Those good people at Moo have come up with another cool way to enjoy your photographs. They started with MiniCards (some of mine are pictured right) which are half-sized business cards that you can decorate with your own pictures (whether they be from Flickr or elsewhere). You can put what you like on the back of them and they’re the sort of thing you can give out at parties or just randomly show off to people. Very nice.

So as soon as I heard they’d come up with moo StickerBooks I went straight to the site and ordered myself some. I had no idea what I’d do with them but the good thing about stickers is that you can stick them to virtually anything! Here’s what they look like:

They come on little tear-out pages with 6 to a page and the book contains 90 stickers in total. You can choose as few or as many different photos as you like. For a fiver per book they’re a bargain so I got 2 to get me started! As usual with moo the quality is excellent and I’m looking around the office at the moment for things to stick them to. Expect to see a moo sticker stuck on something near you soon!

I mentioned a short while ago that I was planning on doing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks walk with a friend of mine (Stuart, pictured right with Whernside many miles in the distance) and on Friday that’s just what we did. To recap, this is a 25 mile hike taking in three 700m peaks in Yorkshire (Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough). It’s a particularly popular walk (on a weekend you can often see hundreds of people doing it) and seems to be one of these things people do for charity rather a lot. Every time I mentioned to people I was off to do it they’d ask me where my sponsorship form was! I just like doing things like this for the challenge, I don’t need a reason.

Since it’s not been the best summer for weather I wasn’t expecting sunshine all the way and I was not wrong. You’re supposed to check in at the cafe at Horton-in-Ribblesdale for both safety reasons (so you can check out again and they know you made it) and so you can get a card punched with your official time. Since we appeared at 9.30am the rather unfriendly bloke working there told us we were too late - they stopped letting people clock in at 9.10 (despite that the sign on the window said 9.30). A traditional warm Yorkshire welcome it wasn’t. I suggested to Stuart we throw a brick through their window with our times written on at the end but we decided against it!

We started up Pen-y-Ghent and were greeted with cloud and strong winds - not a problem. I was more focused on the 8 mile walk from the summit to the next hill, Whernside, so as far as I was concerned this was the warm up. Once we got to the top we were in the middle of a cloud (Stuart had foolishly said he’d never been to a trig point in clouds before which guaranteed that we would be). And then the long march to Whernside began. Naturally the heavens opened and we were hammered by strong winds combined with very heavy rain / hail which kept us entertained!

I’d been warned that the bog between these two hills was extremely hard going so decided to take a route around the worst part. This meant spending a short while actually walking in the opposite direction to Whernside, but it turned out to be the right choice as we made good time. After what seemed like forever (you can see Whernside in the photo at the top of this article and it’s miles away - and we were halfway there when I took it) we made it to the Ribblehead Viaduct (below) which is quite an impressive structure and served as our lunch spot:

Both of us were quite weary by this point and not entirely looking forward to the long drag up Whernside. But after a bite to eat we felt a lot better and carried on. Since we were into our stride it didn’t seem to take long at all and around 6 hours after we’d started we were standing on top of peak number 2. The clouds had cleared from Pen-y-Ghent and we could see just how far away it was and couldn’t believe we’d just walked it - it would have been a long drive!

We’d set a pretty good pace from the start that seemed fast enough that we wouldn’t be spending all day out but not too fast that we’d burn out. The descent from Whernside is short and direct, but rather steep. Highlight of the day was catching up to a mother, her mother and her young son (must have been about 4 years old). The young lad had a sheep’s jaw in hand and held it out to me asking what it was - I then told him and he informed me he was going to take it home with him to “scare granny” which made his mother and grandmother laugh. I then suggested he carry my bag for me to scare him but he thought it was too heavy and declined. He was full of energy and he’d just been to the summit too - it’s amazing what kids can do!

After another food stop we made the push to the summit of Ingleborough and the last of the day. Much of the route up the hill is on a very well made path - a line of large stone blocks making light work of the bog you’d be dragging yourself through if they weren’t there. Then the sting in the tail - a steep scramble onto the summit ridge which just about finished Stuart and made my thighs feel as if someone had set them on fire!

Following the thigh-bursting climb (I figured that if I went as fast as I could the pain would be over sooner) it was a short walk through the thick clouds to the trig point and shelter from the cold wind where Stuart took the following photo of me to demonstrate that I was quite tired:

And then it was time for my secret weapon. You should always have a secret weapon with you. You don’t have to use it, but if you have one you at least know you can. I had packed 2 cans of caffeine-loaded Red Bull to give us a boost if we were really shattered. I cracked one open and passed it to Stuart. I only had a few sips because it tastes so utterly terrible and for some reason I actually felt pretty good anyway. The secret weapon worked! Once we started on the trail back to where we started Stuart’s energy levels went back up again and we were forging ahead at our normal pace.

We found a sign post that claimed Horton in Ribblesdale was 1.5 miles away but I had both a map and after years of hiking the ability to know pretty much how far I’ve travelled over a given period of time. And both told me that it was more like 3.5 miles! All day whenever we saw a sign the distances were wrong by as much as 100% - I’ve no idea why.

So 10 hours and 50 minutes after we started, we got back to the car and sat down. The relief of getting off our feet was very nice indeed. But more impressive was that we didn’t actually get any blisters between us! I walked in my trusty old army boots and had brought 3 pairs of socks - changing them after each hill - which helped keep my feet in good condition. Stuart just had a decent pair of hiking boots (army boots aren’t really that good by comparison to a modern pair of hiking boots, they’re a compromise so you can run in them at the expense of stiffness).

I’m fairly sure we can break 10 hours if we do it again. I must have spent a solid 20-30 minutes map reading throughout the day. Stuart probably spent 15 minutes opening and closing his bag (he has one of these fancy high tech bags with 50 clips you have to close just to shut the thing). And with better ground conditions and weather we’d have been able to maintain a higher pace. But considering everything and that it was our first time I’m rather pleased with our progress.

I really enjoyed the day. To do it on our own, with nobody else around, navigating every step of the way, was satisfying. To know that even 10 years after I used to eat 25 mile hikes for breakfast I can still do it made me feel pretty good. To battle through atrocious weather and just have a laugh about it shows good spirit. And to do something that pushes you beyond your limits with a friend and share that experience is what life’s all about.

My good lady decided to go out for a bike ride along the canal side near our house. It wasn't raining and she fancied some exercise with a bit of fresh air thrown in. A billion Chinese can't be wrong! (I think the saying goes something like that).

So twenty minutes later when I'd just stepped back indoors after servicing my bike (which I'd been meaning to do for ages) she returns out of breath, throws her bike to the ground and demands that I go upstairs, get a warm jumper and a rucksack. I could tell she was in a bit of a state so just went and did as she asked. She then explained - while catching her breath - that she'd found a woman trying to commit suicide by drowning herself in the canal and that she'd left her with another passer-by but needed to get back with some dry clothes. I wasn't expecting that.

I asked if she wanted me to come back with her or call the police but she said no and to leave her to it. Which I dutifully did. Another half an hour later and my good lady returned in a different state than before. You see, when she was rushing back on her bike to the soaking woman she nearly got hit by a car, fell off and slid along the ground, grazing and bruising herself quite badly in the process. But tough little soldier that she is, she carried on, made sure the woman was ok, and then came home. And now it was my turn to look after her.

She had dirt ground in the palms of her hands, he shoulder was red raw, her knee was bruised and grazed and her ankle was lightly sprained. And all this from a relaxing bike ride in the country!

The woman had had a really bad turn of luck (to say the least) and was clearly at the end of her tether. We just hope that she gets the help that she needs and comes through it stronger. And the next time my good lady goes for a bike ride, I'm damn well coming with her!

Whenever I think of 'The Three Peaks' I think of Ben Nevis, Snowdonia and Scafell Pike. These are the highest mountains of Scotland, Wales and England respectively. While I've climbed Nevis and Scafell (the latter about 3 times) I haven't yet climbed Snowdonia but it's on the list for this year. In all it will have taken me around 10 years for me to get the 3 done. However some people like to do it in 24 hours - driving like madmen between each mountain. That's never interested me, it just seems like a waste of time turning up at each mountain, climbing it then going elsewhere. I'd rather spend a few days in each area climbing several mountains and appreciating their respective surroundings.

However, in Yorkshire there is another, slightly less pointless 3 peaks. They are Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside. They're all around 700m high and are situation within a few miles of each other. I've climbed the first two and even mountain biked up the second one (to be fair I pushed it up a lot of it and flew like a maniac on the way down) but have never been up Whernside. Until yesterday that is.

A friend of mine and my good lady decided to take on the mighty task of scaling this awesome peak! Okay, this isn't the Alps or the Himalaya - this is Yorkshire. It was a fairly steady incline, not too taxing and not at all technical but it did give us a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside and the spectre of the other 2 of the 3 peaks looming in the distance. My friend told me he was going to do all 3 back-to-back which set me thinking…

The official Three Peaks Walk is 24.5 miles in length and takes in 1600m of climbing, should be completed in less than 12 hours and is one of these things you really should do if you live in the area and call yourself a hiker. Frankly, when I was 23 I'd have seriously considered running it but since my friend suggested doing it in 4 weeks I don't really have time to get that fit (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it, nothing to do with being over 30 at all). So it's time to polish my boots, buy some new hiking socks and get walking.

For the last few years I've wanted to do a solo walk across one of the wilderness areas of Scotland (Letterewe and Fisherfield Forest) carrying everything I need on my back. I guess ticking off the 3 peaks would be a good training exercise so I'm going to give it a shot. Wish me luck!

As a recent convert to the game of cricket I jumped at the chance to attend a 'Sportsman's Dinner' (through work) at Elland Cricket Club where none other than the Ashes-winning and current England cricket captain Michael Vaughan would be speaking. And what a fun night it was too!

I've never been to this sort of corporate thing before but it was an interesting experience. There were about 150 people there including 14 from my company. Dinner itself was rather nice. There was a raffle, a variation on the game 'Play Your Cards Right' to win a flat-screen TV, the auction of some very impressive sports memorabilia (including a signed, framed Ronaldinho shirt that I was sorely tempted to bid on - which went for £500 in the end and would have looked lovely in my lounge) and the very talented impressionist Kevin Connelly rounded off proceedings. But the bit I was most interested in was of course hearing Michael Vaughan talk.

Former England physio Wayne Morton was the compere for the evening and he's the man who helped Michael Vaughan through his knee injury so knows him well and interviewed him up on stage. Michael was very open and honest (much more so than in a press interview) and didn't dodge any questions he was asked by Wayne or people in the audience. He came across really well and to be honest I could have listened to him all night! As with most elite sportsmen he has a very positive, winning attitude but the way he talked about leadership and how he conducts himself as England captain was a fascinating insight into his mindset. You can see why a team of players would want to follow him.

His enthusiasm and the way he said that he goes out to play for his country wanting to enjoy it - remembering that he was once a kid playing in the nets dreaming of the moment - came across as completely genuine. He's a top bloke worthy of a great deal of respect and despite the fact that he's playing on Friday for England he was happy to sit and sign autographs, have photos taken with messy-haired Scotsmen and stay late into the night.

The press and those reading what gets written often forget that these people are humans just like you and me with feelings and personalities - they just happen to be exceptional at something. In Michael Vaughan's case it's cricket and leadership. Great guy and a model professional.

I mentioned before that my company sponsors an 8-a-side league in Leeds and while we were relegated from the top division last season, we managed to win the league cup so salvaged some glory (I now have 3 trophies on my desk at work - time for a trophy cabinet me thinks). I was pretty disappointed that we went down for a couple of reasons. First, if we could have fielded the same squad each match we were good enough to compete at that level, but circumstances conspired against us. And secondly it was a real challenge playing against some quality teams and players.

I think there are two types of footballer. There are those who like to look good on the pitch and will tend to play with players who're not as good as them (a big fish in a small pond). Then there are those who want to play with players as good as or better than them which forces them to raise their game and play out of their comfort zone, although it's much tougher. I definitely fall into the latter category and while some dreaded playing the top team in the league last season (who are a class act full of young, fit and skillful players), I couldn't wait to take them on. With relegation we wouldn't get a shot at them for another year.

So imagine my surprise when due to a couple of teams pulling out, we've managed to stay up! I was preparing for a less-than-taxing season in the second division but now I'm feeling all competitive again knowing how tough it's going to be to win. Frankly I'd rather give 110%, play well and have a really close game against a quality team than win 5-0 at a canter against a rubbish team. Of course there's added pressure now that I'm managing the team but if it all goes wrong I can always take the standard football manager lines and blame the lack of quality in my side / refereeing decisions / the packed schedule / instability in the dressing room or just say the other team were "lucky"! Should be fun.

So calling any quality footballers (hey, if you played for a pro-club as a lad even better) who want to join in the fun and act as ringers, let me know. Although if we lose I reserve the right to use you as a scapegoat!

I've never been into cricket. It always seemed like a tedious waste of a day. Nothing ever happened as far as I could tell, bowlers spent all the time polishing the ball and throwing it every now and then. Even the highlights were dull.

Then, while on holiday in Australia I sat down and actually watched one of the Ashes tests (the third one as it happened) and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I never appreciated the tension, the skill, the concentration required, the grit and determination you need to win. I hadn't even watched a single match before and it was clear I was completely wrong about cricket.

Unlike football, where you can make a mistake and rectify it with a lunging tackle or by scoring a goal, there's no margin for error in cricket. You can be batting for hours, receiving ball after ball, and if you lose concentration for a second you're out - and there are no second chances. My good lady and I were on the edge of our seats watching Australia demolish England and it was awesome. And like that I was hooked.

Of course, if you want to watch cricket in the UK, you need to subscribe to Sky TV and as regular readers will know, I cancelled that the other month. So it was with no regret at all actually that I phoned up to renew my subscription and within an hour I was able to watch the Simpsons and football any time I like again. Life without Sky was a brave experiment but in the end a fruitless one, especially as my love affair with cricket has just begun. And I always try to follow my heart!

I’ve spent the past six months playing in an 8-a-side league with work. It’s been an interesting experience. For one thing, no matter how seriously you play football, it’s always a different matter when you’re keeping score and even more so when it’s in a league.

The standard was pretty high, high enough that if we slacked off we’d get punished. One team in particular was full of really good players, we got hammered by skill, youth and teamplay and it was a wake-up call of how hard we had to work to win. We struggled to get a regular team out - some people were put off by how tough it was and others were working away. So with a make-shift line-up each match we didn’t do too well. When we realised we needed to win our last 4 games to stay up we pulled it together and won 3 out of 3, but just fell short in the last game and got relegated. (Well, the last game of the season to decide who went down was forfeit so we went down - a brown envelope full of £20 notes probably fixed that one). It was disappointing but all the clichés they say about football are true. It’s a team game and the league table never lies. We may have thought we deserved to stay up but if that was the case we would have.

And so it came to the end of season tournament. A chance to redress the balance and salvage some dignity. We had to merge with another team to get enough players together and even then we only had 8. Given that we would have to play up to 6 games to win the tournament some subs would have been nice. As it happened one of our players sprained his ankle in the first match so we had to draft in a friend from one of the other teams to join us.

There were a total of 14 teams and you had to get through a mini-league of 3 matches, then on to the quarters, semis and final. We won our first match, then lost the second (we played two in a row and weren’t concentrating). We won the third and that put us through to the next round. We thought we were lucky to get through and the injuries started to pile up. I had an injured hip before I even started (I could hardly walk last Wednesday), one guy as I mentioned sprained his ankle, another had two dodgy knees and our keeper strained his groin right early on.

So into the next round we went and managed to win it against - ironically - the team of the guy who joined us when we went a man down. I almost hoped we’d lose so we could have a rest. Almost. Then came the semi-final. It was close (I came within an inch of scoring which is better than I’ve done all season!) and went to penalties. Incredibly, we won (with me scoring a very calmly taken penalty) and we were through to the final!

All but one of us was now hurting and the lad who sprained his ankle came on again much to my surprise (tough lad). That was lucky as another of our players did his knee in and his day was over. We were up against a good team we’d lost to in the league and they had 4 subs so would surely be fresher. It was agreed we’d play 10 minutes then if it was level go to penalties (we were running short on time and the England match was starting). After some good battling performances (when our last injury-free man got injured) it was 0-0 and the shootout began.

It was quite a demonstration of penalty taking as it got to 4-4 and nobody had missed (including me). Our stand-in player scored, their effort was saved and we won! We couldn’t believe it!

I felt a little bad for the team who lost as undoubtedly they were a quality team but it’s all about results at the end of the day. And while it wasn’t exactly like winning the FA cup, there were 13 other teams there that day who really wanted to win and took it very seriously, and yet it was us who came away with the trophy (right). It’s the first time I’ve ever won a medal for anything and while it may be a trinket you can buy for a few quid it’s a symbol of the 8 of us being the best out of perhaps 140 people. Not bad and I’ll always treasure the memories.

In the end, I think having no subs helped us as we had to pull together as a team more and to say we gave battling performances each match would be an understatement! Anyway, we’ll be in the second division next season so we’ll be looking to bounce straight back up. But at least we’ll have a trophy sitting in the office for the next year to remind us of our achievement!

I went with my girlfriend and a couple of friends to see Snow Patrol play on Saturday night at the Millenium Square in Leeds. We turned up a bit early so went for something to eat in a nearby Thai restaurant (where I proceeded to eat the finest salad I’ve eaten in my entire life - in fact it may well be the finest dish I’ve eaten in my entire life, but that’s another story). We stuck our heads out the door a couple of times to make sure they weren’t on - although that salad was so good I’d have happily missed the gig to lick the plate clean.

Once the food was eaten we went across the road to the venue. I saw Embrace play there last year and once again was surprised how many people you can fit in the square. It wasn’t too long before they came on and started playing some of their trademark songs.

We weren’t too far away from the stage and were pretty close to one of the speaker towers so it was a good vantage point (and as we were near the edge we managed to avoid most of the glasses of beer being thrown around).

They played a selection of songs mostly drawn from their current and previous albums with one from their second.

Gary, the lead singer, had lost his voice on tour and this was the second gig since they started up again so he apologised for the quality of his singing! To be fair he was a bit croaky to start but within a couple of songs was happily hitting the high notes!

I was really looking forward to seeing them as I’ve listened to Final Straw over and over since it came out - an instant classic. Then their new album Eyes Open came out and it’s even better!

They certainly didn’t disappoint - they played really well and the stage banter was entertaining too. Before I knew it they’d played their last song and it was time to go home. On a hair related note I see he decided to cut off his long curly locks in a John Conners way, but I’m sure he wasn’t copying me.

Highlight of the evening? Ben drove us and when he parked outside the venue he said “do you want the bad news or the bad news?”. With little choice I replied “the bad news”. It turned out the bad news was that he’d dropped his car keys down a drain! So in true MacGuyver style we had a look in the back of his car and found the shoulder strap for a bag. We broke the spring clip off the end to leave a small hook-shaped end. While one held the drain cover up Ben reached his arm down into the abyss, hooked the keys and brought them to the surface. Success! And nobody got hurt!

Having just watched England go out of the World Cup and having realised about half way through the match that I wanted them to win - I spent the game on the edge of my seat and have ended up, like most England fans, frustrated and disappointed.

The thing that's impressed me the most from watching their games is how Eriksson has managed to take a team littered with match-winning world class players who perform to the highest levels each week for their clubs - and make them play like a second division team with no confidence and a defensive, losing mentality.

You've got to wonder how a guy can get paid several million pounds a year and so clearly get it wrong. Play people out of position. Make them play in a formation they're not comfortable in. Make all the wrong decisions about substitutions. It's just a shame his footballing know-how and motivational skills don't match up to his powers of salary negotiation!

You could blame the players saying they're better than that. But as a player you don't go out on the field and do your own thing, you play in the way the manager tells you to, you play in a position and have a specific job to do. If you think you can do better doing something else then tough, you do what the manager tells you to.

Of course I should have known they'd go out. My two tips for the tournament as I mentioned before - Spain and Argentina - went out after playing so well in the group stages. So as soon as I actually wanted England to win they were doomed to failure. Sorry about that England…