Birmingham Mail

MOST of us would probably admit that we have witnessed yobbishness and turned away, deciding it is probably safer and certainly easier not to challenge those responsible.

Yet most of us chunter on about declining standards and rue the anti-social behaviour we routinely see around us.

We cannot have it both ways.

THOUSANDS turned out in yesterday's sunshine to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Here was yet another example of how Birmingham is always ready for fun - whatever the excuse.

Multi-culturalism means we never have to wait long for a major event.

Next knees-up...St Patrick's Day!

CEMETERIES are full of the graves of young drivers who died before their time. The hearts of those they left behind are heavy with thoughts of what might have been.

Over 1,000 people were killed or injured in the West Midlands in just 12 months in road accidents involving young motorists.

That is a profoundly shocking scale of carnage.

THE stench of tobacco fumes is offensive and dangerous, but Birmingham City's Council's plans to crack down on smokers has an unpleasant odour, too.

A hundred snoops are being trained to patrol public places, handing out instant fines when the smoking ban comes into force in July.

GRIEVE as you look at today's photograph of Sarah Hunt and her young son Kieran, killed by a teenage driver as they crossed a Birmingham road.

Grieve at the senseless waste of life. Grieve at the loss of the baby that pregnant Sarah never got the chance to cuddle. Grieve for the family and friends whose lives will never be the same.

But grieve, above all, that here is another example of the devastation that can be caused by irresponsible young drivers.

ONE thing is certain about Birmingham's latest school admission policies - some parents will be disappointed when places are allocated.

Education chief Coun Les Lawrence and his colleagues have tried hard to ensure that a fair and easy-to-understand system is in place.

THE lure of lower road tax - dangled by the Prime Minister as an olive branch to drivers who oppose road charging - will probably not be enough to persuade them to change their minds.

But Tony Blair is right not to back down because the debate that is raging over the issue is a crucial one and, eventually, hard decisions will have to be made.

NOT all the solutions to the threats that face our planet depend on politicians making big decisions.

Teenage worshippers at Balsall Heath's Sultan Bahu Mosque want to install wind turbines, solar panels and water saving taps to make it eco-friendly.

Such grassroots action can make a real difference.

The youngsters at Sultan Bahu Mosque provide a fine example to us all.

THERE is no glamour in lying dead in a gutter. No glamour in ending the life of another human being, leaving his family and friends heartbroken.

Yet the lyrics of so-called gangsta rap frequently glorify a world in which wealth, power and prestige are gained through the barrel of a gun.

THE routine explosion of violence in this region's classrooms is shocking.

According to a survey, half of the all teachers in the West Midlands have been physically assaulted by pupils.

RAISE a glass (of non-alcoholic beverage, of course) to the Bournville residents who are battling against plans to allow booze to be sold in the area.

The ever-expanding supermarket giant Tesco wants to start selling alcohol at one of its stores on the edge of the famous "dry zone".

IT IS a tragedy that an elderly woman was killed and so many people were injured in the Cumbrian rail crash.

But it is a miracle that the toll was not far worse and, for that, we must thank the designers and builders of the Pendolino train involved.

FORGET the weather, forget politicians and forget unruly kids (well, for the moment anyway), because Britain has a new past-time - moaning about transport.

This section of the Mail blog will feature some of our blog writers' biggest gripes on the mystic maze which is our region's public transport system.

So please have your passes ready if you do decide to read any further - failure to do so will see you receive a ten pound fixed penalty fare or see you stoned in Centenary Square (whichever is the greater).

THE old saying 'you can't do right for doing wrong' seems to be haunting Birmingham New Street at the moment.

They unveil plans for a grand redesign and half of the city give it that look which the great and good give tramps.

That's why it will probably come as no surprise to see that their decision to upgrade the screens at the back entrance of the station has been upsetting passengers.

SOME people do the strangest things.

Take this story of the two girls in Sparkhill who decided to leave a bus while it was moving - just because they'd missed their stop.

Most people would curse their luck and get off at the next stop, but these two intrepid travellers apparently decided forcing the doors open as the bus moved might be a good idea!

Thankfully neither girl was seriously injured, but whether either of them were kept in hopsital to check their common sense levels remains unclear.

THEIR working lives are dedicated to comforting and healing the sick, but that does not matter to the thugs who see them as easy targets.

Every day in Birmingham and Solihull an average of four doctors and nurses are assaulted.

REAL heroes are few and far between, but Alex Henshaw was such a man.

With dashing good looks and a daredevil nature, he rigorously tested the Spitfires made in Castle Bromwich during the Second World War and was renowned for his exploits, including loop-the-loops and low flying.

WHILE the theory behind letting the city pay for New Street revamp, say MPs is all well and good, perhaps there's a much simpler solution.

Years of evidence have shown us that if we waited for the leaders of the country to ride their white steed to Birmingham's rescue we'd still be waiting for the arrival of the wheel. So MPs are quite correct to suggest that local taxation and more regionalised funding could be the way to push through the revamp.

But could the new road pricing proposals be a better option than localised business taxation or borrowing against future tax rises?

THE Birmingham Mail today publishes a full, unedited letter from city council leader Mike Whitby, responding to the elected mayor issue.

He, like any citizen, is entitled to opinions and we, as a newspaper, have a duty to accurately record what he is saying.

EVER since the arrival on the cross-city line of the onboard TV, the Quiet Zone section of the carriages has proved popular with commuters.

Not only does it alow them to get away from the rolling, repetitive and often out of date programming, but it also offers them the option of escaping into a good book or completing that crossword in relative peace.

The signage urges passengers to refrain from using sound equipment and mobile phones in the area and it says 'Quiet Zone' in bold letters - so why do people ignore it?