Halloween is TOMORROW (the 31st), not tonight! For ringing my doorbell 24 hours early I’m putting arsenic in any sweets on my doorstep tomorrow. Mwahahahahaaaaaaaaa!

Factoid of the day: apparently Witton Cemetery, just around the corner from my house, is the largest cemetery in Birmingham. I guess you could say everyone’s dying to get in… hah! Wikipedia also claims that the 2-mile long surrounding walls are the longest brick walls in the West Midlands.

I’d better keep my chainsaw handy in case the corpses get a little restless, coz that’s a lot of bodies!

Everyone boasts about Birmingham’s canals but does anybody actually use them? Beyond Brindley place and the Mailbox I mean. I used to commute to Birmingham every day from DUDLEY and it was the best Bike Riding I ever did. Ironically I never physically felt any change, except exhaustion, but you can learn a lot about Birmingham if you take a walk (you’d be better off Biking it) into Birmingham you’d save yourself a lot of time travelling. Biking was actually faster than taking a Bus, or a train (especially from Dudley) and it’s so calm and serene.

Please start using the canals! It’s essential to their survival, and the greater the demand the greater the possibilities…

We can’t get to the beaches, so they’ve finally come to us. Unfortunately, BiNS isn’t too impressed. I haven’t had time to make it down there yet myself, but having seen this picture of a giant sand-Ozzy I’ll have to make the time to see it in person!

Since Spring has sprung a little earlier than usual around here, how about some free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to go with that sunshine?? Tomorrow B&J is giving a way a free cone to anyone who wants one! Just head on over to the nearest participating store (that’ll be the one in the Bullring for most brummies). Mmmm… free!

The European Athletics Indoor Championships is being held at the NIA today, Saturday and Sunday.

Apparently Brindleyplace is the official entertainment zone. The fun kicks off tonight with a City Mascot race held in Central Square from 5.30pm. This will involve the mascots from the Blues, Villa, Baggies, Walsall, Warwickshire Cricket, Sea Life Turtle and several others. The Sports Cafe on Broad Street is even taking bets, for you gambling types. Read on for a breakdown of all the events taking place over this weekend!
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The Friendly Snowman

Originally uploaded by g4z.

Snow! And what a lot of it! My fears of major traffic went unwarranted. Driving to and from work today was easier than most normal days… I guess most people took the day off to enjoy this wintery goodness. I saw many a snowman lining the streets around my house, so I had to join in and put together this masterpiece. Anyone else got some snow sculptures to show off?

Wind Damage 1

Originally uploaded by g4z.

It sure is windy around here lately! I woke up the other morning to find this scene of destruction out in the garden. Some of the fence posts were pulled clean out of the ground (they were embedded in at least a foot of earth)! Fortunately all the houses in the area don’t seem to have suffered any structural damage, unlike what happened in Kensel Rise with those “mini tornados” last month

This week is de-lurking week!

To celebrate I’m asking you lot to share a bit about yourselves… it can be anything you want, but I have a couple of questions I’d like to know the answer to:

• Do you live in Birmingham?
• If yes, what area / district?
• If no, where do you live?
• Are you from Birmingham originally?
• If not, what brought you to Birmingham?

I also encourage you to pose your own questions you’d like to know about each other!

Nearly 60% of Birmingham school leavers are failing to pass their English and Maths GCSEs. Overall 59% of school leavers achieve 5 or more passes at GCSE but approximately the same proportion have inadequate literacy and numeracy when they leave school. In one school, Kings Norton High, only 7% achieve 5 or more passes when English and maths are included. Frankley Community achieved only 13% whilst Hodge Hill managed 17%

A government minister has issued a call for action and a focus on these key areas. Response from Birmingham City Council came from Cabinet Member for Education Les Lawrence who deflected criticism with a claim that some other cities also have poorly performing schools.