Own a Pair of Heeleys

Own a pair of Heeley's

To celebrate my 30th birthday, I travelled to Las Vegas meeting my brother and his family out there.  In the midst of the bright, light city with all it's glitz, glamour and splendour, away from the cards and craps tables I saw something pretty amazing....

Kids were gliding down the street as if by magic.



At first, I thought that the lack of sleep, heightened emotional state and oxygen pumped brain had caused me to start hallucinating, however, I later discovered after a visit to the Las Vegas Outlet Mall that the magical devices were available to purchase from most stalls.  They carried the title "heeleys", shoes with wheels in the heels and they were only available in kids sizes.

Soon this trend caught on in the UK and the children in my local town were gliding from shop to shop with the greatest of ease.

I wanted, no, I NEEDED to join this craze but without adopting the "ugly sister and glass slipper approach" I was struggling with shoe sizes!

Why were Heeleys missing out on such a wide market?  Parents must be seeing their kids zipping around and thinking, "I want a go"  How many parents use their kids as an excuse to go into a soft play centre climbing and zipping around.  I for one am the first in line to whip my shoes off to chase after my daughter in our local crazy, multi tiered sot play and zipping down the bumpy slide.

Surely, I am not on my own....pass me that glass slipper!

I can now say, that even though I am approaching 40 years old, I am a proud owner of a pair of Heeleys.

The down side is how the hell do you actually use them?

Kids make it look so easy, am I too old? Kids fall over, bounce, and get back up....dad's break

Cycle from coast to coast

Cycle from Coast to Coast

A little family trip to Hafan Y Mor, just on the outskirts of Pwllheli in Wales, presented an opportunity to cross another challenge of my 40 before 40 list.

Admittedly, when I set up the original challenge of cycling from coast to coast, the plan was to do this over a 2- or 3-day expedition crossing from one side of the UK to the other.  With time slowly running out before I turn the ripe young age of 40 when the opportunity strikes I have to jump at the chance.

Pwllheli is located on the South Coast of the Llyn Peninsula, a small peninsular with over 91 miles of coastal path known as the Land’s End of Wales.  

We were staying at Hafan Y Mor, a Haven caravan site, so whilst my daughter was fully entertained by the larger than life characters, the largest pool she had ever seen and a multitude of activities including archery, crafts, painting and picnics, I was granted permission to venture out on my trusty steed.

In the shadow of Mount Snowden, I assumed that a coast to coast ride would be pretty flat and fast, but I have fallen for that mistake too many times whilst entering marathons.  Wales is known for it's hills and valleys so I knew this adventure would be taking in some pretty decent climbs but I would be unaware of where or when they were.

The first part of my journey was across from the Pwllheli on the South Coast over to the Nefyn Golf Club on the North Coast.  This was one long road with little undulation, little traffic and little excitement.  There was a coastal wind for the full journey and as all winds whilst cycling, it was not a tail wind.  As I approached the golf club it soon became evident that the entrance track was a formidable mountain gravel climb but I knew the shore line would be visible from the other side so there was only one way to go.  On road tires, the gravel was challenging on every rotation of the wheel just to stay vertical, but the treacherous journey was worth it, I had arrived.  I had cycled from one coast to another, admittedly, this arduous journey was just about as long as this blog post so far….at 11 miles and a travel time of about 40 mins, I could hardly call this a triumph.

Glancing at the map in the caravan park before I had embarked on my epic journey, I saw that the bottom end of the peninsula was a little town called Aberdaron.  So, following road signs only, I ventured onto my new coast to coast to coast journey from Nefyn to Aberdaron.  The first part of the journey I had the stunning Welsh Coast line on my right-hand side and fields populated with synonymous sheep and cattle on my left.  There was little to no traffic on this road and the sun was beating down, I was clocking a decent pace for most of the journey but lurking in the distance and getting closer and closer as the minutes passed by was a Welsh hill.  I could see a road winding round the perimeter of the hill and there seemed to be no other way around it.  Just after passing the town of Tudweiliog the road started to incline and the trek up my first Welsh gradient began.

The view from the top was stunning, again the coast was in full view to my right there was no sight of Aberdaron though and no time to just sit and enjoy the view.  Considering that I was heading towards a coastal town the elevation just did not seem to be correct, I was climbing more than descending for most of the 11 mile journey, all of a sudden my legs were given a pass and I was presented with an almost cliff edge descent.  Hurtling into Aberdaron at break neck speed, sooner than I had expected I was at my new coastal destination.

Aberdaron is a real lazy town with, most of the shops were shut and the beach was practically empty.  I parked up my bike for the next coastal picture and took in the sights again.  The breeze seemed a little less blustery, this could be to the hills that surround the town and act as a barrier to the prevailing winds.

Right on the beach front was a little pub/guest house call Gwesty Ty Nweydd and I thought it would be rude not to take a little refresher whilst here.  My cider of choice hardly touched the sides as I consulted the map to work out my return journey.  On the road into Aberdaron I had noticed a road sign for Pwllheli, this would mean returning up the near vertical climb, following the same road out as in and then turning on a main road back to home. To my right was another climb but that was taking in the alternative coastal road towards home.  This was an unknown road, there would be inevitable climbs as I was in Wales, but how much of a climb was yet to be determined.

I opted for unknown roads and a new adventure.

I set off from Aberdaron with an up-hill struggle, this climb was relentless.  I had clocked 25 miles before stopping for my coastal pint, 4 miles later I was still to reach the pinnacle point.  I started a 35ft above sea level and clocked a phenomenal 577ft elevation in the gruelling push to the top with 14% gradients at some points of the ride.  Sweat was dripping, but thankfully there were no cars on the way up to contend with.

Finally, I reached the summit and the descent loomed in front of me.  I could see Pwllheli in the distance beckoning me to hurtle towards it at breakneck speed.  The route down was winding and full of hair pin bends, there was no chance to clock some serious speeds even though the downhill sections were incredible.  At some points the road would almost turn 90 degrees with very little warning, and little protected the road edge from a cliffy drop.  It was exhilarating after such a hefty climb.

Here is the full video of the route - https://www.relive.cc/view/2244741668

Once I had reached Pwllheli, it was an easy retrace of my steps back to the caravan site and time to start teaching my little 3-year-old daughter how to ride a bike….

...maybe one day, she will be joining her daddy on a little cycle adventure….

Ring the Bell

Back in the summer of 1986, I remember hiding under my Auntie Linda's (T'Lind as I have always called her) table whilst my many uncles, aunties and cousins feasted over another family birthday buffet.  It was here I noticed a little lump on my right calf.  Small, round and with a little black spot in the centre.  Obviously, as a 6 year old boy, I was always covered in bumps and bruises so didn't think much of it.  It didn't hurt, it wasn't uncomfortable it was just.....there.

I pointed it out to my mum, who after a little examination, assumed it could just be an insect bite but we would keep an eye on it just in case.

The "lump" grew.

With increased concern, my mum took me to the local doctor to have a medical examination and put minds at ease.  The diagnosis was a cyst and I was referred to Bolton Hospital for further investigation and removal.  It was during this examination that things took a turn for the worse.

Since the 1980's there have been massive leaps forward in medical science and research.  When the word "cancer" is mentioned it strikes fear into the hearts of everyone including friends and family.  So many people are impacted by this feared word, yet the survival rate has increased exponentially.

Cancer is still a monstrosity that has claimed the lives of so many people which in turn impacts
those around them.  It is a massive blemish on the medical world but as new sciences come forth, continued research is funded and new medical minds bring new innovative ideas the mortality rate is diminishing, slowly.


Back in 1986, my mum was told that the lump on my calf was not a cyst but a cancerous tumor, a malignant melanoma.  Whilst not the most common forms of skin cancer, malignant melanoma causes the most deaths.  I cannot imagine, now as a father myself, how my parents must have felt when this news was broken to them, how I would even process it.

My mum has always been a little reserved talking about the days that followed, but I do know that my dad was working as a fireman at the local fire station whilst my mum and I were given the news.  My mum drove home from Bolton Hospital bearing this news on her heart wondering how to break this to her husband, how to tell my teenage brother?  I cannot bear to think of how that conversation went.

When we arrived at the fire station, Ivor the Driver sensed the gravitas of the situation and came over to distract me whilst my mum and dad had that dreaded conversation.

I was admitted to The Royal Bolton Hospital soon after for the removal of the tumor.  The procedure included taking skin from my left thigh to use as a graft to cover the large cavity where calf muscles used to be.  Again, with time passed, I have very little memory of the weeks spent in hospital, only fleeting recollections of 100's of cards, visits from school teachers, school friends, my local swimming club, Welephant and all my family especially my Nanna, Grandad, George and Doris. Oh and the blue eggs that were a comic feature of every breakfast, how can you get boiled eggs that wrong every day?  I was tutored by Miss Win Connor, a teacher from my primary school who willingly gave up her time to come and read with me and brought homework so I could keep up with lessons being missed.

A few weeks later, it was discovered that the removal procedure had not been a complete success and further work needed to be done.  I was transferred from Bolton to The Christie Hospital in Manchester and onto the Young Oncology Unit.  Every child admitted to this ward was ill, each parent was going through hell, but despite all this and the unbelievable pressure they must be under, the medical staff were (and still are) positive and amazing every single day.  Supporting parents and caring for their children.

After a few more weeks I left hospital as a cancer patient who had beaten the dreaded illness.  I had the scar to show for it but I was still here.  Thinking as I write this, my fighting spirit is definitely a trait inherited by my daughter.  She has already proven that she has the strength and determination to fight, but that is another post.

I featured in the pages of our local newspaper.  My uncle was one of the journalists and the writer on the feature, but it was something that needed shouting about.  As I said, the mortality rate from cancer in the 1980's was extremely high and if I could give a ray of hope to a newly diagnosed patient then it was worth it.

The thing that always tickled me about this article was the way the picture was taken.  My uncle had asked me to run towards him showing how healthy I was now, unfortunately due to the angle of the shot, it looks as though my right leg had been completely amputated from the knee down.  I was questioned for weeks about my false leg looking so real!

My return appointments to The Christies for check ups were weekly to begin with.  My Dad and I would arrive early Friday morning and follow a similar routine for the years that followed.  We would be greeted by Mary the tea and biscuits lady in the waiting room.  She must have been in her 80's back then but she was always full of smiles and joy.  Mary was a volunteer who helped out on the Friday morning out patient appointments, she did this purely out of the kindness of her heart.  Next, I would be weighed and have my height measured by Wendy and finally it would be an assessment of the site of the tumor, an inspection of prone areas and a health check over from Doctor Raj.  This whole routine was managed by Pauline, an incredible lady who acknowledged every parent and patient who entered the ward by name and recollection as if it was only yesterday when they last met.  It is these little touches that prove the dedication and care from the team at The Christie is second to none.

My weekly visits soon became monthly and then every 6 months.  In my mid teens they changed to an annual visit but the faces never changed.  Mary, who must have been tipping 100, still brought tea and biscuits, Wendy still weighed, Dr Raj provided medical consultancy whilst Pauline ran the shop.  Occasionally the visit would involve a scan, a blood test or an x-ray.  I was still a young oncology patient and as heartbreaking as it was to see young children and babies all starting their journey that I had begun years before, I knew the safe hands they would be in.

More years passed by and my appointments were moved to two yearly, Mary had reduced her hours down due to ill health, Wendy had sadly passed and Pauline was over due for retirement.  These amazing people will always hold a place in my heart for the strength and support they gave to me and my family for many, many years.

The Young Oncology building was demolished and clinics were moved to the new building.  Whilst I know these changes reflected the advancements in medical technology I missed the familiar setting.  I had grown up with the people and the ward, but it was time for a change.

In 2016, 30 years after I was first diagnosed, I sat waiting in the new young oncology department.  There were no biscuits and tea from Mary, no weighing from Wendy and Pauline was in the Bahamas loving her retirement.  I was called forward and sent into Dr Raj's room.  We started with the usual check up, chat about family and life.  Dr Raj turned to  my enormous medical file which over the years had been crammed with notes, results, and scans.  He closed the outer casing and wrote the word "Discharged" on the front in big red letters.  I shook his hand, hugged him, thanked him for the many years that had passed and left the consultancy room.

I walked over to the large silver bell in the middle of the waiting room, grabbed the cord and rang three times.  On discharge, every patient gets to ring the bell as a symbol of success.  30 years had passed, I had grown from a 6 year old boy to a 36 year old man now with an amazing daughter who is growing up perfectly healthy, and I beat cancer.

Thank you to all the staff at The Christie, you are all amazing.

Bake a Cake for a birthday

It's not everyday you get to make a birthday cake, especially a 1st Birthday cake for your Daughter, so with little baking experience and poor artistic skills, I was ready for the challenge.  

My fears resemble the "nail'd it" memes that fill the internet.  Parents who have tried to match a cake they have found on Pintrest or Reddit and fail miserably creating what can only be described as monstrous

.

Looking for ideas for my first birthday cake attempts, obviously I was drawn into the magical world of Princess Cakes and magnificent, gargantuan pink castles that my creative skills would more than likely result in a "nail'd it" post.  I wanted something that would suffice the small gathering we were about to have, not require Gandalf levels of magic to create but something that would look the part.  Maybe in a few more years I could attempt one of these works of art, but for now, I had to be more grounded in my choices.

Scouring the interwebs, we came across a cake that looked quite effective, but didn't need too much creativity, very colourful, but not elaborate, this was the M&M cake.  A standard chocolate cake on the interior but surrounded by Kit Kat fingers and topped with a scatter of M&M's on top this vibrant birthday cake was a winner.  Being a 1st birthday cake though, M&Ms would be a no-no as our little princess would swallow whole so all alternative would be required.

My first attempt at the chocolate cake came out a little flat, but luckily there was more mixture to have a few more goes, and thankfully these came out just right....well, just right for me, a seasoned baker would probably be a little more of a perfectionist.  The cake looked like a cake, didn't have a soggy bottom and was the right shape, for me, perfect!




Next came the icing, due to a recent cycling accident, my whisking action is not up to par, so Clare was on hand to make the chocolaty filling.  Spreading, or more aptly, smothering the triple stack with the gloop of a healthy eaters nightmare of ingredients, the cake was really taking form

Finally came the decoration.  We had opted for Les Cadbury's Fingres for the "basket" feature around the cake hoping that we had bought enough to fit the perimeter.  As the basket started to take shape, the cake took on a whole new feel.  It was looking like the pictures we had downloaded!

The alternative choice to the choke inducing M&M's was our little princesses favourite (well one of her favourites), Chocolate and White Chocolate Buttons.  White for the base, with chocolate for the number "1"  Double stacking the brown chocolate to give it that extra layer was Clare's great idea,.  The cake was now complete and thankfully, for us all, there was an excess of buttons to be enjoyed by all the family.

I am very happy with the end result as it looks quite effective with very little creative skill required.  I am looking forward to getting more adventurous with each year and know that next year the cake will be even more elaborate.  However, I still think I am a while off the Princess Castles

Now where is that candle?

Have a Family Tradition

Being a Christmas grump for many years, I have always had a little tradition of my own around the festive period to perk up my cheer and get me into the Christmas mood.  This, admittedly, was on Christmas Eve so the cheer was a just on the cusp of being Grinchian, but it was better late than never.

This tradition goes back a few years and involves my favourite Christmas story told in the best possible way, The Muppet's Christmas Carol.  Taking Dicken's classic tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge, adding in the comedic talents of Jim Henson and his motley crew and then flourish with a superb soundtrack and you have an ultimate Christmas Classic.

I pour myself a glass of port (or two) and sit down to watch, sing, laugh and shed a little tear.

When I met Clare, her view of Christmas was far from my own.  The Yule Season is one to be giddy, joyous and celebratory for the whole of December.  The tree goes up early in the month, the Christmas films start, and the wrapping begins. This began to rub off on me too, but the Scrooge like qualities still remained in the background.

This is where one of our family traditions began.  When in Los Angeles, we stumbled across a Christmas Store, 365 days of the year it was Christmas Day.  Giddy as anything, Clare ran inside (whilst dressed in summer clothes and was in Christmas heaven).  We purchased our first holiday Christmas Bauble, something for our tree that would remind us of the great times on holiday. This was then followed by a purchase in San Diego and Las Vegas including the M&M world and Coca-Cola World.  From then on, every holiday we go on, be it far afield or on home turf, if we class it as a holiday (rather than a weekend break) we purchase a decoration for our tree.

Each year, when putting up the focal decoration point, we reminisce over previous holidays as each adornment is added.  A glittering golden Colosseum, a San Diego sandal, a Czech egg, Krakovian Angel, the list keeps on growing and growing.  Every holiday destination now involves a hunt for the new feature.

With the birth of our daughter, Isabella, Christmas has a whole new meaning and with it the traditions of old were added to new and special traditions.

We now have a Christmas Eve box, which contains new Christmas PJ's and a few little treats to prepare for the visit from the big man in the red suit.  Add this to the annual tradition of sitting to watch The Muppet's Christmas Carol and the day just becomes perfect, oh, and don't forget the port.

On Isabella's first Christmas Eve, we went to a local carol mass hosted by local children in the area, not being religious, this was not normally something I would attend, but seeing how happy Clare was and how close knit the community feeling was, I can see this being added to the Christmas Eve celebration.

Outside of Christmas traditions, but remaining strong with our family love of travel, Clare has started her own little tradition and it has already become something of a work of art.  With us visiting so many countries and going on as many holidays as possible, we both want Isabella to have a similar passion to see the world.  Clare came up with the idea of Isabella's Travel Book, in which pictures, postcards, maps, memories and a little love is added to each page.  Clare is currently designing and adding to volume 1 at the moment which I know will be followed by multiple volumes in the future. Our dream is this to continue as a family tradition but Isabella become more and more involved in each addition choosing the knick-knacks to adorn the pages.

I am sure there will be more events that become tradition as our baby girl grows up, but to start with, these are already magical.

Be a Wedding Photographer

October 22nd 2016, 9am, I woke early to celebrate my birthday with Clare and beautiful little daughter, but I had to leave as I had a job to do.  I was hired to be a wedding photographer.

Clare's Auntie (Denise) met her partner Barry a few years ago and decided to tie the knot. As I was studying photography at Bolton College I asked if they would mind if I could act as second photographer at the wedding to practice my newly acquired skills.  In response to this, they both requested me to be the lead, to take full control and take the official pictures for their wedding.  An absolute honour but also a lot of pressure.  It was great to be given so much trust to capture the emotion, happiness and joy of their special day, but the thought of having the photographs come out too dark, blurred, cropped or just not perfect was a massive challenge to overcome for an armature.

I arrived early at the venue to try and capture the room untouched, the cake assembly, the guests arriving, the groom meeting everyone and the pre-ceremony excitement.  Once I heard Denise was on her way, this became more than just a photo opportunity, the pictures had to be perfect.

Denise arrived early with her daughter, two sons and Barry's Granddaughter.  Whilst the guests inside headed towards the ceremony room, I tried to capture Denise in all her wedding glow.   Denise's sons are characters and very rarely have a serious moment.  I could tell from the view in my lens that they were proud of their mum in this moment, in awe of her, but still found time for a giggle and jape.

Back inside the guests were gathered.  This was the moment I was fearful of.  The bride only enters the room once, the groom only sees his wife-to-be for that one moment only once, the rings, the first kiss, the thoughts and reactions only happen in an instant and if I missed any one of those moments then the whole reason for me being there was null and void, I would have failed.

Looking back on what I captured in that 30 minute window, I was very happy with the results.  There are a few shots that could have been done better, more artistically that a more trained eye would have spotted immediately, but for a first timer, it went well.

Now the fabulous couple were married it was time to take them away from the celebrations for a little photo shoot.  Trying to capture the happiness in their eyes whilst also framing the moments of joy and love.  The frosty October air was fresh but a little too cold to spend outside for too long and after I had taken as much as possible I let the bride return to the warmth.  I used this opportunity to offer the guests family portraits, trying to add another little skill to my bow.

At the wedding breakfast, I was given a little reprieve,  "Enjoy your food and relax" I was told by the Groom, so I did.

When the speeches started I was back on duty.  The Groom and Best Man speeches are always a moment worth capturing.  Reaction shots of the laughter, smiles and sometime grimaces on the guests faces, moments of thought and respect for those unable to attend and looking towards the future.

Finally, my role of photographer was coming to a close, I had one more very important job to do and then it was back to relaxed photography.  Denise and Barry had been to dance classes for the last few months and wanted to display their newly acquired skills on the dance floor as the new couple.  Again, this moment is one that needed capturing right and one that you can not ask for a repeat of because the settings on the camera were not right or they were not in the right position.


As the dancing and party began, I was happy to capture the final moments of such a special day, one that I was truly honoured to be a part of.

When I returned home, I was absolutely knackered.  This is a hard job to do and even with all the experience in the world, there is still so much pressure to capture the day not just right, but perfect.  I have shown the pictures to Denise and Barry and they are over the moon with what I accomplished. Family started to use my pictures as profiles on Facebook, compliments started to come in about certain shots I had done.

Prior to this day I considered taking up the role to earn some extra cash at weekends, and although it was an amazing experience, I think the pressure of capturing so many perfect moments in one day is something I will leave to the professionals.....although, if you ask nicely, I am available for Weddings, Christenings, Birthdays etc

Thank you Denise and Barry for your trust

Go to Celebration (Star Wars)

You may have gathered that I am a fan of a certain franchise of films, whether it be from my chosen pseudonym (Pondo), my trusty and faithful dog is called Chewie, my urge to meet an actor who starred in the Holy Trilogy or the fact that my daughter at 4 months old has confirmed that A New Hope is, to this date, the greatest (and only) film she has seen...ever!

I have convinced Clare on numerous occasions to join me on visits to Comic Conventions and Star War Days and, although she may deny it to your face, I know that she has enjoyed them...in part.  Despite her support on these visits I knew that a trip to Anaheim for the largest Star Wars convention on the planet, previously hosted by Lucasfilm, would be completely off the cards due to serious financial implications.

Star Wars Celebration is a fan gathering to celebrate the Star Wars franchise normally held in America but occasionally venturing into Europe.  2016 saw the return of the event to our shores, Celebration Europe III, London 15th -17 July 2016.  Guests announced were Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Warrick Davis and Anthony Daniels (C3P0) to name a few.  On the day of release for the tickets, I had purchased my entry for the Saturday show....8 months early!

To grow my excitement further, we were also blessed with the next installment in the franchise, The Force Awakens came out in December 2015.  With trepidation and anxiety, hoping it was not a return to the dismal prequel form, I went to the midnight showing.  Thankfully I left with absolute faith in the future of the Galaxy Far, Far Away (full review of the film can be found here).  With Celebration still months away, but Star Wars fever growing, I had a feeling it was going to be an event to remember.

I had opted for the slow but cheap transport to our capital city via MegaBus.  5 hours on a bus with time to kill.  The last time I was in London was to support Jade Jones win gold at the London Olympics, but that was with Clare and a group of family and friends, this time I was venturing down alone and 5 hours with no company on a big blue bus is not something I put high on my agenda.  Giddy for the day ahead but daunted by the dreary journey to the Big Smoke, my only solution to this was to pile my phone full of films. Instead of going for the obvious choice of any part of the inaugural triumvirate, I opted for Fan Boys, it seemed completely apt.  Fans travelling miles for the love of the franchise.  I also watched "The Martian" just purely because it is a great film.


Time seemed to pass quickly and soon I was off the bus, buzzing with excitement but miles from my destination.  I had looked into ways of traversing the golden streets of Londinium but opted for a touristic approach taking in the compulsory sights en-route.  Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, Waterloo Station (with it's Ghostbusters promotion), Great Fire of London Monument and my cousin who works at the greatest pizza restaurant in Old Smokey, Authentic Pizza, South Bank (well worth a visit, tell them Pondo sent you).  A quick check into my hotel, showered and refreshed I went to the ExCel to collect my pass for Saturday's event.

The ticket collection was quite quiet, I assumed everyone had collected their tickets on the day or earlier and I was happy to wander whilst reading the program that came with the pass.  Trying to work out what activities and shows I would take in whilst trying to fit in as much as possible in just 7 hours our Star Wars bliss.  When I looked up from the booklet, I was a little shocked.  Somehow, whilst oblivious to the world I had wondered passed security and into the Friday event.  No one had questioned me or asked for any proof that I should be there, amidst the hustle and bustle of fans in costumes and the greatest variety of Star Wars Tshirts, I stood with my Saturday pass waiting to be evicted, I waited, I ventured further into the crowds, I blended, I wandered, I smiled.

This was massive! I decided to focus on one of the halls, trying to see as many stalls as possible, plan future purchases and take in the atmosphere.  It was electric, excitable and entertaining.  John William's infamous overture played, props from the films loomed and some of the most impressive costumes ever just ambled by.  Not wanting to out stay my welcome, once I had been overwhelmed enough with the sights, sounds and ambiance, I decided to call it a night.  I knew I would be up early in the morning with a big day ahead and wanted to be fresh.  It was then I overheard a conversation about a special screening of "A New Hope" and there were still wristbands available for the show.  Surely I would not be able to secure one of these illustrious bands without a valid pass, surely this would be the moment I was questioned to my presence at the show, at least I could ask, what had I got to lose?

I have seen A New Hope a few times before, but never like this.  With 4000+ people who passionately cared about the film, laughed at it's many flaws, whooped and hollared at each characters debut's and quoting lines with glee.  This was the re-imagined cut of the film with alterations and special upgrades, so when the Han and Greedo scene was played the whole audience was shouting, "Han shot first!"  I have never laughed, smiled or enjoyed a showing of one of my favourite films more than this night.  Knowing that some of the stars were also in the audience made it even more magical.

Completely drained, I called it a night once seeing the Death Star blown to smithereens.  A slow walk back to the hotel knowing that in a couple of hours I would be back.

I arrived at the ExCel around 7:30 am with the doors opening at 10am I had a couple of hours to grab my wristbands, get in line and take as much in as possible.  Thankfully, arriving as early as I did the queues had not yet fully formed.  Each entrant was allowed two wristbands, so I queued for the "Force Awakens, Droids, Aliens and Costumes Show - Hosted by Warrick Davis" and "Without Protocol - Anthony Daniels".  This would give me great opportunity to fit a couple of shows in the afternoon with a bit of mooching in the morning and then see what is left to do in the early evening.  Planned to perfection.

Based on my sneaky observations the day before, I noticed that the Celebration Store has a continuous queue that never died down.  Approximately 90 minutes before entering the exclusive store, something I wanted to do to commemorate my visit, but something I did not want to waste valuable mooching time on.  My intention was to queue from 8am (near the front) and then rush towards the store, hopefully bagging a quick queue time.  10am the doors opened, and the VIP's entrants were given access to Celebration, followed by the Medical Needs groups, followed by the Access All passes....the crowds were building and I was still nowhere near entering.  When our group was released I quickly ambled towards the ever growing queue....I stopped....thought....and walked away.  The 90 minute queue point was a distant memory for those at the back of the line.

After a little merchandising I used my first wristband access and went to see the creatures from The Force Awakens.  With an awesome introduction to it's host, Mr Warrick Davis, I was amazed at my lucky seating choice as I got to high (low) five Warrick as he approached the stage on his segway! Great moment.

The show gave us an insight into the creative process of the masterminds behind the scenes.  Warrick, who is usually in some form of costume was a great, insightful host.  With a little sneak peak at a character from the upcoming Rogue One film this was a really interesting and entertaining show.

Second on the list was "Without Protocol", Anthony Daniels (C3-P0) has never been high on my list of actors to meet based on pop culture reviews, after an interview session with Warrick and the Golden Actor, I have completely changed my opinion, what a very entertaining chap!  He realises what Star Wars has done for him and how he will always be known as the annoying character from the whole series, but he gives as good as he gets.

After my shows, I was feeling a little hungry, but on my way to the food hall I noticed something. Maybe most of the Celebration crowd were as hungry as myself...the queue for the Celebration store...where was everyone? I jumped at the chance and 20 minutes later I was in the store realising that I needed more money to buy even a bottle opener.  Opting for a Celebration branded Tshirt (that was not in stock) I left thinking how annoyed I would have been if I had queued for hours.

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to take in as much of the amazing atmosphere as possible. Loving the experience and spending a little hard earned cash on branded items.  BB8's were everywhere, Rey's & Kylo's were in abundance, but the Mandalorian's (Boba Fett), Jedi's and Stormtroopers overwhelmed.

After 12 hours, my day was done, I was exhausted and had another 5 hours on a bus to look forward to, but this time I was going home to my princesses and there was no better feeling than that.

Complete a college course in Photography

Complete a course in Photography

A camera is a powerful tool, one that can capture a special moment, event or location that when displayed can take the viewer back, bring tastes, smells and sounds to the forefront.  I have always had an interest in photography, but my camera only could create snapshots of life, I wanted the tools and skills to capture the moment.  With our baby on the way, we both wanted to capture as many of these moments as possible, this was my motivation.

Purchasing my Nikon 3300 in the boxing day sales I had the tool, and when Clare suggested signing up to a photography course at Bolton College under the tuition of wildlife photography specialist, Iain Byrne, I would acquire the skills.  I was a student again.

A 16 week course detailing how to professionally use a camera focusing on Aperture, Shutter speeds, ISO's, etc but also having a look at the editing side via Photoshop.  The idea was to create a full portfolio that identified the new key skills learnt and also to have my photographs displayed at the college.  I was not the best student in my latter years and both university attempts, but this was something I was really interested in, and I was ready to focus (sorry, no pun intended).

Whilst on the course we had a couple of field trips to test our skills in live environments.  The first of those was a rainy day in Manchester.  Arriving at Victoria Station, our first destination was Manchester Cathedral which tested our knowledge of apertures and shutters speeds going from the brightness outside to the dark, stain glass window lit interior. Moving to the John Rylands Library for our final destination, I was able to capture some interesting shots that I would later use in my portfolio.  One photograph that always stands out to me from our wedding photo's was one taken from a different view point, taking a photo of someone taking photo from a digital camera or Ipad.  I wanted to replicate this and my final shot of the day I managed. This was a great experience of being out and about with fellow photographers in a natural environment.

Speaking of, our second field trip was over to Martin Mere Wildlife Reserve.  Ducks of every variety, geese, swans, flamingo, stork, birds flying in every direction and twitchers hiding in dens and shelters to capture a glimpse of some rare winged delight.  We were there to do some nature photography, and having lived so close to the reserve yet never graced it doors, I did not know what to expect.  A serene, relaxing and colourful amble around the shores of the meres provided ample shots to add to the portfolio.  Trying to take animals from different angles, capturing birds in flight and admiring the pink flamingos in formation.

Over the 6 month period of study and practice, I felt my eye become more attune to the shot, my creative knowledge of what was possible with a lens become more adept, I was learning a new skill and was able to apply into the real world.  One evening I went to the top of Winter Hill in Bolton for a town firework display, here a beacon was light to commemorate the event.  I got some half decent shots of the fireworks, but my pride and joy was the beacon flame frozen in shot.


To complete the course, a portfolio had to be created showing our improvements and new skills learnt.  I passed with a distinction, full marks for the work I had done.

Now it was time to apply to the real world, our baby was ready for her close up

Buy Clare a pizza from Il Giardino Degli Dei

15 years ago, I accompanied my Nanna on a few trips to Italy and would stay with one of my Aunties.  I always took the top terrace which over looked great grandad's land that had been divided up between his children.

Part of great grandad's old house was rented by a takeway pizza shop and the chimney from the oven was funneled right next to this terrace, so every night I would get the smell of cooking pizza and every night the temptation would be too much and Zio (uncle) Renato would take me down, order pizza and I would be back upstairs with delight in my eyes and belly.

This small pizzeria became more and more popular with the locals and soon became a busy restaurant needing expansion.  When my Auntie and Uncle decided to leave this plain of existence, Marco (the owner) bought the land and increased the restaurant again.

Clare and I have visited Italy on several occasions, but never stopped for too long in San Eustacchio as we were always relying on public transport to get us back to Sorrento (our holiday destination).  However, with my cousin Toni and Rosaria inviting the English family over to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, it seemed like a perfect excuse to show Clare how I remember Italy,  family based, no tourists, great food and wine and Marco's pizzeria.

The restaurant has expanded massively since my last visit and my memories of the small pizzeria, it is now a busy pizzeria with famous people visiting on a regular basis.  Even the Pope has been to Degli Dei for Pizza!

Our first night in Salerno, family from Italy, England and Australia went to celebrate Simon's (my cousin who moved to Oz) 45 birthday.  We started with bread, cheese and meats followed by croutons, cheese filled balls and other delights, but the highlight for me is the buffalo mozzarella.  Nowhere in the world can you get mozzarella that tastes as good as in Italy.  I have been let down so many times by the tasteless mush from Tesco's or Asda.

After our massive, help yourself, starter the pizza's started to come out.  Margherita's, Diavolo's, Parma Ham, flavours upon flavours, each one of them mouthwateringly delicious and perfectly stone baked.  A great night to start our Salerno holiday, but as I did't pay the bill I couldn't claim this one as a completed task, that is my excuse as why we went back again and I'm sticking to it.

The following night we had gone to Degli Dei for a takeway pizza to eat at my cousin Sabrina's house.  When we arrived at Sabrina's, she had prepared some nibbles and wine for us as well, so what initially was a little takeaway pizza turned into a full meal, not that I was complaining.  This night we had opted for a Diavolo Pizza, spicy meat, Clare did enjoy this but said that she wanted to pick the pizza for me to claim the challenge successfully completed.  This would mean another visit to the restaurant!

 On our final night in Salerno, once again we visited Degli Dei for a sit down meal.

This time we had bigger mozzarella, more parma ham, more amazing food, but then came the pizza choice.  Clare had looked at the menu this time and really fancied the "Lasagne Pizza", a tomato based pizza topped with Mozzerella, Parma Ham and Ricotta Chesse.



I know Clare was really impressed with the food at Degli Dei and was happy to be based in the environment.  I would love to take more people to experience this restaurant and encourage everyone to try proper Italian Pizza at least once, and if you are going, you might as well sample a little buffalo mozzarella whilst you are at it!

Pizza in Italy is in a league of it's own and pizza at Degli Dei is the top of that league.  With the Pope happy to eat there, it must be good!