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A Wellness hiccup? - Updated
Update 30th November; According to a report in the Daily Mail the suspensions at Swansea Uni do indeed relate to Mark James' Wellness Village. According to the newspaper, the Vice Chancellor and Prof...
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Mark James - back in Private Eye
This week's Private Eye, with Mark James CBE back in the Rotten Borough's column, and featuring a cameo performance from his faithful sidekick, Rev Emlyn Dole.You may recall that the cat was let out of...
View ArticleCadno and the light of truth - from The Carmarthenshire Herald
Here's this week's 'Cadno' opinion piece, from the Carmarthenshire Herald;Cadno and the light of truthSuperheroes.They fly through the air. They are faster than a speeding bullet. Saving the world from...
View ArticleThe Wellness Village - The end? - Updated
Update 17:37; The UK and Welsh Governments have announced a 'rapid independent review' of the City Deal, covering 'due diligence and governance'. About time too. The UK and Welsh Governments were...
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Full Council - Wellness Village, and the Emperor's New Clothes
Previous post; The Wellness Village - The end? and Sterling ditchedRather than provide endless updates on my previous post I thought I'd better write a new one. Especially as both the chief executive,...
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Private Eye (again), contradictions, conflicts, and the Wellness scandal
Yet another appearance in Private Eye for chief executive Mark James, once again doing his bit to establish Carmarthenshire County Council's reputation as a very Rotten Borough....He also featured in...
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The Wellness planning application - updated
Update 10th JanuaryI ventured down to the council chamber today to hear the planning committee decide on the Wellness Village. Sian Caiach and I had objected and Sian read out her objection. As the...
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Mark James retires...the end of a tyrant
Well, well, Mr James, in a glowing statement from the council, which can only have been written by himself, has announced his retirement, though not until June.Timing, of course, is everything and with...
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Private Eye; Mark James....Down the pan
With two recent mentions in Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs, Mark James scores a hatrick in the latest edition with an honourable third. That's without Mr James' numerous previous appearances which can...
View ArticleWellness Village costs; spend, spend, spend!
In case anyone was wondering how much public money has been spent so far on the 'Wellness Village', the luxury private spa development at the Delta Lake swamp, then we now have a few figures, well,...
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Mark of Arabia
Well, the plot thickens this morning with WalesOnline reporting another connection with the Swansea Uni suspensions and Carmarthenshire's own Mark James. Not only are the dodgy dealings over the...
View ArticleThe Wellness Scandal; No Confidence call against Emlyn Dole - updated
(Update below)Labour opposition leader Cllr Rob James has announced his intention of tabling a Motion of No Confidence in Plaid council leader Emlyn Dole and has written to Cllr Dole outlining his...
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Unlawful payments - payback time?
The Wales Audit Office have confirmed that they will be reviewing any exit package agreed for the chief executive prior to his retirement in June.That was the response I had when I asked the WAO if...
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Private Eye - Llanelli to Kuwait, the scandal continues...
Good to see that Private Eye are following events in the wild west, and that Mark James CBE earns himself yet another well-deserved mention in the prestigious Rotten Boroughs column;See also December's...
View ArticleThe 'CRWG' Minutes - Let's sue everyone!!
As you can see at the end of this post, and after a lengthy FOI wrangle, we finally have the draft minutes of the 'CRWG' meeting, which discussed the issue of libel indemnities, and which was held...
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The Wellness scandal - Acuity Legal report
The news that a fifth member of staff at Swansea Uni has been suspended over the Wellness scandal must have gone down like a lead balloon at County Hall, especially as Monday's Exec Board features an...
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The blog - ten years old today
As ten years is quite a long time to have been writing a blog, I couldn't let the moment pass without a brief comment.Whether the blog has achieved anything in the way of improving transparency,...
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City Deal findings - Mark James and the council - not fit for purpose - Updated
Update 21.05Joint Committee's Internal Review of Governance ArrangementsI now have a copy of the above review, led by Pembrokeshire Council. I can't find it online and I understand that Carmarthenshire...
View Article'Cadno and the experiment' - from The Carmarthenshire Herald
Continuing the theme of my previous blogpost, and more, here's this week's 'Cadno' opinion piece from the Carmarthenshire and Llanelli Heralds. Well worth a read;Cadno and the experiment Today...
View ArticleEmail from my MP....and Acuity Law threaten to sue 'elected members'
Last month I asked my MP, Jonathan Edwards (Plaid) a few questions. Essentially they concerned the repayment, by Mr James, of the unlawful payments; the farcical CRWG meeting last July including the...
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