EXCLUSIVE

YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE YOUR HAT OFF TO WILBUR

13-09-2006

It started off as an innocent local advertising campaign but now it seems that after sparking a diplomatic incident, Wilbur the hick tourist from the US of A could be the catalyst for a “special relationship” between Birmingham, England and Birmingham Alabama.

Wilbur, for those of you who've been asleep for the past fortnight, was recently unveiled as a visiting American who came to Brum by accident butloved it so much he decided to take up residence.

His job is to point out - mainly through poster advertising - what wonderful local services and attractions we have.

The Stirrer commented last week that while he might be naff he's kinda cute as well, and we speculated that when he's gone he'll probably be as fondly remembered as Benny from Crossroads and the King Kong statue.

Other local journalists were less kindly disposed. Richard McComb gave poor old Wilbur a verbal mugging in the Birmingham Post yesterday and there have been suggestions that good folk of Birmingham, Alabama might well take offence at such a crude caricature of their local culture.

And so they might if Wilbur was actually aimed at them - although frankly I doubt it - but the point is that he was designed purely for local consumption.

His birth-place was also a pure accident; there's nothing in the official campaign to identify him as even coming from the deep south.

The Alabama connection came about purely because the actor who plays Wilbur, Rob Laughlin penned an impromptu ditty on the day of the press launch which went something like this:

“I've come from Birmingham, Alabama to Birmingham UK/You've got some great culture here, I think I'm going to stay”.

Light-hearted stuff, but one or two local scribes mischievously took that as their cue to check out reaction Stateside- and it wasn't positive.

Since then, we understand that debates about our hapless guest have been going on at the highest levels of the council.

There have even beensuggestions thatan anti-Wilbur campaign has been orchestrated by elements hostile to city leader Mike Whitby - though The Stirrer doubts it.

More likely, the journos have been doing their proper job of trying to get a good story on a slow day.

In any event, here comes the good news.

We understand that the cabinet member for Leisure Ray Hassall has been in discussions with the female president of Birmingham, Alabama with a view to strengthening ties between the two cities - and he's had a very positive reaction.

Their Birmingham, like ours, is struggling to shake off a negative historical image at the same time as moving on from an economy based on heavy industry.

So it looks like Wilbur might actually achieve precisely the opposite of what the naysayers and doom-mongers were claimingby becoming one of the finest ambassadors the city has ever had.