Thursday 22nd June

Eight photos published in the Derby Evening Telegraph since February, time perhaps now to capitalise on the situation. So it was that a couple of weeks after my hernia operation, I gathered up all my courage and made a phone call to the paper. What to say?: "Do you ever let people come and shadow one of your photographers?" I asked tentatively. The voice on the other end was very calm and understanding and luckily didn't think my request at all strange. "Yes," he said " we get requests from students all the time, just send in an email and we'll get a date fixed up" Sending in an email was the least of my concerns, it was the word 'student' which really worried me...
Date arranged, I rose early and arrived with minutes to spare. I was greeted in the foyer by Steve, the same chap whom I'd spoken to on the phone. He was really great and spent the whole day explaining his work to me to the 'Nth' degree. We got on like a house on fire - I don't think he even noticed I'm probably old enough to be his mother...!