known as the preferred choice of Date Rape Drugs, I decided to have the spray. My thinking was I didn't want to end up on Youtube being violated by a dozen well endowed men who had me in the starring role of Bobby Does Hereford.

Then, after the form filling and some bloody encouraging words, they sit you down in the waiting room where you get to listen to all those who are ahead of you in this process. It's like a bloody abattoir! My God, the sounds! Grunting noises, screams of, 'save me Jesus' and 'I want my bloody Mommy' all mixed up with the sound of people gagging on their own vomit.

Then, I saw this sweet lady leave me and enter the room. Bless her! She'd handed her false teeth to the nurse. I saw this sweet child of God go in but the same person didnt come out. The woman who eventually emerged looked the same, probably was the same woman, but this woman I gazed upon had left her spirit and her soul behind in that godforsaken room. When it was my turn, I said, 'I've changed me bloody mind. I ain't going in. Never. I'll be damned if I allow this procedure to take place.' Course, she said, 'get in there you big Jesse if you know what's good for you'. I said, 'you rotten old cow' and I entered the room.

Once therein, there were four of them. Two to hold you down, one to shove the entire camera crew down your bloody throat and one to tell you to 'breathe normally' while the equipment and the film crew travel down your gullet and onwards and downwards to your stomach opening.

I'd like to say that I swore to find them all after I'd recovered from this dreadful ordeal but you can't swear. You can't bloody speak. All you can do is grunt, heave, gag and gurgle as the film crew hit four gag reflexes on their journey of violation. It's horrendous!

You'd think that when they reached the bottom and the end of their journey you'd be relieved. You bloody ain't, because they then rotate the rotten camera and hit all four gag reflexes again as they begin the journey back up toward the entry point that is your bloody mouth.

And then once it was done and I was invited to sit up and breathe for the first time in ten bloody minutes I looked all four in the eye, delivered them a volley of obscene expletives and left the building accompanied by my wife of forty years who had the temerity to tell me that, 'you made an awful lot of noise. I was so embarrassed'.

If your General Practioners ever invites you to go to the Hospital for this procedure tell them to get stuffed! No good comes of it.

Why are all of the schools in Hereford now only running until 2pm ? All this week when I've be out the school kids are all leaving at 2 - 2.15pm and going home. I suppose it's now inhumane to have them do a full day of education.

Every year, first quarter, these shops get raided, found to be in possession of countless articles of illegal imports etc. They then either get a fine or shut down and then open up again under someone elses name from the group.

We know who they are even if the HT are censoring that part of the information and, surprise surprise, disabling comments again.

www.herefordtimes.com/news/10995390.Call_to_shut_shops_over_county_s_illegal_tobacco_trade/

This afternoon I had an invitation to complete Jesse Norman's survey " How am I doing".  Checking for feedback - impressive!! 

Quote:  "I am sending it to you as you have previously contacted me about casework or an issue of government policy that concerns you."

One of the survey questions was "Jesse puts constituents before his career"

Do I strongly agree; agree; neither disagree or agree; disagree; strongly disagree?

The other questions were more realistic.         

CCTV Released In Hereford Burglary Investigation

Police officers are releasing a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in connection with a burglary at a Co-operative store in Hereford.

The incident happened at the Co-op shop in Ledbury Road on Saturday 14 December between 2.15am and 3am.

CCTV image

The stock room was broken into and then there was an attempt to enter the shop and office which were locked.

A man captured on CCTV at the premises is described as having dark hair, aged between 28 and 40 years, he has a large wide nose and possibly had a black swollen eye at the time of the offence. He was wearing a dark hoody with white cords in the collar and a grey hoody over the top with black writing on the right upper arm.

PC Cathryn Blake of Hereford Police said: “We would like to hear from anyone who knows this man or recognises him from the CCTV picture. We would also like to appeal to the man himself to contact us.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Blake at Hereford police by calling the non-emergency number 101 and quoting incident number 136s 141213.

Alternatively, please remember that information can also be passed on anonymously by calling the independent charity, Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.

Full Details Here

The following link makes interesting reading

http://herefordheckler.co.uk/councillors-expenses-revealed-what-they-claim-for/

Congratulations to my mate Terry Jenkins reaching the UK Open final 2014. Good luck, I will have my fingers crossed for you mate!

Well the end of on era, St Francis Saviour no more...

I have just found this, lovely photo. 

As we will shortly be approaching the 'moment of truth' for what we are all now being encouraged to call 'Old Market', I thought I'd go and take a really good look at it yesterday (perhaps Colin could treat us to one of his excellent pics later in the week?).  Well, peeps, the optimum vantage point is a few paces north of the entrance to the Moorfields Surgery at the top of Edgar Street; and the optimum viewing time is 4.30pm - especially if its sunny.

Ranged in front of you is a vast curving windowless wall, already seriously stained with what building surveors call 'efflorescence' (salts being leached out of the bricks through the warmth of the sun) - first spotted by the ever-vigilant King Bobby last Decermber.  It will get worse before it gets better.  Towering above this inhuman Alcatraz-like 'cliff', Stanhope's talented designers have chosen to place a row of five irregularly-profiled metal-clad rooftops.  Why five?  Why metal?  Why lop-sided?  Who knows.  Just architectural whimsey, I suppose.

After I'd got my breath back from witnessing this architectural monstrosity (a passer-by offered me a tot of brandy from a hip flask), I came up with the following solution.  Before all the big cranes are taken off the site, McAlpines should fix five projecting gibbets from the five roof 'peaks'.  On each would be suspended a life-size fibreglass effigy of the five 'culprits' responsible for this Nightmare on Edgar Street.  My nominations would be: Jonathan Bretherton, Roger Phillips, John Jarvis, Stanhope's Managing Director and the senior partner of designers Allies & Morrison.

I found this on the Facebook Hands Off Our Village it makes interesting reading

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenpolitics/planning/10679048/Developers-to-get-incentives-to-build-new-homes-in-towns-and-cities.html