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A Rare Photo

By Friends & Family, Life4 Comments

the-three-brothers-photo

A Rare Photo: Alex, Antony & Neil.

Date: 14th May 2007
Event: My 21st Birthday Family Meal

Above is a rare photo of all three men that my mum brought into the world. Three brothers. Alex. Me. Neil. We were raised together. We shared everything including family meals, bedrooms, hand-me-down clothes and holidays. This was before Shaun, my Long Lost Brother, came into our lives.

For my 21st birthday we had all gone out for a family meal. I don’t remember where. But I do remember thinking that there were next to no photos of Alex, Neil and me together as adults and on insisting that this photo be taken. Just before the camera went off, Alex said something funny and we were laughing as the photo was taken. He was always doing that. Saying things to make everyone laugh.

I remember showing Alex the photos when I got them developed and telling him, partly in jest, that he had ruined the photo by laughing. But looking back on the photo now, he simply used the photo as an opportunity to show his sense of humour. He had this wonderful ability to find laughter everywhere and in everything.

6 years ago today Alex died. I’ve examined this photo in great detail since he passed. But until recently, I never noticed the old lady in the background on the right-hand side of the photo. So in the spirit of Alex’s sense of humour: That old lady was well ahead of her time! She photobombed our photo, back in 2007, before it became a thing. She probably didn’t even realise she was doing it. 🙂

This photo is one of the most precious things I own. I can’t remember what he said, as the photo was taken, that was so funny. I can’t remember what the impression or joke was. But when I look at his face on this photo, I laugh. Every time.

Write soon,

Antony

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Friday 13 January 2017

Book Review: I am What I am by John Barrowman

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
i-am-what-i-am-john-barrowman Anyone who knows me, knows I like John Barrowman. See this tag john barrowman for the numerous blog posts about him. So when he brought out I Am What I Am I picked it up. It is his second autobiography, his first being Anything Goes which I haven’t yet read.

But having finished I Am What I Am some time ago, I felt it was about time I reviewed it. First off I love how the book is written. It’s like you’ve got a warm mug of tea and are listening to John recount a tale. You can almost hear the sound of his voice as you read. He uses footnotes to either add details to the story without going off on a tangent, or address the reader or make some funny comment on his own story.

Each chapter is given a title and they weave in and out of his professional and personal life covering his time as Captain Jack, Scott (his partner), Family, Judging on Any Dream, his Music tour and a documentary he made about whether he was born gay or influenced by his environment. At the beginning of most chapters has a list relating to the chapter e.g. on a chapter about his family it has “Twelve things I’ve learned from my parents”. At the end of most chapters it has a Table Talk which is a short memory relating to the chapter that he chooses to share.

Within the chapters you develop a view that he’s a family man, has a good sense of humour, loves his dogs, views life positively (a glass-half-full sort of guy) and challenges homophobia (a cause close to his heart). Some chapters I found difficult to read on the basis that I hadn’t watched him as a Judge on Any Dream. This was because I had no idea of the people he was writing about (e.g. the other judges and contestants). But if you’ve followed him throughout all of his work you’ll have no problem following. I did manage to follow what he was saying in these chapters it just didn’t flow as easily as say the Torchwood chapters did.

Like most autobiographies out today, at intermittent places within the book it has glossy photo pages. It was nice to see as it gave a real glimpse into the family life of John and those that are important too him. It probably had about the average number of glossy pages, but on a personal level I would have liked to see more.

The final chapter addresses the reader directly and thanks them for supporting him, which makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

It is definitely worth a read if you like John Barrowman and is available on Amazon using this link: I Am What I Am by John Barrowman.

Blog soon,

Antony



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Saturday 4 February 2012
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