I met Brian only very short on my second day, but all went well. A friend of him opened the apartement and showed me all i have to know.
Its a nice room with his own bathroom, a little fridge, a water cooker and lots of teas.
From airport i had 20 min by train and 5 min per foot. Northern quarter is 15 min walking away, china town and gay village about 10 min.
Right next to the building is the canal lake, from which you can walk along the canal. Perhaps you can see a small ship in a lock, where the flood gates are opened and closed by hand.