Hiya all, hows things?
The weekend is nearly upon us and if you're under the thumb like me(just joking baby) your wife probably has many a job planned for you, if your not a 21st century man and the missus is chained to the sink then good luck with thoise feet up watching the football with a cold one in hand.
As promised not going to go through my entire 31 years so fast forward.

1989: First year at secondary school, the great institution that is St James Catholic High School.
For anyone that ever grew up as a Catholic or went to a Catholic school, they have a high line on discipline. My best friend Adrian (who was also at my primary school, and remains my best friend to this present day) would begin a journey of self discovery.
Battling the 'One way system', I dont know if anyone had one at their school, but god they were annoying. You would be literally 5 yards from a classroom you had to be in, but no, god forbid you should walk the wrong way. You would have to turn you're sorry arse round walk round the whole of London (it felt like that the school was so big) then you could go in. At this point you were half an hour late and therefore in detention, bloody one one system, i'll give you one way system. In fact at our school I think the teachers just gave detentions for the sake of it, maybe a way of getting some sneaky overtime in. No school blazer on.....Detention, "But sir it's Saturday im not at school", " I dont care boy detention", stop dragging your feet....detention......dodgy haircut.....detention, then again some of the haircuts i had during high school I would of given myself a detention.
Then there was certain teachers who you hated or just got on your tits. We had a good few nuns teaching at our school, yeah proper teachers and they were'nt volunteers from Cathod. They would think they were smart talking to you in Latin and if you answered back with "Sister no one uses Latin anymore, it's a dead language, you guessed it........detention.
As much as we moaned about high school our parents who used to stress to us they were the 'best days of our life' were I believe true, obviously beats paying tax (then again I still know some people who are my age and are tax dodging students).
Like I said there were great things about high school, the discovery of the bunsen burner, stick loads of Chemicals in a pot, put your goggles and lab coat on and bubble it under the Bunsen Burner. Im still not sure to this day what I actually learned from the Bunsen Burner, other than burning my finger 10 times in 5 minutes or that it's just a really cool sounding word, not the type of word you would call your kid though.
The haircuts I had various haircuts there were 3, a skinhead, curtains or the step haircut, my god the latter was a real mess of a haircut, im sure some of you had one?
Reputations at school were always fun when you look back.
Who was the hardest in your year? Were they the hardest in the school though?
Who was the fastest, who was the fittest girl at school?, and who was the ugliest, obviously the last one no one wants to be tarnished with the last one, but come on there was always someone that was severley hit with the ugly stick.
When at school you always try to look older, whether it's getting a hoop ear-ring, my god what was I thinking? Who growing facial hair. You had some who attempted and failed miserably with their 'bum fluff', on their top lip, thats another cool word, or their half joining side burns or if you were a tad cool at secondary sidey's. My mate Adrian though had the full package, god, he had a full goatee by the time he was 8, love ya mate, he did seriously look about 30 when he was 13, whereas me i was a pale white boy with a step haircut.

1995: Joined Hendon college to study Advanced leisure , travel and tourism, I have to say a very uninteresting course in my opinion and an even worse college. Around about this time I was 17/18 so on the weekend going to pubs with Adrian, Frank and Johnny Ramsay. This is the age where you are plucking up the courage to progress from the off licence that would sell a bottle of Vodka to a 5 year old and progress to the pub, become a proper man go from drinking Diamond white and Special K cider to a pint of Lager. Me and the lads would circle the pub and take about an hour to pluck up the courage to go in, what you would do is see through the window who was serving, it would filter through mates of mates etc which barmaid would serve you, then you would make your move and hope you werent chucked out before you got half way through your pint. This was better than my mate John's tactic we used to get in Astons night club in Criclewood of when you got rejected, walk down the road and wait 20 minutes before going back and suddenly becoming 3 years older, surprisingly the bouncers did let us in alot of the time, even less surprising though Astons is no longer in business.

1995-2000
The start of holidays away with mates, the stuff of legends, although I think every seperate group thinks that. My mates Frank and Johnny's parents had a flat in the North east of Spain in a town called Port de la Selva, not everyone's cup of tea, but such a mixed bag of people in a beautiful location, we started the legend of Wolfs bar, and for a little while seemed like we made the place our own.
The following year introduced us to Benidorm, my god this at the time was a complete change, involved more booze and of course women, but not going to upset my wife by going on about that, me and my mates would have lots of fun.
In 1998 it was a blast, it was the year of that Owen goal against Argentina, although we lost out through penalties, and no it wasnt funny when someone put 'dont cry for me Argentina' on the jukebox in the Railway Tavern in Edgware. Later on in the summer me and the boys had our first experience of Magaluf, BCM'S and all if you've ever been to Magaluf or the alternative name you know what its like.
I had a small experience trying for the Army but latter part of training I got Bronchitis, in the long run it was probably a good thing or I might not of done even better things to come.
In 2002 and 2003 I went to work both summers in the United States working at a summer camp called Round lake camp, hard work but met great people and saw alot of the states East and West coast.
Late 2003 I moved to Norfolk where I reside now, I was here a few months when I decided to go and work in the South of France for 7 months as a holiday rep, again a great experience that enabled me to meet great people and do great things, when I came back I got a job as a fitness instructor, a job of which I had qualified for a good few years back and had done for a good few gyms in London. While working up in Norfolk I would eventually meet the girl who was to become my wife, and we will celebrate a year of marriage this June. Although i am a londoner and always in my heart will be I now couldnt be happier with where I am. I still do visit my old haunts, and the boys come up occasiony but this is my life and I love it.
I currently work as a gym manager in a town called Dereham, and from today this is where the real fun on the blog begins.
Have to go peeps if you survived the post, promise next one will be alot shorter
See ya
Matt.