I wish... I still printed my photos and put them in albums (part 6)

Done! All thirteen photo memory cards uploaded. Plus three CDs that I didn't realise had photos on. Surprise surprise.

The photos are a bit jumbled up, and I need to check the dates, but at least they're all in one place and I can view them on a big screen.

So without further ado, here are a few snaps I picked out from the final cards (and CDs):

A night out with friends at Roller Disco in Vauxhall, London. 2008. It's quite a small venue, which is probably a good thing, because if I'd built up a head of speed I could have seriously injured someone.

I have no idea who the girl next to me is.

Anti-war rally in London. 2007. I didn't agree with the decision to invade Iraq so I went along to this march. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I knew it wouldn't make much difference to the politicians, but the people in it were very friendly and from all over the UK.

I felt a bit guilty about that actually because the rally was conveniently on my route to a railway station where I needed to catch a train afterwards.

Commuters queuing for the bus in Crouch End. February 2007. I knew transport would be a nightmare that day so I put my hiking boots on, left the house early and walked to work in Holborn. It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes.

It was the first time I had walked all the way into Central London, and it was great. London looked prettier, people were friendlier, and I was able to stop and take photos.

My sister Rachel and brother-in-law Terry with my newborn nephew Toby. December 2006. Toby came out of special care in time for Christmas, and Rachel and Terry finally got some sleep.

I very clearly remember a conversation I had with Terry during my sister's pregnancy:

"Rich," said Terry.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"I fertilised your sister."

My sister Rachel and her friend Michelle at Frickley Hollow festival. Summer 2005. Unfortunately the rain and the mud and the flapping tents became too much for them and they went home. 

But I stayed on my own and had a jolly nice time. :-)

My friend Callum (left) and his mate Simon (right) celebrating an alcohol-related injury. These guys are twice my size (I may be exaggerating) and drink beer at twice the speed that I do (no exaggeration).

During the summer of 2005 I often walked back from the pub with Callum and Simon. They always stopped to buy a Chinese takeaway, walked halfway home, and then rested their meal on a specific wall. Chinese Takeaway Wall is a chest-high wall that separates a back lane from some garages. A classy establishment, I think you'll agree.

White sand, crystal clear water, clear blue skies... Yep, that's north-west Scotland. Summer 2005. The chap in red is my best mate Anthony, the woman behind him is his Mum, and the boat behind her is mine. Not really. Mine is much bigger than that.

After a bacon sarnie breakfast we climbed Ben Nevis. I'm sure the views are amazing on a good day but we couldn't see much from inside a cloud. 


So there we are. We've reached 2005. Ten years ago. It doesn't seem all that long ago when I look at the photos. But then I'm not in most of them. If I were, I'd probably notice how young I look and how much more hair I had and how much of that hair was highlighted.

But that's not the point.

The point is, these photos and these memories are no longer lost and forgotten on a little bit of plastic at the bottom of a carrier bag. Now I can quickly find them and look at them. And what's more, I can easily get them printed.

What were you doing 10 years ago? More importantly, what do you wish you could do today?