Hi all, Steve here!

A few months ago I attended the I'm Not Laughing campaign against disability hate crime. It was launched on 25th June at The Bar, Nelson Square , and managed by the Bolton Be Safe Partnership with Bolton Neighbourhood Policing Team. I was pleased to attend and got a snapshot of what it was like for others with disabilities. Some spoke openly of how they'd been poorly treated by others and how this was a step in the right direction to ensure that people who visit town are treated equally and with respect.

Further to this event was the Bolton Fire Station Open Day held on Saturday 20th August. The town's Mayor was kind enough to open this event, and one aspect of the day was to highlight the campaign once again. I was at the Open Day and gave a Bolton Evening News reporter an interview which appeared recently in the paper. Whilst I was there, I had a good chat with some of my mates and I must say they were all working hard to make the day a success, and as a result everyone had a good time!

And the latest news with regards to my health - I attended a scheduled appointment at Wythenshawe hospital and my consultant has decided that I don't need any further operations on my arm, just intense physio.

And the news socially - Pauline and I had been engaged for 3 years (I finally relented and proposed after 7 years of hints and a near death experience!!!). But we were putting off actually getting married because of all the fuss and stress involved. However Pauline's dad suffered a stroke and a very close family friend had a heart condition and both were in hospital at the same time. As we wanted both of them to be there at our wedding when they recovered, we set a date and arranged everything within 2 months! It was the most under-planned and understated wedding of the year! Pauline only bought her dress 3 weeks before - that was a relief, I thought she was gonna wear her best jeans! And she ordered her bouquet and the wedding car a week before! At one point she was considering driving herself there, but then thought better of it cos her legs would've got knotted up in her wedding dress. If she had managed to drive there she would've had to wear her trainers to work the pedals! Talk about 'The Runaway Bride'!!!

And so on Saturday 4th June 2011 at 4pm, we finally got married! Our marriage took place at Astley Hall in Astley Park , Chorley . It was witnessed by a huge congregation of guests - all 14 including the photographer! This mass of people went on to have a delicious meal at Season's Bistro in the heart of Chorley - just opposite the Courts & Police Station, just in case there was any trouble!

Astley Hall is a splendid old Hall that dates back to Elizabethan times, and it was during England 's Civil War that Oliver Cromwell stayed there after he sacked Preston - which was nice!

The ceremony was held in Astley Hall's smallest dining room, overlooking the lake. On this lake amongst other birds are swans, geese and ducks and on the sunny day that it was they were welcome distraction for me while I waited for Pauline, not that I was nervous - I'd thrown up twice that morning which put paid to that!!!

When the ceremony began, Pauline entered the dining room and the whole room lit up (she told me to say this) as she walked down the aisle - she looked beautiful in her wedding dress. She doesn't normally wear a dress at all and prefers to wear jeans and the like, so seeing her like that was stunning in itself! She walked slowly with her father by her side to a song called 'Happy Heart' by Andy Williams - I almost shed a tear! Not because of Pauline and the fact that she looked so lovely, but because her dad was 'smiling' - at last he was getting rid of her!

Did you know that there's a choice of 3 different marriage declarations? There's the big one (lots of words - goes on a bit!), a medium one (fewer words but still a bit too much for us to say!) and a very-small-and-lets-get-on-with-it one (just right! - this all sounds a bit Goldilocks doesn't it!). And yes you've guessed it - we chose the one with the least words! In a nut shell it was "Are you Steven Morris" and I reply "I am!" and do you take Pauline to be your wife etc, etc and I say "Yeah alright then!".

Now if you went down this route it's customary to have a reading from one of the guests (to fill the time a bit) but we didn't want any of our guests to be put on the spot. Prior to this Pauline and myself had discussed the format of the wedding with the lady who was arranging the ceremony, and she was flapping a bit saying; "but without a reading the service would be over and done with in 15 minutes!" Suits us, we said! She tried to convince us that it would be 'lovely' to have a reading and that it made the occasion more 'personal' - but we just wanted to be married! So that was that!

After a short ceremony we had a slightly longer champagne reception, and that's because of all the photo's that were taken. And while Pauline and I were giving the cameraman our best smiles, our mass of guests (now 13 as the cameraman was with us) enjoyed wandering round Astley Hall drinking Tesco's own Asti Spumante (a working man's champagne and only £6.54 a bottle) - perfect!

Later we made our way to a local restaurant, Pauline and I travelled in a blue Rolls Royce provided by Belle's & Beau's - it was great! Incidentally, just for a moment imagine that you are surfing the internet searching for a wedding car company that suits your needs, and from the many which are advertised you find the perfect one. What would you say the chances are that the person who owns it works for the same outfit you do - virtually nil I would have said! Well to our surprise, Belle's & Beau's is owned by Glyn and Colleen Hodgkinson! Glyn works for GMC Fire Service and he drove us to Astley Hall and back again! On the back of this chance happening, I put a pound on the lottery that week, and now I'm a 'multi millionaire'! - Not!... I lost a pound. I blame Glyn for that.

Now as much as I would like to describe what happened in the restaurant I'm afraid that's going to go unsaid - but it's just as well the Police Station and the Courts were nearby! Oh the shame!

And finally on a serious note, and I'm very sorry to bring this particular blog to a sad end but this needs to be said;

On the weekend 16th July Watch Commander Bernie Lawson was admitted to Royal Bolton Hospital 's Intensive Care Unit with a serious illness. After his admission he was put into a medically induced coma for his comfort and to my knowledge was critical several times, but managed to fight back. Sadly, on the evening of Friday 29th July, Bernie passed away.

Bernie (age 50) was a lovely man who was a good friend to my brother-in-law Gary & my sister Sharon. Bernie served for 28 years, he was stationed at Farnworth on Green watch and went on to serve at Agecroft on Green watch, Eccles on Green & Red watch, Salford on Red watch and also worked at Fire Service Headquarters in Fire Safety and The Children & Young Persons Dept. As you can see he certainly wasn't a man to stand still and loved the job for all it was worth.

I have to say that I only knew Bernie in passing (the connection being my brother-in-law & sister) but at his funeral - which sadly I could not attend - I'm told his daughter Jessica gave a lovely speech about her dad of which he would have been proud.

There was standing room only and most people congregated outside the church which shows how much the man was loved and respected - I feel like I've missed out on getting to know him better.

If you feel that you'd like celebrate Bernie's life with a donation, Maria has suggested The Firefighters Charity or The Intensive Care Unit at The Royal Bolton Hospital NHS

On behalf of Pauline and myself, I would like to extend our heartfelt sorrow to Bernie's wife Maria and children Jessica & Jason.

Well on that solemn note, that's all for this time.

FF Steve Morris

PS Always make sure you have a working smoke alarm!