There was no media scrum to witness Labour's first Birmingham by-election victory since Gordon came to power.
There had been plenty of coverage to celebrate the life and times of Ken Hardeman, but less interest it seems in who was to replace him.
Thank goodness for the web. Community site www.AboutMyArea.co.uk/B14 had diligently given every candidate the chance to have their say and been encouraging people to vote. Now the site editor was the only reporter patiently waiting for the result at Colmore School.
As the counters counted and the checkers checked and the clock ticked, concern was growing in the corridor outside the count.
Loyal ladies waiting to get in and congratulate the Conservative were worried by the long faces. Other supporters were worried about which was to come first, the declaration or last orders at the Red Lion?
The result looked close, so counters counted more carefully and the last pints were pulled.
Tory Ken Axford was starting to look more weary now. He'd come fourth behind the BNP the last few times he stood for election. Surely Brandwood, with three sitting councillors and following in the shoes of the great man Hardeman was going to be a safer bet?
His night was destined to finish with a tribute to Ken, a Kipling quote about adversity and a shrug of the shoulders admitting he didn't know yet why he had lost.
Was it the Brown Bounce or the Leddy Leap?
Mike Leddy started the evening by gesturing to the onlookers with a thumb and forefinger almost touching to say it was going to be close. Albert Bore whispered that the first four ballot boxes opened had all gone Labour and the Tories agreed.
An hour later they were still counting. But by now Mike Leddy was beaming and he needed two hands to indicate how it was still going to be a close result.
When the counting was over and everyone gathered around the council official with his calculations, Ken Axford said he was happy with the result - before correcting himself and saying he was happy with the count but not the result of course.
Then speeches and time for reaction:
Mike Leddy: delighted - he promised to work hard for Brandwood.
Steve McCabe MP - Excellent result. It was Mike Leddy who was talking about the same issues as local people. Wouldn't be drawn on any implications for a General Election.
Albert Bore - Looking forward to continue the Labour fight back next year.
Ken Axford - It was national politics that cost me the vote (I think)
Robert Purcell - It was unfair, some people had been suggesting it's not nice to vote BNP
The school hall was almost empty as the rest of the speeches faded away and Mr Smith the caretaker waited patiently.
As we left, the Tory ladies were muttering how rude it was of Labour to leave before the speeches were over. Behind them, Francois William Teissier Jones (UKIP) and Keith Axon of the New Nationalist Party were probably thinking the same thing.
