Did you know I have 2 YouTube Channels?

Sorry I have not written a blog for a quite a while. This is due to 2 main reasons. Firstly because of my health condition I have found it very hard and second I have been busy building up my YouTube channels.  I would like to go back to writing Blogs again even if it is just something small and I will try to upload something once a month. So please be patient as sometimes this may not always be possible because of my health. But This blog with hopefully will be the first of many.

As you are aware I have chronic kidney disease and had to retired from work due to ill health in 2015. To relieve my boredom and to keep my mind occupied I started making YouTube videos.

I now have 2 YouTube channels, my main channel and my gaming channel.

On my main channel you will find a wide range of videos. These include talking about my journey coping with kidney disease, product reviews, recipes, Film reviews, TV reviews and other Vlogs.

On my gaming channel you will find a wide range of videos of games that I attempt to play on the Xbox or PC. I love playing video games and making YouTube Videos of them.

I am not an expert by any means and do this as hobby to relieve my boredom.

I enjoy making videos and I try to upload a video each week, but sometimes because of my health this is not always possible.

If you want to see some of my videos then please click on the links below

Click here for my main channel

Click here for my gaming channel

My First Trip to Old Trafford watching a football match – The Legends Match

Hi there,

I hope every body is well. This blog is about my first trip to Old Trafford to watch a football match.

On Saturday 2nd September my son and I went to Old Trafford to watch a Legends match between Manchester United and Barcelona.

As you may know Old Trafford is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of around 75,000, it is the largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom.

I have been a Manchester United fan ever since I was young and this was my first ever time watching a match at Old Trafford. I know it was just a legends match but it still felt special.

It was a lovely sunny warm day and I remember feeling very excited when I arose. I was like a child in a sweet shop. We got to the ground at around 12 (kick off was at 3pm). My son and I had a slow walk around and took in the atmosphere.  Outside the ground was the fan zone with some things for children to do.

We started queuing up to get in the stadium at around 1pm. We got inside and found our seats, in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand. The view was absolutely amazing. I was awe-struck.

Here are some pictures I took of the day.

We watched “The Vamps” perform before the start of the match. But was a bit of a let down as they were only on for around 20 minutes. I was expecting much longer. And other than that there was not much else pre-match entertainment. And further more there was not much at half time either. But this did not affect our enjoyment of the day.

A minutes silence was observed before kick off (in remembrance of those affected by Terrorist attacks in Manchester & Barcelona) and you could of heard a pin drop as an eerie silence came over the stadium. It was quiet an emotional feeling seeing every body observing it.

Finally we cheered as the match kicked off. And I was not disappointed as the game itself was brilliant. It was end to end stuff and full of action. Because of where we were seated I was really close to the action.  And I felt privileged seeing all the different “Legend” players from both sides. I saw Van Nistelrooy, Dwight Yorke, Ji-sung Park, Edgar Davids, Luis Garcia and many others. It just made the day extra special.

Although it did not really matter (in my opinion) who won, as it was a great spectacle and all the money raised was going to local charities, the match itself ended 2-2 (Manchester United won 5-3 on aggregate, as they had won 3-1 away in Barcelona).

The atmosphere was amazing and we had a fantastic time.  We even participated in a “Mexican Wave” at one point. The stadium itself is amazing and the staff were very helpful. However, I must admit the food and drink was very expensive. I spent £20 on a couple of drinks and an ice cream!

But on the whole, it was a great day :).

Check out this YouTube video I did of our trip.

My first visit to old Trafford

 

What would you do if you could travel in time?

Today I did a short talk at the crewe 4Networking breakfast business meeting and I thought I would share with you what I talked about.  I know  I have already blogged about “time travel” before so some of it you may have read before but some of it is new. Enjoy :).

Here goes……

Before I start I wont to pose a question.

What’s one thing that once you lose it you can never get it back? No amount of money, resources or effort can ever get it back….

Time, once you lose that time, the moment is gone.

Which leads me to the question, What would you do if you could travel in time??

I bet every one reading this would love to travel back to some moment in time and give themselves a bit of advice or latest lottery numbers.

As you may know I am passionate about science and stuff to do with time travel. One of my favourite TV science fiction series is Dr Who and one of my favourite films is back to the future.

I don’t know if you have seen them but I think they are brilliant.

So is time travel travel possible, well first we need to understand what time is?

Time is dimension in which events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future,

What is Time travel?

Time travel is the concept of moving backwards and/or forwards to different points in time, in a manner which  different from the normal “flow” of time to an earthbound observer.

We’re all constantly engaged in the act of time travel. At its most basic level, time is the rate of change in the universe — and like it or not, we are constantly undergoing change. We age, the planets move around the sun, and things fall apart.

I wont bore you with the physics but according to quantum theory and Einstein’s theory of relativity it is theoretically possible to travel in time. And in fact the nearer the speed of light you can achieve the slower the passage of time.

We measure the passage of time in seconds, minutes, hours and years, but this doesn’t mean time always flows at a constant rate. Just as the water in a river rushes or slows depending on the size of the channel, time flows at different rates in different places. In other words, time is relative.

Ok great, its possible but if time travel is theoretically possible then it should have already happened and at some time in the future a clever scientist has already invented a time machine that can travel through time in any direction, just like the fictional time machine created by H. G. Wells.

So where is our intrepid time traveller?

To my knowledge, correct me if I am wrong, I believe history shows no record of a time traveller ever visiting us from the future, and maybe some will conclude it’spossible to travel in time.

There maybe explanations to this. and The fact that we have no record of having been visited by time travellers does not exclude its possibility.

Ok, if we say it is possible then can we do it.

Well yes but there are problems. The main problem with time travel is creating a paradox.

What do I mean by a Paradox? Let me try to explain.

The most commonly posed paradox is known as the ‘grand parent’ paradox. This states that if you could travel back in time you could murder your grand parents and thus prevent your existence, thus rendering it impossible for you to have gone back in time and killed them…

Even more to the point perhaps, suppose you could travel back in time and kill the person responsible for time travel before they discover it! Then you wouldn’t have been able to travel back in time to kill him….. Catch 22. Or a paradox.

In addition, The same arguments can be applied to travel into the future. Suppose I travel 24 hours into the future and happen to meet myself crossing the street. (can you meet and interact with yourself?) . I push him in front of a car and he is killed instantly and then I return.

On my return, when tomorrow comes, I receive a visit from ‘me’ from my past. I of course knew he is gong to push me in front of a car and so I move out the way and push him into the path of the car and kill him instead. Can I do that? That isn’t what happened in my future, it was the ‘me’ in the future that died. Again we have created a paradox.

Confused yet? Welcome to the world of time travel.

But if we can avoid a paradox there are still other problems time travel can cause. Let’s examine a theoretical time travel situation in more detail in order to highlight some of the problems involved.

Ok lets imagine that today you travel back in time to say August 2001 and warn the authorities that the World Trade Centre in New York is going to be attacked on September 11th. Firstly will they believe you and lock you up for being a nutter.

But suppose they do believe you and take the necessary action and as time unfolds the disaster is eventually averted. But you are still in 2001 at this point and the disaster has been prevented, and you now wish to return to the time you came from. Here comes the Big Question – can you return to where you came from? Where you came from the attack had taken place, therefore where you came from no longer exists! If you do return to your original time, the World Trade Centre will still be standing (because you prevented the attack), so it cannot be where you came from. You will have changed the course of history, not just for yourself, but for the entire world. The question is, will the World Trade Centre still be standing when you return to your starting time? This is a major point of contention. According to one theory it both will and it won’t! This is because your actions will have created an alternative possibility and in the process an ‘alternative’ universe, where we now have one universe with the World Trade Centre intact, and one with it destroyed, and we will all exist in both.

The theory is firmly rooted in quantum theory that states that ALL alternative outcomes are possible.

However another theory suggests that alternative universes will not be created because events will conspire against you that prevent you (as in this scenario) from warning the authorities and changing history. Its called the Time Line protection hypotheses and is basically The natural law would prevent the traveler from altering the past. This ‘theory’ it isn’t really a theory as such, more an expression of a desire, because it is believed to be impossible (and very bad manners from the point of view of historians) to change history. The theory has no explanation as to how this ‘prevention’ could actually come about and has no solid theoretical basis.

There are many many theories about time travel.I could be here for hours talking about it.

So I will just say that if time is just another dimension as discussed at the start, then time travel would be possible and these paradoxes multiverses would be unavoidable. If however, we take the view that only the dimension of time itself exists, and not the events within it, then this would suggest that time travel is impossible. Why? Because the past would be fixed and future events do not exist, so it would be impossible to travel into the future to witness them, as there would be no ‘future’ to visit. Ie the future is what we make it!

So what does that mean?

Well going back to my original question, What’s one thing that once you lose it you can never get it back? TIME.

Time is precious. Once that moment is gone we can’t get it back. We are in charge of our own destiny and out actions and decisions today affect whats going tomorrow.

We only have one life to live and so don’t waste it

Follow your dreams. Follow your passions.

Tell your partner, husband wife, children you love them. Dont put off till tomorrow what you can today.

At the moment I’m following my dream, I am self-employed and building up my business.

And that’s the message I want to leave with you…. Follow your dreams and don’t live life with regret.

Are you looking for science fiction and horror comics, books and collectables? Then please look at the science fiction and horror online shop.  For the free monthly science fiction and horror newsletter, please subscribe here free.

This Months Science Fiction Comic and Card Trading Event – 10th Nov 2012

Good morning every body. I hope you are all well and have been enjoying the last remnants of the sunny weather. I just thought I would let you know of another upcoming science fiction and horror comic and card trade event that I will be trading at later this month.

I will be attending the Golden Orbit Science fiction, comic & card fair at the THISTLE HOTEL, PORTLAND STREET, PICCADILLY GARDENS, MANCHESTER M1 6DP on Saturday 10th November 2012 (12.00 till 3.30 pm).  The hotel is located in Manchester city centre near both Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly Railway Station. Also just a short walk from Sachas Hotel and Tib St Public car parks nearby. Bar and refreshments available all day.

I will be selling various surplus stock from my Ebay shop, including……..

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert books.

Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr Who collectables and annuals.

DC, Marvel, Wildstorm, 2000AD, Image and other independent comics from Modern and bronze age.

So if you are looking for comics, books or collectables and are in Manchester on the 30th June then why not pop in and say hello. And if you spend over £10 on comics you will get 2 Comics free.

If you are looking for something in particular let me know before hand and I will make sure I will bring it with me.

Will keep you posted as I get other events booked in!

Are you looking for science fiction and horror comics, books and collectables? Then please look at the science fiction and horror online shop.  For the free monthly science fiction and horror newsletter, please subscribe here free.

Is it wrong to have a lifestyle business?

Hi there, hope you are all well.

Not to too long ago some body accused me of just having a “lifestyle business” and that I wouldn’t make loads of money from it and that I should get a “proper Job”.  Read about it here

As you may know at the moment, as well as working on my business, I also work part-time for a pharmaceutical company. I do this because I want to spend as much time as I can with my family. When I started working for this pharmaceutical company it was full-time. And I could quiet easily still be working full-time and earning loads of money, but then I wouldn’t see much of my family. I would be too stressed and too knackered to play with my son. So I made a choice, I asked to work part-time.

And that’s what I do, 3 days a week I’m a documentation technician for a pharmaceutical company.  And the rest of time I spend either with my family or on my business. I love science fiction and horror and am passionate about what I do.  I feel less stressed and am able to spend time with family which would never have been possible if I still worked full-time.

I am not interested in making loads of money. Dont get me wrong I do want to make a success of my business and achieve a certain level of income. My ultimate aim is to build my business up to a level where I can do that full-time and quit my “proper job”. But, in my opinion it’s not always about the money or the end result. And it’s not always about the latest flash car, latest computer, Gadget, TV or poncy suit. Sometimes I think it is just about enjoying the journey and spending time with people you love.

And if I do have a “lifestyle business” and I don’t make loads of money, is that wrong?

Are you looking for science fiction and horror comics, books and collectables? Then please look at the science fiction and horror online shop.  For the free monthly science fiction and horror newsletter, please subscribe here free.

This Months Science Fiction Comic and Card Trading Event – 22nd Sept 2012

Good afternoon every body. I hope you are all well and have been enjoying the last remnants of the sunny weather. I just thought I would let you know of another upcoming science fiction and horror comic and card trade event that I will be trading at later this month.

I will be attending the Golden Orbit Science fiction, comic & card fair at the THISTLE HOTEL, PORTLAND STREET, PICCADILLY GARDENS, MANCHESTER M1 6DP on Saturday 22nd September 2012 (12.00 till 3.30 pm).  The hotel is located in Manchester city centre near both Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly Railway Station. Also just a short walk from Sachas Hotel and Tib St Public car parks nearby. Bar and refreshments available all day.

I will be selling various surplus stock from my Ebay shop, including……..

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert books.

Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr Who collectables and annuals.

DC, Marvel, Wildstorm, 2000AD, Image and other independent comics from Modern and bronze age.

So if you are looking for comics, books or collectables and are in Manchester on the 30th June then why not pop in and say hello. And if you spend over £10 on comics you will get 2 Comics free.

If you are looking for something in particular let me know before hand and I will make sure I will bring it with me.

Will keep you posted as I get other events booked in!

Are you looking for science fiction and horror comics, books and collectables? Then please look at the science fiction and horror online shop.  For the free monthly science fiction and horror newsletter, please subscribe here free.

My day out at the London Film and Comic Con 2012

Hi all,

Over the weekend (Friday 6th July 2012 to Saturday 7th July 2012) I took a trip down to London to visit London Film & Comic Con 2012 and I thought I would tell you what I thought.

I booked my tickets a few months ago and was very much looking forward to it.  Its my first time at visiting such an event and so I did not know what to expect.  I travelled down on the train to London Euston (from Crewe) on friday night, in first class I might add (another first for me) and enjoyed the complimentary food and drink whilst utilising the free wifi.

I stayed overnight in a travel lodge in Battersea. It was comfortable and what I expected budget accommodation to offer so have no complaints. On Saturday morning I made my way to the Grand Hall Olympia where the event was to take place. My first experience was not good.  The organisation of the event was Fucking crap, to say the least.  We were basically left to our devices waiting outside for the doors to open.  There must have been at least 100 people there at 8 am already when I got their.  The staff did not have a clue to where we should queue and it would have spoilt a good day if it weren’t for the joyful nature of the people waiting outside.

At 9 am the doors opened and very little attempt was made to organise us we entered the building.  But once I had got inside, with the rest of the stampede, it was further chaos as there was confusion as to where to go to get guides of the event and purchase talk and photograph tickets.  There were no signs or helpful staff indicating which way to go.

But other than the crap disorganisation of the event, it was pretty good.  Many many people dressed up in a variety of characters, which I of course took pictures of (see below).  It was good fun.

And there were many stars giving out autographs, Anthony Head, Kevin Sorbo, Gates Mcfadden, Kenny Bakerm and Hayden Panettiere to name but a few, but unfortunately you had to pay.  The price varied from £10 upwards.  But I just couldn’t justify paying £15 for an autograph. so I didn’t get any. The talks and photo shoots with the stars were also priced from £10 upwards, which I thought was extortionate.

And there were many trade stands selling all sorts of collectables and memorabilia. If I had the money I would have had a field day.

The venue was ok, and the food and drinks were expensive as expected.  To give you an idea how much, a small orange juice cost me £2.50 and a hot dog cost £4.25.  Fortunately I had brought a few drinks and some food with me.

After a long day I left the event feeling tired and weary and made my way home.  On the whole I had a really good day and met some wonderful people.  Would I go again next year, yep probably.

Did you goto Comic con 2012, what did you think? And  if you recognise any of the pictures (Are they you) then please let me know :).

Are you looking for science fiction and horror comics, books and collectables? Then please look at the science fiction and horror online shop.  For the free monthly science fiction and horror newsletter, please subscribe here free.

Comics, comics and yet more comics….. My first visit to the Golden Orbit Sci-Fi Comic Trade Fair

On saturday 12th November 2011 I visited the Golden Orbit science fiction comic and card trade fair in Manchester.  It was my first time going to such an event and so I did not know what to expect.  Normally I buy comics from Ebay or car boot sales.

Before going I was pretty nervous as I thought I wasnt going to enjoy it.  I had the preconception of a room full of anoraks/nerds (like comic book guy from the simpsons) skulking around the room but was pleasantly surprised. Instead there were all kinds of “normal” people (both adults and children) buying and selling comics and other collectables.   You even had children involved helping their mum or dad selling comics.  There were a lot of dealers. In fact I was told that dealers attend from all across the UK and sometimes abroad, selling thousands of science fiction, film and comic related collectables both old and new.  There were comics, trading  cards, toys, tv/film magazines, posters, books, graphic novels, games  and all kinds of sci-fi/fantasy collectables.

But mainly there were comics, and believe there were a lot of comics.  Everywhere I looked, more comics.  But there were a hell of a lot people buying them as well.  Like a pack wolves they looked through the hundreds of comics available (some checking there lists to see which comics they needed to complete their collection). I had a good look through myself and I bought 2 comics.  I had a very enjoyable time there.  The only downside is paying £2 to get in.  But this event has made me realise that I am in pretty healthy niche market and given me the incentive to go to more trade fairs. And also it has taught me a valuable lesson and that’s be carefull of preconceptions you may have about new things as you may miss out on opportunities if you rely on preconceptions which put you off.

So, have you been to any comic fairs, what are your experiences?

Are you looking for science fiction and horror comics, books and collectables? Then please look at the science fiction and horror online shop.  For the free monthly science fiction and horror newsletter, please subscribe here free.

Are you Self Employed? Why don’t you get a proper Job?

Are you Self Employed? Why don’t you get a proper Job?

Have you ever been asked this? I have. “Why don’t you get a proper Job?” is probably one of the most common questions self-employed people are often asked (in my opinion).

Well….

First, what is a “proper” job. As companies continue to merge with competitors, downsize and cope with the continuing recession  a “proper” job is not what it used to be.  No job is safe is these days.

And secondly I could never go back to a “proper” job now and work for somebody else or some faceless organisation, why, well to start with no one tells you what to do. I have been self-employed since april this year.  I’m a dealer in science fiction and horror comics, books and other collectables. I am in total control and can decide when to work and when not too. I mean yesterday I just took the day off with no hassle of having to ask permission, just like that. And more importantly I take the credit if it goes right and at the end of the day its going to be me that is rewarded instead of some manager who doesn’t know what he/she is doing……

I love what I do but it’s not been easy and in fact it’s been very hard.  Starting a business is a pretty big change for starters and takes a lot of balls and courage. And growing the business is even harder, as it takes a lot of hard work and patience. You have to continually see what isn’t working and make changes in order to continue on the path. There have been a lot of hard times with very little money as there was no secure regular income but I always think if you didn’t have these hard times you wouldn’t appreciate the good times.  But not everybody is cut out to do it. And I guess those people can get very jealous because they cant do it, which is probably why they ask “Why don’t you get a proper Job?”.

I knew this first year would be extremely tough, especially having very little money, and sometimes I did wonder if I am doing the right thing but I only have to listen to others who have a “proper” job constantly complaining about their job to make me realise that I am blessed and that I have made right decision.

Take my brother for instance who works all the hours god sends and has forgotten I have existed.  He is contracted to work 9-5, monday to friday, doesn’t get overtime pay but normally works all day and doesn’t get home till late.  He also works at the weekends.  Does he get any thanks, probably not. Then for what, why does he do it, money. Dont make laugh, whats the point of money if you are always working and can’t enjoy it with your loved ones.

My parents are another classic examples of this.  I don’t have much memory of them in my early childhood as they were both working very hard (they worked all the hours under the sun) and when I did see them after school they were very stressed.  And even though they worked hard we still had very little money. When I was around 11 or 12 my father had to stop working due to ill health from a heart attack. He had Angina (heart disease) and so my mother had to stay at home and look after him. And so my main memory of my father is that of a stressed argumentative ill old man who drank loads, smoked and ultimately died of cancer and heart disease when I was about 17.   It’s not a nice memory to have and I don’t want my son to go through that. By the way my mother eventually passed away in 2006 from cancer.

Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 12 years I used to be one of those who put in extra hours just to get noticed on the hope I would get a promotion or pay rise.   But it never happens, instead it is expected of you that you work extra and you are asked to do more and more.  It was one of these places where unpaid overtime was an unwritten rule. And the only people who are rewarded are the senior managers who get big fat bonuses.

So, in answer to the question “Why don’t you get a proper Job?” No, why should I?

Never again will I work for some body else. Now if I work hard I will get rewarded. In addition, because I work from home I can spend as much time as I can with my family and choose my own hours to work.  And that’s whats important to me :).

What do you think, what are your experiences?

Are you looking for science fiction and horror comics, books and collectables? Then please look at the science fiction and horror online shop.  For the free monthly science fiction and horror newsletter, please subscribe here free.

Is The Customer Always Right?

In my opinion, YES.

From my experience I think there should be 2 rules we should use when dealing with customers, they are as follows:-

1. The customer is always right.

2. If the customer is just plainly wrong, then rule number one applies.

I have always tried to use these 2 rules and put myself in the customers position and try to deal with them as I would want to be treated.  I know if I have purchased something and I am not happy then good customer service goes a long way to keeping me happy.  And so if one of my customers customer complains about a product I aways assume they are right and try to rectify the problem.

For example, a couple of months ago somebody bought an item from my science fiction and horror ebay shop and claimed it was damaged when they received it. I know when I packaged it and posted the item it there was nothing wrong with it so I could have quiet easily have treated the customer as if he/she was a liar and it was their fault.  But I didn’t, I apologised for the problem and gave them a choice of either returning the product and getting a full refund or 10% off their next purchase as this is what I would have expected.  The customer chose 10% off their next purchase and in addition left very good feedback on ebay about the transaction.  As a result of my actions (and assuming the customer is always right) the customer was happy and the positive feedback I received will probably encourage others to purchase from me as well.

Now there might be a small chance the customer was trying to take advantage of me but I didn’t think about that.  It might happen in 1% of cases, but what about the 99%.  So I always assume the customer is always right (the item might have been damaged in transit) and as a result they are a lot happier and will be more likely to either recommend me or purchase from me again. Which is what happened in this case.

I firmly believe that we have to keep our customers happy as at the end of the day the customers ultimately pay the bills and pay the salaries. Without customers, there IS no business! I think sometimes businesses forget this, especially large corporations.

And whether you are selling a product or service I think the same reasoning should apply in each case and that the customer is always right.

I think if we follow this principle we can’t got wrong.

But that’s just my opinion….. What do you think?

If you want to purchase second hand Comics and books please look at the science fiction and horror online shop. And for more news and reviews of upcoming science fiction and horror films please look at the free Science fiction and horror monthly Newsletter.