Cllr Colin Bithell on Facebook

With that well known local figure Cllr Arnold Woolley

Link 

http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/114175/padeswood-factory-cancer-probe-cost-taxpayer-500k.aspx#.T_q7Rpzu27I.facebook

Alison Halford in The Leader

Quote " But Mr Walsh and the Ombudsman’s lawyer, Tony Child, said the statement was at odds with a number of emails sent by Cllr Halford to other people, as well as a journal kept by the council’s leader Arnold Woolley."

My experience with Flintshire County Council officers with regards a recent FOIE is one of a trail of lies and deceipt. I just suppose it depends who you are.

This is a power stuggle here. Flintshire County Council directors do not want Cllr Patrick Heesom holding any position of authority. Perhaps this enquiry is pushed by the Labour led Welsh Assembly Government against an Independent led authority.

Or perhaps it's just about Patrick.

Link The Leader

Time for the idiots to return fire?

On Tuesday The Leader published a letter from me castigating the 10:10 action group who think its a good idea to cut down on such stuff as foreign holidays to lower UK carbon releases.

I said "Is it a good idea to cut Airbus jobs by 10%?" My letter at the bottom of this.

Bring the fools on. I'm sure Friends of the Earth will have something to say.

There have been encouraging soundbites in the media about recovery. I do not think we will have any green shoots for a while. Massive UK debt will affect us for the next 20 years.

Postscript. Are my deliberations correct, no letters yet.............................

Ruffling the feathers of the carbon foot print brigade?

A strange day today. How to unload a 600 pound battery from car without a forklift truck, solved.
Had no car until I could move it. Question why would someone buy a 600 pound battery?
Answer 12 volt house electric system that is off grid.

Internet being funny. We could receive emails but could not browse online. How can that happen?
Answer to problem. Close down network of computers, turn off adsl modem and turn off network router. Restart in reverse order. This fix did not become apparent until after much head scratching.

Or are the spooks messing me around?

Thank you to The Leader for publishing my letter today which is below. It takes a non politician to say what needs to be said, this should not be the way. Where is the opposition? Siding with the government to hasten our demise.

Airbus quite some time ago decided non core manufacturing should go sub contract. All the shops I used to work in have gone. Magellan Aerospace formerly Trefn Engineering do lots of work for Airbus. Today they have announced nearly 50 redundancies please bear that in mind when reading my letter.

I said the other day to someone that I intend to remain a PIA until something is done about all the speeding traffic which unfortunately I have had to listen to today whilst removing my 600 pound load from car.

I didn't realise until today just who had signed up to the stupidness below.

I await a trashing in the Leader letters page. I hope Dominic Lawson's (ex editor of The Times) statistics are correct.

Link The Guardian - Cabinet sign up to 10:10 Climate Change

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Leader

A letter for consideration, there are a lot of very silly people out there.

I read in The Leader with interest that the 10:10 Climate Change campaign is gaining momentum in North Wales. Can we look at the facts before this harebrained campaign goes any further. One of 10:10's aims is to encourage people to fly less. Do they want 10% less Airbus workers or Airbus aircraft?

UK's current contribution to global carbon emissions is less than 2%. China and India in the next year will make UK's contribution less than 1%. North Wales' contribution to global warming is an irrelevence. Cutting your energy bills by 10% is admirable but the energy companies will just raise charges to cover the shortfall.

Angelsey Aluminium closure is the wake up call for mass job losses unless we are very careful. We are in the middle of the largest recession since the depression. If the Private Sector in Wales which provide wages for ALL public sector jobs is not allowed unfettered access to recovery with improved bank assistance there will be mass unemployment and large shortfalls in money available for pensions and healthcare.

This campaign is madness, it is time to wake up before Wales becomes a nation of sheep farmers. China and India will be laughing all the way to the bank. The time for this campaign is when we return to prosperity not whilst we are down on our knees.

Colin Hughes

Penyffordd District

global carbon emissions figures taken from The Sunday Times

" When the wind power blows jobs will fall" by Dominic Lawson.

The New and the Old

Airbus A380

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/

This afternoon there was a flyby by the only Vulcan bomber in existence that is airworthy just after 3.00pm. This was followed by the A380 Airbus. Both did circles around Airbus Broughton. We were returning from a walk so decided to watch them from Hope Mountain along with about a 100 other people. It was not the best place. Broughton was the best place to watch.

Link 40 years of Airbus in The Leader

Robbery at knife point in Penymynydd

Link The Leader

Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom's Last Post

The Last Post

So, I have almost finished my career.

Thirty long years in the police, the last nine and a half here in North Wales, and at midnight tonight it will all be over.

I am completely institutionalised - I don't own my own mobile phone or Blackberry, I don't possess my own car, or even insurance (I'm named on my wife's).

I haven't been into a garage to buy a tyre or get a car serviced for a decade.

You may be wondering how I'm going to cope out there in the real world. I certainly am.

But before I hang up my boots for good I look at North Wales Police in mid-2009 with real pride in what we have achieved together over the last several years.

NWP is now one of the very best performing forces in England and Wales and we continue to improve.

Crime is way down, detections are way up, our roads are much safer and so indeed is our whole society - in fact the evidence shows North Wales now to be just about the very safest place to live in the whole of England and Wales.

And we are dramatically improving public satisfaction with our standard of service, aiming for real excellence there too in the near future.

But that's not all. Due to good planning aided by our outstanding Finance Dept we are OK financially, and despite a very uncertain economic future for the UK I am confident that we will be able to maintain police numbers for some time to come.

We have the best kit available anywhere, the envy of our colleagues in other forces (many of whom are now copying our lead - the very best form of flattery).

We are leading the service with mobile coputing and use of the internet, and our whole community policing programme is cutting edge. I could go on and on - many of you will recall just how true that threat is!

However, although I will resist the temptation to witter on endlessly, I simply must mention two more things which have made us so special.

Firstly is our successful attack on our local organised serious criminals - Gizzi and his ilk.

I can remember years ago when the force was almost afraid of tackling him and his sort; now he's been to prison and we've got his assets. And he is not alone.

We don't just catch speeders, we attack hardened criminals and we win. They don't like it, at all. Serves them right.

The second point is totally different but of crucial importance. We have wholly changed the perception of North Wales Police amongst the Welsh speaking community.

We are seen now not as an English-speaking army of occupation but rather as the bilingual local police force, a true part of the community that is North Wales - and I have been inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards of the Island of Britain as a result, an accolade for us all, which almost no-one outside Wales can or wants to comprehend

The fact is that we have made a big difference, and we have done so because we, all of us, are very good at our jobs. We know what we're doing, and we're 'up for it'. This is not luck - it is us, doing our job and doing it well. True professionals; the best.

I have been very pleasantly surprised over he last few weeks since my retirement became public knowledge by the overwhelming warmth towards us felt by large numbers of the public.

I am constantly getting stopped in the street or in the shops, often by complete strangers, and thanked for what we have achieved.

The public have noticed the improvement we have made to their quality of life; a fabulous antidote to the sanctimonious sour note of the malign Daily Mail and the rest of the tabloid press.

A real feelgood factor which makes it all worthwhile - and we earned it together, as a team. I'm proud as hell of us and I hope every one of you feels the same, because you deserve to.

The future for policing in North Wales looks very good. But I won't be part of it, because I've done my bit, and now I'm off. I've sold my house at at a painful knockdown price and am going sailing round the world with my wife just as soon as we can buy the right boat.

Or perhaps I will enter politics, after all. You never know.

Good luck and fondest regards

Good bye.

Richard Brunstrom

Y Prif Copyn

Chief Constable of North Wales 2001 - 2009

Link The Leader

Everyone and his/her aunty will be trying to get a letter in The Leader over the above.

Good news for Airbus

Airbus Broughton £340m government cash boost hailed.

Link
The Evening Leader
Eads profits down to £767m for half year

A letter for consideration Leader.

Lord Mandleson is to be congratulated for securing £340m to help secure future work at Airbus Broughton and for sub-contractors. His stepping in to stop Welsh post office closures was also most welcome.

When Flintshire County Council gave Airbus planning permission to expand Airbus some years ago they overlooked the effect that their shift workers would have on local village environments.

Penyffordd village leaders sat on their hands whilst plans were passed that would seriously affect Penyffordd's environment. In return for this gift from the state is it not now Airbus' turn to honour their stated corporate commitments to local communities and pay for local traffic calming from their vast profits?

Colin Hughes
Penyffordd District


keywords: Mark Stewart, Tom Enders, A380, A350 composite wing.

Postscript. Grant maybe the word rather than gift, although if you are a company who are struggling to get continuing credit from the stupid banks it would be looked upon as a gift.

Dove Cottage open to the public

Click to enlarge

Dove Cottage, Rhos Rd is open to the public on Sunday August 16 from 2 to 5 pm under the National Garden Scheme to raise money for charities.

Published in The Leader.

Letter -- re New North Wales Police Initiative - Balance your Bobby

Dear Leader

A letter for consideration.

I read with interest in The Leader that the North Wales Police Authority and North Wales Police are to launch a revolutionary new scheme to make NWP accountable to communities. At present North Wales Police and Penyffordd Community Council are "in denial" over the 1000+ vehicles that speed through Chester Rd, Penyffordd. The so called Police Pledge initiative has been a failure. NWP have been intransigent for most of the last two years, they have refused to communicate and have been arrogant and unaccountable.

I and other residents of Chester Rd welcome this initiative. NWP have the data, they know exactly when the speeding is happening. The tools are there to measure their performance. Lets see if this initiative has teeth or just another media puff.

Colin Hughes

Penyffordd District

keyword: Balance your Bobby

Link
www.yglas.com
BBC NE Wales

postscript: Neighbourhood Policing has also been a failure as far as Chester Rd Penyffordd is concerned. CBM Chris Pullen took it off the list of items to address as he couldn't be bothered doing it past a certain point.
As for the title " Balance your Bobby" Won't comment as long as it works.

Penyffordd man in The Leader

Andrea’s brother, Wayne Russell, of Hillside Road, Penyffordd, rushed to help Andrea when she began to have a fit in her hotel room.

Link The Leader

An email to Inspector Martin Best of North Wales Police

cc. Chief Superintendent Ruth Purdie, Cllr Ian Roberts Head of North Wales Police Authority, Cllr Tony Sharps Environment Portfolio Flintshire County Council, Carl Longland Director of Environment Flintshire County Council. Cllr Arnold Woolley Flintshire County Council leader.
Jim Moore All Wales Safety Partnership.


Dear Martin,
Congratulations on your new position as District Inspector for Mold, Buckley and Penyffordd. I hope you enjoy your time here as Police Inspector. I've been in the shed this morning sorting through 20 years of items that " might come in handy". A look on Ebay shows I have a few surprises to sell. Nearly every minute or two you can hear cars flying through the village, its Saturday morning no police presence and they all know it. They have no respect for Chester Rd, Penyffordd whatsoever.

You might like to visit Cllr Sharps' domain in Northop Hall and see how he has stopped any speedy rat runs through his manor. You might then like to visit Rossett that is exactly the same as Penyffordd. An old trunk road that has been succeeded by a bypass. Notice the 20 mph bumps and limits.

Then back to Chester Rd, Penyffordd which is wide open and used by over a 1000 vehicles each day as a short cut to and from Broughton and beyond. There used to be 2000 vehicles speeding through Penyffordd each day but now its nearer 1000 due to the credit crunch and articles and letters that have appeared in The Evening Leader.

There appears to be an unofficial moratorium on speeding by North Wales Police. Flintshire County Council have a variable moratorium on speed bumps ( an oxymoron?) Arrive Alive have disappeared off the planet in name and function.

I remain to committed to living in a village centre and not a race track. I hope you can help transform Chester Rd back into a village centre environment.

Colin Hughes

Penyffordd District

ps CBM Howie Williams suggested pushing back the speed limit up the hill which is a really excellent suggestion. I hope you can help our county councillors push this.


pps Hugh Jones Safety Officer for Flintshire County Council has two sets of traffic data for Chester Rd but his bosses won't let me have a copy because it's that bad.

ppps. Can we have speeding put on here please.
http://www.north-wales.police.uk/nwpv2/en/nptSearch/wardResults.asp?ID=06&WID=F51

copied to blog
keywords   gosafe.org 

A Letter to The Leader

Just to show I can do other letters than whinging speeders through the village types.

Early this year I stood with my wife Lisa and two very excitable english bull terriers the other side of a rickety gate that could have blown down with a feather opposite 10 cows and their calves. I did not realise what peril we were in.

The Letter

Dear Leader

A letter for consideration.

As a dog walker in countryside containing cattle I have become increasingly alarmed at recent events where dog walkers have been trampled to death by cows and calves. Leader readers need to be aware that taking a dog into a field with cows and calves is total folly and should be avoided at all costs. Conversely farmers need to be aware that if they know that footpaths or bridle paths are used by dog walkers they have a duty of care towards the dog walkers. A recent legal precedent has been set where a dog walker was brain damaged by cattle and costs were awarded against the farmer to the tune of many hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Colin Hughes
Penyffordd District

Links
The Daily Mail
The Daily Mail Robin Page - Cows
The Telegraph - David Blunkett
Vet trampled to death
The Guardian
The Daily Post

Quote
Blunkett has been inundated with messages from people who have suffered similar attacks. "I have had letters flooding in - from people telling me about personal experiences, family experiences, who have been in hospital for three weeks after an incident, who have had family members killed, and a couple of letters from people whose dogs were crushed," he said. People had also thanked him for drawing attention to the problem: "If I hadn't been who I am, no one would know about it. Although I went to hospital I doubt they would have reported it. There is usually a category for road traffic accident - but for being crushed by a cow?"

Evening Leader website is back up

but will all its links return.............................................

Evening Leader website still down

A nightmare for the likes of Christian Dunn who works on the website for the newspaper. They said they were changing the way the comments section worked................................
Temporary News Link here

Some bloggers have moved servers to outside UK jurisdiction to escape any legal challenge by individuals to their blog content. Moving 100,000's of files to different computers maintaining the correct structure, not for the faint hearted.

Currently all my links to Evening Leader articles are also down. One hopes they can get them working again. Flintshire County Council recently changed their website. I suspect they have 1000's of dead links on Google. Perhaps they just work out of the system through indexing.

Leader website at 22.00 hrs

Bad Request (Invalid Hostname)

oh dear!

Businesses volunteer help St John the Baptist Church, Penymynydd

A CHURCHYARD which had fallen into a state of disrepair has been given a new lease of life thanks to local businesses.

When the pathways at St John the Baptist Church, Penymynydd, churchyard became impassable the church struggled to find funding to restore the hazardous paths.

Church warden Andrew Bronnert said: “It is rare for there to be a churchyard still open for burials but the old pathways have made access difficult for people visiting and tending graves.

“The ground has also caused damp in the church building itself.”

Nearby Hanson Cement, formerly Castle Cement, stepped in and donated cash for materials to get the project up and running.

Work started in the grounds of the grade two listed church to replace the paths, improve the drainage and alter the ground to prevent further damage.

As word spread, Marshall Paving, Travis Perkins, Read Construction, AH Plant Hire, Scarfo & Sons and DP Williams all came forward to offer their help.

Vicar, the Rev Paulette Gower held a special service recently to thank the local businesses for their generosity.

I've taken the unusual step of copying all this story from The Evening Leader website instead of pointing you in the direction of their pages. The Leader are currently struggling to get their new website up and running, this is from a temporary blogging site they have set up. Hope you get it sorted shortly Leader. The sort of stuff they must be involved in changing must involve tens of thousands of files, plenty of programming code change, rocket science stuff.

Swine Flu gets nearer

AIRBUS is refusing to comment on reports of a swine-flu outbreak at its Broughton plant.

More than 6,000 people work at the wing-making plant, and the Evening Leader has been told that about 10 employees are off work with suspected cases of the virus.

Link The Evening Leader full story

In my opinion Airbus who are currently saying "mind your own business we are not telling you" are guilty of breaking their corporate stated commitment to local environment.

Cllr Colin Bithell steps out for a curry

Click image to enlarge

Cllr Colin Bithell was amongst a delegation of local leaders who met a business delegation from Bangladesh at Country Spice in Hope. Flintshire County Council Leader Cllr Arnold Woolley and Cllr Cliff Shone of Hope were also at the curry bash.

Link Leader Online Photo Sales


You can't beat The Bengal Dynasty for quality. If its good enough for Sir Anthony Hopkins its good enough for Lisa and me. We have a take out normally. We can then stretch it over two days as the meal is too big for one go. An Indian with starters is too much for one sitting for us.

Link Bengal Dynasty

In The Evening Leader

discussing you know what. Still a 1000+ speeders in Chester Rd Penyffordd every day. My ever present thanks to The Evening Leader.

"Calls to lower speed limit on Flintshire road after 51 crashes in 6 years"

Speed campaigner Colin Hughes from Penyffordd has backed the calls, saying it was a "miracle" that no-one had been killed on the road.

He added: "51 accidents in six years is staggering. I can't see why the speed limit can't be changed. Alarm bells should have been ringing in the councils ears well before the total number of accidents reached that number.

"I am calling on Flintshire Council to do a wholesale audit of speed limits across the county before the situation gets even worse."

Link: The Evening Leader

keyword: Cllr Tony Sharps.