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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.

Retiring from active duty..

Two police horses, Warwick and Dickens, today finished 4 and 15 years of service for the Greater Manchester Police. Sgt Claire Harvey from the Tactical Mounted Unit pictured. Before the shoot Warwick became 'relaxed' as one officer put it, and now I understand one horse-related phrase in a more rounded way.

Sherie and Shay

Sherie, a mother of four from Timperley, has four kids - the youngest of whom, Shay, 6, is autistic. Sherie is organising an event to raise money for the Autistic society. Before I left, Shay wandered towards me with his arms outstretched saying 'Bite Bite Bite!' and Mum raced over and seized him. 'It just means he likes you' she said.

Iconic film moments, recast..

For their engagement, close friends Matt and Emma wanted to recreate famous romantic scenes from films for their invitations. A Trafford Park railing stood in for Titanic, a Longford Park swingset for Spiderman, and my living room for Lady and the Tramp..

Portraits of Mark Slammer

An up and coming hardcore singer songwriter, you'll most likely hear Mark's vocals on tracks running in excess of 170 beats per minute. Check out his material at http://www.markslammer.com.

Edith's ordeal on her own doorstep

In a story that appeared in yesterday's MEN, 92 year old Edith Brickwell was assaulted right outside her front door in Moston, and robbed of an insignificant £30 by her assailant. She lives in an area where the frail and elderley are often made targets of by yobs.

Man wakes from 3 week coma

Phil Smith fell into a coma while suffering from swine flu, but has now recovered and is reunited with his loved ones. As well as learning to walk again, Phil also had to learn how to taste - he had, temporarily, lost the ability to tell one food from another.

Mosaic artist turned landlord

Manchester artist Mark Kennedy has taken on Gulliver's Pub on Oldham Street, in a feature for the MEN.

Hardev's stolen memories

Hardev, a Stretford resident, was the victim of a break-in during which a safe was stolen containing some valuables. Most valuable among them were the birth certificate and other important memories of her late son Vijay, who died fourteen years prior.

Near darkness in Port Sunlight

Port Sunlight on the Wirral this year kicked off its Christmas fair with a lantern parade and some old fashioned yuletide chorus. Appropriate seasonal headwear all round, though my favourite is, as usual, the Peruvian.

Heads...

Headshots of clerks and barristers from a London-based firm of legal practitioners. The brief was 'make them all look the same, but different'.

Pictures of Jude..

A stab at the famous baby portrait. Jude is Dean and Jenny's young son - both good friends of mine, and wanted to capture his image before he'd learned to open cupboards, stand in front of the TV, and handle kitchen knives. As it turns out, Jude already has very sharp teeth, and Dean will be fishing around in nappies for his thumb in the next 8 hours.

Robbie Williams cameos at the Palace Theatre

'Panto's On Strike' is a uniquely foul-mouthed show currently on at the Palace Theatre and stars Jonathan Wilkes (constantly referred to in the show as 'you know, Robbie Williams's best friend') and Max & Paddy's Paddy McGuiness. Press night featured a surprise cameo by Ricky Hatton, and fortunately for Jonathan, Robbie Williams appeared during the singalong, where he sang the chorus of 'Angels' to a basically overwhelmed crowd. MEN cutting kindly forwarded by MEN.

Remembrance Sunday in Trafford

A service from North Trafford in Urmston, and South Trafford at the Hale War Memorial, with new content commemorating the fallen in the newer war theatres Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the old. The service in Hale contained a Christian, Muslim and Jewish element - but neither service attended today catered for the atheist or agnostic soldier! How old fashioned..