Saturday was the second of the two Black Country Green Country visits – a great project establishing friendships between two very different communities.

It was a packed day, and like all things full of new experiences was both stimulating and exhausting in equal measure.

My brain is full of images of the day. I loved seeing people walk into the Public building and enjoying it for what it is – the weird and wonderful, not having their enjoyment jaded by the years of local press coverage.

I loved the Imam from the mosque wholeheartedly thanking us for coming to visit them, when we wanted to thank him. I was embarrassed by my toe sticking through a hole in my sock on the visit as we took our shoes off on entering – I knew it was going to happen, but we’re moving house and they were the only clean pair to hand!

I loved the way we had to begin both the singing workshop and the rangoli workshop with breathing exercises and I loved the way everybody smiled through the day.

Vamos’s show brought the day to a fine end.

I’ve lived in Smethwick for many years and I know it can be a pretty down at heel place sometimes, but I loved new people seeing it, I loved them appreciating the real Smethwick – that is its people, who are warm and friendly and many of us have come from different places to be here, but its still our Smethwick.

Well done Mark and Shamela and Val – and everyone down at CAP who did such a great job. It worked – stimulated and exhausted!

Steve Johnstone