City Life

Despite many experiences to the contrary, I can never quite remove from my mind the idea - somehow instilled in me in childhood - that cities comprise just concrete, steel, asphalt, noise and grime; the antithesis of green and pleasant. Birmingham certainly has its share of asphalt; good luck to the new mayor in their promise to take the city's public transport back into public ownership and persuade the citizens to reassess their historic affinity for the car

The reality of city life for many is much more human, and the ability of the natural world to find neglected corners in which to thrive is always uplifting. I couldn't help laughing at myself when this was the first vista that greeted me on arrival. A work detail day with our daughter, weilding drills and screwdrivers, mowers and strimmers, spades and watering cans. For me, a lot of it was outside, enjoying birdsong, abundant insects and spiders and the sound of happy children who at last have a day worthy of fun and games in the park beyond the garden fence

The list is now ticked, the smell of cut grass suffuses the house on the night air, and sleep is calling. I will dream bucolic dreams in the midst of the metropolis