Photography

Flowers in my garden

Monte Carlo from Monaco

The 3D effect

Sapphire Princess cruise ship towering in front of the Sydney Opera House.

Westin hotel Seattle reflected in the table of a restaurant across the street.

sunset in the street that live

refridgerators lined up in the street in Seattle

sunset in Dubai

I recently became interested in photography and i quite like pictures with depth or a 3D effect. Hope you liked them!

Photography

I recently got into photography and my camera is never too far away from my side these days. If i see a photo opportunity i'm there. I seem to focus on 3D effects of reflections however i do like a picture with depth. I'm an amateur so see what you think.

Sunset in Dubai

Welcome to Kroooz-Cams

Welcome to Kroooz-Cams

When i look at certain things on the computer expecially port cams i see myself living there. Alesund in Scandanavia sort of drags me into the picture and its a place i will have to visit while im on this earth.

Megans Photographs

Pets

I have not really had many "personal" pets in my life however i have loved many in my time. My first recollection of pets was when dad had pigeons but they were a all eaten by foxes. We also had a budgie called dinky who was green and black and then i was allowed to have a rabbit who i called nibbles. It was only a matter of months before the novelty wore off and i was out doing what young teenagers do at that age. My brother had a lovely puppy called Scamp; he was a shelti (miniature collie) he was black;white;grey and a little bit of collie biege/brown. He was adorable and lived during the day at our house until my brother came in from work with his wife but when they started having a family Scamp became a permanent fixture in our house until he died age 14. I remember dad driving him to the vets as mam and i looked and waved out of the window.He was supposed to be going for an operation but we knew he would not be coming back and it was dad's way of not making it "so final" for us at the time.

They have not had a dog since. However my parents have been a huge part of my dogs life who is pictured here. Megan the lively boxer who is presently snoring at my feet. With my flying job i was going through a phase of driving the 350 miles to their home and flying back and forth to catch my flights. Then i discovered a reliable and honest dog walker who i still use now however my parents still cover long periods of holidays etc. She is so funny and although age 8 now or 56 in human years she is the love of my life. I get very upset at the thought of losing her or having to have her put to sleep. Even no my eyes are filling up. My brother recently made the difficult decision to have there family dog Ziggy put to sleep. They all gathered and held him as the vet came to the house and this was some weeks ago and they are still upset and still will be for a long time. He was a lovely dog who suffered from many illnesses during his 9 years. His back and spine were operated on. He went blind and had special lenses fitted. He had crystals in his baldder which were painful and eventually he could hardly walk. They made the correct decision 100% and i have always said i would never put my Megan through pain and suffering. I would also want her cremated separately so i could keep her ashes. I would not scatter them here in the south as when i move home to the north in the future i would feel i was leaving her behind. She would have to come with me!

She sleeps on our bed nd sometimes i have to get up in the night and move her as i cannot move my legs. She has her own bed with fleecy blanket. A blanket on the large sofa which she loves as she can look out the window at the same time and a towel on the floor by the French doors so she can sit and keep and eye on her garden. She has personalise towels from my parents. Mam embroidered an "M" on her towels. I have some fantastic photographs of her and some great memories which i will continue to treasure as i enjoy Megan....the love of my life.

FLYING

My flying career eventually started in 1988 and years and years of rejected applications and unsuccessful interviews. However i am not a defeatest and would never give up and all the rejection made be stronger to succeed. I applied to Dan Air in 1987 and was successful with a flying job based in Newcastle; my home town. Then after an Interview with British Airtours ( charter arm of British Airways) i was also successful with them but meant a move south. I thought a clean break would be good so Ged and i uprooted ourselves and moved south to share a single room in a friends house in Isleworth. It was hell and after sharing in Kingston and Morden as well as other places in Surrey and London we eventually had our own place after a huge struggle.

My training took place in Eastbourne on the south coast. It was live in Monday-Friday and a long drive back to my temporary room at weekends. My original British Airtours application although suceessful there were to be changes within the airline industry with the merger of British Airways and British Caledonian. So as to not lose the Caledonian image and the tartan which was admired British Airtours were no more and Caledonian Airways became the charter arm of BA. My training was difficult with drills to learn and write down word for word. Aircraft safety equipment charts to learn. They were given to us blank in the exam and we had to fill them in. Not an easy thing to learn but there was a knack. We jumped down emergency slides; put out fires; moved suspect packages found inflight and even taught how to deliver a baby in the first aid training. It was 5 weeks of headaches and stress.I was not licensed to fly on Tristar L1011 and Boeing 737 aircaft. My first flight was to Palma Majorca late at night with a bunch of passengers who had spent the entire day drinking in the airport. There were 2 experienced crew who had flown for other airlines but most of us were new. We had no idea what we were doing and it must have been dreadful for the passengers at the time. We soon learnt that speed was of the essence and we were working against a clock going backwards from take-off to landing. There was a lot to squeeze into some very short flights and i would have been better on rollerskates.

I had engine fires;aborted take-offs; rejected landings; medical emergency diversions; disruptive passengers;drunks;hen parties; stag parties; choirs;musicians; soldiers; celebrities to name a few.

Spending time in new places was very exciting and i mostly did there and backs to spain; greece;italy;balearics;canary islands and other destinations withing Europe. In 1989 Caledonian aquired a B747 Jumbo jet to service Orlando and Los Angeles. These were great trips but yet another training course. I had such a great time on that aircraft but spent up to 12 days away from home at any one time. How much of Disney and Epcot can one cope with!!! Venice beach copies littered our home with copy trainers; sunglasses and t-shirts. All tat but must haves!!

I applied for mainline BA many times to be based at Heathrow and on my 29 year ( last year to apply as maximum age limit) i was unsuccessful. The following year when i was 30 the age limit was dropped due to new EU laws so i coudl aply again.This time i had to speak a foreign language so as i did french at school i thought it would be easier to refresh myself rather than learn a new language from scratch so i paid to see a French tutor who loved local and took a french Exam within BA as well as 2 interviews and started my course on December 4th 1995. I would be flying on Boeing 747-100 747-200 747-400 on longhaul flights only. It meant a decent salary for a change and a change of destinations and would take me to places others could only save or dream of. The older Jumbo's were very Pan Am with the spiral staircase at the front and the tired carpeting. They had character and always got me from A-B safely. ( thank you god).

Its now 2007 and i have 19 years under my belt. I have been for promotion 3 times unsuccessfully. I have a knack for always being in the worng place at the wrong time and that's how it goes with promotion. I am happy with my role that i play on board now; mostly working in First class on Business however i also enjoy economy-coach- or world traveller as we call it. Nice down to earth people who are either heading home or on holiday. Maybe a business trip or visiting a sick or dying relative. Every passenger has a different story to tell and are quite diverse.

Celebrities i could list and still be going when i got to 60. Royalty includes Princess Michael of Kent and Sarah Ferguson.

Author J K Rowling.

Politicians Jack Straw and Michael Portillo.

Sports starts are Frankie Dettori-Ian Botham-Mary Peters and George Best

Music stars :- Geri Halliwell-Robbie Williams- and then there were actors and actresses heading to some awards ceremonies include Hugh Grant-Helen Mirran-Pierce Brosnan-Ewan Mc Gregor-Michael Caine. Then there's the Jerry Springers-Queen of Jordan-Naomi Campbell -Heidi Klum and Kate Moss. There are many more but won't bore you.What i will add to this is that Robbie Williams is a down to earth polite well mannered young man. I will defend him 100%. I think when he is on the aircraft he relaxes more as there are no papparazzi to worry about and i saw the "real" Robbie. A great entertainer and a lover of chocolate!!!!

This section of the blog i will add too should anything exciting happen during the course of my 20th year in the skies. The job is different from the 80's as i think all crew will tell you 9/11 was a wake up call for us all. Security is tighter. Limitations on cabin baggage and liquids. Queues in airports not only for passengers but for crew also. Things take longer....check in lines seem to be longer. Security searches are more thorough which people should make extra time for to save delaying flight. What i will give away is a little trick we use. On your boarding card is a sequence number from 1-eg 300 ( that is capacity of 747) if it were a 737 it would be 1-125. So if you board the aircraft and say you checked in early and you have not got seats together when we look at your boarding card and read 299-300 we will know you were last to check in so please don't try that one.

I hope to serve you soon whoever you are reading this and if your on a BA flight and see a Gary....ask me about my blog.....Happy Safe Flying to you all.

Family

I have always been close to all my family member. I love my parents dearly and lucky to still have them around. Both recently celebrated their 70th birthdays. I have one brother who i have not really been close too. He is married with two sons and has a marriage of convenience and i have not spoke to him; my nephews or his wife in over 2 years. A fall out over nothing but they have made it an issue so after trying to smooth things over with an email and also a personal letter afther their dog died they have refused to make contact so i think that speaks for itself. It does not really bother me but it makes my parents very unhappy and i would make up and bite my lip for their sakes but they don't want that so life goes on.

My dad has 3 sisters all very close aunts who i visited when young with my dad every Sunday and when one of them died age 76 it left us all devastated. My other two aunts are still with us age 87 and 86 and althought one is battling an illness the other is fit albeit a little confused at times. My dad was the youngest of four and the only son. Apparently his father went out and got very drunk when he found out he had a son.

This is really all the family i had. I did have a cousin of my grandfather who i always called aunty and her husband uncle even thought we were not really related. her Brother lived with her all their married life as he was slightly down syndrome and also kept from school in the 1930's 40's as he was different so could never read or write. He was a lovely character who had an incredible memory. I loved him so much. When my aunt (his sister) suddenly died of a massive heart attack in her 60's my two uncles were left alone. They both eventually ended up in a care home as were unable to look after themselves and they both died some years ago. My uncle left all his money to me and my brother. It was not a lot as the government would not care for him freely as he had money in the bank so he was charged a huge amount per week from his own estate. When he died there was about £18000.00 left and that included the sale of his house so we got about £8700.00 each after fees and expenses. I put my share towards a new car as my uncle used to stick "L" plates on his car and allow me to drive when i was learning so i thought that was a nice gesture to buy the car.

No one will ever replace parents and i try and spoil mine as much as i can. I think this is a way to deal with life after they are no longer with us. I did my best and they saw a lot of the world and had great holidays. I know people who have not strayed more than a couple of hundred miles from theie homes which i find incredible. My parents have been all over the world and have taken many cruises and have many happy memories.

Posted at the top are my parents and also my 3 aunts; in order Bell-Nancy-Eva...Aunty Eva in black is the one we lost 2 years ago and is sadly missed by us all. She managed on so little and survived so well. A great character and she was surrounded by great family.

The Cruising Bug

The cruising bug started in 1997 when we were convinced to join a group of friends on Norwegian cruise lines out of Houston Galveston Bay USA on the Norwegian star. There were 7 of us and in those days money was tight so we shared a cabin with our good friend Carole. The other 4 shared one cabin which although were mini suites were cramped and really only for two people to be comfortable. After that cruise we took Royal Olympic's Triton on a cheap deal around Europe starting off in Rome and visiting Katakolon-Athens-Corinth canal-Santorini and Mykonos. We had an outside cabin to ourselves and loved it. All for £250.00 each as with our airline discount it was a huge saving. However the cruiseline went bust in late 90's and ships bought by other cruiselines. My next two cruises were taken with our great friends Peter and Stuart who live in Belgium but are English. We did a 14 night Baltic cruise in Fred Olsen Black Watch. Now this is renowned for carrying 90% English people and a lot older with an average age of 105. This is the only cruise where the chocolate on the pillow was replaced by a prune!!!! We met some fantastic people who remain good friends and Ged ( partner) won £250.00 on fruit machines and had a presentation made a photograph taken. Our next cruise was Norwegian Fjords on Fred Olsen's Braemar. I call it a flat bottomed boat but it's proper title is shallow draft. It bounced from Dover to bergen and the dining room was only a third full one night as so many people had seasickness. It was a boring cruise as every port was a carbon copy of the last....mountains and waterfalls.!!!!!!Plus the weather was very cruel to us and rained most days. Two day time lectures were "walking stick whittler" how to make a new walking stick out of a piece of wood. The one that made us laugh was "how to make your will"!!!

In 2006 we took out first cruise since 1999 alone on Norwegian Jewel out of Barcelona. A massive new ship with the choice of 13 restaurants to eat in the evening at any time you desired. They call it "freestyle dining". It was great. We had a suite and the room was enormous and the fact the ship was only a year old it was prestine in every way. The evenings were always finished off well with entering the room and finding the towel animals on the bed made by the room steward. My favourite was the crocodile with the 2 green chocolate wrappers as eyes.

We visited Barcelona-Messina-Naples-Rome-Livorno-Villefranche-Barcelona and travelled on my free ticket which i get yearly for working for British Airways. ( more of that later).

This year we are going to New York to pick up Carnival Victory on 15th September for a cruise:- New York-Boston-Portland-Saint John-Halifax-New York and we have one of the biggest suites on the ship. There are only eight category 12 suites and we are on 7299.( more of that after cruise)

Schooling

Here i am as a naughty schoolboy with my brother i am on the left and if you look carefully you will see all my first teeth came throught with barely any enamel on them so i had a mouthful of black teeth.(better ones now)!! I loved school from about 4-11 and then i went to BIG school as we called it and that's when smoking started and going out after school and not doing revision. Also truancy and basically wanting attention from my friends so got into an array of things. However i am blessed that it was just a phase and i'm as honest as the day is long now. Friendships at school were very fickle. I was from what people thought was a rich family and lived in a new big house which was not council so they assumed we had money. Maybe friendships were built on that assumption no matter how true or untrue it was. Mum also had a shop in the local village selling habidashery and i loved hanging out there and maybe helping her dress the window.Walking from our home to shop was about 10-15 minutes and i had to walk through an area where so called friends lived. If i saw some of them i never knew if i was going to get a welcome or a beating. Depended on their mood i suppose but it did scare me and i was beaten a few times and always running scared. I look back now and wonder if it is the cause of my home solitude which i love now. There is nothing like being safe inside. A friend once said to me that " so many bad things had happened over the years that i am shutting them out of my life and turning into a hermit". Maybe true but i think i know the cause of that which will come in a later blog. But to sum it up....schooling was bitter sweet age 4-11 and just bitter 11-15. I was always told " school is the best days of your life and you will miss it" however it was a great day when it was all over and i was an adult all out in the big world on my own.

Well where does one start. Firstly i suppose a little about myself. I am Male 43 based in London and flying for an airline. I will update my blog from all over the world and tell you about my life and the strange and wonderful people i meet along the way. I would also like to mention at this point my wonderful dog Megan who is currently snoring on the sofa and she has wind!!!! This is my first ever "blog" so do bear with me as it won't take me long to warm up and start spilling the beans. I have looked after a total of about 50 "celebs" from very famous pop stars to A1 actors and actresses as well as some talk show hosts and a couple of sports personalites. All of them so different and diverse but all of them really "normal" people going about their business but more of the later. My life is presently pretty solitary. I am in a relationship which is more of a friendship and i have had no personal intimacy or sex for years. I do yearn for true love but life plods on and i suppose we all get in a rut with mortgages and pets and committments that we feel we cannot move on. By the way that's my Megan at the top. Lovely isn's she? People cross the road when they see me coming and she is the softest people person you could ever meet. She has never bitten or attempted to bite anyone EVER!!

Well thats all for today lots of juicy stuff to follow so be sure to check in with me at least once a week.