tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23657316583510986442024-03-14T05:55:23.734+00:00An oik what blogstowy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-57040576427280409902021-02-09T10:59:00.001+00:002021-02-24T23:37:57.131+00:00On jam, more correctly lemon curd and marmalade<p>We have been making jams and other preserves for years but someone asked me about my lemon curd, it is a beautifully simple thing to make and we found the recipe in a book called "The Kenya Settlers Cookery Book and Household Guide"</p><p>Quick and easy lemon curd<br />4 lemons<br />3 eggs<br />1lb sugar<br />2oz butter or marge<br /><br />Grate the zest of all 4 lemons and squeeze the juice into a double boiler along with the sugar and butter, whisk the eggs and add them to the mixture and cook for 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until the lemon curd is skeining, the curd should then be put in ready warmed jars* and sealed, allow to cool and store in the fridge.<br /><br />* I usually put the clean jars in the oven gas mark 6 for 5 minutes to make sure they are sterile nb don't do this to the lids<br /><br />A Pyrex bowl works well as a double boiler! Simmer a few inches of water in a saucepan. stack bowl on top of a saucepan, making sure the bowl fits snugly.</p><p>I will also add my super orange marmalade recipe (Courtesy Mrs Willies, Worcestershire) <br /></p><p>Quick and easy Marmalade <br />2lb of Seville oranges<br />4lb of sugar<br /> </p><p>Place the whole oranges in 3 pints of water and boil until the liquid has reduced to one and a half pints, remove oranges and cut them in half, scoop the insides into a seive and press as much of the pulp through as you can discarding the rest, cut the skins into as thin or fat chunks as you like and put both back into the water along with the sugar and boil until skeining, the put into previously warmed jars*<br /></p>towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-54953085376821331152015-11-15T11:03:00.001+00:002016-11-18T11:47:01.281+00:00Going to hell in a handcartSince 1979 this county has been ruled by Thatcher and sons of Thatcher, yes Blair is one of her children too. The rhetoric was to improve our lot but the reality was to empower rich people at the expense of the rest of us.<br />
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They stole from the councils, stole from the people and lined their nests. She brought in universal business rates that took money away from councils, then she set up council tax to steal from the people, her bastard progeny "new labour" then oversaw the biggest swindle of all time in bailing out the banks until their successors could sell the assets to their friends. Privatisation stole assets that we had all paid for and gave them away at cut price to their money grubbing mates, now we have the Tory pygmies blaming the working poor for all our ills!</div>
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"Les aristocrates a la lanterne" I say vive la revolution.</div>
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Michael Sheen gave a brilliant speech in Tredegar in defence of the NHS <br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "century" , "times" , serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">"To those who have discarded all principles, save that of profit before all else; to those who have turned their backs on the very idea of a truly democratic society, and aligned themselves to nothing but self-interest; to those who have betrayed the vision of equality, and justice, and compassion for all - that vision that provided the crucible from which came forth the National Health Service - I say to you, as Aneurin Bevan said in Trafalgar Square in 1956: you have besmirched the name of Britain; you have made us ashamed of the things of which formerly we were proud; you have offended against every principle of decency and there is only way in which you can even begin to restore your tarnished reputation. Get out. Get out! Get out!"</span></blockquote>
I can't say how good it was to hear these words, especially now that we have suffered another general election under the same tired old first past the post system that Blair promised to reform and was also 2010 election promise of the Liberal Democrats!<br />
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All you stupid little Englanders, Tories and other ne'er-do-wells please pack your bags and scurry off to your hole in the ground, GET OUT. GET OUT! GET OUT!!! </div>
towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-18094654099630977632015-01-30T11:42:00.003+00:002015-01-30T11:42:54.690+00:00CluelessCameron wants to ban encryption without understanding that most of what he proposes is not possible.<br />
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The Home Office set up a Twitter account and then tweet that they have arrested "immigration offenders" without understanding the Contempt of Court Act.<br />
Both of these is happening when there are some of the brainiest people employed by both the civil service and by political parties.<br />
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The government determined to carry on with the privatisation of the Post Office when every other privatisation have been of dubious value to tax payers and the paying public.<br />
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Grayling wreaks havoc on the judicial system.<br />
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IDS wrecks the lives of countless disabled people and the working poor.<br />
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Gove makes such a mess of the Education Department that he is "promoted" to Chief Whip.<br />
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I read a description of these people in a forward to Nicholas Nickleby where he describes the people running "schools" as incapable pettifoggers and, reading that, in my mind I can only see Cameron, and his Bullingdon club mates and the lickspittles that enabled the present government.<br />
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Don't get me started on the situation in Carmarthenshire where cronyism is the only way to go and Buggin's turn gives any old fool the job of their dreams.<br />
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A POX ON ALL THEIR HOUSES!towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-51469580101640685232014-11-27T14:33:00.000+00:002014-11-27T14:33:30.049+00:00Spam and ScamsEvery day one hears of people having their computers or their phone hacked and money disappearing mysteriously.<br />
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Many people pay money for third party security for their computers and phones; but they neglect basic security themselves. They are running another operating system that is by default lying on its back waiting to be defiled, but it's OK because Symantec or somebody else is looking after them.<br />
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They are also quite happy to use those computers to do their banking and shopping; in fact to run their lives for them with all their utilities bills etc., getting them a discount for doing things online. The killer is that they are hooked in to social media 24/7 and when an email/message comes from their bank/service provider with a clickable link they are likely to just click and follow, they even have these banks/service providers as friends in Facebook or Twitter.<br />
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I <u>do not </u> use online banking and <u>do not</u> fill in direct debit forms online either, because I think that the internet is fun and stupidly insecure, I am sceptical about any email/message from people that I don't know personally, and I know that Facebook/Twitter is as secure as a colander; they are not your friends, they view you as a data source and a revenue stream that they derive their incomes from.<br />
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My computers all run Linux because I feel that anything that is Open Source by default has huge numbers of people looking at the underlying code to make sure there are no serious security holes. I tend not to click on any link that comes in an email/message because that way madness lies.<br />
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Toodle ooh for now, I'm off to make my foil helmet to save me from all those alphabet soup people that are supposed to be guaranteeing our safety!<br />
<br />towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-13862500508100558072014-07-27T19:56:00.000+01:002014-07-27T19:56:27.704+01:00Elmer FuddIt has been a busy couple of weeks for shooting from the hip expert Elmer Fudd, he is fully in favour of his friend blighting the views from Carmarthenshire County Council's most famous house, the Dylan Thomas Boathouse in Laugharne, and discounts the opinion, against the wind turbine, of the community council of which he was the chairman, until he suffered a vote of no confidence. This man who clings to his seat by just 5 votes doesn't seem to worry about the people of the two most populous wards of his fiefdom. He should note that there was an overwhelming vote of no confidence by the people of his local communities in the form of a petition against the Mwche Turbine.<br />
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The Community Councillor that moved the motion of no confidence said it was purely because of his conduct as a community councillor, but I would argue that you cannot separate the actions of the individual from either of his elected positions. He sees that there is nothing wrong lobbying on behalf of his friend rather than represent the feelings of his electors. Perhaps he ought to consider his position and do the honourable thing?<br />
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Now I know that I am tilting at windmills looking for honour amongst the nest of vipers that is the ruling clique in Carmarthenshire County Council whose planning decisions are notoriously Quixotic , but these things have to be said.towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-12537395172314110862014-01-30T13:13:00.000+00:002014-01-31T20:02:18.677+00:00A dishonourable endWith all the shenanigans going on in Carmarthenshire surely we must have reached a watershed. I am the only person here that thinks things can't get any blacker for the busted flush that is the ruling clique in the county.<br />
In any rational world someone would have fallen on their sword but it seems that that might just be wishful thinking on my part.<br />
Who signed off on the Garnant golf club deal?<br />
Who backed the seemingly bottomless pit of Parc y Scarlets?<br />
Who pushed the council into the backing of a bowling alley?<br />
All of these things have cost this council millions of pounds, with no seeming return on any of it.<br />
Is this any sort of probity?<br />
Then there is the unlawful payments fiasco!<br />
Now we have the WAO Public Interest Reports which slam both officers and the Executive Board, come on guys its time to go!<br />
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Of course I have to thank caebrwyn @ <a href="http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.co.uk/">http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.co.uk</a> cneifiwr @ <a href="http://cneifiwr-emlyn.blogspot.co.uk/">http://cneifiwr-emlyn.blogspot.co.uk/</a> and MrsAngry @ <a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/">http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/</a> for keeping an eye on all of the goings on with local government here and away.towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-31101239838848353172014-01-14T20:49:00.000+00:002014-01-14T20:49:03.849+00:00New year joy in BlunderlandHere we are barely two weeks into the new year and already I am baffled. Now you might say that there is nothing new there but I am talking about the glory that is our local county council. If you wanted a picture of openness and accountability you might be better off looking towards North Korea or inside the NSA.<br />
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At the monthly meeting the council had a debate about something they weren't allowed to talk about and the main subject was not in the room, I mean really how can this be? The so-called executive board talked about it and the blogoshere is awash with speculation, but most of us are still in the dark about the unlawful payments fiasco!<br />
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We had legal opinion withheld and waffle offered in its place, pace Linda Double-Barrel and then there were mysterious breaks in transmission; really professional and well worth the gadzillions laid out for the webcast! Not that I would want it stopped now that we have it, rather that than the PR guff that gets posted out under the misnomer of Carmarthenshire News.<br />
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I was always under the impression that the county council was set up to look after the best interests of the people that pay council tax and not to pander to special cases and lame ducks. One might ask to what I allude? Perhaps a golf club or maybe a racecourse, then there might be a rugby club and a clutch of overpaid executives with alledgedly lucrative tax dodges; but there is no doubt that the people of Carmarthenshire are not getting what they deserve of their elected representatives who worry more about their allowances and perks than either the lowly underpaid workers in their employ or the benighted council tax payer.<br />
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Of course they don't have to answer to the electors of Carmarthenshire until they have wittered away the next three years twiddling their thumbs and looking the other way while Llanelli sinks under the spill off from a favoured housing development or the kids in the north-east of the county while away their lives just getting to and from a new school built on a flood plain.<br />
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Are you all shivering the way I am?? Euchhh!towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-44081235827146706662013-10-16T16:44:00.000+01:002013-10-16T16:44:03.843+01:00Welcome to Alice in WonderlandThe Queen, a figure difficult to please, introduces her trademark phrase "Off with his head!" which she utters at the slightest dissatisfaction with a subject and the subject to hand is the matter of the council dealing with the unlawful payments debacle at the Carmarthenshire County Council full council meeting the other Wednesday.<br />
Who is the Queen? You might ask, or indeed who is the judge or the executioner, watch the last ten minutes of this <a href="http://www.carmarthenshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/115366">webcast</a> and make up your own mind as to who wrote the prepared speech of the chairman to close the meeting.<br />
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And please look back through <a href="http://cneifiwr-emlyn.blogspot.co.uk/">cneifiwr's</a> and <a href="http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.co.uk/">caebrwyn's</a> blogs, oh! not to forget the wonderful <a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/">Mrs Angry</a> too. and laugh or cry at the state of local government in Wales and England.<br />
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<br />towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-73117318762369393732013-02-21T13:06:00.000+00:002013-02-21T13:06:14.032+00:00Catch 22 meets 1984I am so grateful to the various people that have attended and tweeted about the libel action brought by Jacqui Thomson (@caebrwyn on twitter); they have kept us all up to date with what went on in court.<br />
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The one thing that intrigues me is the absolute silence from any elected member of council explaining exactly why they are willing to underwrite the legal costs of the highest paid local government official in west Wales.<br />
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Mrs Angry from BrokenBarnet covered the proceedings in the following blogs, listed in chronological order:<br />
<a href="http://the-crucible-of-democracy-blogger/">the-crucible-of-democracy-blogger</a><br />
<a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/daft-arrest-caebrwyn-libel-case-at-high.html">daft-arrest-caebrwyn-libel-case-at-high</a><br />
<a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-term-called-malice-caebrwyn-libel.html">a-term-called-malice-caebrwyn-libel</a><br />
<a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/double-indemnity-day-four-in-caebrwyn.html">double-indemnity-day-four-in-caebrwyn</a><br />
<a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/can-i-get-witness-day-five-of-caebrwyn.html">can-i-get-witness-day-five-of-caebrwyn</a><br />
<a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/catch-22-meets-1984-day-6-of-caebrwyn.html">catch-22-meets-1984-day-6-of-caebrwyn</a><br />
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The last blog has an excellent postscript!towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-80697748068018569922013-02-18T19:34:00.000+00:002013-02-18T19:34:00.048+00:00Liliput bigendianism or a libel trial of bloggerAs anyone might be aware I have been following the shenanigans of Carmarthenshire County Council and the way they treat anyone who dares criticise the regime.<br />
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This is a council that is proposing to close public toilets for want of £90,000.... How much is being spent on two of the highest paid people in the county on a jaunt to London on the, to me, spurious jolly trying to defend the indefensible. I'm surprised that anyone with the least amount of common sense would institute proceedings in the Royal Courts of Justice without at least reading the supposed source of the offence, but Mark James and his acolyte Linda Rees-whatever are luxuriating in first class splendour to and fro at the expense of council tax payers.<br />
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I'm indebted to the tweets for MrsAngry of Barnet, newsbrooke and Cneifiwr for keeping us up to speed; and of course best of luck to Caebrwyn.<br />
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<br />towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-63889122897660077162013-01-29T20:43:00.000+00:002013-01-29T20:43:01.551+00:00On openness and accountabilityI do find it oddly amusing that a council that has such a lot of CCTV pointing at the general public is so coy about showing that same public what is going on in the council?<br />
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Community Safety Manager Kate Thomas said: “CCTV makes a huge contribution to tackling crime and anti-social behavior as well as providing reassurance for residents. The operators are extremely proactive, helping to provide evidence of crimes being committed and are often commended by senior police officers for their good work. The Community Safety Partnership is committed to tackling crime and disorder in Carmarthenshire and CCTV is just one of a number of tools being used in the drive to make the county a safer place to live, work and visit.”</blockquote>
I am the first to ask whether they could install cameras in the council chamber and prevent their hoodwinking of the public into thinking that the council is accountable in any way for the maladministration that has happened in at least two cases pointed out by many people including the Welsh Local Government Ombudsman.<br />
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<br />towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-75301228763987208822012-11-29T15:19:00.000+00:002012-11-29T16:03:17.293+00:00Advice to CCC re making savingsMark James has said that the council need to make savings of some ridiculous amount. Perhaps he should look at getting rid of all the "directors" of services including his own post, at a rough guess that must surely save a million quid a year. I'm not sure that the present executive board provides any true value for money either and then there are the toothless scrutiny committees.<br />
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The next to go would be any office space that the council rent rather than own, followed swiftly by its vanity publishing effort that gets shoved down our throats whether we want it or not. Maybe they ought to call in the various loans that have been given to lame ducks and get the development companies to pay proper amounts for land released at peppercorn rents.<br />
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I wonder how much money is wasted on software and computing but huge amounts could be saved by using open source software; a lot of cities and regions in Europe have migrated to Linux on servers and desktops for annual savings of millions of pounds, several US government departments have done the same.<br />
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The one thing they shouldn't do is close public toilets in busy seaside villages, Pendine, Laugharne, Llansteffan and Ferryside to name but a few, or else the piles of ordure will put off the very welcome visitors who use the local businesses!<br />
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<br />towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-20528725024443666702012-09-21T20:28:00.001+01:002012-09-21T20:28:48.599+01:00yet another Meldrew momentIn this weeks Journal and other places on the web Mark James is unapologetic over the Ombudsman's condemnation of the council and offers the advice that it would have been better to keep them in a B&B. I am shocked that a so called "civil servant" should be so uncivil!<br />
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This is the man who blithely shifts in imaginary funds from next years budget to cover a shortfall in the financing of a local care home.<br />
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This is a man who wishes to cow council tax payers and lobbyists by threatening to sue for costs against any protest by any group.<br />
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This is a man who dismisses constituents concerns as being unworthy of mention in a full council meeting, is he as dismissive to everyone?<br />
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Time is coming when somebody who can actually do something might notice how this man blights our reputation here in Carmarthenshire!<br />
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As the honourable Victor said "I don't believe it"towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-38203384478937811142012-08-14T10:27:00.001+01:002012-08-14T10:27:35.513+01:00Super OlympicsI am just returned from a day (Thursday 9th) in the Olympic stadium; the experience of the whole thing was amazing, on arrival we were whisked through security and someone spotted I was using two walking sticks and escorted us to a golf buggy to take us to near the stadium and when I got out a young man (thank you Mark) appeared with a wheelchair and zoomed us to ticket resolution who changed our tickets for up in the gods to much more accessible places just above the 100 meters start line; he also kept popping back to see if I needed help to get around.<br />
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We saw women's high jump heats, decathlon discus and pole vault and last but not least the 4x400 heats. There was a fantastic buzz all the time but when the GB sprint team was announced the buzz turned to a roar which seemed to get louder through each leg of the race, no wonder they qualified.<br />
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The sun shone brightly and food and drink was consumed and by 2pm we were thoroughly cooked and ready to go home, when Mark reappeared and whisked us back to the golf buggy shuttle to get back to the gate.<br />
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The stadium is brilliant and all the volunteers and other people seemed all to have taken happy pills, it could have been grating but wasn't. All the service personnel were absolutely great and the place was heaving with people, the only free space was around the heavily armoured and armed policemen although they were smiling and sweating heavily under their burden.<br />
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After a glorious few sunny days in London we have returned to situation normal and teaming rain, oh joy!towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-49046557008704250952012-08-05T14:51:00.001+01:002012-08-05T14:53:31.515+01:00Faecal matterI am sort of amused and horrified at the same time about the "Dog fouling costs £2m per year" headline in the local paper. I and five others spent last Monday wallowing through two ledgers that Carmarthenshire call their accounts and couldn't find out very much because of the way the information was presented, yet the chief executive was able to magic up the £2,000,000 figure in seconds. So Mr. James could you please tell me how you got the figures, as it was not easily apparent in the ledgers we were given?<br />
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Indeed our scrutiny of the books was frustrating, as we were only given fragmented books and could not have purchase ledger totals or a trial balance against which to work. How the council runs its business seems to me to be a whole lot of obfuscation and recharging, twas enough to make an old idiot's head spin.<br />
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So do they have something to hide?? In my humble opinion they certainly do!towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-71538730027464919432012-06-26T13:02:00.001+01:002012-06-26T13:02:47.884+01:00The system is messed up.I have been reading Polly Toynbee's piece about <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/25/cameron-benefit-cut-will-backfire?CMP=twt_gu" target="_blank">Cameron's big cut idea</a> and I agree with everything she says and I would like to point especially to the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/comment-permalink/16814386" target="_blank">comment</a> by NorthMiner.<br />
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That Tesco, Morrisons et al make huge profits while staff are kept on minimal contracts and live mostly by working tax credits, the system is messed up.<br />
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Jimmy Carr pays 1% tax on a 3.3 million pound income and he was just one of the thousand on that particular scheme. <span style="background-color: white;">News International, Vodaphone et al have elaborate tax avoidance schemes while people in the lowest tax bracket pay </span><span style="background-color: white;">disproportionately</span><span style="background-color: white;"> more, </span><span style="background-color: white;">the system is messed up. </span><br />
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Politicians get paid a good wage and usually for two homes as well, families on benefits face being moved from their own neighbourhoods to distant "cheaper ones", the system is messed up.<br />
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Affordable housing is out of the reach of most of the lower paid and is snapped up by buy to rent schemes that bolster pensions of already well provided for people, the system is messed up.<br />
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MPs and civil servants will retire to index linked pension, the lowest earners will live in penury, the system is messed up.<br />
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I can't write any more<span style="background-color: white;">, the system is messed up!</span>towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-14618814462224668912012-06-10T11:23:00.002+01:002012-06-10T11:23:43.994+01:00Learning to feedThe juvenile is now pecking at the fat balls for itself, with mum<br />
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There is also a cute pic of a tree rat eating fallen bird feed<br />
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<br />towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-13398354940630036452012-06-07T14:11:00.000+01:002012-06-07T14:11:17.463+01:00Mother love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5tddC4qVdlA/T9CnN_nd0FI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/QlSaOpu3yvs/s1600/mother-child.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5tddC4qVdlA/T9CnN_nd0FI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/QlSaOpu3yvs/s320/mother-child.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
On the bird table in the rain a woodpecker feeding a juvenile from the fat balls, so lucky to have the camera to hand and the batteries not spent<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--8OZY2uQZEg/T9CnrQ7qI1I/AAAAAAAAAMY/N6h9OyteqMw/s1600/DSCF0942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--8OZY2uQZEg/T9CnrQ7qI1I/AAAAAAAAAMY/N6h9OyteqMw/s320/DSCF0942.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A right little punk with that distinctive red cap which doesn't show up if looking from the back<br />
— in Llanybri, United Kingdom.towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-90196403747143799962012-03-30T19:35:00.001+01:002012-03-30T19:37:09.014+01:00£140,000 a year?I received my copy of Carmarthenshire News the other day and having looked through I realised that there was little actual news just a load of puffery from the council's PR department so I wrote and asked how much this cost the council tax payer annually. In return I got the following email:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><div>Dear Mr Bain, <br />
<br />
Thank you for your request for information, which was received on 29<sup>th </sup>March, 2012 and has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. <br />
<br />
The specific information you requested was as follows: <br />
<br />
<b><i>“Could you please tell me how much money is spent annually producing and posting the council "newspaper"” </i></b><br />
<br />
In response, the information you have requested is already published by the Council on its website and may be accessed as follows: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/english/news/carmarthenshirenews/pages/news.aspx">http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/english/news/carmarthenshirenews/pages/news.aspx</a> <br />
<br />
Under Section 21 of the Act, a public authority is not obliged to provide information where it is already reasonably accessible to the applicant, which in this case is online as explained above. <br />
<br />
As I am refusing to provide information on the basis that it is already published, please consider this email as a formal notice of refusal under Section 17 of the Act. <br />
<br />
If you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled, you can request a review by writing to: <br />
<br />
The Head of Administration & Law <br />
Carmarthenshire County Council <br />
County Hall <br />
Carmarthen <br />
SA31 1JP <br />
<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:LRJones@carmarthenshire.gov.uk">LRJones@carmarthenshire.gov.uk</a> <br />
<br />
If you remain unhappy with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: <br />
<br />
The Information Commissioner’s Office <br />
Wycliffe House <br />
Water Lane <br />
Wilmslow <br />
Cheshire <br />
SK9 5AF <br />
<br />
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 <br />
Website: <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/">www.ico.gov.uk</a> <br />
<span lang="EN"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN">There is no charge for making an appeal. </span><br />
<span lang="EN"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN">If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. </span><br />
<br />
Yours sincerely <br />
<div><b>John Tillman</b> <br />
<b>Swyddog Gwybodaeth a Diogelu Data</b> <br />
Adran y Prif Weithredwr <br />
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin <br />
<b>Information & Data Protection Officer</b> <br />
Chief Executive's Department <br />
Carmarthenshire County Council <br />
<b>Mewnol/Internal</b>: 4127 <br />
<b>Allanol/External</b>: 01267 224127 </div></div><span lang="CY">Mae'r</span><span lang="CY"> e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Os derbyniwch y neges hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar unwaith, dilëwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau papur ohoni. Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i neb arall, na gweithredu ar sail y cynnwys. Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwyntiau a fynegir, ac nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am firysau eich hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw atebolrwydd am golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau meddalwedd neu drwy ryng-gipio'r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi.</span><br />
<br />
This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. If received in error please notify the sender immediately, delete the message from your computer and destroy any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed to any other person, nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Council. You should carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. We accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be caused by software viruses or interception/interruption of this mail. </blockquote>I was tempted to reply directly but thought it more apposite to just add my tuppence worth in the wilds of the interwebs:<br />
Having perused the <a href="http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/english/news/carmarthenshirenews/pages/news.aspx" target="_blank">link</a> they sent the information does not say from which external organisations the sponsorship and adverts come from, I think they are mostly council controlled or funded and as such are no more than a fig leaf or perhaps creative accounting. There is no breakdown of the costs of producing and hosting the web pages.<br />
By my reckoning that is at least £140,000 wasted on a lot of subjective waffle which would not warrant more than a couple of paragraphs in a proper newspaper.<br />
<div>How many useful projects could that help?</div>towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-61057492870913621662012-02-08T12:40:00.001+00:002012-02-08T12:44:57.875+00:00Welcome to RuritaniaYet another meeting that I have been unlawfully excluded from because I refused to sign an unlawful undertaking. Oh the irony of reading in the <a href="http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Council-stops-asking-visitors-sign-filming-ban/story-15165434-detail/story.html" target="_blank">Carmarthen Journal</a> that the Council had stopped asking people to sign the undertaking almost made me utter a Victor Meldrew catch phrase.<br />
<br />
Another irony that on the front door of the Council is a sign saying that there are CCTV cameras in the building recording our every move, funny that it is such a contentious thing to film inside the Council Chamber.<br />
<br />
Yet more stupidly they have a notice that under fire regulations visitors have to sign in and then be locked in an area that does not allow emergency egress without phoning through to be escorted out of the building<br />
<br />
On that same page is a story about the <a href="http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Video-valuable-record/story-15165383-detail/story.html" target="_blank">Council leader's ill advised impromptu speech</a> criticising protesters and council workers, she says that the footage has been edited to suit their own agenda, well if these things were recorded properly then we could all see what she said, context and all ;-)towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-32248661758090340262012-02-01T13:42:00.000+00:002012-02-01T13:42:30.585+00:00Shame on you Carmarthenshire (even more)I live in a beautiful place that is blighted by a council that does not and will not listen, you will of course know about their public access ban*<br />
Somebody pointed out on <a href="http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2012/01/private-eye-again-and-todays-full.html" target="_blank">Caebrwyn's blog</a> that public access is guaranteed by the Public Bodies(Admission to Meetings) Act 1960; so I wrote to Linda Rees-Jones:<br />
<br />
"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had assumed that as one of the council's law officers that you are </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">obliged to conform to the various Local Government Acts but you appear </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">to be overlooking the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">which clearly states the public right of admission and, unless you have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">persuaded the Government to draft new laws especially for you, I expect </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">to find the door to the public gallery to be open for the public entry </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">and egress for all meetings from now on.</span><br />
<pre wrap="">Yours faithfully"</pre><pre wrap=""></pre><pre wrap=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;"> She</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;"> wrote back almost immediately:</span></pre><pre wrap=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;">
</span></pre><pre wrap="">"The 1960 Act does not apply to County Councils; rather, admission to meetings of County Councils is governed by the Local Government Act</pre><pre wrap="">1972.
Yours faithfully,"</pre><pre wrap=""></pre><pre wrap=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;">I have written to her Again</span>:</pre><pre wrap=""></pre><pre wrap="">"Dear Ms Rees-Jones</pre><pre wrap="">Annotations C1 of the Public Bodies Act 1960 specifically mentions "non-metropolitan counties and districts constituted by LGA 1972" which makes me think that it does cover your public meetings, I shall still expect to be able to enter the public gallery without hindrance.
yours faithfully"
</pre><pre wrap=""></pre><pre wrap=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;">I'm not sure that she can have looked at both acts and worked out that they are linked. I await, with baited breath, to hear her rebuttal ;-)</span></pre><pre wrap=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;">
</span></pre><pre wrap=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; white-space: normal;">*doh! since starting to write this blog Caebrwyn posted that the undertaking has now been rescinded</span></pre>towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-45389047649980156012012-01-05T11:37:00.001+00:002012-01-05T11:40:15.110+00:00Shame on you Carmarthenshire (ongoing saga)As anybody reading this will know CarmCC have refused to let me into their public meetings unless I sign an undertaking not to film or record the proceedings; there is no lawful way for them to do this, however their Acting Head of Administration and Law has sent me some waffle by post and when I said that was not good enough she then emailed me the following:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Mr. Bain,</span><br />
<pre wrap="">Thank you for your e-mail.
I consider the introduction of the requirement for members of the public wishing to access the public gallery to first sign an undertaking to be a lawful one, yes. In an ideal world such an undertaking would not be required, but in light of disruption to previous meetings it was considered necessary to introduce some sort of process to avoid future disruption and ensure the smooth running of meetings. You will not find mention of it in the Constitution or Standing Orders because, as I said in my letter of the 5th December, it was a decision taken by officers.
There has never, to my knowledge, been an issue with the press.
As I have previously told you the whole issue of whether meetings should be filmed is being considered by a Task and Finish Group so the requirement for an undertaking to be signed may change.
Yours faithfully,
Linda Rees-Jones
Acting Head of Administration & Law
And Monitoring Officer</pre><br />
<br />
It is interesting that she makes no mention of consulting the people who are nominally in charge of the Council!towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-5340208694500085392011-11-22T17:44:00.000+00:002011-11-22T17:44:28.566+00:00Pet HatesI don't know if you know but I do have a streak of Victor Meldrew concerning things on the interwebs<br />
<br />
#1 the forward leaning stroke on a keyboard is called oblique not "slash" or "forward slash"<br />
<br />
#2 sites that take longer than an eye-blink to load<br />
<br />
#3 Flashplayer and all his siblings<br />
<br />
ps I don't like to be contradicted either, but that is a whole other story ;-)<br />
<br />
pps can I remind you of <a href="http://mobro.co/towy71" target="_blank">Movember</a>towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-19133644437498211182011-11-13T15:45:00.001+00:002011-11-13T15:47:16.027+00:00Shame on you CarmarthenshireWith reference to my last post I think that Carmarthenshire have had their chance to explain their position vis'a'vis excluding members of the public from their meetings. If the Chris Burns "assistant Chief Executive" and the Colin Davies "Democratic Services Manager" think that "rules is rules" is an adequate response then their grasp of reality is, at best, tenuous! Only following orders is never a reasonable defence.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>I have written to all the AMs for this area and to our MP; still waiting to hear more than a postcard from Simon Hart but Angela Burns has written to me twice. The second letter enclosing a copy of the letter she got from Mark James although there seems to be neither a signature or even a typed name, funnily enough it is exactly the same letter as the acting head of the legal department sent to the Carmarthen Journal a couple of weeks ago, the only difference was that she signed her name!</div><div><br />
<div>I always thought that the councillors had to make the decisions about what went on in the council especially when it comes to excluding legitimate scrutiny of the council. I would like to know which Local Government Act gives officers the right to exclude me regardless of their undertaking about not filming, I have been reading through LGA1972 and all the subsequent acts until my head spins.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>I sent a complaint to Carl Sargeant AM, Minister for Local Government and Communities on Sept 14th and received the reply below:</div><blockquote><div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>"Dick Bain dick@towy71.*******</div><div style="background-color: transparent;">5th October 2011 </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">Dear Mr Bain </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">Public Access to Council Meetings </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">Thank you for your e-mail of 16th September to Carl Sargeant AM, Minister for Local Government and Communities. I am replying on his behalf. </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">Local authorities are obliged to allow the public entry to council meetings, unless the issues being discussed are considered to be exempt (in the main, confidential or commercial matters). </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">The process that a local authority follows to allow the public access to meetings is a matter for them, as they have to take into account the need for security in modern society. </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">I understand, however, that Carmarthenshire Council are due to vote shortly on public broadcasting of council meetings. </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">Yours sincerely *** ******* </div><div style="background-color: transparent;">Scrutiny, Democracy & Participation Team"</div></div></blockquote><div>It has got to the point were I feel there is nowhere to go; so I have now lodged an appeal to the Local Government Ombudsman.</div></div></div>towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2365731658351098644.post-64053733100788978972011-11-09T12:14:00.003+00:002011-11-09T14:00:32.347+00:00Orwellian stuffI just tried to get in to watch Carmarthenshire County Councillors at work but was refused entry by Mr. Colin Davies "Democratic Services Manager" who could cite no rule from the Council's constitution or standing orders.<div><br /></div><div>The reason that I was refused entry was because I would not sign an undertaking "not record or film any meetings of the Council or its committees from the public gallery of the Council Chamber at County Hall, Carmarthen until and unless the policy relating to this is reviewed by the Council." The address at the top of the bit of paper states that it is "To: Chief Executive." One wonders about the story of the tail wagging the dog ;-)</div><div><br /></div><div>I asked for my Councillor to come and explain why this was, as I had asked him on the 14th Sept to find out. He came very quickly and said he had asked for clarification but that legal services had not got back to him and that the meeting was about to start and he couldn't stay. I will copy the email, of which I sent copies to Simon Hart MP, Angela Burns AM and Carl Sargeant AM, at the bottom of the page. I redacted my email address but left Daff's because it is <a href="http://online.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/cccapps/english/councillors/councillor_details.asp?CouncillorID=53">published on the county council website</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I was very happy to meet up with <a href="http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/">Caebrwyn</a> and <a href="http://cneifiwr-emlyn.blogspot.com/">Y Cneifiwr</a> at last, who both did sign and go in. I also met Chris Segar of The Ferret being ignored by the council too!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Subject: turned away from county council meeting<br />Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:13:18 +0100</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">From: Dick Bain <<a href="mailto:dick@towy71.uklinux.net" style="color: rgb(20, 125, 186); ">dick@towy71.</a>blanketyblank.com><br />To: Cllr D B Davies <<a href="mailto:DBDavies@carmarthenshire.gov.uk" style="color: rgb(20, 125, 186); ">DBDavies@carmarthenshire.gov.<wbr>uk</a>><br /><br /><br />Daff<br /><br />This morning I tried to get to see my county council in action but was<br />refused entry until I had signed some piece of paper which I refused<br />to do. I asked under what rule they were restricting my access to the<br />public gallery but they could not or would not answer; however they<br />said someone would come down and explain to me why I had to sign this<br />undertaking.<br /><br />Chris Burns identified himself as deputy chief executive, he told me<br />that council rules dictated that I sign the form but he could not or<br />would not specify which rule, under the constitution or standing<br />orders, restricted access to the public gallery.<br /><br />Can you clarify under what rules I was turned away?<br /><br />thanks<br /><br />Dick Bain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> </span></div>towy71http://www.blogger.com/profile/17385691259489936354noreply@blogger.com