Save Station Street campaigners back smaller cock!

More soon on the National Trust's appalling and cowardly conduct in the various Station Street, Birmingham, campaigns soon. The story so far can be seen here:

https://crowmultimedia.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-national-trust-brum-conspiracy.html

In the meantime the "campaigners" seem remarkably shy about who is who in the campaign/campaigns. In the above post we speculated on the identity of the manic obsessive who puts out hundreds and hundreds of posts on X (formerly Twitter) apparently on hehalf of the "campaign". This person bizarrely seeks to maintain anonymity whilst advertising that s/he is running a "non governmental and non-profit organisation". But is his/her increasingly unhinged output really the work of a group, or solely that of a fanatical individual?

This blog initially thought that the author might be a notorious local Labour anti-car obsessive - particularly noting a compulsive campaign to ban cars from Station Street - an important city thoroughfare immediately adjacent to a major regional transport hub (New Street Station). It would appear that the X account is actually run by one Darren John. 

Crow Multimedia has attempted to contact others involved in the National Trust scandal, particularly as the anonymous X person continually uses "we" in posts. If others are involved in the "organisation" they might want to consider their legal position for the reasons set out below.

The Website "campaign" claims to be run by "Ken Preston" and "Zoe Bond-Pinner" from an address in Stourbridge (rather than, er, Birmingham). Crow wrote to them (by a real letter!):

"I am an investigative journalist interested in the secret involvement of the National Trust in respect of the ongoing campaigns relating to Station Street.

I would like to send some questions to you but cannot find an email for your campaign and I don’t want to use the open forum of the Facebook group.

Can you please forward appropriate contact details to the email address above please?

Can you please confirm whether you are also responsible for the “Save Station Street, Birmingham @OldStation St” X (formerly Twitter) account and, if not, who is?"

They did not reply.

We also wrote in a similar vein to another of the National Trust's gang of conspirators, Ian Francis at Flatpack but, again, received no reply.

The Facebook group, "Save the Electric Cinema Birmingham" has two administrators, Zoe Bond-Pinner and Darren John.

Most of the campaign supporters are "socialists" and so they have no money. They keep insisting that taxpayers' money should be used to "save" the Electric and, more bizarrely, to re-open the Crown as a pub. They seem blissfully unaware that deadbeat Labour Brum has only just come out of bankruptcy or that 25% - yes, a quarter - of the city's working age population are on out of work benefits. The pub trade is in dire straits and The Crown shut down over a decade ago because it was a nasty sh*thole. Further there is now competition from a large Wetherspoons directly opposite. The X person is bombarding the Mayor of the West Midlands [who he? Ed] and the ridiculous Lisa Nandy in the hope they will waste taxpayers' money on his/her absurd schemes.

Incidentally, some of us remember how awful The Crown was before it happily shut. When a non-local campaign supporter queried this someone local posted this response:

There is a plan to turn this area into an "arts and cultural quarter" [sic] even though the dismal Labour Council is promoting Digbeth as an, er, arts and culture quarter! And despite the local legacy media pumping out endless Ozzy nonsense that hype will soon fade.

Not long ago, there was a fire at "The Flatiron" building in Hockley. In a flurry of posts the Old Station Street campaign accused the owners of neglecting the building and hinted that the fire had not been accidental. This was echoed by someone on X called "jordanbhx"".  The X person named the Company (based in the Virgin Islands) and also named the two beneficial owners, both Hong Kong nationals. S/he described them as "vampires". At Crow Multimedia this all seemed rather odd since the fire was said to have started in an office on the 4th floor - not the usual place for budding arsonists to choose. And, indeed, it was quickly confirmed by an enquiry to the WM Fire Service that the fire was indeed, purely accidental.

It is to be hoped that the campaigners do not face the legal wrath of the Hong Kong owners and maybe the campaigners need to think before they start making false allegations on social media. Perhaps this is why these proselytisers want to try and maintain anonymity? And quite why the National Trust wants to team up with such buffoons is beyond comprehension.

Interestingly, the X person took it upon him/herself to also become the self-appointed guardian of all of Brum's historic building and claims to now be speaking also on behalf of the Methodist Central Hall and other properties. S/he also uses the campaign to peddle a whole array of leftie claptrap - attacking Reform, Farage, the flag-flyers, motorists, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters etc. etc. Again why the allegedly apolitical (though increasingly woke) National Trust wants to engage with all this is curious to say the least.

The obsessive X person rants over and over and over again about the proposed tower developers want to build in Station Street. S/he usually calls it "crappy" which surely means it will fit in well with the rest of Brum's contemporary architecture. The latest abuse is that the "50 floor" tower will be "phallic". But what's this? The Arora Group has planning permission for a 22 storey tower across the road from The Crown. The campaigners have suggested raising the £2m asking price and somehow finding the money to build a tower containing a "Brum Sounds hotel" full of memorabilia relating to Ozzy and others.

50 storeys bad and phallic - - 22 storeys good! How can anyone take these clowns seriously?

LEGAL NOTICE (CM Version 1 - 7th February, 2026)

We cannot list every previous mention of individuals referred to in the entirety of this blog. Where we refer to a specific story please follow the supplied hyperlink since this forms legal justification for later comments. Similarly references to “posts or Crows passim” and to earlier posts mean any individuals concerned about purported defamatory or otherwise unlawful material must read later posts in the context of earlier posts. Full information can also be supplied within a reasonable time upon application via email to iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com

We may also add hyperlinks or references to content in our associated blogs, “In The Public Domain aka The Sandwell Skidder” (at thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com) and Rotten Council Governance - Legal Review (at rottencouncils.blogspot.com). Reference to content in those blogs also forms part of the context, meaning of, and justification for, contents in this blog.

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.

Every now and again we make a genuine error and get something wrong. If an error in the blog affects you please email iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com and we shall 

use our best endeavours to remove offending material and/or publish appropriate corrections forthwith (together with an apology, if applicable).

We are pleased to receive comments via email to iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com, or on X via our publishers @CrowMultimedia. We are happy to publish any sensible commentary and offer a right of reply where applicable. We can also publish “guest” posts on mutually agreed terms.

If you consider that anything written is defamatory or otherwise unlawful please email iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com or telephone 07470 624207 forthwith. If your complaint has merit we shall endeavour to make immediate amends.

Ian Crow Multimedia Limited

Randy Andy and Opera North

Arts organisations in the UK are overwhelmingly stuffed with lefties and yet arty companies and individuals are constantly grovelling to our grotesque "Royal" family. Why? One main reason, of course, is the expectation of baubles. Some of our greatest actors, for example, cannot open their mouths off stage without spouting socialist claptrap, but are quick to accept Damehoods and other "honours" down The Palace. Hypocrisy? Naked self-interest? Who knows?

When the writer buys tickets for arts events there is often a request for donations. "No" is the short response to any organisation with "Royal" in its name, or with "Royal" patrons. Perhaps others ought to follow suit ...

Of course, their insinuation into British institutions is seen by the monstrous monarchy as necessary to perpetuate itself. The "Royals" pull every lever to maintain their grasp on wealth and power.

Long before recent revelations, the man formerly known as "Prince" Andrew was the personification of arrogance and entitlement. His ill-fated "Marriage of Fiasco" to the toe-sucker, Ferguson, became the stuff of tabloid legend. Long before the Epstein saga, he was known as "Randy Andy". Not quite, due to primogeniture, "King Priam" but certainly "Prince Priapus". And fawning politicians facilitated his pursuit of wealth and la dolce vita by appointing him as a trade envoy and the like. Pass the sick bag, Alice.

In the course of "The Rake's Progress" the wonderful Opera North inexplicably made the ghastly pair "patrons". Look away now if you don't want to be sick over yourself:

Crow Multimedia wrote to Opera North about this ludicrous state of affairs:

"Press Enquiry - Royal Patronage

It is inexplicable to the general public why a brilliant arts organisation like ON feels the need to have "royal" patrons. What do you say is the benefit of having the Duke of Kent as a  current patron?

Further, the person previously known as "Prince" Andrew, and Sarah Ferguson, were patrons of ON. Even without the current revelations it is unimaginable that such a ghastly pair should be associated with ON? Once again, what was the thinking in tying yourselves to that dreadful couple?

Can you please also name the trustees who made the decision to appoint "Randy Andy" and "Fergie" as patrons. It will be interesting to see if they, in turn, received baubles for what most would see as egregious grovelling."

Alas, answer came there none.

We should mention here that on the Opera North website, two of the current trustees boast OBE's. No doubt thoroughly merited.

There is no truth in the rumour that Opera North is renaming "The Magic Flute", "The Pink Oboe". But perhaps ON could find a, er, part for "Randy" in, say, "Dildo and Aneas [spellcheck please]" or "The Turn of the Screw". Maybe the productions are already in rehearsal ...

We wonder if Opera North will ever apologise for this shaming degringolade? Perhaps the better option would be to eschew further "Royal" patronage altogether, eh readers?

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!

A Crow Multimedia Blog

Ian Crow Multimedia Limited

LEGAL NOTICE (CM Version 1 - 7th February, 2026)

We cannot list every previous mention of individuals referred to in the entirety of this blog. Where we refer to a specific story please follow the supplied hyperlink since this forms legal justification for later comments. Similarly references to “posts or Crows passim” and to earlier posts mean any individuals concerned about purported defamatory or otherwise unlawful material must read later posts in the context of earlier posts. Full information can also be supplied within a reasonable time upon application via email to iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com

We may also add hyperlinks or references to content in our associated blogs, “In The Public Domain aka The Sandwell Skidder” (at thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com) and Rotten Council Governance - Legal Review (at rottencouncils.blogspot.com). Reference to content in those blogs also forms part of the context, meaning of, and justification for, contents in this blog.

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.

Every now and again we make a genuine error and get something wrong. If an error in the blog affects you please email iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com and we shall use our best endeavours to remove offending material and/or publish appropriate corrections forthwith (together with an apology, if applicable).

We are pleased to receive comments via email to iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com, or on X via our publishers @CrowMultimedia. We are happy to publish any sensible commentary and offer a right of reply where applicable. We can also publish “guest” posts on mutually agreed terms.

If you consider that anything written is defamatory or otherwise unlawful please email iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com or telephone 07470 624207 forthwith. If your complaint has merit we shall endeavour to make immediate amends.

Ian Crow Multimedia Limited

Kings Heath pubs buck national decline

Birmingham may be the UK's multi-ethnic "third city" (formerly the "second city") but it's the white folks who control the Socialist nirvana that is the southern suburb of Kings Heath (KH), as this image of those running a local forum meeting a couple of years ago amply demonstrates:

Formerly a working class area with a strong Irish community the area is undergoing gentrification. The growth of the state as an employer, and of the Brum universities, has led to an influx of bourgeois "socialists". You can tell this by the number of white middle-aged women wandering about wearing keffiyehs. And you can also buy something called "artisan" bread ...

The newbies are wealthy by Birmingham standards - which may not be saying much when a shaming 25% of the Labour city's working age population is in receipt of out-of-work benefits. But the property is - relatively - cheap and most of these folks are only moderately well-off. These are people who have never made any real money in the public sector, but are used to sucking from the state's nipple. Thus they can't live anywhere that is actually "nice", and chose to eke out their sinecures and pensions in an area which is only a couple of steps up from a public convenience. 

Despite never having run a whelk stall "socialists" have the crazed and fallacious belief that they can organise communities. The primary example of this in KH is an incessant war on motorists which has happily resulted in "the Left" managing to exclude traffic from the more agreeable areas where they, er, live. They have forced ever greater traffic to clog the roads where the poorer folk huddle in their hovels.

As avowed anti-capitalists (although not when it comes to their own material well-being) the rather faded Reds have waged war on KH's once famous High Street. This straddles a major arterial route but economic considerations do not apply with these people, and the plan is to force everyone onto public transport and prevent vehicles using the road at all. This is only a part of the nonsense, believe me.

As someone who shops and drinks in KH on a regular basis there is no doubt that it is becoming a sh*thole.  Yet it remains busy and shops and pubs are making so much money they actually pay extra tax to trade there. How much longer this will last as the socialists deliberately drive businesses away remains to be seen.

Yes, the local pubs and businesses pay extra tax - in the form of a levy - to a Labour Party-front organisation called, laughably, Kings Heath Business Improvement District (the BID), calculated as a percentage of a property's rateable value.

Now here is the curious thing. The media is awash with cries for help from publicans and the hospitality industry as the current Labour Government is throttling it with extra taxes and regulations. Business rates are a major bone of contention and the pub industry is crying-out for a VAT cut. The minimum wage and national insurance increases have been hollowing out pub businesses. New duty rules mean ever weaker beers are being served. Pubs are closing around the country (or operating much reduced opening hours if they are limping along). Staff are put out of work. Yes there are exceptions, of course, but these are few and far between. Yet the higher taxes, rates and costs are NOT a problem for KH pubs which are delighted to pay the BID levy on top! Why?

Crow Multimedia wrote the following press enquiry to a random sample of three KH boozers asking what the secret of their success is:

"The pub and music venue trades have suffered grievously in recent years and the current Labour Government appears to pile on the pain. Two well-known Brum pubs closed in January to my knowledge.

Social media is awash with complaints from publicans about tax generally, minimum wage increases, NI increases, and business rates. Yet Kings Heath is bucking the trend and you guys opt to actually pay more tax (in the form of a BID levy) on top of the current burden. Why are KH pubs doing so well that they can afford extra tax when many others appear to be struggling?"

Alas, the Loco Lounge, The Juke, and the Hare & Hounds declined to respond.

Usually higher taxes on businesses are passed on to consumers. Does that mean that KH pubs are charging higher prices to reflect this? As no-one is yet speaking-up, we can only guess! Just check the price of your pint next time you go out on KH's Tarnished (formerly Golden) Mile.

Another failed High Street business.

LEGAL NOTICE (CM Version 1 - 7th February, 2026)

We cannot list every previous mention of individuals referred to in the entirety of this blog. Where we refer to a specific story please follow the supplied hyperlink since this forms legal justification for later comments. Similarly references to “posts or Crows passim” and to earlier posts mean any individuals concerned about purported defamatory or otherwise unlawful material must read later posts in the context of earlier posts. Full information can also be supplied within a reasonable time upon application via email to iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com

We may also add hyperlinks or references to content in our associated blogs, “In The Public Domain aka The Sandwell Skidder” (at thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com) and Rotten Council Governance - Legal Review (at rottencouncils.blogspot.com). Reference to content in those blogs also forms part of the context, meaning of, and justification for, contents in this blog.

In most cases we try to give the subjects of these blog posts the opportunity to comment on our journalism pre-publication to ensure the accuracy of our work.

Every now and again we make a genuine error and get something wrong. If an error in the blog affects you please email iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com and we shall 

use our best endeavours to remove offending material and/or publish appropriate corrections forthwith (together with an apology, if applicable).

We are pleased to receive comments via email to iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com, or on X via our publishers @CrowMultimedia. We are happy to publish any sensible commentary and offer a right of reply where applicable. We can also publish “guest” posts on mutually agreed terms.

If you consider that anything written is defamatory or otherwise unlawful please email iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com or telephone 07470 624207 forthwith. If your complaint has merit we shall endeavour to make immediate amends.

Clarkson's Pub - fun, but a one off

Warning: Hate and envy-fuelled lefties and bearded CAMRA-types look away now.

There are millions of us around the world who have enjoyed the marvellous Amazon Prime series, Clarkson's Farm. Series Four followed Jeremy Clarkson's travails in opening a pub in the Cotswolds. From my personal point of view it was particularly distressing to see so many of the places I enjoyed in my misspent youth and, er, adulthood, have closed down (and, of course, Starmer and Reeves are trying to deliver a knock-out blow to what remains).

Jeremy eventually found a site between Burford and Witney. There are some excellent food-lead pubs in that neck of the woods: The Swan at Swinbrook, The Bell at Langford, The Three Horseshoes (recently known as The Maytime) at Asthall, and others. Alas, this is an affluent area and prices are high - Google The Double Red Duke at Clanfield, but only if you are already wearing soiled underwear.

Armed with a substantial sum from his hard-work over several decades, Jeremy set about refurbing what was an empty cafe just off the A40. And he had to invest considerable resources - watch the programme and you will be stunned at the cost involved.

The result? A fun - crowded - mini-theme park run by excellent staff, but not the place to nip-in for a quiet pint! The main pub, The Farmer's Dog, is in the extended former pub (before the cafe interlude) - which I had been to a couple of times many moons ago. In the large grounds there is a huge "tent" containing a branch of Jeremy's Diddly Squat Farm Shop and another bar playfully named, The Farmer's Puppy. There are wonderful views from both.

I live in a poverty-ridden hell-hole where most pubs are on their arses and 25% of working-age people are on out-of-work benefits (Birmingham). The economic clouds get ever darker here and publicans of my acquaintance were terrified at what the absurd "Dry January" would bring (actually, so far, it has brought the closure of two very good Brum pubs - at least). Many places have been hideously quiet. Thus I was shocked on 15th December, 2025 when I went online to book a table for two for lunch at The Farmer's Dog on either the 22nd or 23rd January, 2026 only to find that there was no availability! If fact, to even stand a chance of getting a table in the main pub you have to book early. Here is the notice from the pub's own website - and they are NOT joking:

Thwarted in our ambition to break bread we turned up for a drink. This was at about 11.45  am on a wet and very dismal Thursday lunchtime. The area by the pub itself is reserved for blue badge motorists and we were directed to a large car park across the road. It was immediately apparent that this was no ordinary country boozer as there were FOUR attendants directing traffic - at a substantial cost to the bottom-line of the business. (And we are sure that number must increase in summer).

Walking to the pub we noticed the arrival of taxis (of which more anon). We walked through the farm shop and the Puppy where there was already a host of customers. At the main pub we met an immediate problem since we had no table for luncheon. Quite rightly, Jeremy does not want the hoi-polloi tramping through the restaurant to get to the famous terrace, but this creates a rather unfortunate problem since we had to actually take our drinks back outside the pub and then enter the terrace via a separate door. Not good that bit.

Obviously JC's Hawkstone Brand dominates the beer selection. (Later in the day I sampled an IPA elsewhere and was distinctly underwhelmed.) I had the only cask that I could see on offer - Old Hooky. It was acceptable rather than good, with a rather "first-pull" tang to it.

As we returned to the car yet another taxi was arriving together with a tide of humanity from the car park. Again - this on a grim January lunchtime. Quite incredible. 

We were staying the night in beautiful Burford and were amazed when locals told us that many folk regularly stay in the town and take taxis to Jeremy's pub! We actually met one such couple.

Personally - and as we are old farts - we will visit again although not in the summer when it must be manic there. And we will only go when we can get a table for lunch. But we really applaud this enterprise which is creating many jobs locally, not just at the "theme park" itself, but for local taxis, hotels etc. Plus, of course, Jeremy has been a stalwart supporter of local farmers and, wherever, possible, sources local produce for the shops and pub.

One caveat. We sincerely hope Jeremy will be around for a good few years yet, but clearly he and the TV show have been the draw for thousands of visitors. Quite how this enterprise will survive if he keels over tomorrow, we are not at all sure. But enough of that - this was a fun visit and a boon for the local economy. What's not to like? Go and see for yourselves.

Incidentally, we dropped in at the original Diddly Squat Farm Shop on the way back. Although very small, cars were flooding in on another miserable January day. 

On a final and slightly unrelated note, as we headed northward to Britain's "third city" we visited (for the first time in decades) - The Horseshoe in Shipston-on Stour (south of Stratford-upon-Avon). It's a cracker!

iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com

A Crow Multimedia Blog

The Thurd Sector #4 - Places in Common Limited

As we have pointed out in this series the Thurd Sector is crammed with lefties and self-declared, er, anti-capitalists. These jokers are adept at screwing the taxpayer (and others) whilst feathering their own nests.

In recent times a new crock of gold has become available via the climate change industry. As ever with the Thurds, there are layers of organisations feeding off one another - but usually with the taxpayer as the patsy. And the climate change lobby is viciously anti-motorist.

Places in Common Limited in bankrupt Labour Birmingham is actually a "co-op" - another type of organisation trying to feed off Britain's shrinking cadre of workers. Two of the original directors from 2019 are still running the show now - Bryan Nott and Labour Cllr Lisa Trickett (who earned £18,876 from taxpayers as a Councillor in the last municipal year). Originally there were two other directors, one of whom was also involved in a notorious Brum Labour-front Thurd Sector cash machine, The Active Wellbeing Society [sic] - another "community benefit society".

Two of the directors dropped away but Nott and Trickett were quick to appoint one Alice, er, Nott to their nice little earner. Could she possibly be related?

This "co-op" was set up ostensibly to promote [warning - load of w*nk ahead] "community development and local regeneration". The registered address is in that affluent and "trendy" suburb, Moseley. But almost immediately it pivoted to the riches flowing from the climate change industry. 

Here the position becomes a little complicated in that all the money (or a very substantial part of it) received by the co-op seems to have come from just two contracts to promote climate change. The first is with a Dutch Thurd Sector outfit called Climate KIC (although it also uses other names including its actual legal name, the snappy "Stichting Climate KIC International Foundation". It won't surprise readers of this series that the vast bulk of its funds comes from the EU and European governments. Happily, and despite Brexit, some of the euro loot is finding its way into the pockets of the Notts and Trickett.

The legal status of the second outfit, "West Midlands Route to Net Zero" is opaque. Birmingham University is involved as is the Labour-controlled West Midlands Combined Authority. Although it has a posh website (cost unknown) it is completely silent about its legal status and finances. I have written to it and will keep you posted. Suffice to say here that the notorious. appalling and viciously anti-car Brum Labour Councillor, Waseem Zaffar, is a member of the Advisory Board.

And what of the finances of the Nott/Trickett Co-op? Below is a table summarising the key financials. The "Directors" are also the "staff" of the Co-op and so the high "admin costs" entries reflect the dosh they are stripping out. Where stated the precise sums are shown in the bottom line of the table.

The actual "work" done seems to be writing reports and developing policy to promote climate change. Happily this has been very remunerative for our campaigning heroes.

After paying a bit of tax in the first couple of years the Directors have now paid none by reason of there being significant financial losses. These have been brought about by the large sums being grabbed by the Directors. In 2021 to 2024 inclusive the admin expenses have EXCEEDED the actual revenue coming in. Look at 2023! And in 2004 the Notts and Trickett only had revenue of £26,200 but paid themselves £31,500. In most businesses this would be wholly unsustainable yet the tap somehow keeps flowing. The figures below are in the public domain and have been submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority.

[The Directors will have to declare the income they are grabbing as part of their personal tax liabilities and potentially pay income tax on it.]

The "route to less than net zero" has been, indeed, taken and the Directors have gone beyond and deliberately ensured minus figures i.e. losses.

In the meantime, a new (Labour front) benefit society has been set-up to takeover the Kings Heath Community Centre from the failing Labour Council in a bent deal. Mug punters have been asked to part with their money for this via a crowdfunder. The crowdfunder, run by Bryan Nott, has failed but has simply been extended (and is currently at 69% of target if you are mad enough to want to invest).

The Board includes, incredibly, the Manager of the appalling local BID, or Business Improvement District, which has been shilling this project all along even though it has nothing whatsoever to do with improving business for the hard-pressed traders who are forced to pay extra tax (the levy) to trade in Kings Heath. Did I mention that, equally incredibly, Cllr Lisa Trickett is on the Bid Board?

And, of course, Bryan Nott and Lisa Trickett are also on the Board of the new Benefit Society where they will no doubt bring their financial acumen acquired whilst running Places in Common to the table. 

What could possibly go wrong?

Investors and BID levy payers - don't say we didn't warn you!

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A Crow Multimedia Blog.

Publicans: Beware the cash dinosaurs!

In my experience the sort of customers who insist on paying cash in pubs are total tossers. I once overheard an old git saying that he did not want the deep state tracking him - as if even a Chinese-style national surveillance system would be interested in the doings of a complete w*nker!

On the other hand, I am a “classic liberal” and it should be a decision for mein host whether to take cash or not. The fact remains that the number of cash-users is rapidly dwindling, and many publicans also have the difficulty of finding a bank branch locally to deposit takings.

In Brum there are now many pubs and bars which are card-only. Punters should respect that rather than giving staff a hard time. But some actively seek REVENGE …

Let me preface this yarn by explaining that there is a small chain of ghastly pubs in the West Midlands named “The Pub at …” followed by the name of what the imbecilic trendies call “the ‘burb” or “the ‘hood”. Next time you are in, say, Kings Heath shortly after 9.00 am take a look through the window of “The Pub at Kings Heath” and see the dregs of humanity already gathering within. They make a Wetherpoons clientele look positively exotic and upmarket!

There is one popular and delightful Brum pub - a winner of multiple awards - which is superbly run. It attracts a wide-section of the local community although, happily, not usually the sort who use the “Pub at …” chain. It encourages card payment and I have personally never seen anyone actually pay cash there.

One night four scumbags came in and ordered four pints. They then made a scene when asked for card payment. Wrongly, in my personal opinion, the pub backed down and took the cash. That should have been the end of it but one of the frightful foursome later posted a one star Google review. (Its current score is 4.8 out of five with a very clear majority awarding 5 stars.) Bizarrely, the only other one star reviewer complained about the staff - who are absolutely brilliant. Indeed, many Brum pub-users I know rate one as being in the top three bartenders in the whole city.

To add insult to injury, the querulous quartet then visited “The Pub at Moseley”, another outpost of the grisly toilets cum hostelries, and took to Google to give it a four star review! WTF?

Two lessons. I think:

1. Pubs should use clear signage if “card-only”; and
2. Don’t pander to morons.

[P.S. The EU, from which the UK is temporarily estranged (!?) is. with its usual obsession for regulation, considering making "card-only" illegal, and I am sure our new leftie elected dictatorship will somehow feel the need to follow suit.]

Cheers ...

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A Crow Multimedia Publication.

The British Legion - Don't tarnish the Poppy!

It is hard to be critical about ‘The Legion". Since 1921 it has provided much-needed succour to members of our armed forces and their families. The brilliantly-devised annual Poppy appeal continues to raise huge sums for the men and women who protect us all. 

The Legion’s obsequiousness to our grotesque monarchy is a problem for those of us who are not prepared to grovel before our hideous “royal” family. Ironically, The Legion is quick to "out" weirdos who appear at Remembrance and other events sporting fake uniforms and medals and yet the “royals” have turned such cosplay falsity into an art-form. Here’s “King” Charlatan III proving the point:

[Curiously, one member of this hereditary mafia who did win, and is entitled to wear, a Falklands Medal is the disgraced, Andrew - formerly known as “Prince”.]

The Poppy is such a wonderfully powerful symbol that ludicrous lefties have tried to hijack its success with the “White Poppy” (and similar) for deluded peaceniks to don. Presumably if we all wave these at the likes of Mad Vlad Putin, tyrants and mass-murderers will soon lay down their arms and take up crochet instead.

But we are not alone in feeling a little queasy when November approaches and the start of what seems to be an annual competition by individuals and organisations to show who cares most about our veterans. Indeed the first manifestation of this is the outbreak of Poppy-wearing WEEKS before Remembrance Day - even, or especially, on the BBC. Auntie literally employs underlings to stick poppies on anyone going on air.

Every village is in competition with its neighbour to produce ever more gross displays with ever greater numbers of poppies so that huge red gashes now spew from the tops of church towers and across graveyards. The ailing/failing mainstream media seizes on this fetishisation of remembrance to try and regain some relevance. The unfortunate trend has reached its apogee with the Disneyland of Death known as “The National Memorial Arboretum”.

The poignancy of the Poppy is well-expressed by The Legion itself. It is meant to be a humble symbol above political and religious sectarianism. Tell that to our politicians who use remembrance events to parade their own alleged credentials as caring people. The run-up to Remembrance Day is a chance to preen and, indeed, to have a right good laugh. This applies across the political spectrum. But witness, for example, the events in the corrupt Labour Dictatorship of Sandwell in recent times as described in the Sandwell Skidder blog.*

The War of the Wreaths.

Sandwell - near the bottom of every deprivation league table going after  half a century of total Labour control - witnessed an appalling incident actually at a Remembrance Day ceremony in a nasty place called Wednesbury. That town had a pecking order when it came to political wreath-laying whereby a representative of the party in government nationally laid the first tribute. Once, when the Tories were in power. a local Conservative stepped forward to do the honours. This was too much for a frightful, self-important tosser called Cllr Peter Hughes (Labour). He took the view that as the Labour dictatorship controlled the sh*thole Borough, he should lay the first political wreath. And so, to the amazement of all present, he barged in front of the Tory with complete disregard for the meaning of the ceremony and got the Labour wreath on the memorial first!

Oops, we’ve missed the photo op!

Sandwell Labour publish dozens of photos every November showing Councillors posing to remember those we have lost or who suffered egregiously during military service. There is no call for solemnity on such occasions and Councillors can have a laugh whilst enjoying the photo ops. Here’s Labour’s Liz Giles seeing the funny side [sic] of the occasion:

[And see further below.]

The Sandwell Labour Councillors are mostly thick as two short planks and sometimes forget that they are supposed to be using Remembrance Day for political propaganda. Thus, on one notorious occasion, having forgotten to get some snaps taken, they took the wreaths back off a war memorial and posed for pics before re-laying them!

Hijacking the Legion’s Poppy Appeal

Now Labour in Sandwell is also hijacking the Legion’s own Poppy appeal - incredibly, with The Legion’s consent! Once again there is no need for solemnity when grabbing The Legion’s stall and here Labour MP Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) and Labour Cllr Pam Randhawa are seen clowning and having a high-old time.

Worse still, MP “Sicko” Sarah - incredibly - thought it appropriate to bring her own advertising pop-up banner along to promote herself at The Legion’s stall!  Sick or what?  Here she is with the offending item:

Incredibly, The Legion actually allowed this grotesque and disgusring pantomime via its local representative (who, to be fair, had done a good job before this shaming degringolade). It is entirely coincidental that he tried, a while back, for a Labour nomination to a Council seat in a ward which is now in Sicko Sarah’s constituency.

Send them naked to the battlefield

By the way, Sandwell Labour voted en masse for a showboating motion trying to stop the local government pension money from being invested in the UK arms trade. Apparently they “love” our armed forces but don’t actually want them to have any, er, weapons (or, at least, British-made ones).

And Nationally …

The ceremony at the Cenotaph each year has always been a big day for our preening “royals”. It seems appropriate that, usually, our Prime Minister should attend if s/he is inclined to do so but then a rag-tag band of opposition “leaders” also turn-up. We cannot let this piece finish without mentioning the absolute national  insult of terrorist-lover, Jerry (aka Jeremy) Corbyn, attending this national event (at the time representing the Labour Party). Some of the fallen being remembered were killed by his pals in the IRA. He did then, and still still supports terrorist groups across the globe. Rather than honour our forces his style of wreath-laying is this, honouring Palestinian terrorists in Tunisia.

We say:

Maybe The Legion can’t stop such national outrages - but it should make its views known. And to use a recent political slogan, it needs to “take back control” of the Remembrance Day events in which it is involved. Please do not let politicians tarnish the Poppy and commandeer your fundraising efforts (often run by marvellous volunteers).

Lest we forget:

James Reece (aka John Pugh) - killed-in-action near Delville Wood, France, 1916 - no known grave.

*   https://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/

Ian Crow Multimedia Limited

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