Well my very first Steam Gala is in the history books and what a pleasure it was being at the @westsomersetrailway railway to experience it!
It felt like being in a time warp seeing all these preserved locomotives operating between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead, and the highlight of the event was seeing LNER A4 Class ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ in all its splendour and still going strong after nearly 90 years!
I also took a bit of time out to do some trainspotting too and some of the locomotives passing by with Dunster Castle in the background looked spectacular!
I definitely see myself coming back to the WSR in future and enjoy more days like this! 🚂
#Railway #HeritageRailway #trainspotting #Trains #SirNigelGresley
Well I’ve had a fun week in the Balkans! My travels this week have seen myself travel to Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia. Which are countries 25, 26 & 27 respectively on my travel list of new countries! 🇦🇱🇽🇰🇲🇰
It’s been great as always to get out and explore whenever I travel, but also I found it intriguing to learn about each countries history and in this region in particular holds some shared history too.
1. Lake Bovillar is a reservoir initially built during communist rule in Albania and eventually finished after its downfall, to which it provides most of the drinking water for Tirana. It also provides for some great panoramic views too!
2. Nothing beats a great sunset on my travels and Lake Tirana provided no different!
3. Another great sunset from the Pyramid of Tirana. The pyramid was originally built as a museum dedicated to the former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha, then after the aforementioned downfall of communism in Albania it was then repurposed as a conference centre and was even a NATO base during the Kosovo War.
4-5. Prizren in Kosovo was quite a prominent city during the Ottoman Empire, and has a strong Islamic influence. It also reminds of another city formerly part of Yugoslavia in the form of Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina.
6-7. Skopje is the capital of North Macedonia, in its main square is a statue dedicated to Alexander the Great who ruled the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia and over its Empire between 336-323 BC. There also a statue of his father King Philip II who founded the kingdom of Macedonia, with his statue serving as the entrance to the old Skopje Bazaar.
Today is a special day. It was 13 years ago to the day that we picked up Dorry as a puppy from Many Tears Animal Rescue in Llanelli in South Wales. From there on she provided lots of love and joy to our family as well as many lasting memories until her final days. We sadly lost her earlier this month but one thing we did do was take her paw prints as a memento.
In a sense of irony this was something I always wanted to get done as a tattoo whilst she was still around. So with those paw prints in hand I popped up to @pureinknewcastle and got it done this past weekend and thank you to the artist Scott for doing the honours! This is now tattoo no. 15 of my collection and it’s lovely to now have a permanent memento on my skin of our precious Dorry. 🐾
Tonight we said goodbye to our precious Dorry and she crossed over the rainbow bridge.
We first picked up as a puppy in 2013 from Many Tears Animal Rescue in Llanelli, Wales and from that point onwards she was a big bundle of joy, the goodest of good girls, and always a great companion to family and friends alike. She was a Walker by name and a Walker by nature. One recurring memory with her was whenever I would return from my travels she would always be at the front door to greet me and she would get all sorts of attention.
She reached the age of 13 and as she’s gotten older she’s slowly started to wind down. She’s now pain free and reunited with many other furry friends. Thank you Dorry for all the joy and memories you have given to us, now go and run free in the fields and we will see you on the other side. 🤍🕊️
Another day, another adventure! This time around I went to visit the @worthvalleyrailway in Keighley, a heritage railway line with a rich history!
Our little steamer today was LNWR Coal Tank 1054. Built in Crewe in 1888 and was in service until 1939 where it was withdrawn, ironically because of WW2 it was saved from scrap and returned to service for nearly 20 years before being withdrawn again. It now has its home here on the KVWR.
Another point of interest on this line is Oakworth station (see slides 2 & 5), for eagle eyed viewers this is the very same station that featured in 1970’s film adaptation of The Railway Children amongst other things. It felt nice to walk where Bobbie, Phyliss & Peter would smile and wave as trains would pass by and where the friendly porter Mr Perks would man the station.
Definitely a lovely day out and now I’m definitely up for another railway adventure sometime soon!
#Trains #Railway #KVWR
First of all hello 2026! Here’s the first of hopefully many posts this year! I had a lovely weekend in London and here’s what I got up to!
1-5: I was in attendance for WWE’s #Smackdown on Friday at Wembley Arena, it’s fair to see to say I was up close and if you watch back on Netflix you might be able to spot me haha! Highlight of the night was definitely seeing @dmcintyrewwe make his first entrance as WWE Champion in front of a live televised crowd!
6-8: For the first time in many years I did some archery with my friends Becca & Zee at @archeryfit ! I channeled my inner Legolas and I feel I hadn’t missed a bit! It was lovely to catch up with these two as well. My respective friendships with them go back many years and I’m looking forward to spending some time with them later this year!
9: I saw @totoroshow at the Gillian Lynne Theatre! I’ve watched the original film many times and I even have a plush Totoro at home. It’s a lovely story with a talented cast and an incredible production design. But the real stars are the puppeteers who bring the creatures to life! It caught me in the emotions and I’d happily see it again!
And just like that, 2025 comes to a close. For a year of ups & downs, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I’ve gotten up to this year. I’m a little bit more older, my hair has gotten much longer and I feel a little more wiser leaving this year.
This year provided many highlights for me from seeing friends throughout the year, spending time with family, going to attend events at home & abroad and of course the many travels that I went on!
Personal highlights in this year included suprising my mum in Edinburgh for her 60th, our trip away to Belgium, being in attendance for a few wrestling events including my first trip to Paris, going to Croatia with family, revisiting my childhood hobby of trains by taking a ride aboard Flying Scotsman, and travelling to Jordan for the first time!
2025 provided many highlights for me, and I’m sure 2026 will continue to do the same for me, also bring on 30 next year! But overall I hope you’ve all had a great 2025 and have a happy new year and overall a great 2026!
Tonight a part of my childhood comes to an end. As a wrestling fan since 2002 one consistent presence has been that of John Cena and tonight he retires from wrestling. I was hooked on him from a young age.
I’m fortunate to have seen him live a few times throughout the years, including a surprise appearance at Money in the Bank in London back in 2023! When he announced last year that he was finally retiring, I wanted to see him live at least one more time as a lasting memory. I was fortunate enough to see him live twice this year! The first in London on #WWERAW before WrestleMania in March, the second being #ClashinParis in August.
With the latter he wrestled Logan Paul, and the French crowd added to the atmosphere of that moment seeing him one last time from singing his entrance theme and chanting along throughout the match! Whilst I know there were more appearances that he made after this before his retirement, I’m content with this being the lasting memory of seeing John Cena live!
Thank you John for the many memories you made for many wrestling fans around the world, thank you for keeping me entertained from a young age, and I wish you a happy retirement from the ring.
@wwe@johncena #ThankYouCena #TheLastTimeIsNow
And just like that, today’s my birthday and I’m officially 29! As has become tradition I look back at what I got up to in the previous year, so what did I do at age 28?
1-2: I went to Iceland for a few days right after my birthday. I saw many things including the frozen landscapes of the country, swam in the secret lagoon, saw the geysers erupting, Whales swimming off the bay of Reykjavík and saw the Northern Lights localised entirely within your kitchen. 🇮🇸
3, 7 & 9: I attended a fair few wrestling shows throughout the year. I was at WWE RAW at the O2 in London in March, five months later I was back at the O2 this time for AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door, then a week later I was in Paris for WWE’s Clash in Paris at the end of August! With the latter I’m fortunate that I got to see @johncena wrestle one final time before he retires and he did not disappoint against @loganpaul !
4-5: Me and my Mum went to Bruges, Belgium for a few days in April as a treat for her 60th birthday earlier in the year. We did a lot of wandering around, took a boat tour along the canals and enjoyed some mother & son time together! 🇧🇪
6: Me and my family went to Dubrovnik, Croatia for a week. For this it was a more relaxed trip for me and I enjoyed some down time in places, and revisiting familiar parts of the city from previous travels. 🇭🇷
8: During my down time from being at WWE’s Clash in Paris & RAW the night after, it gave me a chance to explore around the French capital and see the sights including The Eiffel Tower, amongst other things. It had been an ambition to go to Paris for a long time and it was great to finally go! 🇫🇷
10-13: A bucket list experience in that I finally got to travel to Jordan in the Middle East! I got to explore around Amman, explore the country’s rich history, camping in the desert in Wadi Rum and swimming in the Dead Sea! But a special shoutout goes out to the incredible people I met on this trip! 🇯🇴
14: I got to revisit a childhood interest of trains and ride The Flying Scotsman along the @northyorkshiremoorsrailway !
Here’s to 29 and to enjoy one last trip around the sun until I’m 30! Bloody hell that’s mad to comprehend!
Tomorrow’s my 29th birthday, before I focus on that there is something I do want to focus on that’s important to me. I can’t remember the exact date but it was around this time 25 years ago that I was officially diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome just before my 4th birthday, and the 1st picture is from my 4th birthday.
I was always more of a quiet & reserved child back in my younger years, therefore not being the most socially active and adventurous of people, which is quite an ironic contrast to who I am today. I always had support growing up whether that came from parents or at school, but the personal development & confidence building I’ve had and the experiences I’ve had out in the wide world have shaped me into who I am today. Little things like solo travelling to new countries or attending events framed around my hobbies are things I don’t think I’ve would be able to comprehend being able to without issue back then but now it’s just human nature for me!
Am I still a bit nervous on the social side and about new experiences? Hell yeah but at the same time I thrive when I outside my comfort zone if the experience feels right for me. And my message to Ollie who’s just about turn 4. Everything’s gonna be just fine, you’ll take some time to figure things out but it will all work out for you and you will thrive!
#Aspergers #Autism #Neurodivergent
This experience was definitely one to tick off the Bucket List!
For the longest time since I was a child I’ve been quite a big enthusiast when it comes to all things railways, trains, etc. and I’ve always wanted to take a trainride aboard Flying Scotsman.
The history of the locomotive speaks for itself and it just so happened to be steaming along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway these last few weeks and I couldn’t say no to this opportunity! What a lovely experience this was and I know myself as a child would be so happy to experience this!
@northyorkshiremoorsrailway #FlyingScotsman #Railway #Trains #LNER #BritishRailways
Can’t believe it’s been nearly a week since I’ve been back from Jordan. This is one of those adventures that I’m always going to look back on very fondly, and the overall experience exceeded my expectations!
Once again I do want to shoutout some the amazing bunch of people that I met and interacted with during my time in the country, whether they were Jordanian or on their own travels in the country, I enjoy every moment of interaction! And the Jordanians are some of the most friendly people that I’ve met and provided some great hospitality!
Emotions may have gotten the better of me when I got home but I am eternally grateful for this experience. 🇯🇴✈️
#Jordan #Travel
