GrowlTiger

Hereford is 100 miles from the sea. It has history. The building is listed and is a stone's throw from the Cathedral. The bright blue colour would be perfect if it was on a sea side frontage – which it is not! I cannot comment on whether or not the new restaurant in the premises will be of benefit to Hereford, but I can comment on the fact that as a previous resident of Herefordshire and a still frequent visitor I care about its aesthetics and the colour is totally out of keeping in a beautiful rural city. The problem these days with most senior officers and councillors is that they have no empathy with their surroundings and go for the cheapest/ugliest/inappropriate paint available. We have the same problem on Wirral – however here by the sea side where the Spread Eagle Blue would be uplifting, the Council’s only colour of choice is black. Black railings, black tarmac etc which again is totally out of character with its peninsula setting. I fear these days the people in posts of responsibility care not for the environment for which they are responsible, but only for their lucrative salaries and the personal perks they can derive from their terms of office.

Well, I am sorry but I have no sympathy for him either. Without a conscience he has made a fortune from manipulating the system and taking thousands of pounds of tax payers hard earned money. Before he left Wirral he signed off a Traffic Regulation Order on our road which happens to be unadopted and a Byway and was a quiet residential road to just 24 properties. In 2009 it suddenly became a speeding rat run when a radical surface upgrade took place without consultation with residents. We were promised the problem would be solved by an “Access Only†TRO. However, the Schedule which Mr Norman imposed on us allows access through and beyond the Byway to more than 75 other properties up to 5 miles away. The police cannot enforce it, the problem has become worse year on year and residents are still trying to negotiate a resolution with the Council. If Mr Norman had done what we were promised and made the Byway “Access Only†to the 24 properties sited on the Byway we would not still be suffering 6 years of traffic hell. He and his cronies plotted behind our backs and I wouldn’t believe anything the man said.

It may be of interest to those following the career of Mr Norman to know that Wirral Borough Council last week agreed the payment of over £256,000 of public money to yet another Super Director who has voluntarily asked to leave! The Council agreed this sum as “there were other opportunities he wished to pursueâ€. If you don’t believe what you are reading please view the Wirral Leaks site and Mr John Brace’s Blog. Wirral has focussed again in the Rotten Borough section of the most recent edition of Private Eye and is it any wonder.

Mr Norman was made “redundant†from Torbay in the summer of 2008 and left with a payment of £31,823 plus pension payments. He was employed the same year by Wirral Borough Council. In 2012 along with other senior officers he was suspended whilst investigations took place. At this time the then CEO decided to restructure the organisation. As a result Mr Norman’s post was made “redundant†and he left Wirral in October 2012 under a compromise agreement but with no case to answer and pocketed £146,000. To negotiate 3 lucrative “redundancies†in 6 years takes dedication particularly when his post in Hereford was so important his salary was increased substantially fairly recently. I wonder in which direction the gravy train standing on platform 1 at Hereford station is aiming for now.

Bloody brilliant Bobby – I couldn’t have come anywhere near to what you have said so eloquently although I did have a try.

Paul – you know I follow you and support loads that you do particularly in respect of the episode of those Officers on the Wirral who left with “no case to answer†and we know who those people are and one ended up in Herefordshire. However, you have never lived in Herefordshire and you are making incorrect judgements. I lived there for over 20 years and you are completely misjudging Herefordians. They are very caring people - far more caring than any part of Wirral. For one thing Herefordshire is not “the southâ€. It is not Hertfordshire with which it constantly gets confused. Herefordshire is full of lovely caring people. The good ones constantly battle against the Tory Toffs. Please don’t judge them too harshly. There were so many disappointed Lib Dems there following the election.

Well done Paul. Now that you have apparently flushed out Stella Shiu’s hiding place, perhaps you could also now locate the allusive “world renowned†developer behind Phil Davies’ fantasy luxury golf resort. We have been holding our breath over that one since last July.

Pleased you have happy memories of St Mary’s Dippy. It was in a charming setting. At risk of showing my age I worked at St Mary’s for a short time in 1989. A memorable moment was walking down the corridor towards the entrance when a female patient had a hissy fit, ripped a fire hydrant off the wall and threw it into the glass partition to the reception desk. A very scary moment. When St Mary’s closed these people with complex psychological problems were simply absorbed into society. Apologies too for going off the Victoria House subject, but they were both NHS buildings, one of which has been demolished the other likely to be. I wonder what happens to the money made from these sell offs of NHS land.

Thanks Dippy - I think I too am missing the important toggle or dongle or whatever for up thumbing. However 20 years working for the NHS in Hereford I have lots of memories some good, some bad, some sad - happy to share whenever.

I forgot to say that whilst working at Vicky House I came across some old ledgers from St Mary’s Hospital which until the early 1990s was a psychiatric hospital. The ledgers showed that in the early days of the hospital the patients grew vegetables, fruit, apples for cider and reared livestock which was used for their own food and the surplus of which was sold on. Everything in the ledgers was itemised from the cost of a pig going to market down to the last stamp on a letter. Something about which the now politicians and council officers could take note of when completing their expense forms! I sent the ledgers to the archive office and hope they are still there.

Oh dear I think the building to which you are referring is Victoria House in Eign Street - a building I worked in for many years and which was the Health Authority Headquarters. The original building was lovely, but its temporary extensions were just awful, so hot in summer and cold in winter and mostly falling apart. The grounds though were a haven for wild life. We fed the birds amongst which were woodpeckers. We also had foxes with their young and some semi-feral cats from the school behind. On one occasion the staff from Victoria House had to stop the Eign Street traffic as a duck with her ducklings arrived outside and wanted to cross the road. I gave up my tuna sandwiches to tempt her across the zebra crossing. In the car park at “Vicky House†we put her and her ducklings into a box and took them down to the river Wye. However, I remember that health and safety caught up with the old, beautiful chestnut tree at the entrance to Vicky House from which the local school children collected conkers. Sadly, it was decided by the wise board of directors that the conkers were dangerous and the tree was cut completely cut down – a very sad day. It will be another sad day when/if the old bulding is demolished and that city green space for wildlife gone forever.

Bobby Bill Norman has the ability to come up with all kinds of contrivances –he is a “law†unto himself. From my experience of him on Wirral he sided with councillors and although nothing can be proven, allegedly they “supported†each other and of course no minutes were taken. If you ask for evidence you are told only “high notes†were recorded. High Notes are not available to the general public as allowing the public to know what the officers and councillors are discussing in private may inhibit their ability to discuss “openly†anything in the future. Of course Wirral is now the most open and honest Council in the country – much improved and winning accolades. Pass me the sick bag!

I thought the part about working together with residents a particular belly laugh. The very last thing officers want is to face a resident to discuss a disputed local issue. They push something through without consultation and convince themselves their decision making is faultless and above criticism. In reality it is more likely to be based on lies, corruption and mal administration. I have noticed in recent FOIs that WBC is refusing to provide information about the content of officers’ meetings on the basis that putting the information into the public domain may inhibit officers’ future ability to take decisions. If they have nothing to hide why would a little openness and transparency inhibit them?

I may be dim, but the only post that I know about in Herefordshire council worth £90,000 was that of the new Head of Legal Services who first gained access via the Wirral Gray Train and then went south and upgraded himself to a new (governance) post in Hereford. I trust this is not what we are talking about. Or are we? Flamboyant explain yourself please.

The way it’s going I wouldn’t be surprised if John came across an invoice for a consultant hired by WBC to advise it how to deal with him! (Appropriately redacted of course.) The lot of them together haven’t got the brain or integrity of John Brace and the one thing they hate is the truth.

Being a member of the feline fraternity I say touch a whisker on Daisy Belle’s face and I will have the Cat Police at your door before you can say Bill Norman. Cats are sensitive creatures and clearly DB is picking up on your hostility for all things council and interpreting it as your desire to do her or possibly also your wife some harm. Therefore, she has gone into full defensive and protective mode. Tempt her with treats such as saucers of cream, some lightly poached salmon, Cray fish tails and minced chicken. Encourage her onto your knee with the aid of a fluffy blanket. Stroke her head whilst telling the background to gravy trains and why they make you feel cross. In no time you will find that both of you benefit from each other’s proximity. You will no longer need your anger management classes and will become a calm, relaxed person. In turn she will refrain from attempting to attack you. You may even forget all the evils that drive you to tap and who knows you and Bill may become best mates meeting for regular p*** ups at The Commercial Hotel.

Hmm, the Lyndale school fiasco and John Brace being banned from presenting Wirral Council meetings on You-tube all look a bit curiouser and curiouser as Alice would say. But then Wirral is an ongoing Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. We have read today in the Wirral Globe that we (yes, us the council tax payers) are paying a consultancy company £15,000 a year for senior management recruitment – their first job is to appoint yet another new CEO. Remember the one in post now was appointed in a temporary 2 year post. The most important item on his “to do list†following on from total refurbishment of his office suite was to make himself permanent – he has given WBC 3 months more than his temporary contact, but is managing to take with him all the perks of a permanent outgoing CEO. Wirral Council has a Department of Transformation & Resources which is responsible for human resources and the Director of which is on a salary of circa £121,807 so why do we need to engage outside consultants to advertise and recruit the post of CEO. Are not the persons in post senior enough and paid enough to handle this? I do hope none of those who left Wirral with “no case to answer†a year or so ago and have now achieved senior posts in other counties will not be head hunted for CEO of Wirral Metropolitan Council.

Excellent report on your Blog Paul. If you and John Brace were councillors I suspect some heads would be banged together and openness and transparency would emerge. I really don’t know what the fragrant Frank is up to, but I would love to be a fly on the wall at the hammers at dawn meeting.

On Wirral we had 3 wheelie bins each with a fortnightly collection. Grey bins are for bottles and paper green bins for general waste and a brown bin for garden rubbish which is turned into compost and sold back to residents. This service was paid for through our council tax. However, last year following an alleged “consultation†with residents the Council introduced a £35 charge for the brown bin. Long before the “consultation†was complete and the votes counted the Council had printed the documentation explaining how to register and pay for the brown bin thus proving to everyone that it wasn’t in fact a consultation, but a decision taken behind closed doors and a fait accompli. In essence you now have to have a licence attached to your brown bin or it doesn’t get emptied. The result has been that only a third of residents took up the Council’s kind offer to pay for something they felt they were already paying for through their council tax. As yet we are still allowed to put a small amount of garden waste into the green bins, but of course this goes to landfill and is environmentally detrimental. The Council was left with thousands of unwanted brown bins which it went round collecting and to date we still don’t know what happened to them as the Council won’t say. If you are new to the area and wish to join the brown bin club as well as your £35 annual fee you have to buy the bin for £25. Undeterred by the reluctance of residents to join the scheme, the Council went ahead and created a new appointment of Brown Bin Controller or some such grand title at a salary (it was leaked) of £40,000 a year. On the first few occasions of brown bin emptying under licence an extra crew man was also employed to walk ahead with a clip board and check that the bin qualified for the service. We believe this has now been computerised and the refuse collectors have been provided with a direct link to the brown bin controller’s data. And so.......... something which worked perfectly well, was environmentally good and came under the general heading of Refuse Collection has been taken out of council tax and essentially privatised. To finish this never ending story; we have noticed the refuse collectors are now snooping into our bins before emptying and in fact our neighbour had a sticker attached to his grey bin saying that they could not empty it as it contained inappropriate material! We are not sure what he has been up to, but this sounds a bit like the check outs in the supermarket which keep saying unidentified object in the bagging area. Something as simple as refuse collection has now become a Council obsession and we wouldn’t be surprised if next year the grey bin goes down the same route with yet another new appointment of Grey Bin Controller. Beware.

Dippy – it’s not your fault for scaring off the new recruits – it’s clearly the fault of us folk “up north†for trying to join Hereford and Wirral together into the global society. On behalf of those of us north of the A49 Mr Knight or are you Mr Green I apologise and although we have taken a light hearted approach to this topic an awful lot of heartache has gone into the background and we are just having a light hearted exchange for once. (Your first name wouldn’t be Dave would it – as that could open up a whole new topic from the Wirral?!!!!!!!!!?)

Bobby we urge you to apply for the vacant CEO post on Wirral. Send in your CV now before it gets advertised. Beg the Leader of the Council to give you the job on a temporary basis. That way you will have no competition from other applicants. Tell him about your strengths and weaknesses eg. in order to do the job properly it is essential you have a newly refurbished office with extra strong drain pipes in case Bill Norman tries to climbs them. Tell him of your love of BMWs, your desire for foreign travel paid for out of council tax. Express your interest in golf. Even if you don’t like BMWs or golf all you have to do is lie and the job will be yours. You will only have to commit for 2 years and you can retire back to Herefordshire with a sack full of lovely dosh. You don’t even have to live on the Wirral (or as you call it the wrong side of the water). You can reside back in Liverpool just as the outgoing CEO has done and then if you make a total “mess†of running the Wirral you won’t actually have to live in it as we Wirral residents have to do. However to tempt you to the Wirral we do have Lidl, Aldi, Sainsbury, Tesco and a soon to be Waitrose so if you do chose to live here you won’t have to foreclose on your thrice weekly trolley dash. And, think of those evenings you could spend in the Ring O’Bells, sipping cherry brandies, watching the sun set over Hilbre Island. Tempted yet?

If you cross councillors or senior officers you do run the risk of retaliation. I have been on the receiving end myself. I and a neighbour have been twice barricaded into our houses by logs being piled up at the end of our driveways. It was a very dangerous and bizarre reaction to our continued complaints to the council. We knew who was behind this work. Other local people who had complained suffered retaliation in different ways. I also have a friend who bought a house through the Dutch auction process – a property which a councillor had really wanted and expected to get. My friend has since suffered several “burglaries†at both his present and new property. My apologies, but my technology does not run to linking to other sites. However, if you look at John Brace’s blog today entitled “What does an election year, Cllr Phil Davies, Schools PFI and Lyndale School have in common†you will see that John Brace is now too on the receiving end of those who object to his ongoing critical comments. Who said the Mafia only existed in Italy?

A blog which can combine cooking with sex needs a TV programme Bobby – just look at Nigella for example. I sure once her producer reads your blog an offer will be made with suggestions that your doppelganger George Clooney plays your role - Domestic Dough God turned sleuth. Whilst preparing a large Forcaccia you could aim pertinent and penetrating questions at councils at which Bill (Aah Bisto!) Norman has been employed. Firstly why did he leave Torbay on a gravy train? Secondly why did he leave Wirral on another one under the pretence his post had been made redundant? Thirdly why in a matter of months at Herefordshire Council was he given a huge pay rise under the guise that he had taken on more responsibilities? This man is a definite £ magnet, but why?

And the cabbage that kept sprouting in the fridge drawer– that brought a halt to my tapping for days waiting for the outcome as I thought the Triffids had finally arrived in Herefordshire. Yes, such happy halcyon bygone days. (Sorry dippyhippy I became dyslexic about your name earlier.)

If Bill Norman has fallen to the floor below Bobby’s apartment and is lying there in a daze dreaming of £ signs could someone toss a load of cement over him and turn him into a second Hereford statue then move him to a position outside Hereford Station where he could for ever more watch the gravy trains come in and go out, his punishment being that he could no longer board one. Whilst pertaining to statues I loved the piece about the Ryeland sheep statue for Leominster. My old neighbour from Herefordshire days keeps Ryelands and we quite often helped bring the lambs into the world so I have a soft spot for them. It is sad hippydippy that the Hereford Times closed comments after your mention of a possible statue of Smudge outside the fire station. Excellent idea, if I remember it correctly Smudge was an arsonist bunny who went rampant through the Herefordshire countryside. He absolutely deserves a statue.