Colin James

Things may be about to change; Full news article here

I have always thought that these things are highly dangerous, basically a flying fire waiting to happen. These have to be one of the most stupid idea's ever unless you are at sea.

The use of lanterns and balloons pose serious environmental and wildlife threats Herefordshire Council will no longer permit the use of sky lanterns and helium balloons on council owned or leased land and at council run events. Their use will also be discouraged at licensed events across the county. The use of sky lanterns (also known as Chinese lanterns) and helium balloons have become a popular way to mark a special event, yet their use poses a serious threat to wildlife and the environment as it is impossible to control where the released lanterns and balloons land. Sky lanterns and balloons pose a serious threat to livestock – animals eat lantern debris which can be poisonous or puncture internal organs, and smaller birds can become trapped and killed. There are also environmental dangers with littering, the risk of fire to crops and trees and a significant danger to aircraft and helicopters. Councillor David Harlow, Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Services, said:

This is a really nice idea.

Oh yes never noticed that

Not when so many people have given up the free time

Slightly premature but it is all ready for the new university etc

I have separated both topics Martin, otherwise search engines will get confused. This is a strange one, maybe a local resident trimmed them? As for the responsibility, where maintenance is concerned many organisations will distance themselves where they can, its ridiculous.

Good group doing a lot of good things here Martin, fair play to them all.

Really...

A fee more photographs

Good to see some nice new signs in Hereford. These were Installed by Hereford Business Improvement District. (BID)

We notified Balfour Beatty about our second action day weeks in advance, yet a week after all of our hard work I find myself picking up some of our own litter from the bags we left last weekend. Yes it is all still there! Nothing has been collected! All these volunteers have given up their day and time to commit to this fantastic project and it feels like we are unappreciated with this lack of response, not impressed at all. I am also waiting for promised emails and the results from the tree survey which took place weeks ago, I am starting to realise why things take so long in this city, well I am not going away, on the contrary, I will just increase the volume!

Yes a huge demand if you look at the many comments on our Facebook Page and this has been shared 70 times and reached over 20,000 people, so that will give you an indication of how popular this new Greggs branch has become.

Yes, I had a chat with Jess this morning, nice follow up article here :)

We need to complete the painting of the fence. I have secured up to £5k from the Hereford City Council to purchase aeration pumps and possibly a fountain, just need to find the right product and see if we can get BB to install and maintain it all. Then onto the next project, we have several in mind but the City Walls is a high priority, so pushing to get this put back on the agenda with the Councils

Thank you to everyone the joined us today on phase 2 of this fantastic project, including Corden Smith, Ben, Sue, my mrs Beata and my son Joe and last but not least Jim Kenyon and his family who all mucked in to help. There were less people than last time nevertheless, another great effort by all who attended. Huge thank you has to go to George from the Castle Hotel for again providing refreshments all day and for the fabulous hot sausage rolls. Thank you to J Mart and Ann Marie for providing much needed items, such as paint brushes, sand paper etc and finally, thank you for the superb award winning burgers provided by the Beefy Boys! Thank you to Elliot and the team at vets4pets for sponsoring another 2 signs for the Duck Pond. Thank you to Hereford City Council for paying for the paint and brushes :) As you can see from the photographs, we have removed a few more large overhanging branches and cleared more of the bamboo which has now let a lot more light in and really opened the area. The pathway and bushes have been cut back and thinned out and the footpath has been cleared with lots of rubbish and mud recycled. The fence has been painted as far around as the large tree. The remaining fence down the side of the grass still needs to be painted, so we are looking for volunteers to help complete this, maybe a few people with some spare time however, it may require one more mornings work for maybe a dozen or so people to complete this last section, hoping to get this completed as soon as possible. Fence before it was painted And after Before we cleared it all After it was cleared After this section was painted. Sue and Ann Marie My better half Beata and my Son Joe Everyone busy Corden and Ben Adding my bit Me with Jim and his family Massive thanks to George from the Castle Hotel and these wonderful award winning burgers from the Beefy Boys! Bushes thinned out and footpath clear again We have left a nice neat pile for Balfour Beattie to collect in the morning.

I think we have one now buddy but another will not hurt, cheers!

See you all bright and early 0900 :) Please Please remember to bring some garden tools, rakes, loppers, shears etc.. We will be painting the fence, we have the paint and some brushes but please feel free to bring your own brushes and some black bags or dust sheets to place under the fence as we paint. Finally, does anyone have a large Grab Bag they can bring? Like the one in the photo below, we had one last time and it would be really useful for putting the pond weed etc See you all in the morning

No worries mate get well soon

BAKERY chain Greggs will be opening their latest store in Hereford over the next few days. The new branch is located at 109-111 Belmont Road, next to the existing Domino's and aims to attract new and existing customers in South Wye Hereford.

George from the Castle Hotel has Kindly offered to provide some sausage rolls on Sunday and I understand from Jim that the Beefy Boys will also be offering some of their fantastic burgers. Looking forward to seeing you all bright and early at 0900 on Sunday morning!

Hereford City Hidden Treasures Hidden in the depths of the Town Hall in a small vault are the City's hidden treasures. Accessible to only the abled bodied and in confined space allowing only a maximum of 10 people at any one time access to view them, the vault is dark and damp it is not the ideal place or conditions in which to display and preserve the City's hidden treasures. At present there are up to 100 plate visits a year, a number restricted by the vaults accessibility. When school classes attend they must visit the vault quite often in three lots and any children who are unable to manage the steep curved stairs down to the basement below the Town Hall miss out completely. Coaches of tourists are dropped off outside the Town Hall almost daily to view the historic buildings magnificent architecture, completely unbeknown to them are the City's treasures and deep seated history stored in the vault in the basement below them. Every piece of silver, every charter, the oldest being 1189, older than the Magna Carta, makes up a piece of this City's history. Every piece tells a story or bequeaths something to the City and the people that reside here. These treasures should be accessible to all; every school trip, every tour party and every group/organisation who visit the Town Hall should be able to see the City's fascinating collection. The land the Town Hall stands on was left to the people of this great City by the Johnson sisters, daughters of a former Town Clerk, to build a municipal building for the people of Hereford. What better place to install a purpose built all accessible civic museum than in the Town Hall. The no longer used Mayoress Parlour in the Mayoral Suite in the Town Hall will house this purpose built museum and will ensure the security and preservation of the City's ancient artefacts for generations to come. The tourists who visit the Town Hall will now not only be able to view the buildings fascinating architecture but also City's history and ancient treasures. Groups, organisations and schools will no longer be restricted to specialised visits restricted by numbers and accessibility. An underspend on the development of the new Tourist Information Centre for Hereford, a substantial application for a Heritage Lottery grant (if it is successful) and a saving on rent for the vault currently housing the City's silver and charter will all support the installation of the new civic museum.

Thank you for the links guys, well worth a read.

Offline again this morning?