SO now Hereford Farmers' Club has announced that it is to close due to it continuing to operate on a loss.

What a sad state of affairs as the club was seen as an iconic venue in the city.

But the news of its closure means that it now joins Chadds and Rockfield are as an insitution synomonous with Hereford that are or will soon to be closing.

It's ok though as we've got the state-of-the-art retail and leisure development  on the old livestock market to look forward to.

Or have we?

Demolition work was due to start nine months ago, but that was put back even further to avoid it clashing with the Olympic Torch Relay and the Queen's visit.

But still work has not started and all there is at present is an empty shell surrounded by hoardings.

What a lovely site to greet tourists to our city.

Another thing that I find preposterous at the moment is Herefordshire Council's constant need to discuss things in secret.

First we had the issue regarding providing the county with super-fast broadband and now the public and the press could not listen in over a discussion on who should be the council's new Chief Executive.

What lunacy.

Seeing how much former Chief Executive Chris Bull and other high profile people at Herefordshire Council were paid during 2011/12 reads grim reading, but are we really that surprised?

Thought not!

As a side note, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the families of PC Fiona Bone and PC Nicola Hughes, two police officers who were brutally murdered whilst going to what they thought was a routine burglary in Manchester.

I cannot imagine what they are going through and the sheer cold-heartedness of the shootings brings a shiver to my spine.

Of course it opens up the debate once again about whether all police officers should carry guns while carrying out their jobs.

That is something I don't really want to be drawn into.

All I know is that two women who embody the courage and bravery of our wonderful police officers were murdered in cold blood and for that reason we should all grieve for them.