A Year in Review 33

October 2012 – October 2013

October 2012

I woke around 8am on my 33rd Birthday (2012) with a feeling that I had had a bloody good night with great friends and family.  I was in Cardiff on the last morning of my stag do with Craig, James, Josh, Big Eddie and PB.  Ian and Daavv had wisely chosen to avoid the Pub Golf on the Sunday night but they were still there in memory.

At the breakfast table (an all you can eat fry up, perfect after a few too many beers) Craig gave me a present of a 10k obstacle course run that took place in a couple of weeks time.  Great present, but not the best thing to get when your head feels like it is going to explode

A few hours and a long train journey later I was home with my fiancee Clare, with steak and a glass of wine.  Great birthday that I will never forget

November 2012

The Rat Race followed in November, Craig had opted for bright white t-shirts for this event with our respective titles, Fastest Cousin 2011, Fastest Cousin 2012, James and Cousin Captain.

So we set off over the first obstacle, Giant Haystacks followed by canals, skips, mud, stadiums, a steeplechase course, parkour, inflatable runs, and articulated lorries…we enjoyed it that much that we have signed up to it again this November with more friends and family joining us…little do they know how we felt the morning after.  

A few weeks after this came one of the happiest days of my life.  

Joined by family and friends, after months and months of planning, our wedding day at the Cloister Suite, Holiday Inn, Bolton.  

We had an awesome party from start to finish and I believe it was a true testament to our relationship, fun, happy and full of love.

December 2012

Our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic was the most relaxing holiday ever. This is where the idea of the bucket list came to fruition.  Monkeys, sharks, dune buggies, booze cruises and two of the most miserable English people you would ever meet in paradise, it was a holiday to remember.

January 2013

January saw Clare’s dad’s surprise 60^th birthday.  As a Manchester United fan till the end, Bolton Football Club was his surprise.  The Irish band were fantastic, the food glorious and the company superb.

February 2013

Living up to our globetrotting reputation, a few weeks later Clare and I escaped the cold February air and jetted off to Tunisia for a week with blustery warm air.  Little did we know that riots would break out whilst we were shopping and we would be under house arrest.  At least we still got to hire a taxi and travel half way across the country to see where Star Wars was filmed.  Despite the blustery weather, house arrest and long taxi rides with an infected driver, we had a great time with Pierre and friends.

March 2013

In March we put our great minds together and the thought of our little car going through another MOT test was not favourable and more than likely, costly.  So we did a little research and Kia won on every level for us.  So our new 13 plate car joined the family.

I also left Salford Royal Foundation Trust after 4 years and joined VIX, a transport company in Bolton.

April 2013

My Ma finally retired in April and to celebrate, she hired a boat in Norwich to take us down the Norfolk Broads for a picnic.  Craig, Saz, Ella, Tommy, Clare and Pa (whose birthday was also mentioned at some point) and I chilled out with a fantastic spread and happy moments.  Watching my dad trying to reverse park a boat in a space that had just been previously occupied by a jet-ski was hilarious.  Pa’s spatial awareness was not his best that day as we hit the other boats either side 20 times at least.  Luckily the other boaters found this hilarious and all stood up to watch us park.  Eventually, Pa did realise that it just would not fit and parked in a space a few metres down that was massive!

May 2013

James and I got to meet childhood heroes in May as we went to a meal with stars from the Holy Trilogy. Darth Vader, Boba Fett and even an Oompa Lumpa joined us for a great evening followed by a Star Wars Convention the day after

For Clare’s birthday, we went to Italy for a couple of weeks with her Dad and Step-mum.  We had gone back to Sorrento for the food, atmosphere and especially the staff at the Majestic Palace.  

The day before Clare’s birthday we had arranged to travel to Rome for a couple of days.  What a way to spend your birthday!  I can’t recommend Rome enough, what a fantastic city.  

We also did some other sight seeing in Italy, Capri being one of the places on our list.  Beautiful vistas, expensive shops and wonderful ice cream, however, Clare didn't seem to enjoy it all as much as me, the ferry journey across was a little choppy and Clare was feeling a little upset in her stomach.

On our return home we decided to do a little test to make sure Clare’s stomach pains were nothing major….Little Spud was welcomed into our family that day.

June 2013

June saw us sorting the house out, doing the garden, driving ourselves mad with pram shopping (who knew it was so difficult), and getting things ready for car boots.

July 2013

July was the start of my television debut as I went to ITV studios in London to film “Take on the Twisters” which aired August 14^th to possibly the highest ever audience the show had ever had.  Figures must have gone through the roof for this one show!

At the end of July my Cuz Gilly and Josh welcomed little Jacob into the world.   Gill was in and out of hospital in about 20 minutes. 

August 2013

I also had another brief moment of “fame” at my Uncle Rob’s wedding at the start of August.  They had a band playing classic tracks and when Mustang Sally started I had to join in.  Still think this should have been on my bucket list

At the end of August was one of the saddest times of my life.  Our baby boy Spud was born sleeping 20 weeks into pregnancy.  Due to complications with the premature birth I also thought I had lost Clare as well.  The Staff at the Royal Bolton Hospital Maternity Suite (Especially the Team on the Delivery Suite) cannot be thanked enough for their compassion and care they provided.  Our beautiful baby boy will always be in our hearts and minds.

September 2013

Scotland was our destination in September, a little break away from our lives at this unhappy time.  This was exactly what me and Clare needed, just time for us.  We had a perfect time in our log cabin in Aryshire, but also had a few little trips out to Loch Doon, Dean Castle, Glasgow, Alloway, Troon, and the Scottish Sky Dark Observatory.  Fulton and Edith met us for a curry and catch up in Glasgow, great to see them.

October 2013

So into my final month of my 33^rd year,.  Looking back on the last 365 days, it has had some of the happiest times and saddest times of my life.  New friends and old friends, new challenges, new jobs for me & Clare, and we got to bring our son’s ashes home.

Training is in full swing for the Rat Race (#Running4Spud) in a few weeks, and the fundraising is going well too.

So what will my 34^th year bring? There are more challenges to complete and tasks to do, but as long as I have Clare by my side and family to support, I am sure it will be fun. 

Items ticked off the bucket list this year

Get Married

Cuddle a Monkey

Swim with Sharks

See the Colosseum

Meet Someone from Star Wars

Visit Tattooine

Participate in a TV Gameshow/Quiz Show

Be a Dad

I have also:

Watched 162 films on the IMDB top 250 list

Eaten Kangaroo, Wild Boar and Crocodile

Inspired 3 people to start a bucket list

Watched a sunrise/ sunset in the Dominican Republic and Tunisia

Practiced cake baking

Practiced living on a boat

Maintained my weight loss – just need to start pushing off the pounds now

Started writing a script for a short film

Created my blog