Blog has now moved!

The new address for this blog is http://philtragen.com/blog/.

Thanks for checking in - I hope you continue to.

Phil

I love local news

Job for the Advertiser at an animal sanctuary - 'pics of kids with cute animals' is more or less the brief. This is Adam Morris, 10, getting clawed by a stray kitten.

Just in the Neighbourhood..

Ben Davies, managing director of agency The Neighbourhood - a burgeoning design house in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

Boyband, girlband

Firstly 'The Mend', which are Take That's founder Nigel Martin Smith's new boyband, photographed outside the Urbis in Manchester city centre. Secondly girlband 'Wonderland', formed by Louis Walsh and Westlife band-member Kian Egan, pictured in the back of a lorry parked in the MEN Arena backstage area. I had literally thirty seconds and three frames of Wonderland as they were late going on stage, but the girls promised me they'd come back after their performance. Their tour manager ixnayed that, claiming 'they'd be too sweaty'. Oh no!

Climate control

Weatherman Graham Butler, who is charged with dealing with extreme weather in the North West. Pictured gazing skywards, naturally.

Morocco!

Selected pictures from my week long trip, taking in Marrakech, the Sahara, and Essaouira. There's also one of me there, dressed as a Touareg.

Oliver

Oliver Bedford-Gay, 3 years old with parents Chris and Helen. Oliver suffers from fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a rare genetic disease that causes damaged tissues to ossify, instead of healing normally. Though he plays like a normal 3 year old, his parents have covered every sharp surface in the house with rubber, and watch his every step. 'If he broke his arm, it wouldn't heal - it'd just stop working,' remarked Chris glumly.