Me & My Babba At Evesham

I could not have been happier holding my little Katie while I posed with a hard-earned bag of fish, caught during this year’s Evesham Angling Festival!

I deliberately took a similar catch shot the previous year, when Katie was just two months old. That was when I was in my faded old Drennan gear and just before my fresh Under Armour clobber arrived! I guess most people never realised at that point I’d already left the company to start a life-changing, year-long period of parental leave. Much to my relief, I’ve only been back there once in the past 18 months, and that was for less than 30 minutes! Let’s just say, despite so many people warning me, I mistakenly thought I was entering Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, only to discover it was more akin to the Wizard of Oz, complete with witches and winged monkeys, ha ha!

If I’m Dorothy in that analogy then I’m glad I plucked up the courage to tap my shoes together. Our miracle baby was our greatest wish and the lifeline I had prayed for. I now have a fantastic home, a truly amazing and supportive wife and a beautiful baby to show for it all. It’s been a fairy tale journey and, yes, the future looks very bright indeed!