In 2005 I tried scuba diving for the first time, on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Then in 2006 I took the PADI Open Water Diver course in Spain. That gave me a recognised qualification which means that I should be able to hire equipment and dive with organisations worldwide.

Now I want to get some experience and become more familiar and confident with all the equipment and the underwater environment. What I won’t be doing anytime soon is diving in a quarry or anywhere in open water in the UK. Spain in September was just right for me. I don’t do cold!

So now I’m investigating diving clubs in and around Manchester. Trouble is, I’m PADI trained, but some clubs are BSAC and I don’t want to go somewhere that looks down their nose at someone from a different approach.

I’m going to Spain later in the year with some friends who have also recently learned to dive so I’m looking forward to that.

“Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball.”

My interest in pinball machines started when I was in my early teens. In those days pinball machines were to be found in cafes and amusement arcades in my home town of Liverpool. If I remember rightly games cost sixpence or three for a shilling (two-and-a-half pence and five pence). I spent many hours and many pounds playing pinball on my own and with mates. I dreamt that one-day I would have enough money to buy my own retired pinball machine for home amusement. (In fact my friend’s dad did just that. As a senior civil servant, I think he kept it quiet from his colleagues.)
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