Day 124 – Wembley Calling: Tonight football has made me very happy…the maddest game I’ve ever seen but worth it in the end. Villa beat Blackburn 6-4 on the night to make it to the Carling Cup final. The stadium was rammed, we all had free flags and it was, quite simply, an unforgettable night.
Day 29 – Up the Villa!: I’ve come down with a cold over the last couple of days, so instead of being out at a stadium reporting on a match, I was inside watching the Villa play Chelsea on the telly. We were unlucky to go a goal down, but credit to the team they hit back, and thanks to goals from both of our centre backs (and some terrible Chelsea defending) we won 2-1 and kept up our 100% record against the Sky four. A great win, and one that certainly cheered me up a lot.
Day 17 – The Boy Dunne Good: Today has been great and, but for a goal from a slimey Welshman playing for a sickeningly rich football club, it would have been nigh-on perfect. To start with I had a photo shoot with New Ideas – I was doing their staff portraits – which is always a nice way for a photographer to start the week. Then, just after I got home from that, I had a phone call from Solihull Council offering me the job of press officer, which I am really, really chuffed about getting. Then, I was off for my first trip to Villa Park this season to see Aston Villa take on the evil that is Manchester City. It was something of a battle of the old boys, as Gareth Bary was returning to where he used to call home, and former City skipper Richard Dunne was lining up for Villa. It was Dunne who had by far the better game, outjumping Barry to head in the opening goal and defending like a lion throughout. Villa should have won, but the one point in the evening where they switched off saw Craig Bellamy equalise. Not a bad result by any means, but a win would have really capped a fine day.
Day 4 – It Could Be You: Today I got to cash in my Mum’s winning lottery ticket. Yep, that’s right, my Mum won the lottery on Saturday night. But, before you get worried that the money will change her and the rest of us in the family, she only won a tenner. And, she’s only entitled to half of that as she plays it with a work colleague so her actual winnings are just £5. But hey, a win’s a win! I must say, my first ever experience of cashing in a winning lottery ticket was a very disappointing and underwhelming one – the ticket was grabbed from my hand, scanned in, money handed over and me out of the shop before I knew where I was. No champagne, no stupidly oversized cheque that you’d never be able to pay into a cash machine, just a tenner shoved in my hand and I’m out.
365 Days of Photos 