[pendy]

I'm lucky because I have the best of both worlds. Most of the time I spend in London, but come up frequently to Ossy. When in Ossy, I never want to leave, but once I'm back in London I enjoy our life here. It is not quite true, though, that cities are unfriendly. Our local area is very much like a village, we have our local shops, and chat on the pavement - I can go out to buy a newspaper and take an hour because I bump into neighbours and chat for a while. Some parts of cities are grim, I agree, there are areas in London where I lock the car doors when I drive through them, and there are some areas where I wouldn't go for a very large pension. But do agree with Madhatter, I wouldn't want to live in Brum!