The Walking Route Is No Better
Last year, I said that the walk from Bordesley station to Birmingham’s ground was the most dangerous at any in England.
It was no better yesterday, as the pictures taken after the match show.
When Was The Last Time A Scot Scored For Ipswich?
Ipswich drew one each with Birmingham yesterday.
Yet again, Town lost points from bad luck, as it was a deflected shot that beat Dean Gerken.
Ipswich’s goal was scored by Christophe Berra, who is a Scottish international.
So who was the last Scot who scored for Ipswich? I think it was probably John Wark or Alex Mathie. Checking the records, it would appear that Alex Mathie scored some in the early 1998-99 season.
They’ve Painted Bordesley Station
Bordesley station is how you’d imagine a station would look if it served a very large prison. It was originally built to bring cattle to the markets at the Bull Ring.
But it would appear someone has given it a coat of paint.

They’ve Painted Bordesley Station
It really, is the worst station, I’ve used in recent years. But it was marginally better than last year.
An Amazing Ruin In The Centre Of Birmingham
I saw this building yesterday, as I came into Birmingham New Street station.

An Amazing Ruin In The Centre Of Birmingham
Does anybody know what it is?
Transport for London Consults On Cashless Buses
I saw this poster at Euston yesterday.

Transport for London Consults On Cashless Buses
I have added my four pennyworth and can honestly say, it was a well-written survey. You can comment here.
An American Import We Don’t Want
This story, entitled US shops and restaurants fight patent trolls, caught my eye. Here’s an extract.
Patent trolls take out generalised patents, often on widely available technology, and then demand money from companies who use or offer it.
Shops and restaurants have been targeted for displaying QR codes and online store-locators, say the groups.
The real trouble is that the US has too many lawyers, who think that everybody else owes them a living. I’ll update an old joke.
What do you call a million American lawyers at the bottom of the sea?
A good start!
Eating Alone In Restaurants
It is usually several times a week, that I eat a meal or have a drink in a pub or restaurant alone. I often do this in places where I’m known and may annoy the staff a bit, by talking to them too much!
But that is a problem of loneliness!
I remembered yesterday a story from my past. I think I’d driven to Bristol to do a presentation in something like 1990, and I’d not eaten particularly well. It was before my diagnosis as a coeliac, and I think lunch had probably been something like an egg salad sandwich and a Coke. Not what I’d eat now!
I was driving back by a cross-country route to Suffolk about seven and I knew that I’d told C that I was going to be home late and not to cook for me.
So somewhere in probably Oxfordshire, I happened to pass was looked to be a village pub with those magic words of Real Ale and Home Cooked Food on a sign. There were a couple of good cars in the car park and it all looked pretty welcoming. So perhaps I could have a pint and meal.
I walked in and approached the bar and ordered a pint of something real and after choosing a ham steak and chips, I asked the landlord where I should sit.
He told me to sit on the large table along the side of the bar, as that table was reserved for people eating and drinking alone, who might want to socialise.
I’m not sure what we talked about, but I did have a pleasant hour or so in that very friendly pub.
I just wonder why, so few pubs and restaurants seem to treat single people in a creative manner.


