Plot Twist: Manchester homelessness, talking trains and the coaching couch

Straight into it, no weather talk, what's been happening this week?

? I've had calls with some of the most incredible charities supporting people trying to escape homelessness in Manchester this week in partnership with client Invisible Cities. I chatted to Centrepoint who support 18-25 year olds about running a workshop on storytelling and the idea of inviting one of our brilliant walking tour guides along to tell their story. I also chatted with The Booth Centre, a community centre who offer support, help with employability and do a lot of work with refugees about arranging a walking tour for their team.

?? I confirmed a brilliant new partnership with the folks at Trainsplit to raise the profile of their brand - as they are the home of split ticketing and are often cheaper than Trainline, yet not enough people know about them.

?? I had my regular session with my business/life/accountability coach. I've been with her for about 4 years now and I wouldn't be without these sessions. Sometime it's just chat - a chance to download and reflect, other times it's about making big decisions and steps forward personally and professionally.

??I stopped. And this is really hard for me. I have an annoyingly frantic pace of doing things which most of the time is fine, but I've learnt over the years to break the cycle as often as I can and to just stop. This week that involved a cup of tea and a slice of the most incredible millionaires shortbread at a cafe between meetings. I had my notepad and phone but tried very hard to just sit and look out of the window. I managed about 20 minutes, which is good for me - and I felt boosted for it.

?? Finally, I have an idea brewing around video how-to guides for small businesses in travel and tourism to better understand their customer journey - watch this space. And if you want to be a guinea pig I'd love to hear from you.

Enjoy the weekend.