From ITV Wales: 7:30pm - 8pm TONIGHT (Thursday):
The Anglesey Challenge
"Jonathan Hill goes behind the headlines with in-depth analysis of the week's major issues. He looks at the challenge facing one of Wales' highest-paid servants, the trouble shooter sent in to run crisis-hit Anglesey County Council." (subtitled)
Expect all manner of turmoil from tomorrow onwards.
70 comments:
No Paddy?
dazzler
So that's why John Chorlton was standing in front of a TV camera in Holyhead on 21st October and there was me thinking it was a Crime Watch renactment.
Dazzler if you don't watch the programme I hope that means you will not be in a position to comment on it or any other aspect of it in the future, WE HOPE SO.
Just like not voting.
NO VOTE, ON COMMENT.
Can't find ITV Wales on Sky?
See this page:
http://www.stevelarkins.freeuk.com/itv_regions_sky_digibox.htm
After saving with the yellow button, the channel appears under Services>Other Channels, NOT the main channel list.
Anon 17:21
what you on about? Who's we? I've never missed the chance to vote. Except when I was in jail of course. That's changing aswell I believe. Dazzler seems to be attracting a lot of negative attention on this blog.
DAZZLER
Good bye Bowles and good bye McGregor
If there is nothing wrong, why is the Serious Fraud Squad at the Council?
What's David Bowles tried to cover up now?
After tonight's Wales This Week, I bet Labours John Chorlton wished he,d kept his crass mouth shut "Pinch of Salt" etc.
Wales This Week.
What I found most Interesting apart from the people of Anglesey saying that they did not think David Bowles was worth the money, was the fact that Carl Sergeant, by saying he did not know whether recovery would take place meant that even he does not have enough confidence in David Bowles to come up with the goods.
Wales this Week.
All that hype with nothing more to show than what we already know, In that Anglesey County Council still suffers from its endemic corruption and all David Bowles & Clive McGregor want to do is cover the whole bloody lot up. The only person that said it as it is & straight to the point, was Cllr Durkin. He should be the Council's next Leader.
What have learnt?
1) JAJ thinks he's like Jesus
2) Barrie Durkin's approach will be accompanied by the strains from the string section of the orchestra (I was waiting for the timpani's from 1810 to kick in)
3) David Bowles may or may not have played for that 70's band Sparks ("This town ain't big enough for the both of us")
On 270k an year, Bowles should be able to afford paying his own expenses.
He should be staying in a modest dwelling, if the tax payer is paying for his accomodation.
Shame on you Bowles.
The People of Anglesey said it all.
Nothing will change, the Council's still bent and Bowles isn't worth the money and should go.
Worst of all, Clive McGregor refused to take part in the poll. Not a very resounding vote of confidence in Bowles, clearly didn't want to say it as it is. Coward.
Carl Sergeant should recall Bowles immediately and sack him. The man's pushed Anglesey back to the dark ages and all but destroyed any chance of recovery.
I cannot believe that JAJ compared himself to Jesus. That was sickening to watch and worse than calling Paddy French a paedophile.
"The man's pushed Anglesey back to the dark ages"
er.. when did we first emerge?
Not the best content for wales this week but better than nothing. Love the Egrin boxing david williams bit. JAJ is JAJ and he must be admired for his beliefs. That he is the Son of God. He's not on his own there is he? David Koresh thought the same. I think he's more suited to a David Ike documentary! Durkin....well bless his cotton english socks, he is what he is. McGregor? Well he's just an ex-bobby trying to hold on to some kind of authority. As a leader he's an embarrassment for this Isle. Fowlie? Stick to your sheep boyo. Bowles? wouldn't last 2mins in the private sector. All in all........Nothing Ever Happens(Del Amitiri 1988)
Dazzler
Interesting show on ITV Wales but did not show the extent of senior officers working together as a "ring" and show DB as biased and incapable of independent non-political thinking in just getting the job done. Durkin looked menacing. Fowlie looked like a pussycat and CM looked worred furrow-browed and searching hard to find the right words. CM not challenged on YM Investigations.Where was JC and Holyhead gang?JAJ repeat meade him look a plonker.
Elan Closs Stephens referred to "business and doing best for Anglesey" hence some councillors have lost the plot. The plot is simple - we will starve without jobs and prosperity.
An OK programme but one which, alas, tried to fire at too many targets at the same time.
It seemed at the start to be all about David Bowles's pay. But then programme moved to look at his curious decision to rent the infamous JAJ holiday chalet.
OK it's not compulsory for Chief Execs to view archive editions of "Wales this Week" before taking up their posts - but I didn't buy the explanation that he "came across the chalet on the internet".
That little wobble revealed he's not quite the savvy saviour of the Island we were led to believe.
The internal machinations of Anglesey County Council remained as delphic as ever. The councillor opinion poll on the Chief Executive was a pretty weak idea
The big disappointment was Professor Elan Closs Stephens - who did nothing but spout generalised bromides and platitudes - urging councillors to put the past behind them. If this is the best she can do, it is not surprising that the Anglesey Recovery Board's efforts to stabilise the council are likely to take many years to complete - if ever.
But then Professor Closs Stephens will already focussing on her new job representing the viewers as Wales National Trustee of the BBC. Was she elected to that post? No - of course not. It's even less democratic than Anglesey County Council
What a disappointment the programme was rehashing old stuff nothing new there
thanks for wasting half an hour of my life Druid!
this told me nothing i have not already read in more detail in post, mail, bbc website and your blog, with the exception of a pointless poll
WTW haa always done the same poorly researched programmes but this one hit an all time low, which reflects the state of their programming budget
having said all that watching the JAJ clips always hilarious
keep up your good work
A very weak WTW production, I have to say. It had no real direction, and emerged having achieved little.
It did usefully remind us how utterly ridiculous and shameful John Arthur Jones is, and what a bizarre little local world we live in.
Closs-Stephens expressed herself very poorly for an accomplished academic, seemed to find English difficult to use, and clearly has no idea that the people of Anglesey do no want to forget the past decades of misbehaviour and corruption - they want answers and a resolution. As a don, she should understand, but clearly chooses to ignore the fact - that there must be learning before you move on.
The Recovery Board's strategy is, very clearly, doomed to failure for not dealing with this fact.
WTW: please do better next time; I'd give a C-
VERDICT - useless programme, answered nothing, achieved nothing ...a waste of time.
So, Mr. McGregor's police version of democracy and openness is to direct his disciples not to respond to an anonymous questionnaire asking a perfectly legitimate and uncontroversial question of considerable public interest.
What a nice, circular line of copper-esque argument to on the one hand prevent his cronies responding, and then giving his reasons for doing so as being the survey 'would not be representative'. That didn't stop the police authorities of Wales, and I fail to see how questioning councillors is in any way unrepresentative.
In the end, the councillors were quite honest, in that the majority of those that did respond didn't think it would succeed. All we can assume from McGregor's anti-sedition tactics is that even he thinks many of his followers believe the recovery is doomed to failure.
That's nice. Let's decide not to vote for him or his sort any more.
We keep saying it, Closs-Stephens, and you keep ignoring it: only a total clear-out will suffice for this God-forsaken Council.
08:39
Clive McGregor knew from a straw poll he'd engaged in with his Alliance group that the majority are unhappy with Bowles. That's why he told them not to respond to the WTW Poll. However, out of those who did respond the majority made it clear that David Bowles is bad for Anglesey County Council.
Moan moan moan........why don't you lot get off your arses and do something constructive instead of hiding behind your PC's bashing your anger out on a defenceless keyboard ,
TGC @ 06:33 "Closs-Stephens expressed herself very poorly for an accomplished academic, seemed to find English difficult to use" have you ever heard a French person speaking English ? a second language ?
You all call the council but you do nothing about it except moan , your no better yourselves !
09:43
A nice trolling post, but here you go anyway:
"Moan moan moan........why don't you lot get off your arses and do
something constructive"
We are. Here's the voice of Anglesey's people that the Council do their utmost to silence. Try their complaints procedure - still unfinished after over 16 years - and see what we mean.
"have you ever heard a French person speaking English"
Not a very good comparison, is it? Welsh and English are parallel languages. If I speak english as a second language that poorly, please shoot me.
"You all call the council but you do nothing about it except moan"
How do you know that, then? Of course, you're entirely wrong, as many of us have put our names to posts - and to letters, complaints and the pursuance of proper treatment of residents. Do the same, and you might earn some respect. Otherwise, there's no compunction to read this blog, or to write useless drivel in response.
Nothing new here I don't think. It served a purpose in that it allowed JAJ to make himself look a total tit to a larger audience (potentially global if it get's on youtube), but that's was about it really.
Where's the blue flashing lights is what I want to know.
The curious thing is this: are we really asked to believe that Mr. Bowles was making his own accommodation arrangements as the high-flying executive he clearly is?
The more reasonable assumption would be - and indeed was the rumour at the time - that the Council were making arrangements for his accommodation. It would certainly appear to fit-in with the package under which Mr. Bowles is employed. Hunting around the internet for his own property is rather difficult to accept.
What is it about Bodffordd to produce such tragi-comic characters....shows the quality of some Councillors (ex) ?
11.12 The cynic in me suspects that "someone" in the Council, a Machiavellian character, charged with his accommodation needs set him up for such ridicule......or perhaps I may be wrong ?
I was quite disappointed in the overall approach of the programme, I found the presenter quite bland, he's fine in the studio presenting the news but I think he is out of his depth in this type of programme.
However a couple of things that did stand out for me is the nonsense regarding JAJ's property. If Bowles is such a smart cookie and a troubleshooter of the highest ilk then it is disastrous that he did not avail of himself of all information regarding the troublemakers on the council over the years. It would have stuck out like the nose on his face that JAJ was one of the prime movers in bringing our council into disrepute. Bowles should therefore have made a point of distancing himself completely from anything to do with the odious little squirt never mind renting a house from him. Or perhaps, just perhaps, Bowles did know and thought he could hoodwink the Anglesey electorate into ignoring the matter. I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he did not know and was completely stupid in his actions, and this is guy sent to sort out the council?
It is appalling that he was not prepared to face the cameras and answer to the public who pay his obscene salary. In my opinion Bowles is completely out of his depth and his reputation is unjustified.
As for Prof Closs-Stephens, well all she could go on about was that we should forget the JAJ's of this world and get on with our lives merely burying the past. Some of the people responsible for all that has been wrong in Llangefni are still there in post and we will never let them forget just to appease the professor and her Recovery Board. We cannot move on until we get rid of people like Chorlton and GWR, cut out the cancer then we can move on and not a minute sooner.
Not sure what to make of Durkin, is he full of crap or does he really have the ammo that will stick to Bowles and CM? I guess we won't klnow until such time as the Ombudsman has declared his decision on his investigation into Durkin.
11:19
That thought crossed my mind as soon as I heard about the story.
11.13....the idiocy of some Councillors might be a better description ?
Here's what they said at the time:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/41147553
I think the truth with Cllr Durkin is he has a scattergun approach that sprays so much crap that some is true and much is not.
The problem then is that we can't separate real concerns with unfounded rants.
The clip of him walking on a country lane looking out for 'mischief' was very funny
THE RECOVERY BOARD ?
Judging by her at-best mediocre interview performance and all sweet and apple pie utterances, rather awkwardly-delivered, last night, is Closs-Stevens really the best person to chair the RBd, and is the RBd anything better than a toothless last-ditch token intervention by the Minister....we are entitled to ask is the RBd effective and fit for purpose....somehow I doubt it ?
11.44...the country lane is at the back-end of Gwalchmai a place called Grib....why there, again ?
The DRUID is very quiet today...whats your verdict Druid ?
Anon 9:43
"Welsh and English are parallel languages. If I speak english as a second language that poorly, please shoot me"
Dwi yn gweld dy ddatganiad o fod saesneg a cymraeg yn ieithoedd cyflinellol yn uffernol o sarhaus tuag at pawb sydd yn siarad cymraeg a phawb yng Ngogledd Cymru. Dwi yn Gymraeg pur ac yn gallu siarad saesneg, ond paid BYTH a dweud bod saesneg a cymraeg yr un peth!!!!!!
Why are we even discussing JAJ and J Egryn Lewis......ancient history.....its tomorrow that's important ? Although its conceivable JAJ may be elected to Bodffordd due to his championing of the biodigester saga....have the good people of Bodffordd coughed up the legal fees yet .....??
I have deleted two comments which were getting too close to making accusations against named persons. As I've said before, such claims should be taken directly to the council or the police, rather than posted in forums like this.
lol
The mess we have is of our own doing, the Welsh Assembly have let it go for so long now, that it has become the way of life, we'll never have a day of reckoning, nor will we have any rights, as long as we allow the Welsh Assembly to sit back and do nothing. And doing nothing is all that they do, Carwyn Jones ahould be ashamed, Ieuan should be ashamed, but the truth is, they don't care. They don't care about the abuse of power, to them it's a storm in a teacup, but to us, it's a living hell, a nightmare called living in a political hell called Anglesey.
To get at the truth, we have to find the victim, help him, then we can be proud to be helping someone, but if we don't help, and make a vigil against these people, then we will be as bad as them, because we have done nothing,
14.55 Who do we mean by "we" ?
This Blog has a substantial following and there is a broad and reasonably informed consensus here about the tragic shortcomings of IACC.
But we are "we" only to a limited extent.
Of course the other "we" are the great majority of the voters of Anglesey...who may not be as informed or active in voicing opinion as the "we" on this Blog.
But as WTW found, "they" are also fairly conscious of the Council's shortcomings even if they are not readily able to articulate the reasons therefor. So, we all know of the cancer, but don't readily know how to treat it.
Without a total clearout that is ?
The substantial following this blog has, are all armchair politicians, who do nothing, yet moan and groan at the ineptitude, the waste, the filthy sorrupt stream of abuse that flows from that den of vice, yet we all do nothing. Our future is bleak, our children's future worse, yet we still moan and groan like sheep, yet we still do nothing. We moan and groan at Bowles, we write in a wrath of verbal frenzy attacking him and his fat wages, yet we do nothing. We moan and groan when we read of planning permissions, yet we still do nothing, we are the forgotten nation, as a people we are worse than uselss, as a nation we should be embarassed, were weak, worthless and worn out, yet we still moan and groan, while we get prepared for extermination, because at theend of it all, no one cares, no one listens, no wonder we all face extinction.
We have let them get away with too much for too long, they have ignored the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the jobless, the man with no future, no aim, no purpose in life. They have ignored the needy, the blighted, the poor, they have betrayed, the hard working, the honest, the God fearing, they have looked after their own, the greedy, the devious, the corrupt, the power hungry, they have nurtured the abusers, the untruthful, the liars, the thieves, they have encouraged deviousness, untruths, false rumours, maliciousness, they have looked after themselves well above and beyond, but the people who pay the Council Tax Bill, they ignore and despise.
15.49 and15.58
Gee thanks....You have thoroughly depressed me now for the weekend....where's my bottle ?
Anon at 11:44
What unfounded rants, Crap, and scatter-gun approach are you talking about? Do you know how many concern's Cllr Durkin has, in the public interest, raised with the Authorities and what they are about about? No of course not.
Have you any idea the seriousness of those concerns? No of course not.
Walking in the countryside looking for mischief. Again no. There's plenty to keep him busy in the buried files at the council on that score without having to look in the country side unless he's looking at houses built without the appropriate planning consent belonging to Councillors and Officers that is?
16.34 Thank you for that little rant BD.
You were filmed in the middle of nowhere, by Grib, near Gwalchmai...an odd place for a menacing-looking guy in an illfitting suit to be wandering....no unauthorised development there ? or were you meeting up with your old buddy RGP, the local member, and had a sly tape recorder in your pocket ?
Odd behaviour methinks ?
16:39.
Never mind your delinquent assumptions, answer the questions. You can't can you?
I would not repeat the unfounded allegations made by BD as that would just re-circulate those unsubstantiated rumours - but there have been issues raised by BD prior to becoming a cllr and after becoming a cllr that have not been backed by evidence (and some that have).
We can't go around accusing people without solid evidence, it does nothing to help the situation on Anglesey.
There are issues that need airing but adding to those needlessly and without some proof just increases the external impression than this is a corrupt island going nowhere. We have enough real issues to deal with.
The real issue that concerns me is this fact, called moving forward and forgetting the past, without retribution to the victims is gutless and is typical of this Council. We don't have a Council we just have them and us.
The allegations by BD are his way of gettting at the truth, nothing else, no one listens, the public don't care as long as it doesn't concern them, but the mess we have here, condonned by the Welsh Assembly is an outrage to public decency.
The Councillors and ex Councillors featured last night were tragi-comic figures and an excruciating embarrasment to the people of Anglesey....they should hide themselves in shame !
If you are so concerned how Councillors behave you should see how some of the senior officers behaviour.
Anon at 17:25
Sounds to me like the ex councillor with the land scam who involved himself in helping people get planning permission unlawfully and still trying to justify his actions. He will have that opportunity at Cllr Durkin forth coming hearing, if it ever arrives.
forgot to add this at the beging of that post ! lol. The Druid of Anglesey said "rather than posted in forums like this"
scrub 23:22, are posts being deleted here ?
Can't stop laughing @ 09:59 (05/11/10) saying "A nice trolling post" and then going on to say "many of us have put our names to posts. Do the same, and you might earn some respect" an excellent post by.....anonymous !
lol
The Druid of Anglesey said "rather than posted in forums like this"
FORUMS like this...My arse, this is NOT a forum it's a blog !
What happens here is druid posts a topic and everyone comments
on it, if druid doesn't like the comment he edits it out. Druid has full
control over topics and replies, the direction HE wants it to go...
NOT you the readers, I think i called propaganda in the real word.
Sensitive posts are deleted, but real issues like Human Rights abuses are met with a wall of silence and ignorance, the truth will come out one day, and if heads don't roll, then we are all as guilty as them.
post 19:10 removed again. Another gagging order, another way of stopping people getting at the truth.
"this is NOT a forum it's a blog ! "
Indeed it is. That generally means its a site for publishing an individual's or organisation's own views. A democratic society it isn't.
I personally think the Druid manages this blog and the wilder comments, some of which could land individuals in legal waters, very well.
If you feel that your point of view isn't being heard, or that you can somehow make your unfounded accusations without being subject to a libel action, then why not start your own blog? It's free, so what's stopping you?
09:17, think you've missed the point of the post your quoting from...
Anon said @ 09:59 (05/11/10)
"many of us have put our names to posts. Do the same, and you might earn some respect". What a stupid comment from an Anon, does this include The Druid ?
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