bobby47

That's ok Frank. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me your view of how you see it. My warmest regards mate.

I've been blogging for a number of years now and, moreoften than not, I've hurled as much bile and phlegm at this Conservative Cabinet and its got me absolutely nowhere. For my part, my issue isn't with Conservatives. Not at all! My problem is with the dynamics that exist and have existed within the Council Cabinet during these past couple of years. These strange and often odd dynamics have, I believe, brought about monumental mistakes that we may never recover from and so I've come to my own personal conclusion about which way I should go. As far as the Independent Councillors are concerned, particularly Councillor Glenda Vaughan Powell, I have the utmost respect for her and them. I couldn't hold Councillor Powell in any higher regard and oddly enough, it's her experiences before and after the Council Standards gathering that has convinced me which way I should jump from hereon. Because of her 'own' Independent colleagues, who Im sure are all good and kind people, diligently trying their best to serve their constituents, this lady was kicked about, mistreated and subjected to a completely unnecessary ordeal. All this was done in the name of Independent Councillors. My view was and is now, that if they, collectively can't stick together and support oneanother, how on earth are they ever going to gather together and sing from the same hymn sheet. It's because of this chain of events and the fact that Im tired of ranting and raving about this unholy Council Cabinet, that I've decided to support the I.O.C in anyway that I can. That support will be blogging, banging their drum and doing what I can to help them into a position where they can get a hold on a lever of power and put an end to this madness that's been bequeathed to us by Councillor Jarvis and his unfortunate successor Councillor Johnson. From hereon, Im going to do all I can to support the I.O.C. and I'd urge all my blogging colleagues to consider my opinion and hopefully agree with me that this is now the step to take. Putting it bluntly, because of the Glenda Powell situation and the hopelessness of our current predicament, I believe that the IOC are our only hope for some clear, commonsense and joined up thinking that hopefully will deliver us all from the chaos that's been poured all over our heads. My very warmest regards to you all.

And if the Mayor thinks he can come and knock on my door at three in the morning, begging me for bloody 'wet wipes' to clean the blusher of his face after appearing in a performance of Cinderella at the Birmingham Hippodrome I'll give him a piece of my mind. I'll tell him, 'Clear off! Don't come knocking on my door. We're trying to have intercourse up here and we don't appreciate you disturbing us.' I'll be straight with him, 'Dont ever knock on my door. Ever! If you've won the lottery and you want to share the win with me and tell me about our good fortune, don't knock on my door. If you managed to appropriate an aerial photograph of my back garden and its clear to a knowledgeable eye that there's a big load of Saxon Gold buried only a few feet away from my bloody pear tree, don't come knocking on my door. Never. Don't ever come up my path again.'

For the many people on these pages that don't know what this post means and perhaps think, 'this means nothing to me. I won't bother reading it', please try and find the time to look carefully. It has a huge relevance to us in Hereford. Essentially, it tells the story of a chap, Paul Cardin, who, alarmed at the way his Council were mismanaging funds and paying out large sums of money to departing suits who were leaving their employ under a cloud of mystery, decided to do something about it and shine a light onto what was going on, who was doing it and why they were able to get away with it. Of course the Freedom of Information Act, a legal instrument handed down by Parliament is the tool to use if you want to discover honesty, truth and transparency. You'd think that this would get you the truth straightaway wouldn't you. In most cases it does, but in this case, because Wirral Council were terrified of the truth they'd created, they began to fight to keep their secrets regarding the departure of one of their senior employees who is now one of our senior employees. Yes, after the departure from The Wirral, Hereford Council appointed him to join their gravey train. Now, in response to the FOI from Mr Cardin to Wirral Council, they decided quite early on that they'd not be complying with the law. I mean, if you've something to hide, why would you help build your own scaffold. Instead, they ignored the lawful request, they branded Mr Cardin 'obsessive' and then attempted to brand him a vexatious litigant, legal speak, that gives the local authority the right to completely ignore him and his search for the truth. In short, this chap, who now is riding upon our gravey train was given one hundred and forty grand of Wirral money and nobody was ever meant to find out why this was done beneath a cloak of secrecy. Think about it!!!! Hereford Council have been doing this in the past, they'll certainly be mismanaging our funds now and if we sit back and say nothing, they'll continue to do it in the future. Please try and find the time to read it. It's at times hard to follow but you'll quickly see how they view us and the lengths they will go to to secrete the truth from you and I.

Im given to understand that Councillor Glenda Powell has faced the might of the Councils Standards Board and been fully exonerated of fault and blame for the fiasco that was brought about by the Clerk to Belmont Parish Council and other serving Councillors. Im given to understand that this matter would have reached an amicable settlement sometime ago but, because of belligerence and sheer stupidity on the part of some, the chain of events and its accompanying cost to us the taxpayer could not be stopped and its only now that the entire stupidity has been brought to an end. I've been told by my drinking buddy that the Board were particularly critical of those who took part in this political act of mean spiritedness and its they who've lost face rather than their target Councillor Powell. If this is true, and I wouldn't have transmitted it if I'd not been certain, then Im pleased that this worrying burden is now lifted from Councillor Powell who hadn't done anything wrong in the first place.

In other words, she wasn't any good at her job, they wanted her to go, she didn't mind going and to sweeten her tooth, they slipped her the best part of one hundred thousand pounds as a thank you for seven years paid employment. Good grief! And still this culture of sucking at the teat of the rate paying public continues unabated. And ain't it funny, even in her hour of demise, as she faces the exit door, humiliated and saddened that she has had to leave the gravey train, she still chants the management speak mantra of pointless speak that was collected and stored on some pointless business management course, 'I am particularly proud, despite very challenging circumstances we have improved the services for our residents'. I suppose I should be grateful she didn't use the term 'service users' to describe the rate paying public who've just made her wealthier than you and I. It makes you want to spit. This culture is far from gone. There's no stopping them spending public money to reward oneanother for failure.

And now bloody Jack Straw has thrown his tuppence worth in. Jack, our former Home Secretary under New Labour has been quoted in the papers as saying, 'we made a huge mistake by not controlling this vast movement of people to the United Kingdom.' He goes onto say that they should have negotiated caps like most of the other member States.' Thanks a bloody bunch Jack. There's a load of worry off. Good grief! The victims in all of this political madness? me, you, the Polish family up the road, the Roma Gypsy here to have a better life and the Lithuanian and Latvians who spend there days breaking their backs picking our fruit. These are the victims of this crazy social engineered experiment and it shouldn't divide us. We've all been duped by these slimey, wealthy, never had a job in their lives, political chancres and its them that should face our wrath. Bloody politicians!

Im pretty sure that the 'thinking' behind all of this is as the result of a noble cause. Newspapers worrying that if the suspect is identified as perhaps foreign, it'll add fuel to the flames and create discord and anger amongst a frustrated community. In fact, Im sure it is a good and noble cause intended to promote community cohesion rather than divide it and on the face of it, it'd be perfectly natural to conclude that it's been done for the best. But, if you stop and pause for a moment and really give the issue some thought, despite it being a good and noble decision, its actually a form of censorship. The media are deciding what we must be told, what we can be told and what we shouldn't be told. In other words, 'we ain't going to tell you that the offender may be a foreign national in case you are unable to deal with this information'. The consequences of this subtle form of censorship is that people can resent the fact that they've not been trusted to be given the facts. This then feeds into discussions like this, people become concerned that their freedoms are being undermined and for the fools amongst us, they race down to Halfords, buy a can of spray paint and in the dead of night they spray some signposts as they did a few months ago. All Im saying is that a noble cause like this can sometimes create more harm than good and if we sit back and simply accept censorship, it inevitable takes on a creep affect and becomes a normal practice for those who want to keep the truth away from our eyes. My very warmest regards.

Thanks Megilleland. I was hoping you'd add something to this topic. Going off on a tangent, David Blunkett has stuck his tuppence worth in and warned the Government that 'there'll be riots if the Roma Gypsies flood the Country next year,' Bloody Hell! Why can't we in this Country have an open and sensible discussion regarding immigration from the European Union to this Country without some minority group getting demonised and becoming the point of the discussion. I don't know a bloody thing about Roma Gypsies and neither do most of us and it gets my bloody 'goat' that a small minority group get thrown into the argument simply because they are an easy target. It wasn't so long ago when we had the 'Welcome to Poland' signs. The poor old Poles got it because I suppose they are the most prominent ethnic group. I couldn't care less what bloody ethnic group anyone is, I simply want some control of the numbers. A few bloody weeks ago, it was the Poles, today it's the Roma Gypsies and tomorrow it'll be the Albanians when they get the green light to come here. The whole thing is madness. A man made bag of rats and it doesn't help when a political leader like David Blunkett throws his cap into the ring and moans about the Roma people who've chosen Sheffield as their preferred place of settlement. Bloody politicians. They've given us this sack of problems and we are the ones left with the consequences. I see that bloody tap dancing liar Tony bloody Blair is being employed by the Albanian Government so that they can get into Europe sooner rather than later. Albania for goodness sake! The poorest European Country of them all. Good grief! These people from Albania live on a quid a day and they are supposed to join the rest of the EU and suddenly become a thriving economic state with a wonderful record on Human Rights, Low crime and a zero tolerance toward state sanctioned corruption. It's madness. Complete madness. When Gorbachev states that the citizens of the West should be afraid you'd better start paying attention. We are becoming a totalitarian collective of states who serve one single master. The ruling elite of the EU who you've never voted for, you'll never be required to vote for or against and they are very nearly in complete control of your lives.

Jimmy Kenyon has evoked an image of a sinking ship, which, given our predicament and our dysfunctional economic model that we are following, is no bad thing to suggest that we in fact are a floating vessel. A holed vessel in fact, thats sliding closer and closer toward the fiscal cliff of ruin. Given that Jimmy Kenyon is right and we are indeed a ship, I say drag this dull and boring individual back aboard, tether him to the Poop or Orlop Deck and let him experience the same fate that awaits us all. Bloody deserter I say! He's had a big part to play in our demise and I'll be damned if we just let him leave our boat of bloody doom and simply wander off to feather his own nest. He's also a thoroughly boring man. He's noted for being a very boring man. I was at the Starlight Rooms with others when he gave a speech about our Library services. Hordes of people, who'd been subjected to his boring oratory on the future of our Library's, staggered out muttering, 'My God. What a very boring individual.' His first Primary School Report read, 'Little Roger is a diligent student who is an extremely boring and uninteresting child'. That says it all for me and anyone who thinks otherwise is a relative of Roger and no ally of mine. Drag him back aboard and let him suffer the chill of the brine, or in our case, the bloody Wye or the Lugg.

Quite brilliant Frank. Well done.

Yes, years of social engineering and political correctness within the UK, that germinated from a perfectly good and noble place, has resulted in many of us feeling that the mantra, 'Men are to Blame' is something they peddle out frequently to further destroy the confidence of the males of our species. From time to time, when other issues are raised, that suggest men are indeed the cause of the problem, I feel and think it as well. That said, this is to important an issue for us to bog ourselves down in language, meanings and interpretations of words. The girls, the physically weaker sex are still being physically and mentally abused by us, the males of our species and we've all gotta get behind this proposal so that the little ones don't have to grow up witnessing this violence. It's far to important for us to bicker about.

I know what you all think! Yeah I know! You all think me mad and when I make reference to Mr Jason Kay employing a Butler, you simply dismiss it as just another piece of codswallop transmitted from this keyboard. Well it ain't codswallop and anyone who says it is, is a fool if anything I ever say is worth a moments bloody notice. In Sepetember of last year, within the pages of the Hereford Times this little cutie was looking to employ a bloody Butler. A bloody Butler!! Good bloody God, I muttered when I read the piece. They were looking for,...a humble man, keen to bloody please who was not to dissimilar to Huriah Heep and who, when kicked in the testicles by an irate patron , would simply say, ' thank you very much'. I'll say it again, mostly for dramatically purposes, anyone who sees the bloody Butler making a come back within our modern and dysfunctional society is a bug ninny and someone who should be kept well away from a lever of power. If I do not get a response from any of you regarding this issue, I'll simply conclude that you are all bloody Butlers or you are descendants of a long line of people who enjoyed being in a tied cottage enjoying a life of servitude. And, furthermore, if he reads this offering and comes up my path banging on my door wanting to settle this issue, I'll ask him one simple and straightforward question. "How on earth did you know where I lived?"

No! No! Glenda! You've read it wrong. From where I come from, it's a compliment to say you could cause a row in a phone box. It's a comment associated with someone who beats their own path and says what they think. You've simply read it in the wrong way.

Councillor Kenyon is right. There are times when we all are called upon to be pragmatic and sometimes give a little ground and this is one such occasion. I've heard of this lady, the Candidate for the IOC and Im given to understand she's hard working, committed and has a sharp mind and I'd urge all those who want to disrupt this chaotic governance of our Council to throw a little to the wind and back this lady who is standing for the IOC. I know Glenda. She could cause an argument in a phone box but her heart is in the right place and I know she'll do the right thing and use all her powers to bring about change for the good. Me, I speak for the bewildered, the dispossessed, the possessed and those that are not bewildered but could become bewildered if ever they were given the opportunity to become sober and cease gambling upon uncertain outcomes.

Yeah! Good for you Councillor. Get yourself down to the local 'Nick'. Get them to show you how these things are recorded, how these things are investigated, what training the troops have and what they do when the victim doesn't want the matter to go to Court. Whilst the figures are troubling and it doesn't make our County look good, we and the Police could be victims of our own success. By that I mean, perhaps the Police in Hereford are recording these things better and not trying to secrete the issues. It may be there is a rise in reported incidents because other agents are doing a better job than neighbouring areas simply because the message is reaching a wider audience. Well done Chris Chappell. I like your teeth again. My warmest regards.

Well if he comes up my path, tapping on my door and disturbing me as I nibble on a piece of tough pork rind, I'll give him a piece of what's left of my mind. I'll be bloody damned if I ever leave my dwelling, stagger up the road and into a polling booth and give a man who employs a butler my bloody vote. If he even thinks about trampling up my path I'll tell him, "Im a Labour voter", well, I was when we had a Labour Party, "get lost Jason. You might be a fine hotelier with all the appropriate documentation that supports your ability to pour me a double rum and deliver me a full English breakfast but I'll be damned if I allow you to affix your bloody poster onto my window implying I support you." And whatsmore, if he thinks that by coming up my path we've become friends and he can pop in here whenever he wants to borrow a bowl of sugar he's got another thing coming. He can get stuffed. And that just a bit of what's going on in my mind. Fellow bloggers, posters and keen readers of those who've got sensible things to say, may I introduce true blogging royalty, Lukio or as he now calls himself El Lukio. Good to read you pal.

Chris, The last time you and I exchanged pleasantries Im certain I congratulated you for bearing your teeth and responding forcefully to an argument. I liked your teeth and because Id seen them and I liked them, I chose to tell you that I liked your teeth so that you'd feel welcome and get a boost from knowing that your dentures were appreciated by me. But now, because of your comment, branding people like me as bully's and cowards, I now no longer like your teeth because you've sunk them into me, suggesting that because I and others use a blogging handle we must be bully's and cowards. You'll not be surprised that I don't like this comment and I now no longer like your teeth. Tread carefully Christopher. Don't go to war when you've no idea of the outcome. Im no bully and Im certainly no coward and neither are all the other bloggers who have used a blogging handle for a number of years. There is a huge difference between bullying and lampooning and I choose to believe that by lampooning political figures it helps deliver democratic values to the people of our Country who, moreoften than not, sit back, stay silent and let you all get on with it. You put your guns away Chris. Put them back in your holster and keep your powder dry for when its really necessary to go to war. Leave behind the old New Labour ways of branding opposition as bully's, bigots and stupid people and simply be nice. Finally, you know the rules. I've told you the rules. You leave Councillor Glenda Powell alone. Now, Im going to leave this issue behind and not give it a backward glance but if you choose again to call me a bully and a coward simply because of this exchange, Im going to come back and lampoon you and show you my teeth. My very warmest regards Chris.

Having been exposed to the abilities of Councillors Johnson and Morgan and seen at first hand their limited grasp upon logical and strategic thinking, it's imperative that this new approach is implemented and developed quickly. For my part, having been at the Kindle Centre and been witness to them and their limited ability to string together a coherent thought and sentence, its clear to me that they are both clueless people who should be positioned well away from any lever of power. If these two are typical of those that sit within the inner circle of power then its no wonder we are in desperate fiscal trouble. It was truly shocking to see these two struggle with the simplistic issues that you and I could easily deal with without any discomfort. My friend Flamboyant is right to bring this to our attention. They must go. It's to late now but at least we can be given the opportunity to mitigate this disaster that they have delivered to us.

Jim, you don't have to tell me you work very hard and you provide good value for the small sum of money you receive. I know you work hard and I also know that you have the exact same work ethic as Councillor Glenda Powell. You don't have to tell me because I already knew. You could have said and explained all this days ago but instead you chose to sit on it and think. Well, you don't have to sit on anything and think. Not on this site. Simply tell the readers what you think which is now what you've done. That's it. Job done. Your post is very impressive, it's warmly received and it only serves to add to the respect I already have for you. I do understand the dilemma faced by Councillors. The political landscape has changed, the electorate are highly cynical of politicians and this creates a climate of wariness but, nowadays, particularly within pages like these, you log in and register and you have to expect to encounter issues that are often difficult to discuss. Drop your guard Jim. Take your gum shield out and be yourself and say exactly what you think. My very warmest regards to you.

Chris, Im beginning to like you. You've got teeth. Well done and well said. Mind, if I were you I'd tread carefully when you criticise bloggers who use a 'handle' rather than a name. There are some amongst our ranks who've sacrificed a great deal to allow you and I to hurl our barbed comments at one another. That said, well done. It's liberating to get these things off your chest. Mind, Im a student of writing styles. I've always done it. Can't help myself. It's a huge fault of mine and one which I've no intention of correcting and when I study your distinctive writing style I can sense angst. A tone of desperation which can only be removed if you take the second step and tell us why the wording of the motion was so unedifying to you. I've read it and it reads ok to me. Come on! Enough already. Lets you and I take this plunge together and put this matter to bed. By the way, I knew it'd be you that broke ranks first. How? From your writing style which exposes you as someone with a bit of backbone and honour. Now, lets you and I stop piddling about and get to the point of this issue. What do you think was wrong with the suggestion? My very warmest regards to you Chris.

Jim, Yes being a Councillor is difficult. I couldn't do it. Im not good enough, Im certainly not clever enough and so I choose to do this. And 'this', sitting behind a keyboard is no small task. Our job is to vote you into Office. When you do well, we shower you with praise, and some of you get to become Mayor and have the opportunity to switch on the Christmas Lights. But when you do bad or worse sit back and do nothing then we use this technology to voice our views. This is what it is and our democracy is all the better for it Jim. Yes, there are down sides, sometimes without trying I can hurt another's feelings. We all can but I say it's a price worth paying to make sure our local leaders do what they are expected to do and graft and earn their badge of office. Do I feel sorry for Councillors who work hard? Not in the least bit. I hope when they finish their day they are knackered. They choose to embrace this Office and 'stand'. Now, after reading this I'd like you to press the button, raise the Rone Atkinson topic and tell me what you think, even if its to tell me to get stuffed.

I know what most of you will be thinking. This bobby bloody 47 is horrible. Well I ain't. Far from it. I've simply got no time anymore for political dressing. All people want is the truth or as John Lennon once said, 'Gimme some truth'. That's it. These politicians have been scheming and spinning for so long they don't even consider whether or not they're any good at it. It's like my bloody topic, titled Rone & Atkinson. They won't touch it. Not with a barge pole. It doesn't matter what their view is. All the people want is an opinion but can I get them to respond? Not at the bloody moment. I will get a response but to get it I've gotta moan, groan, rant and rave and shame them into saying what they think. And while they delay, responding to my request, they'll lose votes and a listening ear because they fail to display an understanding of the new political reality. We want to know their opinion!

Jim, I ain't heartless and I ain't some demonic figure that has no compassion for those of us who fall down from time to time, but I've got no time whatsoever for political wriggling and spin which is what you are doing now. It's spin Jim lad. Political spin intended to ride on the back of human tragedy and turn a story and twist it to gather some position in the fall out that may or may not affect Its Our County. The young lad was found in possession of a controlled drug and because it was a small amount and presumably his first offence, the Police disposed of the case by way of Police Caution. Thats it. It doesn't matter how its dressed Jim. Nobody cares. The only reason I and others will now care is because you've tried to spin it. It's madness Jim. Just be straight with people. This young lad, good and kind as he clearly is, can no longer remain in office because his position is now untenable. That's it! Thats all you needed to say but because of the culture, not of your creation, you spin like all the rest who feed off of our opinions.

Ubique, We've simply got to be patient my good and old friend. Time is on our side. It's all a matter of time. We wait patiently. Eventually, one of our Councillors will follow Councillor Powell, grasp the nettle and offer up a view. We've got all the time in the world. Mind, if Im sitting here next Pan Cake bloody day still waiting then I'll have formed the view that they are burrowed in and they ain't keen to come out and talk about this issue. No, Im very confident that our new colleagues will think, 'this is an important issue and one worth discussing with our constituents'. They'll comment. Im sure of it.