Had a call late at night Wednesday, could we cover a group of investors meeting in Shipley West Yorks the following evening and supply the images to the Yorkshire Post. Accepted the job (it pays the bills) travelled over and up on t' moortop. It bucketed down, so much so I couldn't see a thing and passed the location about 4 times before eventually asking a local where the heck it was. Invest in a satnav she who must be obeyed says. I point out the couple of hours we drove around San Francisco trying to get out of the city by following the satnav but as we all know you cannot convince a female once its mind is made up, it's not worth the hassle. 'That was hard work' my daughter comments when in the past I have tried to suggest some alteration to the mindset of the Gruppen Feuhrer. Frighteningly she can copy her mothers looks and attitude with an uncanny accuracy and with the menacing air that only a nine year old can exude. If she starts to turn her head past 90 degrees I'll be long gone.

A very good friend emailed me tonight telling me he had pulled the plug on a project he was working on. My friend is a very generous and kind man (well, I don't live with him) and is always willing to help. His project involved him acting as a literary agent to a prize idiot and ended up with my friend being a couple of hundred quid out of pocket. The saga of lottery bid rolls on, at least they are still talking to me, wanting more paperwork and evidence to back up my bid for glory. Read a previous rant and don't get me started, had one-eyed Jim in town today. Kept that quiet or I'd have been up town with a bag of flour. Well I say 'kept that quiet' the boys in blue put on their usual good show with such force, noise and bravado that the OAP home on the route the man who is trying to beat the credit crunch on his own with the amount he has borrowed travelled, now has a few more vacancies.

Off to bed, the princess is up early tomorrow, ice skating again, practice for the Xmas show. Now there's another rant coming on, Christmas or should it be called Autumn festivities since it seems to start in early September. But I'll leave that for next time. Oh one last thing, get to Crossroad Inn Keighley on the 19th Dec. having a rock gig and the mainliners, Classique, (with some ex-excaliber members) is managed by my old mate Keith Parfett, an ex colleague, fan of Mohammed Ali (as I am) and alround layabout. If you want a lift fitted in your house (14 floors minimum) he's your man but watch out for his tool boxes, he used to keep dropping them down the lift shaft.

Have a project to photograph 'Tetley Tea, the tea for everyone' on it's journey from the supermarket to where? My ideas range from in store photos ( thank you Morrisons) to studio shots. I have to use image manipulation within the project so the mind boggles for what is possible. Will post some pictures when available.

Good response to my BBC Radio Sheffield slot. More avenues to explore, trouble is quite alot of them are cul-de-sacs. But hey ho, it's life I suppose. Anyone out there who can help? Still waiting for the lottery people to approve or reject my application for funds, without it I can't get the project done in the time scale I would like.

Here we are folks, running round again like a chicken with its head cut off. On air Friday 9th Oct at 9.45 am, BBC Radio Sheffield, talking about my South Yorkshire Steel Project. What's that I hear you say. I have, for some time, been dismayed at how Great Britain is not so great anymore. We seem to have lost alot of things that, in my mind, put the Great in Great Britain. One of these is our manufacturing base that seems to have been eroded to such an extent that it is no longer visible to the naked eye. Yes I know that the whole world, emerging countries and economies etc etc etc have taken their place in the scheme of things, some may say and rightly so but it still irks me that we seemed to have lost such alot of the things that put bread and butter on the table. What future is there for my kids? With the loss of income to the Government by way of taxes etc and the increased costs by way of benefits there must come a time when outgoings exceed incomings, read Charles Dickens, David Copperfield and Mr Macawber's statement. So, what's this rant leading to? I have begun to undertake a project that will photographically record what's left of the South Yorkshire Steel Industry and the engineering companies that provide employment before they disappear altogether. To this end, I have spoken on BBC Radio Sheffield in May of this year asking for ex and current workers to contact me with a view to me interviewing them about their experiences of working in the industry. These narrations will support an exhibition of photographic images displaying the past and present of the industry, the workers narration being directly linked to each site on display. There will be instances (more than I care to think about) where the industrial site is now a redeveloped shopping mall, Hatfields and Meadowhall to name but one. I have an idea to photograph ex-workers at the site where they used to work, even if it is now a car park or McDonalds or whatever. The exhibiton will take the form of past and present images juxtaposed with a narration explaining the scene spoken by the people who worked in the places shown. A second exhibition will take the form of an audio visual display along similar lines. A third outcome will be an interactive website where people can post their own stories and anecdotes, the fourth outcome will be a published book of images and text.

I have applied for lottery funding to help support the project but I feel that I may have better luck in gaining support if I was an MP claiming expenses. Staff at Magna, Rotherham have offered help, it's a fantastic place to visit, a couple of photos are shown above and Independent Forgings of Hillsboro have done the same. I'm still knocking on doors and trying to get Sheffield Council involved but it's a case of not what you know but who.....So if there are any other people out there who have similar sentiments to mine, then get in touch.

Well, 2011 wedding season has started, booked to shoot a wedding at Waterton Park Hotel, Wakefield, beginning of July 2011. Still some dates available for 2010 yet for all you lucky people who are seeing sense and making the greatest commitment ever. Best thing I've ever done, or so my wife keeps telling me.

My loves, my life, my family.