An early visitor

At Dorking Deepdene station on Wednesday, I spent a happy few minutes watching a pudgy little robin basking in a sunny corner of the rather tatty shelter. Clearly used to people, he hopped closer and closer, driven away only the vibrations of the arriving train.

Kind of Blue - the great Miles Davis

It's astonishing how music can lighten the mood. Here was I, knackered, disillusioned and sore of foot and back - and all it took to sort me out was a spot of the incomparable Miles Davis. Kind of Blue, to be precise - the album that introduced me to him, more years ago than I care to remember. And I never forget how privileged I was to hear him live.