Fifty

So, the big day has arrived. And it's been lovely so far, with some wonderful presents and cards.

My wife has given me a Nikon Coolpix camera so I can continue blipping without having to take my Nikon SLR everywhere (sometimes it can be too much or a burden because it is cumbersome and, in some situations, too obtrusive). And my children had my most popular Flickr photo blown up and framed.

We're off to Weymouth soon for a family celebration, but I thought I'd get my blip in now.

This landmark birthday set me thinking: What was I doing in the previous landmark years? Here are some random events...

Age 0
Born in a Stockport nursing home and taken home to inner city Manchester with wonky legs that eventually needed breaking and resetting. Ouch! I can still remember being in plaster casts and being carried around by my dad.

Age 10
Living in Charlesworth in north Derbyshire - an idyllic place on the fringe of the Peak District. I remember walks on the hills, 'tickling' trout and watching the 1970 World Cup final between Brazil and Italy on a black and white TV in my bedroom.

Age 20
In the first few weeks and months of my first job after journalism college - as a general news reporter with the Kidderminster Times and Stourport News. Colleagues included Miriam O'Reilly (who went on to present Radio 4's Woman's Hour and BBC TV's Countryfile) and Geraint Jones (who eventually worked for the Daily Mail). In the first few days I slept on the floor of chief reporter Chris Swift, who a few years later was my best man and today works as a football reporter in Bristol for the same firm as me.

Age 30
Having married in '85, I was by now father of three children under four - including Sally, who was just about crawling. In October, I had just started a job on the evening paper in Cheltenham, which meant having to spend the weekdays away from our Northamptonshire home... with the car! Gosh, I really feel bad about that now!

Age 40
I remember going to the Millennium Dome with the family. Friends offered to let us stay at their house while they were away, but the house keys they posted to us didn't arrive in time. Ended up as a day trip! Still working in Cheltenham, but for an agency. Singing in a church choir in places like Wells, Gloucester, Truro and Bristol cathedrals.

Age 50
Party Time!