AFBlakemore are the main distributor for SPAR Retail Stores across the UK serving over 300 stores throughout the Central Meridian region.
I have been fortunate enough to work for the company many times over the past few years and one of my favourite times of year has to be the SPAR Retail Show at the NEC, which as an annual event is a fantastic day and one I love covering.
Based at the NEC Metropole for the Tuesday for the Conference and Dinner Party then at the NEC Pavilion for the subsequent Tradeshow the following day it is a busy week, and with a turn-round time of 24 hours on the photos it is pleasantly demanding too!
The production of the show was again handled by the fantastic AirPlay  who really are a sublime organisation. The entertainment this year was from a legendary double-act – Cannon & Ball. To say they were on form is not an understatement and they certainly raised a response from the crowd! Following the comedy-duo were the ABBA tribute act, Voulez-Vou.

Below are a few of my favourite shots from the Conference day at the NEC Metropole and a slideshow of a few more below…

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Joe was one of the original Rock & Roll Stars to come out of the UK. One of the first UK session men, his early career highlights include playing guitar with Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Cash and other US stars when they came over to Europe. Joe went on to top the charts with his own records.
Although he doesn’t play any shows other than theatres in current times, for M6J9 he made an exception and when everything was (finally!) in place he came on…

It was nice to be working again at the Bankss Stadium and a few of the shots are below, just so you can get a feel for the night. 
A full review of the show should be available online at http://www.m6j9.co.uk/reviews_previews/ later this week.

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As you all probably know I do bits of commercial work for companies when asked, one of the main being AFBlakemore and the SPAR Group. Peter Blakemore has recently spent nearly £1million on developing his onsite recycling facility which has reduced their waste from their retail by nearly 80% – pretty impressive stuff and theirs new developments coming later this month!! 
Yesterday Peter and the staff from AFBlakemores invited children from a local school in Willenhall to come down and have a look around the recycling facility and the work the company is doing and I think it’s safe to say everyone enjoyed themselves.
I was on-hand to cover the morning for AFBlakemores PR department and got a nice coverage for them along with a couple of updated shots of the facility.
It was also the day for the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 bundle of joy to make an appearance on the front of my D3 and what a lens it is…it will definitely be my lens of choice in 2009!

Here are a few shots from the day to give you a feel…enjoy…

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Walsall may not be the most successful football club in the area but the Conference and Banqueting team are second to none!
I have been very fortunate to be the primary event photographer for M6J9 the past 18 months and have coverered a wide set of events for them, from Chris Dean’s Syd Laurence Orchestra, The Four Tops, The Drifters, sporting stars such as Joe Royal and Stan Collymore and amateur boxing nights…one things for certain, you always know its going to be a good night at the Banks’s!
Below are a selection of shots from the last few months…

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After what was a busy July it was nice to have a totally different project to do – photographing a B&B on Lake Road Windermere to produce a new website for the owners…
It all came from my parents staying with Eddie at Crompton House when they went up there earlier in the year. As they got talking the opportunity for the trip came up and as soon as I had a break for a few days I set off for Windermere on the 28th July for 3 days. It was great to get back up to the lakes, one of my favourite places, and spend a few days walking and obviously enjoy a few real ales too!!
The B&B is actually next door to a place me and my father have stayed on numerous occasions but I have to say, we will all ONLY be using Eddie and Sue’s place in future…
The weather wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but when I’m in the lakes I really don’t care!
Below are a few of the shots I took for the website, which is now live and can be seen at http://cromptonhouse.com If you find yourselves heading to the lakes I would definitely give Eddie and Sue a visit – the value for money is fantastic and the rooms are great too – and if you like a bit of light entertainment at breakfast (which Sue does a great job cooking I have to say!!) Eddies tricks and puzzles will definitely keep you occupied!!
I’m hoping to get back up in February so I will be posting an update soon…

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Although weddings are the backbone of our business and what I love doing, occasionally commercial work and other projects come along…and I definitely enjoy doing something different on occasion!
Working for the SPAR group through A.F.Blakemores is always good and having covered their national conference for the past two years the latest SRS08 magazine definitely looks impressive…I will post a pdf here soon!
However, in the meantime heres a few commercial shots of the warehouses I shot back in June…

Another project I get to update on occasion is band photography for a local band, Mezzotonic.
The drummer of the band is an old friend of mine and it is great to get to photograph them during the year when I can get to their gigs…
Here are a few shots from the MonoBar and the Battle of the Bands at Robin2…

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