Dick Whittington defeats Nigel Havers in a short swordfight, so the Sultan of Morocco hands him the girl and the Mayorship of London; an odd election process, but if that’s what’s in the Tories’ Localism Bill we’ll have to deal with it. It’s how Boris got the job after all, besting Nick Berry in two rounds of Greek wrestling. Sion Simon will no doubt be spending the Christmas break practising manipulating his foil.
Sion, MP for Erdington and Minster for Culture Media and Sport is standing down. Tom Watson tells us: "My colleague Sion Simon thinks mayors are going to be introduced whoever wins the next election. So he’s standing down as an MP to put his name forward as Mayor of Birmingham." Mayor Simon? It's got a ring to it, and he'd certainly be a more serious candidate than any other we've heard mentioned.
It’s expensive beer-drinking in the cold time again from this Thursday when Mayor Hobbit will be joined by the German Ambassado and “German pop sensation Patrick Lindner” to open the Frankfurt Christmas Market (which of course happens in Birmingham, the Birmingham Christmas Market happens in Frankfurt) No word on if he’ll be singing his hits, like “Hast du heut” and kissing old ladies while wearing a very very blue jacket: Or if the Mayor will either.
So, IF the Tories win the next election AND IF the peope of Brum vote in a referendum to have an elected mayor (which they've not shown any great interest in so far) THEN Brmingham will have an election for a mayor. I have long said that if that happens I'll stand – so I'm declaring now – vote Bounds for Mayor.
More video gold, in monochrome, from MACE. From 1957, entitled simply “Lord Mayor sees biggest tyre in the country”: Get the Flash Player to see this content. It’s a whopper, and Lord Mayor Ernest William Apps is rightly impressed. They don’t make them like that anyone, well they do but not at Fort Dunlop.
Felix the cat food are staging a marketing campaign at the moment, not only were they projecting paw prints in the middle of the night onto Brum landmarks and buying a wrap-around in the Birmingham News free paper they were dressed up as cats with placards outside the Council House today. Unusualy the placards weren’t decrying Single Status, but proclaiming Felix’s candidacy for Birmingham mayor. Now, despite the best efforts of the Mail, Brum doesn’t directly elect its mayor. So: Do Felix’s advertising agency not know that, unlike London, most cities have an honourary mayor voted for by the council? Do they know, but don’t think we know? Mind you, with the media coverage, a lot of people round here probably think they’ve got to vote for Ken or yellow slapheadman. Are they petitioning the council to recognise Felix for his long service in Brum’s council chambers? Or had they just got a big campaign worked out for London and couldn’t be arsed to even slightly ammend for Brum? I think I know the answer, and I’m not being catty ;)
It’s a long way from Victoria Square to Moseley Road Baths, but at noon today as part of the bath’s 100th birthday celebrations some daft sods will be walking “the route that the Deputy Mayor took in 1907 to open the Baths for the first time” – wearing swimming costumes from through the ages. To warm up, at this will be followed by a Edwardian Tea Dance organized by The Friends of Moseley Road Baths at the Methodist Church Hall opposite 2:30pm to 5:30pm. This is a free event with tea and cakes and a visit by Lord Mayor Randall Brew XI himself.
