LITTLE did I ever think I would bump into the President of the United States on the banks of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Well I did. We exchanged pleasantries and he shook my hand as well.

It could have been any European city. The sun was shining, people - tourists and Brummies alike - were sitting around, enjoying a glorious summer's day in a city that was turned out in its Sunday best to host eight of the world's most influential leaders, their spouses, and myriad officials, from all corners of the globe.

I was on my way to collect accreditation for the G8 Summit in the National Indoor Arena where, along with 3000 other journalists from the world's media, we will be briefed and debriefed on the bilaterals, communiques, and general machinations of international politics.

President Clinton arrived to mingle unannounced. There was no warning, no advance guard to sanitise the public. All of a sudden, there he was, the most powerful political figure in the Western hemisphere, only a handshake away.

Close up, he was relaxed, handsome, at ease with himself. Though surrounded by security guards, he gave not a hint of anxiety that here he was an obvious target sauntering among God knows whom.

The punters who had left home yesterday morning to go for a pint were staggered. Not least the pensioners in the Moat House pub, with whom he drew up his chair to share a pub lunch -at least help himself to their chips.

The workmen high up on a scaffold danced a jig and gave the President a Mexican Wave. He waved back.

The Brummies on the sidewalk were delighted, any irritation at the security measures being put in place forgotten.

They have much of which to be proud. Long gone are the days when Birmingham was a gloomy industrial city, albeit a ''city of a thousand trades''.

As the street banners proclaim, the Brummies have welcomed the world to Birmingham. What the world will see is a multicultural city, modern, and dynamic.

It was the Tories who chose Birmingham to succeed Denver for the G8 summit. The Rockies are missing from the backdrop, but Birmingham certainly fits in with the Cool Britannia look. Tony Blair will not be complaining.