I can quite often be accused of being a loner. I do my own company very well… as illustrated right now by me taking myself off to Birmingham for a coffee and a wander in the sunshine. But if I weren’t around people and the buzz of the city, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Sure, give me a holiday away from everything and everyone, where I can appreciate the beauty of rolling hills or a blue ocean… but by the...

Why was this guy with the sax and the dancing cat toy attracting such a crowd in Birmingham today? Was it the quality of his playing over pre-recorded backing tracks? Was it the fact that he bobbed up and down and looked at his feet the whole time? Or was it that amongst the myriad of religious, political and sandwich-based snack vendors coming at you from all sides and plying their wares that this guy was a welcome and fun sideshow? He...

Is it just me, or does the clock seem to be speeding along at a hefty rate of knots? I’m sitting in Starbucks watching the world outside go by. Don’t we grow up fast? Maybe it’s my contemplative state of mind at the moment. In a large city like Birmingham, it’s possible to be alone while you’re amongst thousands of other faces; going about their business, and for the most part in a world of their own,...