Birmingham Post

Various projectiles of dubious origin and dodgy construction are piloted downhill to the pub at Hoar Cross where the fastest time of the day will win the coveted trophy.
This colourful celebration of rural eccentricity raised over £50,000 last year for the Children's Hospital and this time round the Acorn Children's Hospice will be receiving the proceeds with over £60,000 as the target.
Such dedicated tomfoolery must be applauded and Bright awaits good news of a successful event.
However I blame the Pedigree Ale in Staffordshire for this seasonal aberration and will be checking with the brewery to see what extra ingredients they insert into the foaming brew at this time of the year.
Perhaps we could send some to No 10?
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Martyn Richardson, son of the legendary Black Country developer Roy, has got himself married.
And of course this was no low key wedding.
He wed Lucy Bomford, of the Bomford engineering family, and is now the proud possessor of one of the rarest motorbikes in the world.
Martyn works in the property world, Lucy runs a cookery training company, but both have a touch of the grease monkey about them.
The brother of Lee and Carl likes nothing better than to mess around with tractors, motorbikes and Land Rovers.
Lucy too likes tinkering.
Now she has given her man a restored Norton 4 which dates back to the Second World War. It is a motorcycle and sidecar used by infantrymen and as a bren gun carrier.
There are supposed to be only ten left in existence and this one was found in Limoges in France.
It was driven into the reception at the Bomford mansion at Salford Priors half way through the evening to the strains of The Great Escape.
Then Martyn took his bride for a spin around the farmyard ... as you do!
Having got hitched at the nearby St Matthews Church, the couple are now on honeymoon in Corsica.
They drove there, but not on the Norton 4.
Meanwhile, Roy and his wife, Sandy, are off on their annual QE II trip around the world.
They left on the Sunday – some suggest Cunard held the vessel for them so they could get Saturday's wedding in first, but even I am not sure I believe that.
Wouldn't put it past the old fox though.
Naturally, they are in the liner's Richardson suite, named after them.
Bright's vicar on earth, Post business editor John Duckers is wondering whether there will be a QE II T-shirt winging its way into the office.
It used to be a regular occurrence, but clearly Roy has more recently decided Duckers has become far too fat!
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Enjoying a drink with Handelsbanken's Pat Hanlon at KPMG's excellent cocktail party I was amused to hear of his great familiarity with the A14.
In mid-November while planning a skiing trip over Christmas, wife Kath advised the lad to obtain a first passport for 16-year-old daughter Emily.
Before applying (at a cost of £72), however, he had to attend Peterborough Passport Office to have her name removed from his passport. The following week, aware of his intention to travel to Poland with clients, Mrs H advised him that he would need a new passport as his would expire in February 08 and the rule is six months unexpired.
Nonsense, he declared, Poland is in the EU and they will allow you in even on the last day of your passport.
However, having learned some painful lessons over the years and rather than allow Mrs H yet another "I knew I was right" moment, our hero checked and sure enough a second trip to Peterborough ensued.
A same day application, £114 thank you very much.
Back home from Warsaw, Kath enquired if they had put 14-year--old Rebecca's name on his new passport.
Aghh.
You've guessed, another trip to Peterborough and a fee of £84 for the guaranteed one week service.
"The passports, petrol and time have cost nearly as much as the holiday," moaned Pat. The good news is that the final passport arrived just in time for the family jaunt.
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I hear that John Barrowman, currently playing in Aladdin at the Hippodrome in Birmingham, has been having a few sleepless nights.
It seems the star of TV series Torchwood has had to replace his bed.
He's been staying in one of those furnished apartments in town and found the bed there so uncomfortable he went off to Ikea and bought a replacement.
Sadly he apparently couldn't get it into his car.
But hopefully the problem is now solved and the lad is finally getting a bit of shut-eye.
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Lawyer and general good egg Charles Flint is taking issue with an unwanted title bestowed on him by Bright.
It follows a talk on contaminated land which was voted the dullest in the 25 years of Birmingham Business Breakfast Club.
Now semi-retired – rumour has it he is in line to chair the board at Birmingham City University – he still buys The Birmingham Post.
"Imagine my joy at seeing my name in print again in JB's column – but horror at the title ascribed to me!"
He says he does not recall ever giving such an oration and points out there are a few Charles Flints dotted around the Midlands – though surely none so distinguished.
"I could not go to my grave (incidentally no current plans) with friends and colleagues associating me with the register of contaminated land," he wails.
"The 1982 vintage in Bordeaux, politics of a law firm, shooting in Warwickshire, maybe!"
Bravo.
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It appears that staff at CB Richard Ellis' Birmingham office have fallen on hard times, with word reaching Bright that managing director Martin Guest and regional chief Julian Shellard can no longer afford the price of a Bic razor.
The pair, along with four other staff from the office – Will Ventham, Theo Holmes, Oli Whele and Andrew Meikle – have been spotted around town looking like they have had one late night too many. So could their unshaven appearances be a sign that things are getting a little strained at CBRE and that the wheels are about to come off the commercial property market? Well, not exactly!
The boys from CBRE were actually taking part in "Movember", a charity initiative to raise money and awareness of prostate cancer in the UK.
For the whole of November participants had to grow a moustache, or '"mo" as they are also called, while raising money at the same time.
In total, the CBRE mo growers managed to raise more than £3,000 for the Prostate Cancer Charity. Not bad for a month's worth of not shaving and looking like an extra from the Village People.
But while the beards and moustaches will be easily removed, unfortunately Julian's new nickname –"Desperate Dan" Shellard – won't be as easy to get rid of.