Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, England) back issues from September 2008:
CARL'S PARENTS: WE PRAY FOR THIS WICKED WORLD; EXCLUSIVE 'Every time a teenager is stabbed or shot we fear for our grandchildren..'.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA THIRTY YEARS ago, Midland paperboy Carl Bridgewater was shot dead at the age of 13. Today, in their Drst interview for more than a decade, parents Janet and Brian tell of their ongoing struggle to cope with his death. And they reveal ...
Job loss M.E. girl refused benefits.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX A MIDLAND graduate has told how she had to abandon her dream career due to a long term disease - and was then refused benefits. Animal lover Kate Davies, from Stirchley, Birmingham, was thrilled to land a job as a veterinary nurse. ...
Fags haul in raid.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... THOUSANDS of cigarettes were discovered by customs officers during a raid on a Black Country home. A man in his 40s has been arrested on the suspicion of illegally ...
Tycoon drug hell.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A MIDLAND millionaire has told of a harrowing five years helping her son kick his heroin habit. Hilary Devey, 51, from Derbyshire, spoke out ...
WEB MEMORIAL TO HOUSE OF HORROR VICTIMS; EXCLUSIVE New site to remember violent deaths.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX MIDLAND murder victims EXCLUSIVE from up to 30 years ago are being featured in an internet 'memorial garden'. Tributes to those who have been violently killed are regularly posted online. Now website contributor Lisa Taylor has ...
Delivering a shambolic system of compensation pay-outs.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE DID you know you can send earthworms, leeches and maggots through the post? But you can't send an individual Christmas cracker (only crackers in their original wrapping). I mention this because I have been pondering how the Royal Mail knows ...
Dumb blonde after all.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE DAME Helen Mirren has stated the obvious about date rape. That a woman who ends up in a man's bedroom, removes her clothing and engages in sexual activity, but then decides to say "no", has to bear some responsibility for what happens next. ...
American gets to choose but we follow.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE NOW that the American political process has, finally, sifted out Barack Obama and John McCain as the two candidates who will fight to become President, we are left with one simple question. Why these two? How, out of a population of ...
Time to make them pay for decisions that shatter lives.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE WHILE Dan Quelch lay asleep beside his two-year-old son a nightmare became a bloody reality. A madman broke into the bungalow and stabbed Mr Quelch 82 times. Paranoid schizophrenic, Benjamin Frankum, had been sectioned in 2001 but ...
KHAN IS DEALT AN AMIR BLOW.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY IAN JOHNSON AMIR Khan was sensationally knocked out in the first round in the defence of his WBO Inter Continental lightweight title by Colombian Breidis Prescott in Manchester last night. Khan's dream of going on to a world title challenge was shattered ...
MACKLIN'S PERFECT TEN.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... MATTHEW Macklin's new partnership with former world champion Richie Woodhall got off to a Xying start at the MEN in Manchester last night. Macklin didn't lose a round in outpointing stubborn Tanzanian champion Francis Cheka 100-92. It was an impressive performance ...
bob's brain teasers...(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: Compiled by BOB BROWN WITH the qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup now under way, we test your knowledge of the last finals in 2006 ... 1) Which nation finished in third place? 2) Which European nation reached the last eight for the first time ...
Swords is proving he can cut it.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY BOB DOWNING DON'T cross Swords! That has been the bleak message to punters at Wolverhampton and Southwell over the summer as the remarkable horse of that name has made a point all of his own for trainer and part owner Ray Peacock. Since he gave Peacock his ...
POYET THE FAVOURITE FOR TOON.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY CHRIS HUTCHEON PUNTERS who quickly lumped cash on Kevin Keegan to be the first Premier League manager to leave his post had the rug well and truly pulled from under their feet after Alan Curbishley beat him to the punch on Wednesday. However, after Keegan ...
Troy takes Park pole.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... TROY Bayliss splashed to his sixth pole start of the season at the 11th round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park. The Ducati Xerox rider recorded a best lap of one minute 42.013 seconds around the Leicestershire circuit to head off the challenge of Hannspree ...
Christie in for top job.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... FORMER Olympic champion Linford Christie has thrown his hat into the ring to succeed departed UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins. Collins stepped down this week after the governing body decided not to renew his contract in the light of Great Britain's disappointing ...
RORY ROARS INTO LEAD; McIlroy outclasses defending champion.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: MARK GARROD at Crans-sur-Sierre NINETEEN-year-old Rory McIlroy totally outplayed defending champion Brett Rumford today and will take a fourstroke lead into the final round of the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. If he takes the title and the pounds ...
COLE'S ON FIRE; Two-goal Joe just Fab-io for England ANDORRA 0 ENGLAND 2.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... SUPER-SUB Joe Cole's two second-half goals rescued England as their World Cup opener got off to a winning start against Andorra last night. Booed-off at half-time, England struggled for 45 minutes against the team ranked ...
Our troubled family has a Cole-den boy; World Cup Qualifiers.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: By MAT KENDRICK IS IT just me or is watching England nowadays like attending a family reunion? treat to go to these parties, which don't happen all that often after all. But now, whenever everybody gets together for a bash, it always seems to end in ...
THE BUS STOPS HERE; Midlands battered as storms claim six lives.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL SIX people lost their lives in the severe weather conditions that lashed Britain over the weekend - including one from the Midlands. And rain storms are expected to continue battering the country. Last night the death toll rose to ...
CANOE PAIR IN WEIR RESCUE.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... TWO men were taken to hospital after their canoe capsized near a weir, sparking a major rescue operation. A police helicopter was scrambled to hunt for the canoeists near Welford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, at 3.45pm ...
'MINI TORNADO' HITS BRUM.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A MINI-TORNADO was reported in the Northfield area of Birmingham as flooding swamped a dozen homes in nearby Frankley, and a similar number of properties in Halesowen. Meanwhile, West Midlands Ambulance ...
pounds 14,000 for speaker.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A BLACK Country council is forking out pounds 14,000 on a motivational speaker just weeks after demanding war veterans stump up pounds 10,000 to keep their social club open. Sandwell Council have hired former social worker Jack Black to talk to staff about personal development ...
Body in a suitcase.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... THE body of an unidentified woman was found curled up in a suitcase in a hotel room, a day after the foul smell of her body prompted the evacuation of dozens of guests, police said yesterday. ...
crazy world.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... DORTMUND, Germany: A 20-stone mugging victim's life was saved when a bullet fired at him was trapped in his fat ....
Bay City Roller date.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... BAY City Rollers chart star Eric Faulkner is to headline a Women Chainmakers' Festival at the Black Country Living Museum. On Saturday September 13 he will be revealing a ...
Sex attack city alert.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... PART of a Black Country city was sealed off yesterday following reports of a serious sexual assault on a 20 year-old woman. Police were called to Cleveland Road, in All Saints, Wolverhampton, at 1.30am. A ...
Inside the secret house of SHARIA LAW; EXCLUSIVE BRITAIN'S FIRST OFFICIAL COURT IS UP AND RUNNING IN THE HEART OF THE MIDLANDS Britain is not civilised enough for extreme Islam punishments, says head of college.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY JEANETTE OLDHAM A MUSLIM college in the Midlands is running the UK's first official sharia law court. The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal has already used sharia law to decide the outcome of more than 100 civil disputes between Muslims across the UK since it ...
WEB MEMORIAL TO HOUSE OF HORROR VICTIMS; New site to remember violent deaths EXCLUSIVE.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX MIDLAND murder victims from up to 30 years ago are being featured in an internet 'memorial garden'. Tributes to those who have been violently killed are regularly posted online. Now website contributor Lisa Taylor has set up a ...
THUGS SHOOT DAD IN BACK.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY BEN GOLDBY A FATHER-of-four was recovering in hospital last night after another shooting in one of Birmingham's most notorious gang areas. The 25-year-old victim, named locally as Obryon Davison, was blasted in the back after six thugs burst into a house in ...
LOCO NOT SO MAD FOR TRAINER WALL.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... PREMIO LOCO provided trainer Chris Wall with his most valuable winner of the season at Kempton yesterday, but the progressive gelding was quickly stated as unlikely to chase further riches in next month's totesport.com Cambridgeshire. Newmarket-based Wall admits he has lacked ...
BRAVO TOD MAKES IT A HIGH FIVE FOR KIM; GOING TO THE DOGS.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: Stephen Rea I WAS at Monmore on Thursday night to watch my old girl Blushing Fly win yet again but amid the joy of that win, a much bigger success story was unfolding as George the commentator was roaring out "that is the brilliant Kim Billingham's fourth winner on the ...
POYET THE FAVOURITE FOR TOON; BET RESCUE.com.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY CHRIS HUTCHEON PUNTERS who quickly lumped cash on Kevin Keegan to be the first Premier League manager to leave his post had the rug well and truly pulled from under their feet after Alan Curbishley beat him to the punch on Wednesday. However, after Keegan ...
Roberto Donadoni.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... CURBISHLEY'S successor at Upton Park could be Roberto Donadoni (evens, Betdirect). The former Italy boss having been heavily backed ...
Bilic's Croatia.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... ENGLANDface Bilic's Croatia on Wednesday and it's the hosts that command 5/4-favouritism with Blue Square ahead of the Zagreb ...
OFFER OF THE WEEK.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... OFFER OF THE WEEK: Open an account with Sportingbet.com, place a single bet on any football match in Europe and ...
MURRAY'S WINNING IN THE RAIN... Andy races into lead before storm arrives.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: SIMON LEWIS at Flushing Meadows ANDY Murray's electrifying start to his first grand slam semi-final was halted by rain in New York last night with the British number one leading US Open top seed Rafael Nadal two sets to love. Murray had lost all five of his ...
FANTASTIC FED IN FINAL.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... ROGER Federer remains on course for a fifth successive US Open crown after battling past Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semi-finals today. The world number two looked in sparkling form in the first set and, after losing his serve twice in the second to allow the Australian ...
Champions take hats off to rain.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... WALSALL were all but assured of a hat-trick of Birmingham League titles when the entire Premier League programme was wiped out by rain. The reigning champions would have fancied themselves to beat alreadydoomed Shifnal in any case but the torrential weather ensured nearest ...
Twenty20 dates set.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... THE second edition of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament will be played between September 25 and October 11 next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa - the founding members of the Champions League - confirmed ...
Hughes will have final say.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... MANCHESTER City executive chairman Garry Cook insists manager Mark Hughes will retain full control of all footballing matters at the club. Managers Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley this week quit their jobs at Newcastle and West Ham respectively citing differences with their ...
SHOREY'S THE MAN TO SPARK VILLA'S UEFA BID; EXCLUSIVE: NEW SIGNING TO LIVE OUT CONTINENTAL AMBITIONS Nicky: I blazed a trail in Europe.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY MAT KENDRICK NICKY Shorey admits Aston Villa have helped him realise his burning ambition to play in Europe - after the closest he got with Reading was setting fire to his Continental hotel room! Shorey was given a quickfire introduction to UEFA Cup ...
DAVIES: THREE LIONS WILL CALL.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANDY WALKER CURTIS Davies is convinced that he will pull on an England shirt one day but believes that he faces a stiffer test than Villa's other budding Lions. Due to Martin O'Neill's supposed best of British policy, Villa Park has become a hotbed of ...
DINNER OFF THE MENU.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... MANAGER Martin O'Neill has revealed that he never dines with any of his players - because his constant whines would leave them with a bitter after-taste! The Aston Villa boss is renowned for his motivational methods and man-management skills. But O'Neill values the ...
Kingson is linked with Latics bid.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANDY WALKER FORMER Blues flop Richard Kingson has confirmed that he is in talks with a Premier League club - understood to be Wigan Athletic. The Ghana international made one top flight appearance for Blues last season, during Alex Black's one-game tenure, ...
Sunday Mercury.net.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... NOW you don't have to wait until Sunday to keep up with all the top Midlands sports stories - your favourite ...
Our troubled family has a Cole-den boy; World Cup Qualifiers.(Sport)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: By MAT KENDRICK IS IT just me or is watching England nowadays like attending a family reunion? It used to be a real treat to go to these parties, which don't happen all that often after all. But now, whenever everybody gets together for a bash, it always ...
THE BUS STOPS HERE; Midlands battered as storms claim six lives.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: By ADAM ASPINALL SIX people lost their lives in the severe weather conditions that lashed Britain over the weekend - including one from the Midlands. And rain storms are expected to continue battering the country. Last night the death toll rose to ...
We wonder what Carl would be like today ..there are a lot of 'if onlys' when we talk about him; EXCLUSIVE BRIAN AND JANET BRIDGEWATER TALK FOR FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS OF THEIR SON'S KILLING.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA GRIEVING parents Janet and Brian Bridgewater have not spoken publicly about Carl's murder for more than ten years. But now on the eve of the 30th anniversary of their son's death, in their only interview, they have told the Sunday Mercury that ...
Binge drink radio blast.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... BIRMINGHAM'S Kerrang! Radio encourages binge-drinking, a Government-funded study claims. The heavy rock station is singled out for criticism in the report, which also points the finger at Radio 1's Chris Moyles. Experts from the University of the West of England ...
Scan delay warnings.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... HUNDREDS of patients face delays to vital scans for cancer and other diseases due to a "severe shortage" of imaging agents. A global shortage of medical isotopes used in scans of hearts, bones, kidneys and some cancers ...
crazy world.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... STUTTGART, Germany: Cops are hunting a skateboarder who was filmed travelling 80mph on a motorway. The skater can be seen on a clip on website YouTube, hanging onto a ...
Dad kept ex lover hostage.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A BRUTAL Midland dad who kept his ex-girlfriend hostage after taking a cocktail of heroin and crack cocaine has been caged. Donna Sandford was cut with a knife during the eighthour ordeal inflicted by Walsall man Matthew Spooner, the father of her four children. ...
PUSSY GALORE; Art show shocker consists of 185 words for female genitalia.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL VISITORS to a Midland art gallery might be excused for blushing when they check out one of its latest exhibits. The artwork by the American Jason Rhoades features an amazing 185 different words - for female genitalia. The racy ...
Murdered in front of teenage son.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A DAD-OF-TWO was slaughtered in a vicious knife attack witnessed by his teenage son, his heartbroken family revealed. Jeff Parry, 40, was ambushed by a gang of three men in his own home in Hodge Hill, Birmingham, and brutally stabbed as his 13 year-old boy looked on in horror. ...
Jacko goes walkabout.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... MICHAEL Jackson was missing as The Jacksons were crowned 'icons' at a Los Angeles awards ceremony on Friday night. It was left to Janet Jackson to introduce brothers Tito, Jackie, Marlon and Randy at the BMI gala. Superstar ...
Flat blaze woman hurt.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A WOMAN was rushed to hospital after a blaze swept her West Midlands flat yesterday. The victim, of Rombush Lane, Solihull, was alerted to the fire by a smoke alarm fitted in her flat and managed to escape early ...
crazy world.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... NANJING, China: A handsome teacher is offering pupils autographed photos of himself to encourage them to work harder. Ji Feng came up with the idea after he was pestered by students ...
Clarkson's big payday.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... TOP Gear co-host Jeremy Clarkson made around pounds 317,000 from the BBC show's merchandise and overseas sales last year. The popular motoring series generated an pounds 8.6 million turnover ...
MERSE GAMBLING AGAIN? YOU BET... Soccer star driven to brink of suicide is back in bookies - and says he still likes a flutter EXCLUSIVE BY JONNY GREATREX.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... FORMER Aston Villa star Paul Merson is still gambling - despite almost declaring himself bankrupt just over a year ago. And the 40-year-old, who also played for and managed Walsall, is promoting a new chain of bookmakers being launched across Birmingham in the next few weeks. ...
Anger over baby death.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A MIDLAND couple have told how they still blame hospital bosses for their newborn daughter's death. Rachel Burch, 23, and David Shipton, 50, of Swadlincote, Derbyshire, who accepted an out-of-court cash settlement, claim maternity ...
crazy world.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... SHEPTON MALLET, Somerset: The world's largest marrow, likened to a Doctor Who monster, is on display at an amateur gardening ...
Prison for glassing.(News)
Sep 07, 2008 ... A BESOTTED man who glassed an attractive young woman because he thought she was "too pretty", has been jailed. Andrew Plunkett, 28, from Derby, also ...
Inside the secret house of SHARIA; BRITAIN'S FIRST OFFICIAL COURT IS UP AND RUNNING IN THE HEART OF THE MIDLANDS EXCLUSIVE Britain is not civilised enough for extreme Islam punishments, says head of college.(Features)
Sep 07, 2008 ... Byline: BY JEANETTE OLDHAM A MUSLIM college in the Midlands is running the UK's first official sharia law court. The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal has already used sharia law to decide the outcome of more than 100 civil disputes between Muslims across the UK since it ...
OAP victims of families.(Features)
Sep 07, 2008 ... VULNERABLE pensioners are having their benefits, savings and homes stolen by members of their family, a charity has warned. It is thought tens of millions of pounds could have been robbed each year, and the scale of the financial abuse is on the increase. Help the ...