>>Why faff about with colour?

I think its the challenge of trying to solve the problem of turning a snapshot of reality into something more expressive. B&W has been an acceptable form of 'artistic photography' for quite a long time now, the removal of colour instantly removes the subject from ordinary life, adds mood and it can be quite easy to get surreal without a lot of effort.
Colour photography is still too 'real' to earn a place beside B&W unless you can get over the instant 'realness' and add a touch of the surreal/unexpected/other worldliness. When you look at a B&W you generally trust what you are seeing more, B&W gets over the first hurdle of 'is it real?' by virtue of its removal of colour. Subliminally we already know its not an accurate representation so we are more accepting of it, to me colour is a little more intriguing, more 'could it be real?' and more often than not when you look hard the answer is usually 'yes'!