Much more to post.

First piece of news is that J, our Clean Streets Manager is leaving us! He is headhunted by his old boss and is going to be working with the company that makes Welsh Whisky - a bit of a change from street cleaning. He'll be leaving in mid september just after I return from my leave. I'll be very sorry to see him go, as he is incredibly good at his job and what took a bit longer to reveal is his evil sense of humour, aided by his ability to maintain an absolute poker face in all circumstances. This is a rare gift. I have just completed all the forms for progressing with the recruitment for his replacement. Some tweaks demanded by HR as apparently we can no longer use words like "enthusiastic" as this could be ageist...... ho, hum. Our new colleague in Waste Management, Robert, who's covering Tara's maternity leave, has kindly agreed to assist with shortlisting. He'll bring an interesting take on it, as he's got a broad range of experience, and no baggage with any parts of the Council.

Chris and I have completed the shortlisting for the CC Support Officer, ironically this would have made J's life a whole lot easier. We've shortlisted ten candidates, the majority graduates and some even with Masters. It's becoming noticeable that graduates are doing a lot more entry level jobs than they used to. A function of supply and demand, I guess?

Today we waved a temporary goodbye and had a presentation for one of our colleagues who is about to get married and go on honeymoon. Very exciting for all concerned, and Chris put it very well when she said that she hadn't been a Bridezilla at all.

Went this afternoon to a meeting with the Environment Agency. They've proposed a flytipping officer in an area on the border between us and a neighbouring authority, with funding contributions from all three. We are very keen on this idea as it offers a real possibility of improving an area with some serious issues. Had the luxury of finishing early as their offices are only about five minutes or less from the house. Came home and greeted by a storm of hound tail wagging, bouncing and general glee - very happy for all concerned.