To Coyne A Phrase

On, and off, your bike

I’VE always considered exercise to be one of those things to be wholly admired in others without ever feeling the need to get involved myself.

Unfortunately, societal pressure to lose weight and get fit seems to have reached fever pitch. It’s impossible to turn on the television without someone lecturing you about the amount of sugar in a low fat yoghurt or what your ideal body mass index should be.

It quite puts me off my takeaway some nights, it really does.

But I suppose I shall have to dust down my Lasse Viren running shoes and get out there and do my bit with everyone else. 

And in this new spirit of wanting to burn off the pounds I was interested to hear about a new folding bike rental scheme that has arrived at Moor Street station in Birmingham.

Public transport co-ordinator Centro has teamed up with Birmingham City Council and train operator London Midland to provide Brompton dock facilities.
 
The docks will each house 20 of Brompton’s iconic folding bikes.
 
A further dock will be installed along Colmore Row near Snow Hill station in the coming months with a further facility also set to arrive close to New Street station.

Meanwhile, the last person who wants to read about bikes at the moment is the battered and bruised Omar Budeiri of Birmingham telecoms firm ROAR.

Omar was knocked off his bike by a motorist recently and went over the bonnet of the car and smashed into the window screen.

Luckily he only suffered superficial injuries.

But next time I see him I shall be telling him that such mishaps are unlikely to happen when you are sat at home in front of the TV with a chicken jalfrezi.
 
 
Relax, don’t do it

IT seems the biggest obstacle to relaxing when on holiday isn’t the intrusion of mobile phones, tablets and the like but what’s going through our own heads.

New research suggests workaholic Brits will only be relaxed for 42% of their summer holiday.
 
The study by LondonOffices.com, quizzed a focus group of workers to find out how much of their holiday time they actually considered as holiday.
 
A majority of respondents believed that on a one-week holiday they only felt truly relaxed for three days.
 
Many cited that the first day was consumed with the stress of travelling to their holiday destinations.
 
The second, third and fourth day were believed to be the most relaxing, with the third day coming out as the respondents favourite.
 
A majority of respondents, 58%, said that the fifth day was the most depressing as it was the realisation point that you’re nearer the end of the holiday than the beginning.
 
Gearing up for the journey home as well as beginning to think about work meant that a majority of respondents felt stressed on the sixth and seventh day.
 
One worker who took part in the study said: “As I get to the end of my holiday I start thinking about what I’ve got to do at work, as soon as I start doing that the holiday is effectively over.”

My remedy for not thinking about work is to leave all mobile devices at home, ignore English newspapers and TV channels and to try and drink lots of alcohol.

And I do more or less the same when I’m on holiday.
 
 
West is best

I’VE long been a believer that if city centres make space for independent and local bars, restaurants and shops, rather than going down the chain route, they become more vibrant and interesting places.

That certainly seems to be the case with Great Western Arcade in central Birmingham which is now home to an eclectic mix of cafes, restaurants, leftfield retailers, delicatessens and the like.

Yorks Bakery Café and Sushi Passion are its latest additions.

A focus on such businesses has certainly worked and footfall in the arcade has been impressive enough for tenants such as The Pen Shop, to sign a new lease.

Welcoming ‘pop up’ stores such as Projekt21, Dark Circle Clothing and Bolongaro has also added to the mix.

You do wonder why, in an era when so many shopping centres and high streets offer the same things, more of them haven’t tried to do something a bit different.

There is clearly an appetite for a distinct retail offering – as can also be judged by the success of farmers’ markets and the like.

Personally, I’d like to see the idea spread beyond arcades and into the High Street. Quite a few of our local city centres could benefit from such an approach in my opinion.

Smaller towns such as Leamington Spa have the chain store/independent mix just right I think.

They provide the one thing that what online shopping never can: a great day out.

Talking of which, have a great weekend.