Just a random thought no.11.

I haven't broken my record! I had never voted for the successful candidate in a General Election, and that hasn't changed. But we are in for the worst of all possible worlds with a hung parliament and GB Ruin getting first crack at forming a new administration - aargh!

Just a random thought no 10.

Just voted in the general and local elections. As there still isn't a "none of the above" box to place one's cross in, I voted for a change of MP and no change of councillor, as Mike Whitby  is doing a good job for the City at large, even if he sometimes neglects Harborne in the process. I went to the hustings on Wednesday a week ago, and was very surprised that my question on penal policy was taken - I think I tripped up the sitting Member, because she just trotted out "build more prisons" - wrong answer, Gisela! Phil Stone for the Greens was quite impressive, but when I got to the polling station and found he was riding two horses - both Parliament and the Council, my pencil did not hover for long. As he won't get in for either, it doesn't really matter, but you cannot effectively serve as either if you are both, IMHO. A pity I'm not in Witney constituency, as an old pal of mine, Paul Wesson, is standing as an independent against David Cameron - that WOULD be interesting of one of the party leaders did not get elected. Sadly, it isn't about to happen, least of all in Kirkcaldy, where GB Ruin is a shoo-in, I guess.
I hope I have done the right thing in the locals, because hard decisions have to be made, since much head-burying went on over equal pay by both administrations in the nineties and noughties - and the chickens are now coming home to roost. I think the squawking will go on for a while to come.

Just a random thought no. 9.

Inspired by the present sermon series at church, and aware of the League Cup Final (or whatever it is called these days) and the Six Nations matches and the Winter Olympics all being on at the moment, I can't help feeling that the Vicar missed a subject by not including "Sport" among his "Counterfeit Gods". Sport is, as we are always being told, a GOOD THING, but for too many people in modern society, it has pushed out the things of the Spirit, so that it has become the be all and end all of so many lives. And we all see, too often, the results of the tribalism that supporting a sports team engenders.

Celebrity is also a counterfeit god - particularly when one considers the storm in a teacup engendered by the revelations about one John Terry. Leaving aside, for the moment, the sin alleged, it has brought out the worst in the supposedly wronged former team mate, the media and the public at large. If the media shut up about the subject, the public would soon lose interest, but the other player involved needs take a reality check. Not to shake hands at the beginning of the match shows him up as well. A handshake is a symbolic act to show that one is not carrying a weapon, so to decline to shake someone's hand in this situation shows continuing ill-will towards the other on the part of the refuser, or so it appears to me.

The other counterfeit god that is rampant at the moment, in my view, is party politics. The sooner a "none of the above" box is placed on the ballot paper, the better. I could support compulsory voting if that happened. The yah-boo-sucks behaviour, so prevalent in the House of Commons, and encouraged, in my view by television, as MPs queue up to grandstand for their constituents would disgrace a rowdy fourth-form in a sink comprehensive. It will only get worse in the next few weeks leading up to the General Election.

Just a random thought no.8

Yesterday saw the farewell to the MCW Metrobus, the Birmingham-built workhorse of the West Midlands Travel fleet and formerly of London Transport, also. Romeo Phillips drove the oldest remaining vehicle, 1983-built ROX654Y, known as Roxy, on two turns on the 7, Perry Common (Court Lane) - City, and then to the final stop of Love Lane in the Aston University Science Park. I saw it on the last 7 departure from the city centre, and then caught up with it on Summer Lane as it headed for Love Lane. Photos can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ken_bladon/sets/72157623308786669/.

Valentine's day is something I always find hard, particularly so this year, with it falling on a Sunday and being reminded of what I have never had. My jaundiced view of Valentine's Day is that it is a mere marketing ploy to enable greetings card companies, florists, chocolatiers and restaurateurs to rip off the gullible even more than they are wont to do, and if my experience is anything to go by, the number of under-insured vehicles always peaks on this and other such dates. How many people realise that most private car policies do not cover carrying goods and samples?

Even more than with Christmas, I say "Bah, humbug!"

Just a random thought no.7.

Finally the refurbished Digbeth Coach Station in Birmingham is open. I didn't get to see the first coach out, as that was at 0800, but went a bit later in the day, and took some photographs to be found in my album on Flickr. There were still some things incomplete, and one or two of the automatics (one set of coach access doors, and the toilet pay-gate) were misfunctioning, but it is at least bright and airy, neither of which you could say about the old station, and it is a clear improvement on the temporary station too. Just a pity it took so long, partly down to the failure of the original main contractor. Of course, NatEx's financial position has meant that they have had to sell and lease the building back, but at least it's open.
I echo Ian Jelf http://ianjelf.blogspot.com/ in wishing that it was more central, but with the planned regeneration of the area it may become less off-centre than it feels at present. Perhaps Network West Midlands should consider reinstating the Stationlink bus.

Just a random thought no.6.

The news that the Australian PM has apologised and ours "will do so in January" for the treatment of youngsters transported to Australia for their own good in the last century begs an obvious question. Is sorry so alien a term to a British politician that it takes up to three months for it to pass his lips?

Just a random thought no.5

As I write, Berlioz's Sinfonie Fantastique is playing on the radio, the BBCNOW from Swansea. A relatively rare live relay: I must say I wish that there were more: they used to outnumber the recorded concerts in an evening by as great a ratio as recordings outnumber live concerts now. But the practice did mean that a couple of weeks ago I was able to listen again, without the new-fangled I-player, on Thursday, to the concert I had attended on Wednesday. Certainly for the new piece, Colin Matthews's Violin Concerto, the relay pointed up the soloist in a way that did not come over in Symphony Hall, where much of the time, you could only see what she was doing - her efforts being subsumed into the general wash of sound: whether that was intended by the composer, I do not know, but for this listener it made for a very unsatisfactory listening experience. Whether the highlighting by the recording engineer for the broadcast was approved of by Mr Matthews, I suppose we will never know. Whether other fiddlers will take it up, only time will tell. I suspect not!
Off to Marden in the morning to do a bit of bus restoration...