COMMENTS

Some of you will have noticed the removal of the ability to post anonymously, this is to cut down on the number of post I have to delete daily that are; totally off topic, cut and pastes, Jewish conspiracy theorists and links to various You Tube footage that has nothing to do with anything useful. There is nothing to stop anyone from posting, you just need a google ID, it isn’t difficult and you’re real name will not be known.
I realise this may cut down on the number of actual comments but it will mean that with an ID we will know who is saying what. I do not foresee having to make postings any stricter so please continue to leave appropriate comments.

COUNCIL MEETING

Last nights Council meeting saw the co-option of Lyn Lyon, Councillor Margaret Lyon’s daughter-in-law, onto the Council; it was expected but, nevertheless, well fought against, as I have said before politics at this level of Local Government should not really come into it.
The issue of the Pier was raised and our County Councillors left the Chamber whilst we debated and voted on matter, it was agreed to write to CCBC over the condition of the Pier and to invite Steve Hunt to address the Council.
We received an address from David Jones MP, he, too, urged the CCBC to take action over the Pier and to expedite the on-going situation concerning it. He also brought up the concerns of Policing and how concerned we all are about drugs and the dealing of them. He did question how the CCBC came to their theory that new Council offices in the Bay would bring about more shoppers considering that the new proposed offices would house a subsidised canteen and that most people do their weekly shop by habit at weekends. The rise in the amount of cars needed to transport the workers was also a concern as was the parking of those cars. He further went on to say how the Town Council should be kept better informed and included more in the proposals for the Regeneration of Colwyn Bay, something I will not hold my breath waiting for. In my opinion the Council have already decided to build their offices, regardless of what is said or done, it will be a great money earner for them and why should they worry about what happens to Colwyn Bay in the future, they don’t have to live here.

COLWYN BAY PIER

I have been asked to find out what is happening to the Pier, I have spoken to Steve Hunt and he has agreed to meet with the Town Council and give us a total run down on the situation, I have wrote to the Council to inform them of this and, hopefully, arrange an early date for the meeting. I have also added four motions that I want the Council to vote upon.
During our discussions Steve did tell me that public opinion was behind him but he felt it was being stifled by the local media and the Council. There have, already, been Court appearances between the Council and Steve and he has won these cases and costs were awarded against the Council, I certainly wasn’t aware of this nor had I seen it in the papers. Please remember that the costs of these cases although made against the Council will ultimately be met by the tax-payer.
Friends of the Pier Society are a group of people who support Steve and his battle over the Pier; the Chairman of this Society is Chris Hughes, a County Councillor, he has not called a meeting of the Society in nearly three years. The members themselves decided to call a meeting back in November of last year to discuss removing Councillor Hughes as Chairman, he himself attended this meeting and branded it “Unconstitutional” and said “Only he could call meetings”; he therefore remains as Chairman and there have been no meetings called. Steve’s battle is with the County Council; Chris Hughes is a member of that Council so it would appear to me that there is a Conflict of Interest here, I am surprised that Councillor Hughes hasn’t seen that for himself.
I, of course, had to confirm all I had been told so I spoke to the Society’s Treasurer and Secretary, a Mrs Pat Jackson from Manchester, not only did she confirm the above she told me that Councillor Hughes had wrote to her on the 10th May this year, he explained why, for personal reasons, he had not been in touch with her but that he would be calling a meeting within the next two weeks or so, three months later this meeting has still not been called.
Love or hate Steve Hunt some of his allegations, on the surface appear to hold water, according to him, the Police and the CPS are conducting enquires into members of the Council, I cannot confirm nor deny this but, as I say, so far his allegations appear to be well founded so I have no reason to doubt what he says.
In the meantime the condition of the pier is deteriorating and it is becoming dangerous, two of the motions I am putting before Council are in connection with its condition and the County Council’s inaction over it.
I shall keep you updated on any developments.

VIOLENCE AGAINST KIDS

Violence against children in the home is an abhorrent thought but, regrettably, it does happen...
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2009/08/17/shocking-catalogue-of-violence-against-kids-55578-24455177/
This headline, however, made me think of how many times I have nearly lost my temper with groups of teenagers; my pet-hate is when they deliberately saunter out in front of your car and sneer at you as if you are in the wrong, I now put my foot down and watch them scatter. A few weeks ago I dropped into get a take away from the chippie on Abergele Road, from where I was I saw a group of 6 or 7 youngsters, 15-16 year olds, giving a middle aged lady a hard time, I shouted at them to pack it in, “Piss-off you old twat” was the response and they continued to mock the lady, I walked towards them and they ran off, the lady thanked me and hurried away. Had they stood their ground it would have put me in an awkward position, on his own a 15-16 year old could be subdued and controlled quite easily but with a group of them I would have had to use considerable violence to protect myself and thereby leaving myself open to all sorts of allegations of assault, which brings us back to the headline. “Violence against Kids”; in the home it is totally unacceptable but I can see it could be justifiable in the street and, from my experiences, deservedly so too.

MP'S STILL HAVEN'T GOT IT

Two things came to light over the weekend that made me realise just how far detached from reality our MP’s still are.
David Miliband’s comments on how some forms of terrorism are acceptable; this is an affront not only to our serving soldiers of today but to those of us who have fought against it in the past. How he can justify terrorism whilst the body-count in Afghanistan passes the 200 mark is utterly contemptible, he has no idea what it is like to be in the firing line, his pampered upbringing and political career as seen to that. Brown and his cronies sent our troops into this mess at the beck and call of the Americans yet this jumped-up little tosser, in his smug, superior attitude, thinks the likes of our enemies are acceptable, God I cannot wait until these shites are kicked out of office.
Then we have Alan (Hello, I’m gay) Duncan, following his “MP’s live on rations” cock up during the week, jets off to a luxury hotel in Bali for two weeks, I really wish my rations stretched to that. They really have no conception of the scandal they caused, in fact it’s life as normal for most of them, where their expenses have ceased in one hand their allowances have grown in the other.
It is times like this that you really wish Guy Fawks(Faulks) had had a zippo.

Coming to a pool near you.....

























This is the Muslim swimming costume that the French have banned from their public pools. The woman, pictured to the right, claims that it is racism and, if she isn't allowed to wear it, she will leave the Country (That's got the French worried). I cannot see our Government banning it so you had better be prepared to share your dip with a mass of flotsam.
Not often you hear me say this.... "Well done the Frogs"

SHAY

This was sent to me by a very good Canadian friend of mine; instead of sending it on I thought I would share it with all of you, please feel free to reproduce it for yourselves.


Two ChoicesWhat would you do?.. you make the choice.. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection.Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.Where is the natural order of things in my son?'The audience was stilled by the query.The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'Then he told the following story:Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.The game would now be over.The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all teammates.Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!Run to first!'Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!Shay, run to third!'As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.You now have two choices:1. Delete2. ForwardMay your day be a Shay Day.

SPONSORED WALK

I’ve decided to join a Sponsored Walk in aid of The Poppy Appeal. It’s a 13 mile walk from Rhos-on-Sea to the Arena in Rhly. I’m part of a team set-up by Colwyn Bay Town Council, accompanying me will be “Pig” my dog, he’s coming along to keep an eye on me.
The Poppy Appeal isn’t just about soldiers from the World Wars, it’s about all of our servicemen past and present and of our support and gratitude for their service and sacrifice. If any of you feel you would like to sponsor either “Pig” or myself then please feel free to contact me. You may not agree with all I say or do but this isn’t about me; it’s for those brave men and women who, in some cases, paid the ultimate price for our safety and security.

POLITICS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Politics should have no place in Local Government, unfortunately that is not the case, even at Town Council level we have the politicos trying to exert their policies and influence; we also have County Councillors who, because they are privy to more information than we are, take the “Holier than thou” attitude and see us as mere “Town Councillors”. It’s all very amusing but in a serious way, if, for example, we were to believe everything a certain Labour Councillor said in the local papers then there would be no need for a Council because between him, Leighton Andrews and the Labour Party they are the only ones to have brought Grants or Funding into the Town. No points for realising this isn’t true or for guessing who the Councillor is.
We have a co-option coming up for a vacancy on the Council, the Conservatives have dropped their usual candidate for the daughter-in-law of County Councillor Margaret Lyons who will, no doubt, be using this as a stepping stone on her way to standing for the County Elections, I believe her husband, Cllr Lyons’s son, is the chairman of the Clwyd West Conservatives, so regardless of how it actually is it is perceived to be “seedy”. Poor old Councillor Merfyn Thomas was probably cajoled into agreeing to this without seeing the overall view or as to how it would be seen by outsiders. Merfyn; if something smells fishy, it probably is!
I was also asked the other day “What Lodge are you in?” in response to my negative reply I got the following comment “Well I know you’re not a JP (Justice of the Peace) so how come you’re on the Council, you wont be very welcomed”. The fact that I’m neither bothers me not and as to how I’m liked by other Councillors interests me even less, I’m not there to be popular, I’m there, I hope, to make a difference. Hopefully things may soon start to happen that allows the Town Council a lot more say in what is happening to us and our communities, a turning point, if you like, where the County Councillors use of politics is curtailed and common sense takes over.

COUNCIL IN THE DOG HOUSE

This was sent to me and I'm reprinting it in full basically because it's something I expect from our Council....

Actual Transcript of a telephone call to Carmarthenshire County Council where they allow disgraceful Puppy Farms. From the Informer‘Sprouty’“Hello my little dog has gone missing. Can you help me please?”“Where did you lose it?”“I didn’t lose it she is very old and seems to have wandered off by mistake from my garden.”“Oh well then (losing patience) where do you live.”Address given.“What does your dog look like?”“A dog.”“What colour?” (losing more patience)“Brown with a grey muzzle.”“Is it wearing a muzzle, what’s that?”“It is part of its head. The front part where the teeth are.”“It’s got a grey mouth then.”“No. Muzzle is a word for the front part of a dogs head in front of the eyes.”“Look here now. Please do not mess me around. Have you lost your dog or not.”“Yes. I have been trying to tell you that for 5 minutes. It is not my fault that despite you working in the Dog Pound you do not know what a muzzle is.”“All right then. Your particular dog has a muzzle.” (very resigned sigh) “Is it a male of female?”“It is a bitch.”“That may well be the case, but what sex is it.”“I will describe her to you then.”“Ok but please do not swear again or I shall put the phone down.”“She is a red short haired Patterdale Terrier aged 17 and very frail like her owner.”“Aren’t you the owner then, because the owner should report it missing?”“I told you that I was, right at the beginning of our conversation.”“How big is it?”“Eighteen inches high and two foot six long from muzzle to tail.”“What is that in metric please?”“Don’t you use feet and inches?”“No that is old fashioned we only use metric.”“45 by 75 centimetres. Is that better?”“Oh, God.” (now in desperation). “There is one like that that was found in Ca**l Hen**e.”“That is where I live. Where is she now?”“I can’t tell you that for security reasons.”“How can I get her back then?”“You have to pay £50, then I will give you a number and you can go and pick it up.”“£50? I have not got £50.”“You have to pay it or you will not get your dog back.”“I won’t have that much until next week. Is there nothing else I can do?”“No. You must pay for it or the price will go up.”“Oh dear.”“Well do you want to pay now or not?”“I am disabled and rely on benefits to survive.”“If you do not pay she may be found a new home.”The caller becoming increasingly frustrated finished the call.The following day the owner’s son went to Ammanford Council offices and paid the £50 fine. He was given a serial number and the location of the kennels where the dog had been placed. It was less than half a mile from where the dog went missing.Hoping to admonish the kennels for not phoning up the number on the dogs collar disk the son was flabbergasted to discover that although securely attached via a drilled hole and key ring device that the disk was missing.Many matters are raised here:1. This story is true because I am the owner.2. Is £50 a reasonable amount to pay for someone on limited income when I pay full Council Tax of nearly £1000 per year?3. Is it right that I should pay £50 of publically funded benefits to get my dog back?4. What sort of illiterate morons are we employing in specialist jobs?5. Did someone not bother to check the presence of a dog tag before imprisoning the poor dog, and remove the evidence later causing me to lose £50 and my poor old dog to spend a lonely night in a cell.6. This whole episode stinks of inefficiency and quite a lot of fascism because everyone spoken to adopted a superior attitude when in fact I am paying their wages and they should be subservient. In the nicest way of course.7. Isn’t this just typical of the totalitarian country that we are fast becoming.

CCBC AND DEMOCRACY

Here, in Colwyn Bay, we have a wonderful beach, far better than Llandudno has; we also have the potential to have an attractive and inviting town. What we do not have, unfortunately, is a suitable link between them. Throughout the year thousands of people visit the beach and the prom but never step one foot into town, that is a staggering amount of lost revenue for the town and its traders. It is crucial that we improve access from the beach to the town centre; be it by a tram system, like I suggested or a land train that others have mentioned, it is imperative that we get that link opened.
Once we have that link established we need a reason for the people to use it, kids love McDonalds, why they were refused planning permission I’ll never know, kids will drag their parents through snow storms to get a big-mac. If we also improve the town in the way I’ve suggested and with the week-end market bringing people in; then there is no reason why the town cannot prosper.
The County Councils self serving idea of offices for 600 staff will be the final nail in the town’s coffin. The Council have already written us off, Councillor Chris Hughes is on record as saying “The future of Colwyn Bay is not in tourism”, he slated the idea of a market and a regenerated town and favours the idea of Council offices. He, obviously, sees the financial benefits to the Council of having those offices but he fails to see the misery it will cause to a failing town. There, as yet, has been no consultation with the public or community leaders, despite promises to the contrary. Our Labour led Council are, once again, denouncing the right to democracy. Their hopes of pushing this through unopposed have fallen by the wayside, they now use silence as a shield and hope that we’ll forget about it until it is too late. There is a nasty surprise awaiting them because we haven’t forgotten; we are waiting.