Ways to improve your photography....

Pictures of The Midbeats, mostly...

The Midbeats’ Jake and Ben being told, by the director, what he wants to see from them in their upcoming video shoot. No pressure lads...

Jake in action at the video shoot...

A snooker player. We asked if he would mind....

I’ve known him for 37 years. You couldn’t meet a nicer bloke than Chris...

Mandy’s brother is one of the best novelists i’ve ever read. Here he is at Gavin’s wedding before he headed off home to where he lives, in London....

The Midbeats....

Doing things differently...

To smile about something when you know there’s no chance that you’ll ever get better is what i have to face doing right now, i don’t know how long i’ve got left. It could be long and drawn out like that Stephen Hawking’s life was. It could be tomorrow. I just don’t know but find it hard to feel sorry for myself. I don’t. I’ll have to wait for the film about my life to come out like you ordinary people do, darling. They haven’t made a film? The bastards! Doing something different and out of the otdinary is what i live for these days. I even had a meal which consisted of mashed potatoes, leeks and carrots. Six months ago it was a food hell, but these days it’s not. If i could find a dye which turned my hair bright green, i’d dye it. Hell, i’ve grown a beard because i can so why not dye it?

Today is my 72nd day without sugar, You might think that’s impressive but wait till i get to 100 days. I dont want to brag about my exploits so don’t get the wrong idea about me. Your wife might think ‘what a twat’ if you grew your hair long and dyed it bright green. I might think that like that too when i’d finished laughing. Don’t care about what others say. I never do. Growing a beard was a big thing for me because i’d never grown one before. I should have had one years ago because it made me willing to try anything that doesn’t conform. That’s not a bad way to be. It took having a stroke for me to realise that. Welcome to the’Forrest Gump’way of doing things.

it’s okay for me to talk like that but not you. Fair point. There will always be people who like to do things differently though. ‘Being different’ is something that helped Donald Trump become President of the USA. People liked what he had to say. John Lennon had some weird hairstyles but it never affected his popularity. Perhaps some of the things he said did though.
What made me so different was the fact that i was stared at continuously. I decided there and then that i wouldn’t let it get me down. So, it didn’t. I liken it to wearing a pair of underpants in public. If you can do that you can do anything.

Don’t wear underpants in public because you will be arrested and put on the sex offenders list. And rightly so. You took notice of somebody who had a stroke? Are you mad?
Just ignore us like everyone else does. Everybody with a disability is ignored up to a point. That’s just the way life is. I.used to ignore them myself when i was able-bodied. What does that make me?
Ignore me by all means, but live life differently. Following the norm will get you nowhere. Whatever you do.
You’ll recognise me when i’m out. I’m the dude with the short, bright green hair who’s driving a wheelchair that holds a banner. It says “i’d fuck off out of the way if i was you!”

Being a nosy Parker pays off sometimes...

This is a picture of Ben. I caught him completely unaware that he was being photographed which was kind of nice. If only looks could kill...

This is Sophia. She’s a singer with a band called Funk Odyssey. She phoned me up and said she’d be interested in buying any pictures i took of the band. I said ok. This is one of them.

This is my mate Tom helping to erect a marquee. If you drove a car to Sheffield in an hour he’d swear he could do it in half an hour. That’s the kind of guy he is. I asked the boss if i could photograph the crew in action and i’d do him a dvd if he said yes. This is one of the photos i got. Tom pulled a face for my benefit. Either that or he needed to go to the toilet real bad.

The best man at Gavin’s wedding. Gavin is my brother-in-law. Nobody said “why are you taking photographs for?” I didn’t care. All of my weddings were documentaries i’d tell them if they DID ask.

Various Images

Luke Richards goes on a run.

A cup final being contested...

The tough of the track...

Chris and Charlotte before they were married...

Hinckley United in fa cup action...

The day that Michael Jackson died...

Father and son muck about...

Leon and Helen...

It may well be that, at some point in the future, i become totally mute. If i do, i won’t lose any sleep over it There are people worse off than me. There always will be.

Here’s a picture of my mate Chris with his dog. It was taken in Shenton on a road unaffected by the snow. Chris never minded me taking pictures. If i was happy, he was happy. He was a great model who helped me no end. He always did.

He lived not far from this photo which was where King Richard iii was killed. Or so they say.

Leon with his best man. His only son. What a star he was. I was there as the photographer and wanted to capture everything i could.

Leon and his beautiful bride, the lovely Helen. I’d known Leon for years. What a great couple they make.

what i enjoyed best. A football match...

Luke Richards...

Whenever you saw Luke Richards play football you knew you were in the presence of someone special. I saw the Hinckley United manager and said to him “Dean, you’ve got to see this kid play! He’s awesome.”
he said “Terry, get a fucking life”. I grabbed him by both lapels and pulled him closer making sure he could smell my garlicky breath. “Dean..just watch him.” I said. Ok, that last bit was dramatic licence but i arranged for Luke to take part in a 1st-team training session. He was brilliant. Andre Gray, a first-team regular challenged Luke for the ball, bounced off of him and landed flat on his arse. It was an amazing introduction for Luke and people who witnessed the incident just gasped their approval.

Leon and Jimmy get married to their girlfriends, and Hinckley United....

A lot of my spare time was spent at Hinckley United where i took a lot of photographs of the games that were being played there. Taking endless photographs of Hinckley and the Princes Feathers football teams were great. That’s where i met Leon Simmons and Jimmy Gee and their wives to be (Helen and Stacey). I photographed each of their weddings and had a great time doing them.

Leon with his ‘mafia’ of mates all of whom were, in fact, great guys who weren’t wearing knuckle dusters and ready to jump me either.

Helen’s brother was handy with the baby sitting duties.
Here are some of the many Hinckley United pictures i got:

Dean, the computer geek gets married. My two brothers.

I did my mate Dean’s wedding in 2012. Here he is just after getting married.

...and his wife with her bridesmaids.

My two brothers, Steve and Dave. Dave has his son, Ethan, with him.

Not bothering about what anyone thinks....

Hmm...i never really cared about what anyone else would think. I just took the picture.

The midbeats’ Jake eating some cold pizza. He’s in discussion with the director of the video. I used a special programme to give it this look.

A great-looking girl at a wedding bash.

Hinckley United’s Andre Gray in FA Cup action. He now plays professionally for Watford.

My niece getting ready for her sister’s wedding.

Jimmy and Stacey celebrate their wedding with a dance.

Leon and Helen get their son to be the best man. Here he is giving away the ring.

Stacey having her hair done before her wedding to Jimmy.

i used that programme to create a picturesque view of Shenton which is a place in Leicestershire.