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!
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Saturday, 1 March 2008
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.
Back to www.CaernarfonOnline.co.uk
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.
Back to www.CaernarfonOnline.co.uk
Saturday, 2 February 2008
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.
Back to http://www.caernarfononline.co.uk/
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.
Back to http://www.caernarfononline.co.uk/
Friday, 18 January 2008
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?
Back to www.CaernarfonOnline.co.uk
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Dawn of a New Year!
Hi Everyone,
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.
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
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
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Bangor Retail Forum lead the way!
Hi Everyone,
This will be the last Blog entry until mid November as we are carrying out essential maintenance on the website.
Nevertheless, I felt the need to say something about the recent Bangor Business Forum meeting.It seems that the Caernarfon Chamber of Trade exists in name only (once again) and is lacking any true membership from Caernarfon businesses.
Less than 5% of businesses in the town itself are members and we seem to have yet again taken a backward step.
Having worked with this group in the past, I realise how difficult it is to get things moving.
But in that time, we were able to re-invent Caernarfon with bright and colourful Welsh Flags on shops during the summer season.
We even persuaded some shops to erect hanging baskets and Christmas trees. We also produced a brand new Caernarfon Town Guide for the first time in years. Such a shame that the work is not being continued!
The people who did nothing but complain when we last set up the organisation have done nothing themselves this year and it is so disappointing to see things going so wrong so fast.
When we relaunched the Chamber all those years ago, we decided to hold an open meeting and we invited members of Gwynedd Council, The Town Clerk and Mayor were there representing the council and Officers from North Wales Police also took part.
The meeting was very well attended and even though one or two tried to sabotage proceedings, it was a very successful and meaningful meeting where businesses could ask relevant questions to those present.
This week the Bangor Business Forum did exactly the same and it proved to be just as successful.
The Chairman had arranged for Officers of Gwynedd Council to take questions from the business sector.
You can read all about it on the http://www.bangoreye.com/ website.
I applaud what they have done and only live and hope that the 'so called' Chamber in Caernarfon can do something the same.
I would guess that. like me, you are all fed up to the back teeth of the same old, same old whingers complaining of this and that and doing very little about it.
This could be the wake up call for these guys to get their act together and hopefully with Watkin Jones setting up a brand new Town Manager in the Victoria Dock complex this week.
She will be able to do something positive to help bring the business sector together.
We need the business sector to be strong and united. otherwise what is the point of a Chamber who speaks for only a half dozen or so people?
It would be good fromthem to put their cards on the table for once and show how many paid up members they represent.
Check out the full summary of the Bangor Business Forum on http://www.bangoreye.com/
Back to www.CaernarfonOnline.co.uk
Sunday, 14 October 2007
Controversial statement
Drugs photo taken at Llanbeblig Caernarfon
First of all I would like to apologise for the lack of updates to this Blog, this was unfortunately down to a family illness, which restricted my input. I hope you all understand.
Drug takers and a stupid statement
I have decided to have a little say on the statements made by Mr Richard Brunstrum this week.
But before I start I would like to point out that usually, I have a lot of time for Mr Brunstrum, he is very forward thinking and unfazed by public opinion. Obviously his zero tolerance on speeding in North Wales is a little over the top and one of the strictest in the country, but it seems to have had an impact on our driving and many re think before stamping on the accelerator since the campaign started.
However I am disappointed with Mr Brunstrum's latest statement about Class A drugs!
It seems that Mr Brunstrum wants to campaign about legalising hard drugs such as Heroine etc.
The reason behind this may be to reduce crime figures and stop drug abusers stealing to feed their habit. Or if he can give us a better explanation then I'd like to hear it.
Has it occurred to him the havoc these abusers put on members of their own families, friends and members of the public?
A few years back residents of Pool Lane in Caernarfon (of which I am one) had to suffer the daily indignity of having to converse with these people when they were 'under the influence.
A 'do gooder' had decided to illegally set up a soup kitchen in our street and on this occasion we were fortunate enough to close them down as planning permission for this had not been granted.
The leader of the 'Hafan' lived in Rhosbodrual and when we approached him about the matter, he continually showed no concern that we had to live with needles put through or doors and canisters of methadone and other substances were scattered all over our street.
We were met with druggies begging for money on a daily basis and threats and abuse were a common occurrence.
Councillors were useless and did nothing when we complained, it was only through the eventual involvement of Ioan Thomas (who was Mayor at the time) that something was eventually done.
I asked the manager of the Hafan would he like these people on his door step? He answered that they had to go somewhere and was only trying to help. But where was the help for us, we were all innocent in all this? Obviously he did not have an answer and seemed to care even less.
This year I was unfortunate enough to come across another drug abuser who had Over Dosed and was lying unconscious on the floor of the toilets at Slate Quay.
I had to put him in the recovery position and try to ensure his airways remained clear (whilst being talked through it all by mobile phone by the paramedic team, this I had to do until the paramedics arrived.
The next day, I called the hospital to see how he was getting on and learnt that he had been discharged. A few days later he was seen in the same state on a bench in Bontnewydd.
It seemed he had learnt very little from his 'near death' experience and no doubt is still unaware of my help.
Why should we have to endure all this? Why should we care when the Chief of Police makes this incredible statement?
If it is only about balancing his figures, then he should be ashamed of himself.
I for one (if faced with saving someone like this again) may indeed next time turn a blind eye and leave him there to rot.
The last time I didn't, the last time I chose to help, next time I may not....After all why should I care?
See you all soon and drug free I hope!
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