My wife Clare

Pure and simple, she's a diamond. I've never met anyone so kind, generous & polite to other people, as down to earth, as funny and easy going as her. She's got one of dirtiest laughs I've ever heard and a very cute smile that never fails to cheer me up.

    Clare in Dublin, 2006

This was Clare on our first trip away together. We actually met online through the Sheffield Forum over a discussion about a radio prank call on Galaxy 105, now Capital FM. I asked where I could listen to it online as I'd missed it live and she posted a link for me. From there over the following year it slowly progressed to private messages, then to MSN then phone and finally our first meeting. Over this time we'd joked about each other's single lifestyle and how we were both happy in our own space but if we were ever to get together that we should go on a trip to Dublin and I should get a celtic shamrock tattooed on my arse. Just daft stuff, funny at the time. When we finally met it didnt take us long to hit it off and we'd only been together a couple of months before we ended up on a plane to Dublin. I didn't get the tattoo but it was a great 3 days. 

   Clare & I at the Guinness Museum

Clare had been a single mum to Jake for about 7 years before we met. Lots of ups and downs, both financial and emotional but she still managed to get herself on the property ladder and make a nice home for both of them while holding down two part time jobs. The hard working gene had obviously been passed down to her from her mum who had always been a hard grafter herself. Rita or 'Reet' as she was known passed away when Clare was only 19 which must've been very hard and I know Clare still gets upset from time to time, bless her. Your mum is your mum and time doesn't always completely heal. 

    Rita & Shaun

The family of six, one boy and three girls grew up on Nottingham Street in Pitsmoor with mum and dad Rita and Brian. Clare is the youngest, then Katarina or Katie as she's known, then Sharon (Shazza) and finally Shaun with an age gap of 12 years between eldest and youngest. Having only 1 sister myself I found that fascinating. I bet there were some right laughs as well as some horrendous arguments! The extended family is enormous with Brian having three brothers himself so there are multitudes of uncles, aunties and cousins all over Sheffield. They're a funny crowd and the ones I've met are lovely.

    Clare & Jake

Probably the first thing you'll notice about Clare when you speak to her is her big smile and the fact that she says 'bless' ALOT! 'Bless ya', 'aw bless' seem to be the two most used and since being with her even I've started saying it. Cheers love, bless ya! The girl also likes a drink, as many of us do, and in her days pre-Jake she could often be found acting daft and having fun with the Sheffield Steelers crowd which also included going on away days up and down the country with the players. They even went abroad to Holland to have a friendly match with a Dutch team where one of her step-sisters met her future husband and moved over to start a family. I've met Kirsty and Joost and they're lovely and have the cutest daughter Chloe. Fluent in both Dutch and English and living in Holland that's not a bad lifestyle choice in my book.

    Kirsty & Joost

Aside from the Steelers crowd Clare is also a Sheffield United fan, poor girl! Well nobody's perfect I suppose and she's got plenty more redeeming features. Both Clare and her sister Katie had jobs stewarding at Bramall Lane for a time which meant free games, not bad if you're a fan I guess. Obviously she had plenty of fun with the Blades lot when she wasn't on duty and there were many drunken home and away adventures including a couple of failed trips to the playoff finals vs Crystal Palace and Wolves. Those poor Blades, you've gotta laugh! Hahaha! At least she had a laugh though and plenty of funny memories. Sorry Clare. ;-) x

      SUFC - Always the bridesmaid...

Living and growing up in Pitsmoor and being the outwardly friendly person that Clare is she's known by many folks from the area. Many people still recognise her years later from her time working in the pharmacy at Page Hall. People from her punk and mod years at secondary school Herries remember her, I really wish she'd kept photos of that stage as it's difficult to imagine the woman I love with a shaved head, dyed purple and being shouted at by the head teacher to go home and not come back 'until THAT has gone!' My girl was a rebel in school and I love her for it. I lead a bit of a sheltered life through my own school years and I'm almost glad I didn't meet her during that time as my Pitsmoor bird would've scared the shit out of this over-protected shy boy from Norton who wasn't even aware of a place called Pitsmoor.

   Clare in the 80s

Due to growing up in that part of town she developed a love of reggae and soul music and could often be found on a weekend night in The Ice Bar in town with her college pal Sue, dancing the night away with a fit black fella. Those lads just seem to gravitate towards her and she's always had a thing for a nice looking, dark skinned bloke. Maybe I should get on the sun bed more eh? At her 40th birthday party the DJ was kind enough to play her favourite reggae song 'In a Special Way' by Sylvia Tella. I'd never heard it before but it's a great tune and I now listen to alot more reggae and soul music thanks to her. I love a bit of Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder is always a good cheer-up guy too. 

    The great Stevie Wonder

Clare and I were married on the 30th of May 2009 at Cannon Hall in Cawthorne. She actually proposed to me as tradition allows on the 29th of February 2008 as we were just waking up that morning. She'll most likely say that's something else she had to do for me. How could I say no though, not possible. She's the best I've ever known and our wedding day was perfect. Easily the best day of my life. I'll save the wedding story for another blog post however as that's a full story in itself so watch this space.

   Clare and I get wed, 2009

When I met Clare she already had her own house but after a year of improving, decorating and renovating we decided to move and got really lucky on a beautiful converted farmhouse in our area. It was perfect as Jake didn't have to change schools and we didn't have to change jobs. The folks who lived there before us had done very little with the house while they lived there. The front and back gardens were a state and the bathroom and kitchen were in dire need of a makeover. Clare has a fantastic imagination when it comes to home improvement, she just sees in her mind what she wants and then we do our best to make it happen together. So far we've done a pretty decent job, we both love our house and are really proud of how we've made it ours. 

I've learned so much about so many things since I met Clare, including what I've learned about myself. She's a super person, one in a million and I wouldn't be without her. 

Love you babe, and happy birthday by the way. ;) xxxx