2026

Relationships

I believe a good relationship, especially a marriage, is based on honesty and trust. If you’re honest with each other that will always be the perfect foundation that almost everything else rests on.

Jamie and I have been discussing this recently because she sees other relationships and marriages breaking down and feels concerned that we don’t end up struggling, ever.

The thing we agree on everytime it’s discussed is that not being honest from the beginning or when communication breaks down will always foster dishonesty and then it eventually becomes the problem.

I believe our relationship, from the first MySpace messages through all the preceding messages emails IMs and then eventually to us meeting we were honest with each other and that has stood us in good stead. We have never been surprised or shocked because we were warts and all honest with each other from the off.

When a marriage breaks down over the revelation that one has been in prison which wasn’t revealed prenup, is not shocking, no matter what the reason was! A relationship will always be strained after something as big as that because what else doesn’t the other know about?

I think we’re ok so long as Jamie was truthful that she was a nun before she met me…! I know I never said I was rich I just didn’t say I wasn’t when she assumed I was…

Disclaimer: when bought $2 for £1 I thought I was rich too!

/by

A day out with me mate

Falling in love with my car again meant this morning dropping it off to be valeted so I asked Jamie to pick me up and I would take her for breakfast in Sandbach, which she obviously agreed to because its one of her favourite things to do.

Now a day out with my best mate a few years ago would have been very different but Jamie and me are best mates and after breakfast we went to Costco to buy bog paper something so mundane yet necessary but we just seem to love doing stuff like that together we have a laugh put the world to rights and just enjoy each other’s company while getting shit done!

Speaking of getting shit done, when we got home we emptied out ‘Mommy’s Shed of Thanksgiving and Christmas Dec’s we lazily chucked in there allowing us to restock Jamie’s store with the £200+ stuff from Costco. This meant we needed to empty out some crap I’d/we’d horded and organise the decs into the more accessible side of the loft space, which we did as a team and it was so satisfying too.

Some people would think a day like that is their worst nightmare but Jamie and I just like doing stuff like that so long as we do it together!

My car by the way came back absolutely spotless and clean and ready for a proper service on Tuesday.

/by

JF09 ALB

A personalised number plate?

Decided to buy a number plate that reflects me ALB but could not decide what else to have on it because of the rules around not being allowed to have 70 on a plate on a car built in 2019

So to cut a long story short I can only add a plate with 19 or older so I decided on JF for Jamie Forster and 09 the year we married followed by Me ALB

Cost on the website said Only £300 but by the time I attach them to my car it will be nearer £500 which is and extravagance but I have wanted one for years so why not….?

/by

A play for today

Back in the day when the video recorder allowed you to preserve your favourite shows I had two cassettes that I played to death. The first was The Damned 10th Anniversary concert and that was played a lot, the second contained the film Splash and a BBC2 Play for Today called Will you love me tomorrow.

It is well documented that Splash is the film I have watched over 100 times but not many know I actually watched the whole tape so the play has as many views too!

The play is about 2 girls who abscond from an open prison in Manchester and spend a couple of days on the run in Rhyl, where we find out the Jackie murdered 3 children when she was 9 years old and has been locked up for the last 11 years. Its low budget as all Play for today’s were but introduced some great actors.

Not sure why as a teenager I loved watching the film and play so much, I am sure it wasn’t because Daryl Hannah was in one Joanne Whalley was in the other.

/by

Make a Claim

Having purchased my car last night I was keen to make it feel like a new one so booked it in for a service at Town Bridge Motors and enquired about a full valet but held off on the latter because the evaluation on repairing the damaged rear bumper was probably going to be up towards 2 grand….?

I had it assessed by Arlington Brook in Webbs Lane and he said you would be better claiming for the repairs on your insurance because the bits alone will be nearly a grand so I decided to claim off the insurance which is something I would never do if as in this case its my fault and no one else to blame.

It just feels like I am doing something wrong like it’s illegal but at the end of the day that’s why we have insurance to cover things like this and it why we pay so much

So I got onto the Admiral website and made a claim, the excess will be £275 which will come out of the remainder of the bank loan so will the service and then book in the full valet which will hopefully make me love the car again and make it look smell and feel like a new car again?

/by

Bought a car today

With a PCP agreement you pay monthly installments for 48 months and then either pay the ‘bubble’ payment at the end or get rid in a way that pays off the rest of the agreement and get another car and start again. Last month they reminded me that I had 3 payments to go so I need to think about what I was going to do at the end of March so I started looking for a new car.

I have never liked change, happy that how it is is great so why change but this was forcing me to buy another car, and I didn’t want to.

Tonight I sat in my car, waiting for Lincoln to finish his drum lesson, contemplating driving 175 miles to Horsham to buy a Black Ford Fiesta 2 door ST-Line to replace the Black Vauxhall Corsa SRi I was sat in…

It would have cost me £75ppm more for 4 years I would have taken a day off to go and get it and petrol there and back to replace something I already have.

The bubble payment is £4610 and a loan from the bank would cost £9ppm less for only 30 months so I applied for a loan had it accepted and transferred to my bank account when I got home and I paid off the rest of the agreement.

I borrowed a little extra to get a ding on the rear bumper fixed and get it serviced and valeted and once done it’ll be like a new one….!

/by

Oh the wildies

Whether related to not drinking for 48 hours or the chicken we had for tea if the latter I was the one the got the bad bit as no-one suffered or did as I suspect just have a dicky tummy?

I felt a bit odd before I got into the bath but as I’d suffered an evacuation a few minutes earlier I thought it would pass…

Oh how wrong could I be, as I lay there I started sweating not uncommon in such a hot bath but added to the sweating was that pit of the stomach pain that meant this bath was over.

I spent the next 30 minutes thinking I was going to empty OMG

/by

Looking to the future

I wrote the blog, below, in February 2010 on third anniversary of Yvonne’s passing. Today was the 19th anniversary, so much has happened since then, that it is scarcely believable!

I still think of her, I always will because without her the rest would have been possible?

Little did I know that I was going to find my future when I travelled 4500 miles away from Middlewich back in March 2008. all I wanted was a holiday to look forward to. Truth be told I wasn’t even sure where I was going, so on the way back from the travel agents with ticket in hand I called in on John (Garner) to take a look at an atlas to find out where, in
America, Denver actually was?

Coming upto two years on from that trip, I’m married to a wonderful woman who is
expecting our first child in April and most
importantly I’m happy. We have a great life and it just gets better everyday,

To forget my past would be crime, after all its what brought me to this point in my life, a bigger crime would be not enjoy my future…!

Jamie 2007 – Forever

Rest in Peace Von

/by

Dry February 2026

Day 1 of something that I have been thinking about for a few days and something I think I need to do occasionally just to reset so here goes…

/by

Car Shopping

Car shopping is one of my least favourite activities, I just don’t like change and my Vauxhall Corsa is enough right now but the terms of the PCP agreement means I either give it back or pay the ‘bubble’ amount which is 4 grand.

I drove a new Corsa and Mokka but the manual version had a footrest to the left of the clutch which my foot caught every time I changed gear which I am not sure I could ignore. I did like the Mokka but after investigating the automatic version it was annoyingly too expensive, I just don’t think I can justify having a £300pm car payment sat on the drive most of the week.

I also drove a Puma which didn’t really light me up it was a higher driver position and seemed like I had to reach down to change gear, which maybe my perception after getting out of a Fiesta minutes before?

The Fiesta I liked but until saying up all the cars I looked at that Black small car is enough and if the Fiesta I test drove was black 2 door ST-Line and looked a bit sporty I possibly would be the owner of a new car.

Looking on Autotrader there is an automatic version at the right price but its in London so I think I might ask CD if they can find me one…

/by
Website designed by Alan Forster