I had been living in my studio building for a couple of years but when my girlfriend came to live with me we found it too cramped and decided to look for a small house not too far away. Eventually we found a nice three bedroom house with a garden about a mile to the north. Between the house and the studio lies the Regents Canal, it's a fairly run down stretch of canal but I used it for a while as a jogging route in the mornings. I would run along roads heading east till I reached Victoria Park. There is a gate onto the canal and from there I would run back home along the toe path. After a few months my back started to react badly to the hard pavements and my physiotherapist said I should drop the jogging. Instead I installed a cross-country ski machine in the studio and now I exercise there. It's less stressful but more boring. I find it easier to keep going if I close my eyes and picture the route along the canal

We first met while taking a cigarette break during an art opening in London. In our arms we held our new born daughters who have been friends ever since. We have become friends and have worked together on various art projects since then, most recently an exhibition at the Birmingham gallery where he is now the director. While the show was up my wife and daughter and I spent a long weekend with his family. They have a large house and we spent a relaxed weekend talking, eating and setting off fireworks. On the Sunday we went for a long walk in the country, although it was November it was bright and sunny and we had a picnic. That evening we stayed up late drinking and listening to music. We also looked at catalogues and talked about the art world