Hello everyone, and happy new year.

I'm a longtime fan of Detroitblog and a lurker here, finally thought I'd register and say hello.

I'm a British journalist and photographer, and I'm coming to Detroit in a few weeks to have a look around and write some stories about what I find. It's a bit of a musical pilgrimage for me [[Motown, Iggy, Detroit techno) and I can't wait to see some of the landmarks, even if the Underground Resistance building got pulled down a long time ago.

What I'd like most of all is to meet some of you and hear your stories of the Detroit of now, then and of the future. I'm really interested in how the city has been so important culturally and economically in the past, and how it is or may transform itself into something important again in the future.

Such things are made of human stories, stories from people like you. So if anyone would like to meet me for a drink and a chat, or take me on a tour of sites that are important to you, or give me suggestions for things I should see or people I should talk to, I'd appreciate it.

It's great you gave a big welcome for another Brit, Barbara, when she came to visit - I can't promise to turn your stories into characters in a ripping crime novel, I'm afraid, but I'd love to hear them anyway

all the best

michael