I've worked with St Ann's Hospice since 2007, and my admiration and respect  just grows and grows the more I learn about what they do. What I’ve seen is so very different to the often gloomy image many of us have of hospices in our mind’s eye - there is so much warmth, light and laughter. Whether they’re using day care facilities or in-patient beds, people with life-threatening illnesses find professional excellence alongside immensely supportive personal connections. This is a picture from my first ever visit to day care at the Little Hulton hospice last year.

The Artizani Theatre Company is rehearsing The Cabaret (yes!) of Dr Caligari at the John Thaw Theatre at Manchester University, and I dropped in for an hour to get some shots for them. The Artizani Theatre Company is rehearsing The Cabaret (yes!) of Dr Caligari at the John Thaw Theatre at Manchester University, and I dropped in for an hour to get some shots for them.

I so love this picture, with mum as the deliberate focus. I look at it and think 'madonna' - serenity? purity? Or is it just that there's so much love there?

I love interesting skies, and storms certainly bring those, in spades. This image comes from a visit to an extraordinary hotel - Hotel Cuq en Terrasses - as part of a book commission. I was outside, just before dinner, photographing the grounds, which are on a sharp incline, when clouds just started to boil up in the sky. The railing in the picture is  the edge of the terrace; tables were set up there for dinner, and a number of guests were enjoying the evening sunshine with drinks, looking out at the wonderful view. 

This lad is really something! Not only one of the most good-natured boys ever, but one of the most enchanting! He can sit up now, and is a VERY good arm-waver...world-class! He has a very appealing 'signature' move - looks like he's working the controls on motorbike handlebars. Cool...