I hope you all had a great Christmas and may I wish you all the very best for 2008.
I make no apology for not updating this blog for a while. My little boy was diagnosed with diabetes and it knocked us all for six here as you can all imagine. Having said that, he is coping very well indeed and received a fantastic result at his last hospital check up. This (as you can imagine) made us all feel a little bit better - that we’re doing everything right for him.
Anyhow, enough of me and my family, so on with the Blog!
I truly hope you all had a great time over the festive period and have already set out your New Year’s resolutions.
2008 promises to be a great one in the history of Caernarfon as we see two big developments coming to fruition.
And just in-case you’ve been away recently let me tell you that they are the Victoria Dock complex and the Maes re-development.
We are very lucky to see these two developments going ahead at a time when the Welsh Assembly cut backs are affecting us all.
The school closures debate has been a hot one recently and one which is very close to the heart of many of you.
Nevertheless because of one thing or another, bad management perhaps? Gwynedd council has to cut back to make sure that the long term effects are not detrimental to the area as a whole. If they don’t cut back here then other essential services may be threatened too?
Perhaps now is the time to reflect on the question: Did we do right to vote for having the Assembly in the first place?
As we saw on Caernarfon Online when the official opening was screened live in Caernarfon, no one seemed interested and the screen stood alone on the Maes with no one watching.
That is a very sad reaction by Joe Public.
But getting back to Caernarfon and the negative press we keep getting, the general public must be fed up to the back teeth of all the negative hype which is being passed out by the “same old, same old” people.
I’m sure I am - and I wish that - if they hate what’s going on here so much why don’t they just pack their bags and go back home to where they come from?
Surely we must have something better here than they had in their home town? Otherwise they wouldn’t be here now would they?
There it is, I’ve got it off my chest and said what others only think!!!
2008 is election year and this time we should all go out in force to vote.
Councillors after all are there for the people, they are not there to moan in the press and then do nothing! - Any fool can do that!
Ask yourself these simple questions…. How many times have you actually SEEN your councillor on your ward?
How many times have you seen him or her doing anything except complain in the paper?
Do they hold surgeries on the ward?
Have they ever done something for you or someone you know?
Do you know who they are?
These are only a few questions which will help you make up your mind on how to vote.
Has your councillor done anything to upset you or the town?
Voted against something you felt was wrong for example?
Remember, these people are in their seats because they are representing you!
They are not there to do as they want - they are there to do as YOU want.
They are your mouth piece and not there to blow their own trumpet or hold their own hidden agendas.
Councillors (in my humble opinion) should NOT:
1. Have a business establishment in town - which could benefit from their own actions.
2. They should be under retirement age.
3. They should not ask for monies (or sit on meetings) for which they have connections with other groups (this is standard procedure but still goes on).
4. They should not be voted in just because they have always been there. (‘Being there’ does not mean they are actually doing something positive).
Furthermore
1. People should vote for the person and NOT the party.
2. Councillors should not wear different hats in meetings, i.e. being a chair of one organisation and taking part in other council matters.
3. Should NOT be considered for a seat if they live more than a mile from their ward.
4. Should be able to understand Welsh to a degree that they can sit in on a meeting WITHOUT the use of a translator.
Think about it, most of this is going on right now!
The good and the bad things about 2007
To finish off, I have compiled a list (below) of what I personally consider has been good or bad for the town over the last twelve months.
You may not agree with all of them but I hope you enjoy reading them all the same.
I have kept the list to 20 in each section and make no apologies for not including everything that happened.
(At least it will make it easy for the papers reporters to run their review without much research!)
Here they are in no particular order!
Have a cracking 2008.
The Good.
1. The Dock finally getting developed.
2. The Maes finally getting developed.
3. The Old Harpers restaurant finally getting developed.
4. No smoking in public buildings.
5. The small festive tv screen put up on the Maes at Christmas
6. Businesses such as the ‘Chinese herbs and spices’ and the ‘Phone Shop’ setting up in Pool Street - showing faith in the town.
7. A brand new state of the art doctors surgery in town with disabled parking
8. Papur Dre still doing well
9. Plas Pawb opening
10. Ty Ysgol development starts
11. Feed My Lambs re-building work starts
12. Mini Golf course completed at Aberforeshore
13. New CBM’s appointed
14. New set up for Hendre Neighbourhood Watch
15. Caernarfon to Cardiff Airport link
16. Caernarfon Online given leading business award by Champion fm and UPS
17. T Meirion Hughes (our Welsh website editor) wins Toast Award for Welsh language
18. Ysgol Pendalar opens in Bethel Road
19. The council’s buffet saga finally thrown out
20. The Faynol Festival
The Bad
1. Complaints against the new health centre setting up in Victoria Dock
2. Complaints about nearly everything relating to the dock
3. Complaints about just about everything by Councillor Bob Anderson
4. Councillor Arnold Bohana wishing it minuted that he was against relooking into funding for Caernarfon Town Football club
5. Caernarfon Christmas tree fixed on a building site
6. The Assembly’s poor settlement for Gwynedd
7. Resulting in School closures
8. Caernarfon By Pass
9. Lack of support by local businesses by not being a part of the Chamber of Trade
10. Negative press by local reporters
11. Christmas - free parking scrapped
12. Talk of higher council taxes
13. 6 New Town Guides promised but not delivered or published in any way
14. Town council charges OAP’s for use of kettle
15. Hundreds miss out through incorrect information given for the location for Veterans day
16. Plaid Cymru stabs Richard Morris Jones in the back
17. Labour’s Martin Eaglestone loses yet another election
18. Thousands of pounds wasted in trying to solve the riddle of a £200 buffet
19. The Big Wheel
20. Plas Maesincla mess ignored by councillors
More from me in 2008
