Birmingham Mail

DANISH speedster Ulrich Ostergaard brought home the bacon on Saturday night as the Brummies continued their unbeaten start of the season.

The fledgling team did the double over the Stoke Potters on Saturday night after thrashing them last Wednesday.

But on Saturday it was a close run thing with the meeting going down to the last race when the Great Dane won in style to give the Brummies a 46-44 win.

THERE is no doubt that West Midlands Police have made great strides forward in the battle against gun crime in Birmingham.

And, with the recent peace march and conference held in this city, there is no doubt that the community is determined to see an end to the bloodshed.

WHO can fail to be moved by today's picture of little Luke Joeres, alive thanks to five blood transfusions?

Without the generosity of donors, it is unlikely that he would have survived to celebrate his second birthday.

READERS of a certain age may well remember wooden blackboard rubbers hurtling across classrooms towards the heads of particularly unruly pupils.

Few people would want to see a return to the days when teachers were free to use brute force and intimidation to control the youngsters in their care.

DISCIPLINE is not the only foundation needed if youngsters are to grow into fulfilled and productive adulthood.

Children also need to be healthy, with good diets and plenty of exercise.

FOR centuries Birmingham has been at the centre of this country's manufacturing, commercial, political and artistic life.

Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, there are many reasons to remain optimistic that this city will continue to thrive.

THE battle to give Birmingham the railway station it deserves and needs has yet to be won, but today there is cause for cautious optimism.

Tony Blair has told this newspaper that he is "deeply sympathetic" to revamping New Street Station.

WELCOME home!

Easter is a special time but will be extra special for the 15 sailors who have been freed after nearly a fortnight in captivity in Iran.

THE grainy black and white photographs showing the terrible aftermath of the Birmingham pub bombings still have the power to shock

Twenty-one innocent people, enjoying a night out with their friends, were killed when without proper warning high-explosives ripped apart the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush on November 12, 1974. Scores more were injured.

THE conflict in which Ronald Woollaston bravely served happened half a century ago. But the method by which his long-lost Malaysian Medal was reunited with his widow Mamie is pure 21st Century.

The couple's son Andrew spotted the missing honour when he logged on to the internet website eBay in search of car tyres.

AS THE veil of blindness closes over Peter Jinks's eyes, things that the rest of us take for granted have become for him an impossibility.

He cannot drive. Cannot read. Cannot watch television or football. Cannot even recognise who is speaking to him.

SEVEN months into her pregnancy, Sarah Hunt had yet to cuddle the child she was carrying.

She did not get the chance because she was mown down by a hit-and-run driver.

ONLY the stoniest heart will have remained unmoved by Natallie Evans's tears as she came to terms with a court decision not to allow her to use the frozen embryos that provided a chance of motherhood.

Here is a woman, we saw, with an overwhelming maternal instinct yet unable to bear a child because of the cancer treatment she had received. And we shared a little of her pain.

BRUMMIES who enjoy a curry will probably agree that the long-established Maharaja restaurant is one of the jewels in the city's culinary crown.

This unassuming restaurant in Hurst Street has an army of fans, some of them rich and famous.

HOW heartening to see today's pictures of youngsters enjoying exercise in the Birmingham sunshine.

Too often our kids are tucked away indoors - glued to the television screen, twitching over computer games or frantically texting their friends.

FORGIVE Caroline Bishop if she gets a little nervous when she's anywhere near a hospital.

For the 20-year-old care worker has twice given birth with little warning.

"NOW that the spring is in the air, Pretty girls are everywhere, When you see them I'll be there,
We had joy, we had fun, we had speedway in the sun."

Last night the Brummies won in the sun during an incident packed night that included engine blow outs, crashes and daring riding.

The Workington Comets came to town and despite going behind early rallied back to take the result to the last race.

And as the sun set on Perry Barr the Aussie with thunder in his wrist, Jason 'The Lyon King' Lyons, clinched a memorable victory to secure points.

HACKLES will rise more swiftly than yeast in a warm room over suggestions that Eurocrats are planning to fiddle with Britain's loaves.

Another barmy plan by European Union pen-pushers hellbent on eroding our traditions, it is tempting to chunter.

AS TEMPERATURES rise, so will the temptation to jump into our cars for a day at the coast or in the country.

So, too, will tempers as drivers drum their steering wheels in frustration as they sit unmoving in the traffic jams they will inevitably meet.

HEAD teachers can be crucial figures, giving their schools a sense of purpose, inspiring staff and pupils to reach great heights, creating a disciplined but friendly climate in which youngsters can thrive.

So be concerned by today's revelation that almost half of Birmingham's heads are to retire within the next two years: it means that many schools will have a new man or woman in charge very soon and, unless the right people are appointed, that could be disastrous.

THE clergy, especially those in senior positions, are sometimes regarded as remote figures with little grasp of how ordinary people live their lives.

But the Dean of Birmingham Cathedral, the Very Reverend Dean Robert Wilkes, shattered that notion when he went out for the night on Broad Street, meeting a lap dancer, visiting a casino, chatting to revellers and enjoying a glass of Champagne.

IF ONE subject generates more letters than any other to this newspaper, it is public transport.

Indeed, cynics might observe that they arrive with greater regularity than many West Midlands bus services.

THIRTY-TWO young lives, full of hope, full of potential, were snuffed out during scenes of unimaginable horror as a gunman brought bloodshed to an American university.

The scale of yesterday's massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg was stunning.

THEY are not among Birmingham's movers and shakers, but just ordinary Brummies who care passionately about their city.

And that is why their voices deserve to be heard and why this newspaper is determined to ensure that happens.

MINISTERS and officials must listen to the concerns of Kitts Green residents campaigning against the opening of a Probation Service drop-in centre in their area.

But, equally, the protesters must ask themselves some hard questions.

WE CANNOT state strongly or often enough that we are not campaigning for an elected mayor. Nor are we supporting any individual.

The Birmingham Mail's stance is simple: we believe a referendum must be held to allow the electorate to decide how their city is governed.

IT IS dangerous for politicians to use the issue of immigration to play to the gallery. But, equally, is it dangerous to ignore the problems that immigration can cause.

Liam Byrne, MP for Hodge Hill and the minister in charge of immigration, has been candid, forthright and brave to reflect publicly on what he views as the hazards.

AS the sun set over Perry Barr it was Red Sky at night but it certainly wasn't Skidder's delight as the Brummies lost their unbeaten home record.

If I had a cat I would have kicked it, if I had a girlfriend I'd have been moody with her and if I had a dinner I wouldn't have touched it because last night all I tasted was defeat.

The Brummies didn't just lose to Rye House Rockets they were battered from pillar to finishing post as time and time again the Rockets romped home winning 12 of the 15 races.

VILE minicab driver Mohammed Shabir has been jailed for 12 years for the sustained and humiliating rape of a university student, but will eventually be free to resume his life.

His victim, however, will carry the mental scars of her ordeal for a very long time.

"JOINED-UP thinking" is one of those buzz phrases that raises a wry smile among cynics.

But it appears to have been sadly missing in the case of Harold Barton, a 76-year-old who suffers from a range of illnesses.

UNLESS sea levels rise considerably more than has been predicted, it is clear that Birmingham's beach will lack an important element....water.

The inspiration has come from Paris Plage. But that lies on the banks of the lovely River Seine.

WHILE those building Birmingham's beach will be hoping for a heatwave this summer, West Midlands Police may have different ideas.

For last year's long, hot summer has been blamed for a 1.4 per cent rise in the number of violent crimes over the 12 months that ended in March.

TEACHERS have a duty not only to educate our children but to encourage them to be responsible citizens.

Stephen Murphy, deputy head at Sacred Heart primary school in Birchfield, has gravely damaged his chances of instilling in youngsters such attitudes.

THE debate about who would bid to become Birmingham's elected mayor is hotting up and we applaud Local Government Minister Phil Woolas for his contribution.

But he is wrong to suggest that an elected mayor - should the people of this city decide they want such a post - should be only someone with experience of local government.

TODAY'S report into the Lozells riots of October 2005 makes uncomfortable reading.

For the study illustrates how the slightest spark can ignite the flames of destruction when an area is blighted by unemployment, rundown housing, crime and a changing population.

HEALTH Secretary Patricia Hewitt will have won few friends with her astonishing comments that longer ambulance journeys for critically ill patients might not be a bad thing.

"For the most seriously injured patients, say someone smashed up in a car accident, it can be better for them to go to a specialist hospital, even if it is further away," she argued.

BIRMINGHAM'S nightlife has come a long way since the dark days of the past when the city's notoriously strict licensing justices placed many obstacles in the way of clubs and bars.

Our bright lights sparkle as fiercely as those in any other major city and that is the way it should be.

TIME and again Birmingham Mail readers have proved they have got hearts of gold so it is no surprise that money has poured in to help save the sight of Peter Jinks.

Cheques and cash began arriving after we highlighted how the 45-year-old diabetic faces blindness within months because health chiefs refused to pay for a drug that could tackle his retinopathy.

ON Wednesday night I walked in Elvis Presley's shoes.

I felt the gnawing pain that he felt after mistreating poor Priscilla so badly she ran off with a karate instructor.
I understood the guilt he summoned from his heart to encapsulate his guilt into his performance of You Were Always on My Mind.

Yep, you've guessed it guys and girls I missed speedway for the first time.

HOW reassuring that YOUR voices are finally being heard in the corridors of power at Birmingham Council House.

The council's chief legal officer Mirza Ahmad is busily preparing for a referendum next May on whether the city should have an elected mayor.

BIRMINGHAM City Council is right to continue to press Tony Blair to find the money for a £500 revamp of New Street Station.

The station is an overcrowded, gloomy underground monstrosity that is disgraceful to a go-ahead city such as Birmingham and an imposition on the travelling public.

IT IS indeed a funny old game, the topsy-turvy sport of football.
Six months ago Blues were languishing in 11th place in the Championship and many fans, still smarting after the club's relegation from the Premiership, were baying for manager Steve Bruce's head.