Neil and Simon got ‘married’ today….well, they got as married as English Law will allow for a same-sex couple. This legislation has been a long time coming and I am glad for my friends that they have at last been able to take their relationship to this level of commitment after thirteen years of living together.

As weddings go, it was one of the best I’ve been to, every last detail meticulously planned and lavishly executed. An excellent venue, attentive care from the staff, great organisation and delicious food. What a way to celebrate the newly-legally-recognised partnership!

For me, my day was long and very hard. The conditions in which I was working were difficult in the extreme. Although it was a small wedding (only 40 guests), it was certainly the most difficult one I have shot. Partly because I did it alone – it was in the South East so DM and I decided that the only practical way to manage it from our point of view was for one of us to shoot it alone…..so it had to be me, as it was me who'd been asked. In ‘normal’ circumstances, we would both work an event like this but with the cost of ‘childcare’ for R&A for a two-day trip to London, we couldn’t really do it.

Then the weather conspired against me – after a check on the forecast the day before suggested a dry day, I was unprepared for rain and rain it did! For a large part of the day! Shooting inside was a nightmare – high ceilings, very dark rooms and no space for composing group shots. I ended up shooting in a corridor as it was the only place with a low enough ceiling to reflect the flash and was interrupted by waiters and revellers.

Eventually we got outside and did another session of ‘formal’ shots but by now there was a degree of restlessness among the guests who were tiring of being asked to pose again and again.

Events also conspired against me with the latest terrorist threats disrupting my travel plans to get home – I’d been booked on a flight and had intended to carry-on my camera bags and all of my precious equipment……ah well, the best laid plans and all that. Thursday morning, in the midst of fretting and anxiety, I was frantically trying to switch my schedule to get home by train but they don’t run into Cornwall late on Saturday evenings so I could get as far as Devon only. Still, I got on a train, it got me and my precious equipment close enough to home for DM to come and get me in the car.

By the time I got to Plymouth, I doubt I’ve ever been as tired. I was completely exhausted. The end of a long, hard day was hot buttered toast, sloshed down with a glass if the red stuff, watching an ancient ‘On the Buses’ film on the TV – ah it’s good to be home!

In a strange flash of inspiration, I decided on a plughole as my subject last year and despite it not being an obvious choice for a PAD, it turned out rather well.