megilleland

Worcester angler calls for pollution action to 'save' River Severn An angler says urgent action is needed to clean up the River Severn after finding "shocking" levels of pollution. Glyn Marshall, who also campaigns to protect rivers, said Severn Trent Water was not removing phosphate at its treatment plant at Diglis, Worcester. He fears pollution will lead to algae growth and wildlife dying. Severn Trent said its permit did not require it to remove phosphate at the site, but the plant was being upgraded to allow it to do this by May 2026. Mr Marshall, 65, said data from the river sewage map showed untreated waste went into the Severn at Diglis 81 times last year. "The residents of Worcester need to realise that what's going into our local river is horrible and it's not getting any better," he said. The river had become increasingly polluted and one example was reduced levels or streamer weed which animals such as cygnets fed on, he said. "I have seen in the change in the last three of four years and it's not the same river I fished when I was a teenager," he said. He fears the Severn could become like the River Wye which was "just about teetering". Campaigners say high phosphate levels in the Wye are causing excessive algae growth which harms wildlife. ____________________________________________ Clean water is going to be a valuable commodity in the future and all we are doing is pouring it down the drain. After all you can't drink oil.

I have been told there will be a special meeting to discuss this application at Belmont Parish Council, Kindle Centre on the Thursday 5th May 2022 at 7.30pm. I hope it will be well attended.

I have been told there will be a special meeting to discuss this application at Belmont Parish Council, Kindle Centre on the Thursday 5th May 2022 at 7.30pm. I hope it will be well attended.

Lidl plots major UK expansion as it offers public £22,500 finders fee for new sites Tom Hill - Daily Express - 26 April 2022 (extract) Lidl has set the target of reaching 1,100 stores across the UK by 2025 and is investing £1.3 billion across 2021 and 2022. It now however wants to involve the public in finding its newest sites with a finders fee offered to those who can identify previously unknown sites which meet the firm's requirements. Richard Taylor, Chief Development Officer at Lidl GB, said: "We work with some of the best people in the industry to identify new sites, but we also know how engaged our future and existing customers are and we want to build on this. Our finder's fees are, therefore, available to absolutely anyone that can identify a viable option for a new store that we're not already aware of, and we welcome any suitable suggestions that will help up us to meet our ambitious target of 1,100 stores by the end of 2025." I wonder who got the £22,500 finders fee for the application in Belmont road. Notice in this article Lidl state "among its requirements Lidl is looking for prominent locations with strong pedestrian and traffic flow with a size of 18,000 to 26,500 square feet and space for 100 plus car parking spaces". Belmont Road sounds ideal then.

Surprised by Glenda's death - very sudden - she was quite a character and helpful with issues I raised with her. I have come across links found on Hereford Voice and which some may find interesting with lots of photos. In Hereford Voice: Glenda Powell Location: Hereford Posted May 25, 2015 I have been looking into the history of South Wye because years ago there was a South Wye free paper called South Wye News which for a time I was chairman of until 2003. I have got some information about the Powell's Farm in Newton Farm that also tell the history about the brook and surrounding fields, I am writing a book on this. It is on my website. Glenda https://www.belmontindependent.com/biography.html https://www.belmontindependent.com/historyofsouthwye.html

Title of report: Citizens Climate Assembly Next Steps and Recommendations Meeting: Cabinet Meeting date: Thursday 28 April 2022 Report by: Cabinet member environment and economy Purpose The purpose of the report is to consider next steps and provide recommendations to Cabinet to allocate funding from the Climate Reserve with respect to the Citizens Climate Assembly recommendations. The Citizens’ Climate Assembly is a new venture for the council to actively engage a demographically representative group of residents to support the council’s decision making. Citizens’ Assemblies incorporate a number of key principles: the provision of information from a range of experts, learning amongst participants, consideration of varied and diverse viewpoints, discussion, weighing up evidence, and making recommendations (followed by a voting process). Another important element of Citizens’ Assemblies is that members have an equal opportunity to speak and be heard during the meetings (one of the key principles of deliberative democracy) with trained facilitators supporting this process. Another important principle is the use of randomisation of sampling in recruiting members based on age, gender, ethnicity, urban/rural, socio-economic background, attitude to climate change and disability. 520 people signed up as potential Assembly members who were then asked to share information to ensure representation. In total 41 attended the Assembly meetings. Council agreed on 11 February 2022 to allocate the £1.33m of New Homes Bonus for 2022/23 to the Climate Reserve. All costs of the projects outlined within the programme as well as the resource required to deliver them will be borne by the Climate Reserve, costs will not exceed the available £1.33m. An element of the allocation of funding is recommended to be used to provide additional resource for the Council to deliver this work internally as well as enable the Council to procure expert external support and services where required to deliver the programme of works proposed. The revenue implications of the projects will be assessed during the development of their business cases and will be contained within the overall £1.33m budget. Lot of detail here: Appendix 1 - Climate Assembly Recommendations Appendix 2 - Proposed action plan I applied but didn't get on the shortlist - must be too green.

Here is some bank holiday viewing showing the length the dark powers go to to keep tabs on us. We have no proper democracy in this country or any alternative opposition. All our puppets do is follow orders from above. Who Owns The World

Council spending If you want to see where the money goes each month you can select all the spreadsheet, AutoFit the column widths and using the data symbol scan quickly through the items. The latest figures for December 2021 to March 2022 show the council spent £49,567,912.85 - average £16,522,637.62 each month. Examples are: Balfour Beatty £6,082,663.82 Blue Line Taxis £326,962.00 C M D Travel Hereford £204,107.42 Hoople £2,944,853.11 Redacted £2,726,318.80 Whitecross@Stepnell Ltd £762,167.58 Yeomans Travel Ltd £359,446.62

They took away the Vortex youth club, then demolished the local church, There was talk of a community centre to be built as part of the Keepmoat Oval development a few years ago, but nothing. All this development is corporate vandalism and all the authorities are in it together. There was talk of the Council building a new care home in the county and this with its 60 bedrooms would be a more worthwhile project. We don't need all this blight.

Appendix 1 - Auditors Annual Audit Report 2020-21 updated.pdf Is there no one above board in authority in this country anymore. It appears it is everyone for themselves and blow the rest of us.

Auditor's Annual Report on Herefordshire Concil 2020-21 Final - 7 April 2022 (extract) Contract management Balfour Beatty feature strongly in this report with the Council's inability to effectively manage its public realm and facilities management contract. The auditor considered the Council's contract appointment and management arrangements to be a significant weakness in arrangements. It did not ensure that the Council's public realm contract was awarded to an appropriate and legitimate company and as a result the Council has engaged and continues to engage with a dormant company - Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP).

The Department of Health and Social Care is set to pay up to £35m to dispose of unusable PPE, after admitting it expected to burn nearly 600 lorry-loads of equipment a month. Following intense criticism over plans to send “mountains” of personal protective equipment bought during the pandemic to the incinerator, CSW can reveal the department has agreed to pay two waste companies up to £17.5m apiece for PPE “recycling and recovery services”. Veolia UK and SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK have been tasked with “managing the whole waste management process to assess, collect, handle and dispose of” equipment that DHSC no longer wants. The two “lead waste partners” are each set to bank at least £11.7m destroying unusable PPE over the next two years – rising to £17.5m if the contracts are extended for a third year. DHSC to pay up to £35m to dispose of unused pandemic PPE Waste companies to get £17.5m apiece after department admitted plans to burn mountains of equipment The Department of Health and Social Care is set to pay up to £35m to dispose of unusable PPE, after admitting it expected to burn nearly 600 lorry-loads of equipment a month. Following intense criticism over plans to send “mountains” of personal protective equipment bought during the pandemic to the incinerator, CSW can reveal the department has agreed to pay two waste companies up to £17.5m apiece for PPE “recycling and recovery services”. Veolia UK and SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK have been tasked with “managing the whole waste management process to assess, collect, handle and dispose of” equipment that DHSC no longer wants. The two “lead waste partners” are each set to bank at least £11.7m destroying unusable PPE over the next two years – rising to £17.5m if the contracts are extended for a third year. The contracts were awarded at the end of March, after DHSC admitted it was expecting to burn 15,000 pallets of equipment – equivalent to 576 lorry-loads – per month. At last count, seven billion units of PPE have been marked as “do not supply” to the NHS after going through compliance checks – amounting to nearly one in five items bought as part of the pandemic response. Of that figure, 1.2 billion items are “wastage” – meaning they cannot be used in any setting. Jonathan Marron, director general of the department's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee last month that while efforts were being made to recycle unusable equipment where possible, "more traditional waste disposal methods" would also be needed. The two companies will assess whether equipment DHSC plans to dispose of can be recycled and present the department with options. Last week, health minister Edward Argar said the department wanted to “accelerate the speed” of its disposal programme, “particularly for stock that is likely to become out-of-date before it is ever used and is unsuitable for recycling” to cut down on storage costs – which currently stand at £2.75 per pallet per week. Argar said the department would work with the two waste companies to consider options, including "energy from waste" processes – incineration. He said while DHSC's priority is to "sell, donate, repurpose or recycle wherever we can", in many instances this will not be possible. "The majority of PPE items are designed to be single use and disposed of as medical waste and so are often made up of complex chains of polymers. These items cannot be broken down for recycling. As a result, many of the products we hold are not able to be fully recycled and around half are completely non-recyclable," he said. The department must therefore take a "realistic, pragmatic approach to managing stock and putting in place solutions that make sense economically and environmentally", he added. “Environmental concerns will be key, and we will be taking into consideration the government’s waste hierarchy, prioritising recycling, and then energy from waste for that proportion of stock which we hold that cannot be recycled." The department has also agreed to pay £122,976 to a third company, Ramco UK, for help auctioning off unused PPE stock DHSC bought in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Individuals and companies will be able to bid for the leftover equipment. In his statement, Argar said the company had so far sold 330 million masks to two private companies through a separate process, and had other deals in the pipeline. DHSC is also looking to prolong the shelf life of PPE that has expired in a bid to cut down on waste. It recently appointed a lab to carry out tests on medical-grade face masks and visors to see whether use-by dates can be extended. and following: DHSC bought £122m PPE from Tory peer-linked firm 'for almost three times manufacturing fee'The 25 million gowns were never used after failing an inspection And so it goes on with the public being shafted.

Plans for new care home to forge ahead amid rising pressure From The Hereford Times 29th October 2021 HEREFORDSHIRE Council will be developing a new 80-bed care home in the county due to rising pressure. Existing care home capacity in the county will begin to feel the squeeze as the number of older and disabled people with complex needs rises, the council said. It's led to the cabinet agreeing to forge ahead with plans for a new 80-bed home. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of a privately run care home due to flood damage, Herefordshire Council opened the Hillside Care Centre in Hereford in 2020. The plan is for the new facility to offer a high-quality care environment, maximising the use of advanced technology to support the needs of residents. Potential sites will now be explored, including consulting with key stakeholders and developing the business plan. Coun Pauline Crockett, cabinet member for health and adult wellbeing, said: “I’m delighted that approval has been granted for a new care home facility which will support the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in the county. “Care homes play a vital role in the community, and this development will provide an opportunity to connect care and support services more effectively.” __________________________________ Surely this is the answer for a new care home - seems to have been overlooked and costing less than building from scratch. Of the 60 bedrooms, 32 are located in an annex near the main building and offer extra privacy and parking right outside the door.

Meanwhile our MPs are looking after their own interests Is the Price Right? You can be a 1p under, but not a penny over Tory MPs lobbied committee over ‘impractical’ second jobs rules At least 20 Conservative MPs lobbied a committee investigating new rules on second jobs and their behaviour in the Commons chamber, with many saying they strongly disagreed with time limits on outside work. DWP bungles benefits over 1p, as MPs rake it in Readers' comments: * I was surprised to read that the government has concluded that limits on MPs’ hours or earnings from second jobs are “impractical” (Report, 17 March). I’ve been on employment and support allowance (ESA) since I had to stop full-time work due to incurable cancer. Work is permitted while claiming ESA subject to limits on both hours and earnings. I currently work 11 hours a week for a local charity. In February, the Department for Work and Pensions terminated my benefit, without notifying me, because someone incorrectly calculated that I had earned 1p more than the permitted amount. I’m accused of earning £143 in a week. The limit is £142.99. I actually earn £142.61. I’m appealing to reverse the decision. In the meantime, the DWP has entirely stopped my benefits. We could argue about the rights and wrongs of MPs’ second jobs. We could also argue about the rights and wrongs of abrupt earnings caps for those on benefits. What the government can’t honestly do is put an entire bureaucracy in place to police the benefits system while arguing that to apply similar rules to a few hundred of its own MPs is “impractical”. You couldn’t get a clearer demonstration of how those in positions of power are not held to the same scrutiny as the rest of us. Alex Bicknell London _____________________ * Bill Wiggin seems very concerned that rules on second incomes for MPs may be so complex that they may inadvertently break them, and therefore it’s best not to have any regulation (Report, 17 March). What nonsense! But hey, it may be that Sir Bill is incapable of understanding tricky regulations. In which case we may ask – does he have the intellectual capacity to continue as an MP? What an incredibly low bar the Conservatives must have for selecting election candidates. In this parliamentary session, Wiggin has earned more than £75,000 in outside work plus ad hoc rental income of £10,000 for his London home. No wonder he’s so concerned. Gaynor Bentley Ledbury, Herefordshire ______________________ * Tory MPs lobbying to keep second jobs is understandable. After all, for a lot of them being an MP is their second job. Pete Bibby Sheffield

Transport is the biggest source of air and noise pollution in the UK. Surface transport for example is responsible for around a quarter of UK emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) – a major contributor to climate change, and traffic noise blights many neighbourhoods. Air quality in the UK is slowly improving, but many areas still fail to meet national air quality objectives and European limit values for some pollutants – particularly particles and nitrogen dioxide. In town centres and alongside busy roads, motor vehicles are responsible for most local pollution and most environmental noise. Tesco has 430 car spaces, plus cars visiting Tesco petrol station off the main road. Together with the congestion caused at McDonalds queueing on Belmont Road Road I think any of our council's green credentials will be completely wiped out by this Lidl development with parking for another 118 cars. Also there would be 5 junctions in half a mile where traffic would have to wait to turn left or right between the Tesco roundabout and The Oval and add to further backlogs on Belmont Road. What are the benefits to local residents living in the area and motorists trying to get in and out of the city?

I bet Tesco won't be pleased.

Just when you have been blown to **** and think it is a good idea to get to out of Ukraine maybe you could apply to come to the UK and safety. Dealing with our UK bureaubrats doesn't want to make it too easy and I suggest you would have more success getting in a dinghy on one of the regular crossings of the Channel. Yeah but what’s her chance’s of getting a Visa for the UK? https://youtu.be/tFY1sjEJkIk

Easily understood these two videos get back to basics. Comprehending our present times is getting too complicated and after all we only want to get ahead and have a reasonable time on the planet. Dalio's video tells us our national and international problems are a repeat of themselves throughout history and that we haven't learnt anything to change the system. The phrase "I'm Alright Jack" springs to mind, but only for a few of us. What is Oligarchy? | Robert Reich Robert Reich explains why American democracy has become a oligarchy. and Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio I believe the world is changing in big ways that haven’t happened before in our lifetimes but have many times in history, so I knew I needed to study past changes to understand what is happening now and help me to anticipate what is likely to happen.

Zipping across Spain this video shows the only way to travel. Clean trains, beautiful countryside with far reaching views using a drone. TRAINSPOTTING (VOL. 2845) Trenes de Alta Velocidad en tránsito (UHD 4K) It would be interesting to place a HEREFORD LIVE webcam in the Hereford Station layout to see the arrival and departure of trains, especially the steam specials which regularly pass through the area.

For those who thought Covid had gone away there are a few MPs fighting to get compensation for victims of the vaccines who ended up with severe side effects and disablement. With only a handful of members in the chamber to debate the matter and half of those on their mobile phones and lacking interest it seemed quite futile. House of Commons Wednesday 2 March 2022 Adjournment: Effectiveness of the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 Sir Christopher Chope MP (Christchurch, Conservative) Start 19:01:23 Finish at 19:30:00

Surely the pretension of the West and Russia over Ukraine is just a Mafia turf war and another distraction along with Covid. Aristotle writes that 'oligarchy is when men of property have the government in their hands... wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, that is an oligarchy, and where the poor rule, that is a democracy'. The term "oligarch" derives from the Ancient Greek oligarkhia meaning "the rule of the few". A form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control. Throughout history, oligarchies have often been tyrannical, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. The modern United States has also been described as an oligarchy because some literature has shown that economic elites and organized groups representing special interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. Nothing new. George Bernard Shaw defined in his play Major Barbara, premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907, a new type of Oligarchy namely the intellectual oligarchy that acts against the interests of the common people: “I now want to give the common man weapons against the intellectual man. I love the common people. I want to arm them against the lawyer, the doctor, the priest, the literary man, the professor, the artist, and the politician, who, once in authority, is the most dangerous, disastrous, and tyrannical of all the fools, rascals, and impostors. I want a democratic power strong enough to force the intellectual oligarchy to use its genius for the general good or else perish". Western and Russian oligarchy won't be fighting to protect democracy on the streets on the streets of Ukraine. They are looking after their financial interests. Biden has threatened to cut access to their funds with Forbes listing those they think would be hit in their wallet. Meanwhile various individuals in the west who have not already come through the hands of the banksters ie Macron with Rothschilds are beginning to find their bolt holes. Mark Sedwill is joining investment bank Rothschild & Co in his first major private-sector role since stepping down as cabinet secretary. In July 2021, he joined Lloyd's of London as a senior independent director and deputy chair. He also chairs the G7 panel on economic resilience. As a senior adviser to the global firm, Lord Sedwill will aim to help Rothschild to “achieve their strategic global ambitions as well as helping to connect to and advise clients across the global advisory, wealth and asset management and merchant banking businesses”. Another Jens Stoltenberg NATO Secretary General, was reported as seeking the governorship of Norges Bank - Norway's central bank. Stoltenberg has been an advocate for having all the world's children vaccinated against infectious diseases. Stanley Johnson, Boris's dad has previously worked at the World Bank. Rule by the Worst… Inevitable To these people losing money is expensive. Losing people is cheap.

From The Slog: Well written lyrics can be incisive and critical and CATCHY. Our Overlords know this and by promoting and forcing radio stations etc. to play the agenda songs, then the brains of the population, if surviving the 24 hour pulping, will remain unaware of great and critical songs and lyrics being written about our truly trying times. https://youtu.be/J7jNpxOCZTM

If you liked the video Paddington to Hereford, another favourite of mine is Andres Basagoita who follows the trains in Spain and Switzerland. It brings back memories of walking in Switzerland and cycling in Spain. Andres uses drones to film a variety of trains. His countryside and coastal views are very spectacular. All his videos are accompanied by musical scores. Also they are very easy timewise to watch. Enjoy.

I hope you enjoy this cab ride from London Paddington to Hereford filmed in UltraHD during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown of summer 2020 We journey for a total of 150 miles starting out in England’s capital and slowly head into more rural areas as we pass through the famous University City of Oxford, then through the charming scenery of the Cotswolds before hitting major civilisation again in the form of Worcester. Then it’s out into and through the Malvern Hills passing Great Malvern and Ledbury before reaching our destination of Hereford. We resisted the urge to get the recordings done at the widest possible focal length, as, despite the gains in peripheral vision, you get a very false impression of speed and perspective. This detracts from the realism. The focal length chosen attempts to give the best compromise of a realistic view of what the driver sees together with a decent amount of peripheral scenery. You won’t see any ‘barrel distortion’ i.e. bending buildings here! You'll need two and half hours to watch it!

It is not only UK's politicians taking us for a ride. While the UK government was scamming the public with many of their friends getting billions for Covid aid. Canada is also refusing to say who got dollars in Covid aid with no details on how money is spent with $240 billion handed out in the first 8 months of pandemic. Also Big Pharma continues to rake in the money. “Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land, they own and control the corporations that've long since bought and paid for, the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pocket, and they own all the big media companies so they control just about all of the news and the information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else. But I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them.” ― George Carlin The standard business model for corporations is to lie, confuse and deny anything that may threaten their profitability. ― Steven Magee