A Vulcan, a Time Lord, a puppet and a cartoon

A round-up of myths and legends:
I have both fingers and toes crossed that The Vulcan will get saved.
A Cardiff landmark for 155 years, the pub opposite the city’s jail is being earmarked for demolition for that vital jewel in the crown of urban regeneration – a multi-storey car park.

The bewery that owns The Vulcan, Brains, [...]

Is it clearer now…or now?

Thank heavens for blunt opticians.
I am now fully aware that my eyesight has indeed diminished slightly in the last couple of years and is likely to worsen a lot more over the next five years.
I know this because my optician today revealed the problem with my eyesight that I had suspected for a little while now – [...]

No benefit, small-town mentalities and willy waving

A new week and a new round-up:
So the Government’s long-awaited and frankly ill-judged shake-up of the benefits system is launched with plenty of predictable headlines and comments about getting “cheats” and “scroungers” back into work.
If only life was that simple. Yes there are some horrendous examples of those who cheat the system and yes they [...]

Birmingham in 3D, healthy fart gas, bloody-minded jobsworths and the Bermeowda Triangle

A week-ending round-up before I head off to sunny Wales for my first live rygbi of the season:
Birmingham is on Second Life, having launched its presence at the city’s Hello Digital event.
Reaction so far has been mixed, or should that be underwhelmed?
Like my view of the new-look Birmingham Post, I’m reserving judgement until I have [...]

Faster. Higher. Stronger…Milkier. Crunchier. Sweeter.

There is criticism of the news that Cadbury is to be one of the raft of corporate sponsors for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Public health officials claim the decision to accept a reported £20m worth of sponsorship from the Birmingham-based confectionery manufacturer.
With cases of childhood obesity and diabetes running at alarming levels, health campaigners believe the choice [...]

First Post, blue badges, flying saucers and woggles

A new week and there is a new era and a brave new world kicking off a new round-up:
The Birmingham Post has relaunched as a compact as part of the radical overhaul of newspaper publishing in the Midlands.
First impression last, so they say. And by and large first impressions of the smaller Post are positive [...]

Debt blog, Obama on Xbox, subterranean views, our weekly bread and the toast museum

It has been quite a week, all things considered.
In fact, it has been a very good week (more details at another date). So here’s a round-up to complete an interesting few days:
One of the many positives to come out of Wednesday’s Blog Action Day is the social media surgery set up by a group of [...]

Shabby Brum, shadowy software, dodgy signs and a punch drunk pony

After what appears to have been a very successful Blog Action Day, both globally and locally, everything is back to “normal” today:
Terry Grimley is not enjoying the view from the top deck of the No.50 bus as it makes its way from Moseley to the Digbeth (sorry, Eastside) area of Birmingham.
I always enjoy Terry’s knowledgeable and [...]

Caring about poverty – Blog Action Day 2008

I consider myself a very lucky man.
I’ve always been a glass half full type and for so many reasons I’ve always felt I’m extremely fortunate.
The last two years or so haven’t exactly been planned or even worked out in the way either Rachel or I envisaged.
But that is exactly why I consider myself to be lucky.
I [...]

Eight-legged, boozed up and monkeying around

A wild life (of sorts) round-up:
For those fellow arachnophobes out there, BBC Breakfast was the show to avoid today (this time for more than just being a rubbish news programme).
It was covering the story of how exotic species of spider are finding their way onto our island and setting up home thanks to the milder weather [...]