I would strongly recommend Ilford XP2 (and its Fuji-badged equivalent)
or Kodak BW 400CN.  Both are ISO 400 C41 films with excellent
latitude.  They can be processed cheaply in any 1-hour minilab (Boots,
Asda, Tesco etc.) because their chemistry (C41) is the same as colour
print film.  You can also get the images cheaply scanned to CD.

Ilford FP4 is a nice film, but you either have to process and print
(or scan) it yourself, or rely on an ever-decreasing number of labs
that develop and print black and white film.  All of them cost a lot
more than developing and printing at Boots, Asda or Tesco, and if they
offer scanning to CD, it is usually very expensive indeed.

Another benefit of Ilford XP2 or Kodak BW 400CN is that they offer ISO
400 speed with less granularity than Ilford FP4, which is ISO 125.
They can also be exposed at any ISO rating between 100 and 800.

FP4 is a good choice and if you are looking for a high key result then use a
faster film HP5+ as it is a lower contrast.

Any make of film will get you a result and it's experience that will tell
you what to use. Personally anything in Rodinal works for me as processing
is just an integral factor as choice of film.

Duncan

Thanks to everyones helpful comments

Regards Alan