Monday 16 September. Sounds innocous enough I suppose, But it won't be if you are in the vicinity of Small Heath. Passion will be high and by 9.45ish one side of the city will be experiencing absolute joy while the other will be in the depths of despair.
Blues v Villa. I cannot wait. Really, I cannot wait. I am worse than a child waiting for Christmas, worse than a teenager spurned in love for the first time. I can think of nothing else. I cannot clear my mind. It's been a long wait and we are going to chuffin moida da bums. You read it here and I wouldn't tell a lie
Make sure you don't over emote in the vicinity of parrotts.

Any reasonable person knows that the new national stadium should have been sited in Birmingham, even before Wembley started to embarrass the nation (repeatedly) everyone knew that. Any rational person knew that whatever ministers of state said publicly, the stadium would be built in the hell hole that is North London, so the nation at large is denied access to the Brummie institution that is the Balti Pie. Worse, it looks like we will be denied any kind of pie. Not that I will be going anywhere near the place. Long live the peoples game.

Some cool games here

A years worth of miserable looking chuffers photographed at Marble Arch.

In honour of Bluetitch, the friday five:
1. What was/is your favorite subject in school? Why?
I went to school in a large comprehensive in the seventies. Education had nothing to do with it. I learnt to be streetwise and trust no one. Thats it. No subject had any relevance whatsoever.
2. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
Miss Hollows. Saucy little bleeder.
3. What is your favorite memory of school?
Leaving it.
4. What was your favorite recess game?
In the first year it was winding up the 5th years. They would beat the crap out of us but many of them were terrified to walk the corridors on their own. An early lesson in the power of the collective. As we got older it was generally hanging around the wall, smoking and trying to look cool or hard or both. Trying on each others crombies and budgie jackets. And patchwork jumpers for christs sake!
From the first year to the last, in the dinner hours we would go into Harborne to the rumbletum for chips. The Chinese across the road was Harborne Hill territory. Someone, usually John Maleady or John Downes would go in and advise them they were wankers. Then there would be a mass brawl. Occasionally we would fight Lordswood instead. If we were feeling brave or foolhardy, or if one of our nutters ( of which there were many) ordered us, we go the other way to Selly Oak boys and take them on. Good practice for Monday night.
5. What did you hate most about school?
I didn't really go often enough to hate it. Looking back I loved every minute of it. And the quote at the end of "Stand By Me" to the effect that you never had better friends than when you were ten is very true. (poetic licence I met my school mates aged 11, still love every one of them)

Robert Fisk seems to be getting more and more outraged about the Iraq situation. He is eloquence itself, however.

Blues reject Lee Sharpe, talks to the Observer. It's all a bit sad really.