Ubique

Yes you are correct Denise , Animal in Bewell St has large signs in window , closing down etc. Sad but there's a reason for most happenings in life .

The " builders " have started to set up the Poppies Weeping Window at the Cathedral today . It is being set up so that if you walk up Church Walk towards the Cathedral you will have a very good view of the poppies streaming down from the roof of the Cathedral. I really hope that it's a success because I am aware of all the work / preparation that has been going on over the last few months - it give the City chance to stand proud and say "That was a job well done " .

Don't want to be the messanger of doom and gloom but the upmarket Jewellers / Watches shop SWAROSKI have just closed their Exeter shop , wonder how safe the Hereford shop is?

Re grass verge parking , it is an eyesore , going on from that a good number of householders are clearing their front garden to make it a parking place for their cars , I can fully understand why , however some Council insist that if they do that and the cars are driving over a raised kerb the householder must pay to have the kerb dropped to a drive on kerb. Further to that if a car blocks a dropped kerb I believe that the Police can take action , however if a car parks alongside a raise kerb preventing the householder drive onto or exit their garden/ parking area it's annoying for the householder but no traffic obstruction / offence . The above is an observation and as usual will stand corrected if I am talking rubbish .

Wondering if over the next few weeks it will get worse ...............our two week collection of household rubbish was due for collection last Friday - we fully understand why it wasn't collected ( snow) but we have been told that our next household rubbish collection will be our normal collection in two weeks time .....at that time we are allowed to have the wheelie bin full plus 4 black bags of rubbish . Keeping the bags which will not fit into the wheelie bin will not be a problem for us but residents of flats etc may have a problem storing it for another two weeks and therefore dump it away from their residence. When collections are missed due to Bank Holidays etc another collection is rotated in very soon after the holiday with ,I presume , the Refuse Collectors being paid overtime , that may well be cheaper than collecting the fly tipped dumped bags of household rubbish.

As well as the Poppies Weeping Window ( As Aylestone Voice said it will be open to all , no appointment necessary ) there will be other Events being held in the area , Black and White House, All Saints Church , Museum and I think the Town Hall . There will be a number of volunteer Meeters and Greeters scattered around the City Centre to help and guide visitors around the area plus other volunteers doing allocated roles - in the area of the Poppies , catering , coach park attendant etc etc. As a Volunteer I am really looking forward to the 6 weeks , certainly a lot of hard work is going on behind the scene to ensure that residents and visitors go away with a very good feeling .

HCC Press release Herefordshire Council welcomes the announcement in the latest Local Government Finance Settlement, which will see additional funding for the county. The funding includes just over £1m in recognition of the extra costs associated with delivering services in a sparsely populated rural county. Theres also an additional £550,000 to support adult social care services, which continue to face serious pressures due to the rapid growth in the number of older people within Herefordshire and those living with a lifelong disability. The gap between demand for adult social care services and the resources available to provide them, is nationally estimated to be around £2.3bn. Councillor Nigel Shaw, Cabinet member for finance, housing and ICT, said: Were pleased the government has recognised the challenges we face when delivering services in a rural county, by awarding us additional funding. Unfortunately, this additional funding is a one off payment for 2018/19, so cant be relied upon going forward. We continue to face cuts to our ongoing funding from the government; it's reducing by £203,000 in the same year. As adult social care costs are significantly increasing, its imperative that we carefully consider how best to use this extra funding, to ensure maximum benefit for local residents. We will continue to ensure that residents are enabled to live safe, healthy and independent lives across Herefordshire. Just wondering if this additional funding will mean that the council,Tax for t2018/2019 will be reduced - I doubt it very much .

Cllr Durkin states that the Council spend £1 million ( I presume a year ) picking up litter and emptying bins . That appears to be an awful lot of money , not in my opinion well spent because wherever one goes in the High Town area there is loads of litter lying around going on from that I suggest that if there weren't any litter bins the problem would be worse . I accept fully that there is a litter problem in the City , part of the problem might be bad management of the litter puckers and the bin emptiers. My Parish , Burghill have organised litter collections annually for over 5 years involving the Parishioners , works very well to my mind.

From the BBC HW site A homeless SAS veteran has found a permanent home after 400,000 people signed a petition. Bob Curry, 64, is understood to have been part of the team that rescued hostages in the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London. He has now accepted a bungalow in Hereford from a local housing association.

FromHT AS plans to remove the hutted wards at Hereford County Hospital progress, the council has offered office space to the NHS trust. Wye Valley NHS Trust will move health records currently stored in the hutted wards corridor to Herefordshire Council's former record store in Harold Street. Office accommodation for finance, HR and estates will be moved to Franklin Barnes to accommodate the decant of the hutted offices. Both properties are presently vacant. The trust will pay rent for the accommodation and have been told Harold Street is available for five years and Franklin Barnes for at least two years.

I guess that he is the same person who appeared in the Mag Ct yesterday when the CPS applied for an extension in Custody ?

From Herefordshire CC Press release Cllr Tony Johnson has today announced his resignation as Leader of Herefordshire Council, which will take effect at the next full Council meeting on 9 March 2018. Councillor Johnson has been a councillor with Herefordshire Council for more than seven years and has been Leader of the council for five years. He is stepping down to spend more time with his family and on his hobbies, and will remain a ward councillor for Hope End. Councillor Johnson said: In line with the council constitution, the new Leader will be elected at the meeting of full Council on 9 March.

Wondering why the HT haven't picked up this very newsworthy story , I believe that they have more than one reporter .?

Slightly off post , I read that the Council have halted road repairs etc. I sincerely hope that before the Poppy Stream opens in March the patchwork in Commercial St will be tidied up and the block paving will replace the Tarmac filling . According to publicity we are expecting at least another 2000 visitors a day ...........similar events held in other Cities would suggest a few more .

Further Press release from the Council Tuesday 23 January Herefordshire Council can confirm that Mr Curry has been on the social housing waiting list since we met with him last Wednesday and he has placed a bid on a property. Our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant means we prioritise housing for former members of the services and they’re given an advantage on the waiting list. We currently have 1,328 people and their families looking for social housing in Herefordshire and 13 of these have a forces background. Everyone registered for social housing is advised that the more flexible they can be with their choice of location, the quicker they are likely to receive appropriate housing. For example, there are 24 one-bed properties available across the entire county and only three of these are in Hereford city. Herefordshire Council does not own any housing stock, it is held by a number of different housing associations across the county. The council operates the social housing register and supports local people to apply and bid for available homes from housing associations. Once a bid has been placed, the applicant liaises directly with the housing association and not the council. However, the council does continue to provide support if people need to claim housing benefit. We know that it’s often hard for people to ask for support, especially in difficult personal circumstances, and our staff are sympathetic and supportive, whilst being fair to everyone who needs help. The council continues to provide support for veterans across the county and is currently working in partnership with the Veterans’ Self Build Group to build new homes for ex-service personnel in Leominster.

Statement in response to national media enquiries: 22 January 2018 Monday 22 January Herefordshire Council ensures that no member of the Armed Forces community faces disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen. As part of the council’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, ex-members of the Armed Forces receive additional assistance to aid their position on the social housing waiting list, which should speed up an offer of securing appropriate housing. We work to find suitable accommodation for any applicant that requires it and recommend that any individual requiring support of this nature, provides all the necessary details requested, so we can process and provide support in a timely manner. There is more information about our commitment to supporting the Armed Forces in Herefordshire on the council's website. Wednesday 17 January Herefordshire Council can confirm that it is actively working with this individual to secure accommodation within the county. Unfortunately, to date the individual has not provided all the documentation needed to legally register for housing. However, regardless of this, the council’s housing team has found and offered two different forms of accommodation, in areas which were agreeable to the individual, but which have subsequently been turned down. We are continuing to work with the individual to help them secure appropriate housing. Published: Monday, 22nd January 2018

That's very interesting Ragwert . It appears that the Councils ( both of them ) are going to " smarten up " the City and the approach roads in preparation for the Poppies , Weeping Window display at the Cathedral during the period 14th March to the 29th April , at least 2000 visitors are expected each day , going on from that , as it's school holiday time this number could be doubled. The display is going to be excellent and in the fullness of time if you see it you will be able to say " I was there " .

Megilland , yes it is the official response . Best I leave it to that .

Just been announced on BBC that Carillion are taking steps to go into Administration .

Shareholder enjoy taking the money when the company is doing well ,shouldn't they and the Banks therefore take the hit when they have allowed them to get into this position . Cannot have it both ways . We all know that if as ordinary members of the public working hard paying our bills etc. we had a financial problem the Banks would be down on us like a tonne of bricks. It's a crock of ..........! Surely the Company are advised by Financial wizards or should Megaland and Bobby47 take over the decision making when it comes to financial matters. I do feel very sorry for the employees but I do wonder if they also have been on the gravy train ?

Glenda , I would presume that this is the start of formal proceedings , if he is unable to attend because of his injuries this will be explained to the Court and a further Remand in Custody ( The Hospital ) will be set with a date for the next Court appearance set. As an aside this must be a draw on Police rescorces because as he in Custody at the Hospital I must presume the he is under 24 hour guard .

Re the RTC on Roman Rd the other evening. A friend of ours was going home from work , three cars behind the converted van , van suddenly stops ( after hitting the pedestrian ) the two cars in front of our friends overtake the van - perhaps not knowing what happened , our friend quickly realised what had happened, stopped, hazard lights on. Gets out of her car and realises that she was very exposed to passing traffic because she was dressed all in black .She did help at the scene but she would have felt safer wearing a high vis jacket or vest. ( In case anybody is thinking , yes she did give her name and address to the Police ) Cut a long story short she has now purchased two high viz coat quite cheaply to carry in her car for these types of emergencies. I have carry two high vis vests in my car for me and my wife for a very long time, ) Really it's just Ubiques tip of the day, of course a number of members have already purchased the high viz jackets / vests Apparently it's compulsory throughout most of Europe but not the UK

It was a 17 yr old lad who died .Sincere condolence to his family and friends - so sad . RIP, YOUNG MAN .

Ragwort , I must apologies for even thinking you would post a joke on the parking at the Hospital . I have been in contact with NCP , they have now added to yours and DILLIGAF comments the fact that they will be running a Valet Service whereby you drive upto the hospital for your appointment / visit etc and hand your keys over to a waiting employee of NCP who will drive your car away to an apparent cheaper parking location , a few minutes before you leave the hospital you phone a dedicated phone no. Give the code number the parking valet gave you , the Control Room will tell you how much to pay ,which you do and within a short period of time your car will be returned . The hurdle they have to get over is Morrisons and neighbours living around the hospital because one of the plans NCP are working on is using street parking and Morrison's car park .

So NCP now own Hereford Hospital , call me thick but I cannot believe that what Ragwert has posted is true - if it is a joke you should have kept it for another couple of months !