Blog post

WC JULY 24.

Thrilled to say the mock-up edition of my latest book, due out in October has arrived and I am so pleased with it. Now got to read it for the fourth time to try and find any mistakes that have been missed. The photographs look great. The launch date is October.

Delighted to be a guinea pig on Tuesday afternoon. Newport’s Medical Eye Centre, which has now moved from the High Street to Gray’s Walk, had only opened their super new shop a few hours earlier. They have a brand new machine to film behind your eyes and the girls had not had anyone to practice on, after just one initial lesson. I enjoyed being the first person to be tried – and after a few tries they managed it perfectly. It was such fun.

We had hoped to see the massive movie hit Dunkirk on Wednesday but we could not get in. It was a lot easier on Thursday afternoon and what a fantastic film – it grips you from start to finish. Highly recommended.

I love surprises and I had one on Saturday. I had a message on Friday night to say that a long-term friend of mine, ex-professional footballer, Mike Rogan, who lives in Whitehaven, was in Hythe for a Sunday christening. He was going to pop over to the Island to see me. Thankfully, I had no pressing engagement. Mike and I have been friends since the late ’60s and he last came to stay with us in 1976. Heather, my late wife, and myself had been up to Cumberland to stay with Mike on a few occasions. We had last met in the ’90s. We had a great three hours and had time to catch up. Mike has over 7000 vinyl records so we popped over to Groovy Records in Shanklin, where there is so much vinyl for sale. Sadly, time did not permit us to go to the other great vinyl shop in the Ryde Union Street Arcade. We did manage a great lunch at the Woodman’s pub in Wootton. It proved such a good day. Later that day, when Mike had gone back to Hythe, I caught up with three programmes on catch-up TV and was not impressed with any of them.