Hi all, Steve here!

Well what can I say about the boxing! Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou! For pummeling the Police. I now have no need to dig out my boxing gloves.... phew! I must say that's a relief. I mean, what would happen to me if I were to do some real damage to one of our coppers. I could get locked up! Or worse, the 'brigade' could put me on a fizzer!!! (For non-service personnel, that means being put on a charge!).

Seriously though, well done Team Fire! You all did very well. I was particularly impressed by Andy Kopicki! It wasn't so much "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!" as, "Right! I'm going to knock your &£@£$%@ block off!!". I must say it was an admirable performance, marred only by the referee interrupting to prise Andy's glove out of that copper's eye socket!!!
That said, not only did my Bolton Borough buddy do well with his (very own) style of mauling, but the rest of our team won enough of the bouts to claim this year's now coveted trophy. So, well done to all!

I saw many faces I knew at the boxing. It was good to see Nige Travis in our corner and Muz Choudery, who was a probationary Firefighter at Stretford's White watch while I was there. Nige invited me to go to the boxing gym they've set up at Moss side Fire station and he also gave me a couple of T-shirts, which was kind of him. Thanks Nige, I'll see you soon bud!

Now I've got a very special thankyou to say to a lovely lady called Jo Manning who is a nurse and was instrumental in the care I received at Bolton Royal Hospital immediately after I was injured. She wasn't at the boxing as planned because she had taken ill before the event. And so instead I had the pleasure of meeting her colleagues who dealt with the rest of the casualties that night. I found out that she had a liking for white wine and so I bought for her the finest plonk a boxing venue could offer! And sent it over with a personal note. Thanks again Jo! You're a star! Oh by the way, I hope your mates didn't drink your wine! They were certainly enjoying themselves! A bit too much if you ask me. Rowdy lot!!!

I also had the pleasure to meet two colleagues of mine who work at Eccles fire station. Andy Lawman and Ian 'Bob' Robertson came over to ask me how things were and to wish me well, only I could barely hear what they were saying as the noise combined with my hearing impairment weren't well suited. I tried to catch everything they said, but only caught snippet's of their conversation and I felt embarrassed and rude to keep asking them to repeat themselves. I do however remember Ian saying he had 29 years service in, but I can't remember whether he was going to take retirement or not - as Firefighters can retire after they complete 30 years service.

It's a real problem for me now having partial hearing as a result of the accident. You feel excluded from conversations and so find yourself seeking a quiet and peaceful environment, no loud music, only a few people to chat to and strictly NO background chatter! Doesn't leave me very much does it! But that's life now.

I was also pleased to see Carl Stott, he had a chat with me as I was leaving. We spoke of the past mostly when he was stationed at Salford and I was at Stretford, both on white watch. We would often see each other on the same jobs as we were at neighbouring stations and we had both worked in our respective areas for some years. Carl was glad to see I was doing well and wished me all the best. Cheers Stotty!

Speaking of Salford and Stretford, I'd like to thank Amber watch and Blue watch for asking about me. Gaz Dewar let me know that he'd given you all the latest. Thanks lads!

And the latest is! I remain determined to get my arm back to normal, stretching and bending it as much as humanly possible. So much so, that I go to the gym whenever I can and do pretty much anything that involves using my arm. Pushing and pulling weights together with an almighty passive stretch at the end of a session leaves me exhausted and a bit dizzy! Pauline sometimes gets a bit concerned because she tells me that I go grey with the effort. But it has to be done!

I have to return to Wythenshawe Hospital next month for an x-ray and to see Mr Phillips the Surgeon, for an up date.

Incidentally, Pauline's now stopped working to become my full time carer. This you would think is great news, think again! She's got me on a diet that consists of little more than saw dust! It would suit Pinnochio down to the ground. To think, all this gym work, and I won't end up with bigger muscles! I'll end up with a bigger nose!!!

Now, Carl Haslam has told me that many people may not be aware that they can access this blog by keying in 'www.stevesrecovery.co.uk'. I hope this is of use to you all.

Subtitle slipups for this month.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup. The commentator said that a winning horse would give the stable boy a bonus of £100,000. The subtitle read that the stable boy's bonus would be one thousand cows and pounds !!!! Maybe the stable boy can double up as a butcher!

The Election. The commentator said that the Lib-Dems were away with the fairies. The subtitle read that they were away with the ferries! Probably better than flying with all this volcanic ash!!!

So once again, that's all for now until the next time!

FF Steve Morris
PS Always ensure you ha a working SMOKE ALARM!