Hall of Fame on www.Cofis.co.uk

www.Cofis.co.uk has proved very popular with many of you and I can inform you that we still have a few hundred photos to add over the next few months. As we add new faces to our pages, we are receiving more and more photos from you, our visitors. Keep them coming and I promise we will add them as we go on.
Our Hall of Fame on www.Cofis.co.uk has been up a week now and by all accounts most of you have enjoyed it immensely.
As you may know, we asked our visitors to nominate different people from Caernarfon's past and present who (in their opinion) had done something which merited their inclusion on out Hall of Fame. With exercises like these, we would never find 20 people who everyone would agree on, but never the less we received 60 names and an independent panel of 6 people narrowed them down to the final 20 which are honoured on our pages.
We were aware that people may be scrutinizing the final decision but we have not received a single complaint except for one person who told us, he had not heard about some of the winners. So in this respect I was very pleased to be able to educate him through the site about the hero's of the town's past.
I hope you all enjoy reading about these very important people who now have a lasting tribute on our website.

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Caernarfon Eye Sore

I can't believe it's been a few months since my last entry on here. But as I've been ever so busy with the New "Cofis" website (as well as adding bit's and pieces to COL), It's been pretty hectic.

Caernarfon Eye SORE!
Well it wasn't here long, but long enough for us to receive the largest number of complaints we've ever had about the awful Big Wheel.
Locals and visitors alike contacted the site to say they were amazed to see that work had been stopped on the Maes just so that a fairground attraction could come to town.
We are led to believe that this was not actually true, but the fact remains, it was ludicrous that the work was stopped and even more ludicrous that they allowed to big wheel to be parked on our half completed square.
A square which has cost nearly £3million so that it raises the profile of the town and what do we get on it? None other than the awful Caernarfon Eye Sore (as it's been dubbed by many of you).
Let's hope there was no damage made to the new slates!

In all we received 133 complaints and many of these alarmingly came from visitors who pledged never to return, as their idea of visiting a World Heritage Site was ruined by the Eye Sore in front of it.
I must say I tend to agree and let's hope that councillors and Gwynedd sees sense not to allow it to return to the Maes.
If they must have it then put it somewhere else.

Where?...................................

How about Rhyl?

People never fail to amaze me!

Thousands of trees are felled every day in such places like the Rain Forests of the world, and we humans should be very concerned because of it.

If these trees are not replaced then it will effect our home - namely planet earth.

But, wait a minute.....

Now, some members of the public and (more worryingly some councillors) are up in arms because a hundred year old tree has been removed from the Maes!!!

Gwynedd Council has explained that it was not a protected tree and had been deemed dangerous to the public.

It seems to me that some people just like to complain! They actually enjoy it! Week in week out we see the same old moaners in the papers, complaining about the same old issues. If it's not the Victoria Dock project then it's the doctors surgery and if it's not that then its something Gwynedd Council has done. I realise that not everything Gwynedd Council do is right and in my opinion they do get things wrong as much as other councils. BUT......

This latest complaint in my opinion really takes the biscuit!

Let's look at this logically....
An old tree has been felled in Caernarfon, a tree which most of us haven't even noticed unless you sit under it or work by it on a regular basis.
Gwynedd Council have decided to take it down, because it is dangerous!

If they had left it there and someone got hurt then rightly so, people should be complaining.

The council have made a decision and made a decision in the interest of public safety!!!

Don't you think that this is what we pay them to do?
It is so easy to be wise AFTER an event.
In this instance, the council takes action BEFORE anything happens and it is criticised.

This was a Bloody tree! One which will (no doubt) be replaced by other's....

Looking at the plans for the Maes, I can see loads of trees earmarked for planting.... More than there were in the first place!

A tree may be a living thing, but it is not an animal, no one died here so what's all the fuss about?
In life things change, things are taken down and rebuilt -FACT!
I agree that some old buildings have historical value and should be preserved, but this was a flippin TREE!!! It had no historical value except the fact that it had been there all our lives.

The same could be said about Wembley Stadium and they took that down and rebuilt a better one!!! (Shame they can't rebuild a better team, but that's another matter)

These moaners make me so sad..... because if it wasn't for them then the town would have a chance. As it is, we argue about anything and everything no matter what.

Get a life guys. A tree is only a tree and it WILL be replaced by another.

One of these days, we may see a project go ahead in town without someone criticising it.

Then again Caernarfon Town FC may one day win the Welsh Premier League.... We can all live in hope!

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Private Number Plates?

Hi again,

I can't believe how quickly time passes by and it's been quite a while since my last entry on here. But I felt I just had to include this little snippet.

Having visited Ysbyty Gwynedd today, I was amazed to see a car ambulance with a private number plate!!!

Seriously, I couldn't believe my eyes when my wife pointed out this flippin thing standing proudly outside the hospital.

A lot of people have indulged in this expensive hobby, with the most apt belonging to Paul Daniels... MAG 1C

But even that was surpassed by this paramedic......

Surely someone is taking the mickey???

Would you travel to hospital with this number plate?

I'll leave it for you to decide.....

Here is what we saw....

Wait for it......





Dead On Arrival!

A lesson from the Aussies?

I was sent this by email today and thought I'd share it with you all.
Political correctness has gone nuts in the last decade and it's about time someone put a stop to it.

This story could also be adapted to local politicians who think they know better than the locals. You know the ones I am talking about. (Especially those who need to use our taxes to pay for their translation services at meetings)

This is what I was sent:

Britain needs a leader like this!

Prime Minister John Howard - Australia Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

Quote:'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.' 'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom' 'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society - Learn the language!

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.' 'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why.

All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.' 'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.' Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, British citizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths.

Read in between the lines and act intelligently at the up and coming election.
If they ain't from here then don't vote for them - Simple!

Welsh Football

In a week that could see Wales win the Grand Slam we see a Welsh football side making it to the Semi Finals of the FA Cup.
Cardiff City may well make it to the final they previously won back in 1926 when they beat Arsenal.
Cardiff it seems is a law into themselves as they choose to play in the English League and totally snub the Welsh Premier and Welsh FA Cup.
Even if Cardiff win the English FA Cup, they will not be entered in the European competition as Cup winners because the English FA cannot endorse them as they are a Welsh Team and the Welsh FA cannot endorse them as they have not won a Welsh Cup???

What a scenario!

Both Colwyn Bay and Caernarfon Town FC were exiled from playing at home for years because they refused to join the Welsh Premier League. After years of wrangling and loss in revenue as well as court costs, Caernarfon Town FC backed down and joined the Welsh League. By then the team was depleted and cash was hard to come by.

Caernarfon was a team who reached the 3rd Round of the FA cup all those years ago, were down and out following their exile and they have NEVER fully recovered.

The weekend epitomised all this when a lowly 79 turned out to support the Canaries. (and who says they were ALL home fans?)
Another bad season has resulted in low gates and lack of support from a local Town Councillor only served to rub salt in the wound.

We all know how bad the standard of Welsh football is and playing in this 'third rate league' has resulted in Caernarfon Town reaching their lowest ever state.
Cardiff City’s success in the English FA only proves that Caernarfon should have stuck to their guns and fought this ridiculous rule.
A rule that forbid them to play on their own pitch, just because some bureaucrat told them they had to take a backward step and join a lesser league.

The question is why do Wrexham, Swansea and Cardiff get away with it? While the Canaries have to suffer gates of only 79 supporters?

Al l I can say is that I hope Cardiff win the English FA Cup!
Now that would be in ‘your face to the Welsh FA’ wouldn’t it?

Anyway,
Best of luck to The Welsh National Rugby side on Saturday!

Copying is the the greatest form of flattery!

I had a smile across my face this week when someone pointed out to me that a local website was obviously concerned that we were leading the way with our site and news service.

The blogger dared to complain that there were nothing but 'blogs' on websites these days and from people whom he did not rate.

He then went on to say that he was therefore introducing another blog on his website???
(that makes sense)
What he obviously knows is the popularity of our websites and blogs. I know this because our stats programme is able to name servers which visits our websites and there are quite a few hits from his.
Our Blogs are very popular across the board and written by two extremely knowledgeable pillars of the community (and me of course LOL).

We are obviously ruffling a few feathers here and copying doesn't make anyone better, it just shows they are lacking ideas themselves.

This town is big enuff for everyone and I wish them all the luck in their new venture.

Beam me up Scotty!

By the way!
Perhaps you have thought about writing a bolg yourself and want a stage to get it seen?

If this is the case then contact us here at Caernarfon Online (usual address) and we will set one up for you. You will be guaranteed thousands of hits every week.
We look forward to hearing from you.

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Same Old Same Old

As we all waited with baited breath to see what the marketing Guru had to say. The town was once again left disapointed.
Councillor Ioan Thomas summed it up well by stating that the advice given by Mary Portas could be the same advice given to Cardiff or any other city around the world.

In the cold light of day how anyone could expect anything else, beggars belief!

In a nut shell:
A cleb comes down to town, she goes on walkabout for an hour or so and then is expected to have all the answers on where we are going wrong!

In a few hours all one has to do is take a look at the parking and access restrictions in town, weigh that up with the lack of big name shops add that to a networking faliure and it's easy to see where our problems lie.
Mary Portas is human, she doesn't have a quick fix and she (as someone wrote on the messagebaord) is no Paul Daniels!

Mary Portas visits towns like ours for a fee (not for FREE) and does very nicely out of it. This is what she does, she travels, speaks and then goes away with the cash in her back pocket! A nice little earner if you can get it.

Ioan Thomas saw through it as did many others.

Once again we saw the Victoria Dock getting attacked by somone in the audinece...Instead of embracing this new complex, all they do is slate it!
It's been said again and again that competition is healthy and by one business becoming a success others will flourish (as the roll on effect will help businesses grow with more people coming into town).

Too much has been made about making links between the dock and the town.

The Dock is within walking distance of the town walls (2 mins) and only as far as Woolworths is to the Black Boy!
Are we going to need a land train to get us from Pool Street to Palace Street now?
The Dock has easy access and car parks and disabled parking to boot (same as the town?)

Victoria Dock is a 2 mins walk from Bangor Street and 4 mins max from Palace street!

Whats going on here? Why the witch hunt? We should be glad that people are investing in our town, we should be embracing it with open arms and making the most of it.
Like it or not, Victoria Dock is here to stay and once these morons realise this and try to work with it the better!

There we go, my anger released on text once again. I feel much better now.

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Only One Way for shoppers to go after this fiasco?

Over the years I have sat in on many discussions, meetings and debates about the new Maes development .
I have seen many ideas passed around the table and many more ignored.
I can even remember (about five years ago) Councillor Dafydd Iwan speaking (as the then chair of Caernarfon Partnership) when he remarked “If we don’t do something soon, we will be forever driving round the castle to get by in Caernarfon.” (The plan at the time was to try to cut down traffic flow into town.)
Was I the only one there thinking: What’s wrong with driving around such a wonderful castle?
I couldn’t understand the obsession about trying to reduce traffic into town. Traffic into town meant that people wanted to come here and people who want to come here, well quite frankly, people who want to come here will spend here. QED!

Surely traffic wasn’t that bad that it was gridlocked? I remember queuing for a few minutes to get into town but it was never as bad as how Bangor is now, no where near as bad! I should know as I’ve been a driving instructor since 1984 and drive on these roads daily.

Doesn’t the town rely on people coming in to town to shop? Wouldn’t our shopkeepers prefer a few queues forming instead of empty shops?
Well, all that was then and I’m afraid this is now…. and it seems that my worst nightmare has come true.
You can no longer drive into town through Bangor Street (The Town’s Main Access point!).
The only way anyone can get to the Maes now is by diverting via the by pass or past Victoria Dock… Isn’t that going to cause more traffic problems come summer?
If one diverts past Victoria Dock then the road takes you through the town walls which are very narrow.
If on the other hand one takes the other route then one must manoeuvre round the buses at Pool Side, which as already reported has been the scene of more than one accident. One a fatality I may add!
It’s becoming a nightmare to shop in town as well as a big inconvenience to residents living in Tre Gof and the other streets behind the Post Office.

Once here then finding a parking spot is impossible, without forking out on council car parks.
What’s the idea? Why do they think making it harder for shoppers to come into town is a good idea?
Is it just me or am I missing the point here?
I am all for improvements and I also hope that the Maes will look great once it’s completed.
But who will see it if we are driving them away from town?

Has anyone made an impact study on the one way system and how it will affect our businesses? Has anyone considered the loss the Harbour Car Park will have as cars are diverted from the town centre?

I have always been of the opinion that if things are made difficult then people won’t bother. Access should be made as simple as possible and only time will tell us how this one way system will affect the town.
If we make it difficult for our visitors to come here then they will go elsewhere. If accessibility is better at Bangor then our businesses will lose out! Simple fact and very true!

I also understand that Taxis will be limited to single figures in the Maes - today I counted 18 taxis parked there, so where will they conduct their business?

There is a ‘Retail Guru’ (whatever that is) due in town shortly to tell us where we are going wrong. It seems that part of the problem is staring us all in the face. If I owned a business on Bangor Street or in the centre of town I would be very concerned.

The Caernarfon Online website has already received a shed full of e-mails complaining about access into town , with many saying they have even ignored the No Entry signs at Bangor Street.
I have to admit I saw these plans in their infancy and thought at the time that it didn’t make any sense, but now I have seen it in the flesh so to speak… I am more convinced that this will be the final nail in the town’s coffin.
If not this, then round the corner we have a major by pass being planned that will give Caernarfon a wide berth and that’s to come in the next few years or so.

Can you blame business owners setting up elsewhere?
Then again maybe I am the only one out of step here and everyone else thinks it’s an excellent set up?

What do you think?

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