Cultural capital...

Is Leicester the tracksuit pants capital of England? I know that first impressions can be deceiving, but they do influence how you perceive a place. Granted, it was a cold and wet morning when I alighted from my Mainline Midland service into the grey streets of Leicester.

Mullet-headed men in track pants loitered around the train station forecourt, as single mums with prams puffed hard on fags. One of them handed a still smouldering butt to her five year old son.

'Go put this out for me luv', she said.

She reached into her handbag, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit another one, as her son expertly flicked the fag butt into the gutter....