Test Match

Well luckily for me, we went off to the England vs Sri Lanka game on Thursday. We normally go on the Saturday of the Edgbaston test.
We got to see a whole days play, and got sun burnt into the question! Saw 13 wickets (all ten of the Sri Lankans), and a bit of big KPs batting.
The day was topped off by watching the Shed win their 7th Thursday night game in a row, and then to the pub to watch England's B team lose to Belarus Bs.
So going to work on Friday was a bit of a come down.

With a hat nod to Niles:
Your results:
You are Iron Man

Iron Man 80% Superman 75% Spider-Man 70% Green Lantern 55% Hulk 45% Robin 42% Supergirl 40% The Flash 30% Catwoman 30% Batman 25% Wonder Woman 25%

Inventor. Businessman. Genius.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Blair presses the nuclear button

I was going to use this blog title when I first heard the news on the radio this am. But then realised the Guardian had beaten me to it by a long distance.
But which button has he pressed?
By going nuclear now, is he diverting attention away from all the other mishaps (eg Dr Reid being dumped on in his new job), or does he really believe that Nuclear will solve all our problems?
On the energy question, I actually think we shouldn't rule out nuclear, and that it is a valid source. But we need to be pushing all the other sustainable solutions (wind, wave, tide, sun, recycled biodesiel etc) where they can be used appropriately. We can't rely on gas for ever.
In terms of covering Reid's ass, I'm sure the old commie can look after himself, he's only been in the job for a couple of weeks, so fairly safe atm.
I'm still wondering whether Birmingham's former chief exec, Lin Homer, knows what she let herself in for when she started as the DG of the Nationality and Imigration directorate in November last year...

Deputy group leader!

The Birmingham group AGM was held last Friday evening (2nd group meeting in the week, with another on this coming Friday night.)
At the AGM we elected to all the group positions, with my being the only nomination for deputy leader.
I was surprised to be asked to put my name forward by Tariq, who held this position. I've only been in the group since being elected in 2004, and, although not the youngest, quite "junior" within the group.
The group meeting coming up this week will decide on who will be taking on committee chairs, and cabinet positions, as well as all the other committee positions. Definitely a meeting to bring a flask of coffee and sandwiches to...

Mid-Life crisis

I've not seen much blog content about the latest "revelations" over Mark Oaten, so thought I'd give it my tuppence.
As someone who lost their hair at an early age (21-22), in a relatively short time (about 6 months) I did have an early crisis. But I didn't turn to rent boys and unspeakable acts.
I was in a high pressure political position at the time (students' union welfare officer), but I found support from my friends and colleagues. As someone who has now entered public life, I still find it important to maintain some semblance of a work/politics/life balance, so I still make time to be with friends and to do not political activities (generally playing or watching footy, or losing at pool).
Even though Mark was in a high pressure position, he should have been seeking support from his family and colleagues in the westminster bubble. Hopefully now that he's away from the front bench he can regain that work/life balance.

Election Results

Well, the votes have been cast, verified, counted and results posted.
The Selly Oak result was even better than I'd expected with a much improved majority over Tony Blair's labour candidate of nearly 900 votes.
Being a candidate was even more nerve wracking than I can ever remember before. I've been a paper candidate when you stand but can only win if everyone else cocks up monumentally, or the opposition votes collapse so much that they no longer exist.
I suspect it was because I was alone in being up for election, rather than the team of three in 2004. There was also far more at stake as it was a re-election, rather than election for the first time.
Anyway, I'm fast running out of reserves having done a 21hr day yesterday...