It's not always easy to do exactly what you want to do. Nor is it cheap.
A few weeks ago I visited my local stadium, Roots Hall, home to Southend United FC. I noticed that despite the ground being a 10 minute walk away from both my house and my office, the photos of the stadium on my guide were rather poor and needed updating. Then it struck me. It's been 5 years since my Dad and I originally set off on a whirlwind tour of the country visiting all 92 grounds in 11 days.
5 years has flown by and so much has happened. I'm in to my 30's now, I'm married, My brother now lives in Sydney, my Nan has passed away, my Grandad's had a pretty serious heart operation, my wife has had injections in her back to ease the pain caused by a car crash back in 2006 and Vodafone have taken over the company I work for.
Through all that, I retain my love of the beautiful game and football stadiums in which it's played!
In September of this year I'm planning a new tour of the grounds. It's something I've really wanted to do for a while as there are a large number of things I missed the first time round. And obviously, a lot has changed. For example, on my original tour, I visited the likes of Edgar Street, Edgeley Park, The Don Valley, Underhill, The Withdean, Ricoh Arena, Saltergate and many many more stadiums that either no longer exist or have dropped out of the football league. In fact over 40 of the original 92 have changed in one way or another.
Also, my style of photography has changed. It's not difficult to see the difference between some of my original tour work and more up to date photos. Another reason why I'm desperate to get myself round to re-visit them.
Since 2009, I have built the Football League Ground Guide (www.tothe92.co.uk) in to one of the best sources of information for stadia on the Internet. In addition, the site now houses the largest collection of independently owned stadium panoramic photos on the world wide web!
All advertising revenue and proceeds from photograph sales have been donated to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital meaning that in the first 5 years of the guide, I've managed to raise in excess of £15,000. Long may it continue.
I have written to many organisations looking for some form of help to assist along the way, from hire car companies and hotels to food establishments. As I receive responses, I'll update the blog!
