Meet Jim...

I'd like to introduce you to a guy that I've got to know quite well over the last few months. Let's call him ... Jim.

Jim is reliable. He's always there, an inspiration to me amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy working day. However, despite the chaos of the capital where I work - he's never too busy. He just goes about his appointed task.

He is happy to listen to my problems; to share in my victories... He's not more interested in chatting on his mobile phone than in you (unlike some). Jim doesn't talk about you behind your back. He never criticises, never grumbles.

There have been days when Jim has been the closest thing I had to a friend in the Square Mile...
Jim is good for me. I smile when I see him, a familiar face in what can be a noisy, hostile and disinterested city centre. A sign of the passing of the day.

A man worthy of his mettle. Or, on this case, metal.

Because Jim is actually a statue, who can be found outside Platform 5 at Cannon Street railway station in London. The statue's officially called 'The Plumber's Apprentice', and is a tribute to the work of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers over a 400 year period.

Jim is, sadly, not a real person. Which is a shame, as I have struck up quite a rapport with him in recent weeks...

But I do know somebody who is just as reliable, just as faithful. He's always there (not just at the railway station). He listens to me. He guides me, step by step, through my life.

And His name begins with J, too...