Great to see some of yesteryears cricketers still showing that technique and class is permanent even as the years roll on. Chris Schofield once again had everyone wondering how he is back in the league ranks after making 80 odd with his own brand of innovation,flippancy and inventiveness in a casual display of sweeps,reverse sweeps,dabs,pats,nurdles,nudges punctuated with the odd full blooded whack! Rumours aplenty that he  perhaps hasn`t always been a likeable individual. Who knows.....?

Nice to see Neil Fairbrother coming out to bat and looking like he`s never really been away. A quick chat with him after revealed what a pleasant and insightful chap he is. I had to remind him that 27 years ago whilst I was on a Bobby Charlton School of Cricket course at the age of 13, I sat in the Lancs changing room with him as he was waiting to bat. To cut a long story short,the mini bus didnt pick me up at Victoria station that morning and it was the day our group was visiting the changing rooms during the `86 Roses Championship match. My Dad had to come and get me and drop me at Old Trafford and as reward for being let down by the mini bus driver I got half an hour in the changing room on my own,led in by Harry Pilling. I sat with Fairbrother and as any child would be,I was fascinated by picking his bat up. I recall he was very kind and for a kid it was an unforgettable experience.

 Neil didn`t remember of course but it was nice to have a chat with him. I asked him if he was bitter about not playing more for England,and his response was a simple one. "No,not at all,I played 20 years of cricket for a living". Great attitude from a great cricketer.

Hope Ramsbottom do this again next year....a good day was had by all.

 Saturday morning dawned after a sleepness night in a ridiculously hot Travel Lodge room (could they not provide fans in the absence of any air conditioning??) and to our surprise it was cold outside. Not good considering none of us had taken anything like a fleece or even long sleeves. The day did remain largely overcast but thankfully warmed up as the morning went on.

 The Air Show itself was fabulous with some amazing displays. The Typhoons thrilled as always,along with many other fast jets. The BA 380 display with the Red Arrows was also a memorable sight. I filled an 8GB CF card on this day,and tucked into another card near the end of the show in taking approx 500 shots. These were edited down to approx 50 and are all on this site to view. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them.

Battery life on the Canon 40D was astounding. Still 3 bars of life in it after 500 shots,as well as powering the AF and IS on the Canon 100/400L lens. The spare was not required.

A word of warning to anyone attending this function next year. The toilet situation was DIRE. Considering the number of attendees at the show,there simply were not enough facilities and queues were unbearably long. Organisers take note....NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! Also tickets could only be purchased online and each one was subject to a £4 booking fee. Dont rip us off, £40 is enough for a ticket in the first place.