I’ve not really been responding with the First Responders recently because of something that happened to me that has caused huge repercussions through my whole life – my car died. Now, I believe in Bangernomics – running cheap cars with higher maintenance costs instead of newer more expensive cars who depreciate quickly. However, I was expecting my little Rover to last another year or two, so it was a little bit of a shock when the head gasket blew and I had to get towed back from halfway to London. I have a temporary fix and I have someone looking for a more permanent fix for me, so I’m not too bad for now but it does mean that I’m not really able to respond for now.

We have had a job with Mountain Rescue – apart from a standdown after a request for assistance for a search in Redditch that is. It was a call to New Tredegar to assist the fire service with two youths stuck on a rock face. They were in a pretty nasty little gully, lots of loose rock, very unstable and we had a bit of a job getting them down. It was nice to be at the sharp end of a fairly technical job for a change, so I was happy with that.

Right now, I’m sat in a fantastic flat in Battersea in London getting Sean and his Dad ready for his Dad’s wedding. It’s going to be fun event I think, I’ve even got a reading to give and I’m taking the groom to the wedding in a rental car. The first of four wedding-type events of this year so far, Sean and I are going to be all weddinged-out by the end of the year I think.

Right, time to wash the car I think.