It seems like we had been waiting an age for the announcement and then this week it finally came.
There had been wild speculation, much debate and, for once, few were surprised by the long over due outcome.
Yes the accomplished actor Peter Capaldi, aka The Thick of It’s Malcolm Tucker, was confirmed as the new Doctor Who live on national television.
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The unveiling of this new Time Lord somewhat overshadowed the anointing of another Lord.
Closer to home it was confirmed that another great eccentric English institution, the former Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby, has secured his peerage.
Coun Whitby may not have spent 900 plus years travelling through time and space but he has been waiting what may seem like 12 lifetimes for the national recognition usually bestowed on city leaders as a matter of right.
There are several similarities between the respective lords.
The Doctor often leaves audiences lost with his talk of ‘reversing the polarity of the neutron flow’, Coun Whitby has frequently struggled to get his message across to lesser mortals – with talk of the ‘Jeremiahs’ and his persistent refusal to use one word when two or three will do.
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For English, read the ‘Anglo-Saxon language’, the country becomes ‘the nation state’, the press is the ‘fourth estate’ and improvement becomes a ‘journey to excellence’.
The Doctor is usually accompanied by much younger companions who hang on his every word, following him into battle, and Coun Whitby too was often flanked by fresh-faced young chaps, usually called Andrew.
And while Peter Capaldi was unveiled to a television audience of millions – many of them wearing brimmed hats, long colourful scarves and cluthing their replica sonic screwdivers – Lord Whitby’s elevation has provoked much comment and debate among the Birmingham political and business communities.
First thoughts were that, for the first time in a decade of rivalry, he now outranks council leader Sir Albert Bore.
There has also been much speculation over his title, with the sensible Lord Whitby of Harborne, or Warley – accompanied by jokes about Lord Whitby of Simpson’s or Opus.
One rumour was that he was checking if Lord Whitby of Greater Birmingham was allowed – as Lord Digby Jones has already snapped up ‘Birmingham’.
Lord Whitby will presumably find out more after his meeting with the House of Lords officials including, I am told, the Garter Principal King of Arms this week.
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An honour has been a long time coming and, in a world where honours and peerages are given for political longevity, thoroughly deserved.
Not only was Coun Whitby leader of Britain’s largest local authority for eight years, he led a coalition with the Lib Dems for all that time. It was a match which could be strained and often tested – but lasted the term.
He has his critics, but no one can doubt his enthusiasm for the job and his desire to push the interests of Birmingham around the world.
He was a forceful cheerleader for New Street rebuilding, Birmingham Airport’s runway extension, and of course he pushed the Library of Birmingham through, against considerable hostility from all sides – including many fellow Tories who saw a it as a socialist project.
Whatever the title, Mike has vowed to bang the drum for Birmingham in particular and 海角视频 cities in general, in the House of Lords.
And as Birmingham and the West Midlands continue to get a raw deal from Whitehall, Birmingham needs all the champions it can get.
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It is rare in this job to be pleasantly surprised by anything, but so far my experience of the tunnel closures has been generally good.
Yes there have been a couple of delays on the way into the city centre, both by car and bus, but nothing like the lengthy queues and misery feared.
Last Friday morning it felt more like a quiet Sunday with largely deserted streets as I arrived in the city centre for a 9am appointment.
In fact, perhaps as a result of commuters avoiding the city or the general holiday shutdown, it has been easier to get about than some regular working days.
If only the transport authorities can now sort out the traffic the rest of the year.