In 2000, I was still working freelance and, at the start of the year, for the only time in my contracting career, I found myself without a job. The IT world was calming itself after the frenzied battening down of the mainframe hatches in anticipation of the Millenium Bug.

Over the space of a few weeks, my modem and I ran up a bill of £400 with BT as I scoured JobServe for work. Even when I went for a run, I'd take my 'phone in case an agent tried to call.

Then, in February, I managed to land a role in Glasgow. It was a funny little team but I settled in quickly enough and enjoyed my six months there. And, when the time came to leave, I stayed in touch with a couple of the guys from the project.

One of them was Ian, whom I met for lunch today. These days, we don't just have our love of music in common as we have ended up in similar positions workwise, plus there's always the kids to discuss and, after a couple of beers, the serious business of putting the world to rights. It was a splendid afternoon.

So, here I am, at Piccadilly station in Manchester, slightly less steady on my feet than I was when I arrived a few hours earlier :-)