Having been made redundant by August Group, I returned to contracting and worked at Global Beach for 3 months. At the end of that contract we decided to take a short break before starting to look for a new job. "Let's go whilst we still have some money" was our sensible view of things.

Our first "organised" trip. We thought this was the best way to see this amazing country, and we were right.

A surprise birthday present for Rachel's daughter Kristine turned out to be a mega family trip. Great fun - and we all got to meet Mickey Mouse and chums.

We decided to have an early break and try to "catch some rays". Tunisia seemed to be a good bet and very nice it turned out too.

Rachel was lucky enough to be presented with a £1000 holiday voucher from work. We decided to make the most of this and have a superb trip to visit the wonders of Egypt. This was money well spent. Fascinating place, must go back again.

This was a very special trip. On millennium night 1999 Roy finally got around (and down - on one knee) to proposing to Deb. The wedding was booked for July 4th in Las Vegas and they were going to have a quiet wedding, or so they thought! The date was actually moved to July 5th (a wedding on Independence day seemed wrong somehow!) but the big surprise was that Rachel decided that Roy and Deb should not get married alone. Mum and Dad should be there; and Rachel with Steve; can't forget Vikki and Rich; or Kim Trevor and Patrick; and it would be so wrong to leave Kristine and Mick behind! The story of Vegas

What a fabulous holiday. Stopped off for two days in Hong Kong on the way and then spent some glorious days in Sydney and Cairns. We were lucky enough to be able to meet up with some old friends in Sydney. Greta is a fabulous lady that Steve worked with for only 3 months about 10 years ago - but they have stayed friends ever since. Pete and his wife Mags were co-workers of Steve's through various incarnations in England. They moved back to Oz and it was a real pleasure to meet up with them (and see their new family too).

Part of our trip to Oz was a two day stop over in Hong Kong. Some people think this is a fabulous place. Not me. I thought it was dirty and smelly (mostly) and too much hustle and bustle for my liking. Perhaps it's because I don't like shopping!

The trip to New York was special for two reasons. This year was my Mum's 65th birthday and it was also Kristine's 18th. Mum had always said that she would love to go and see the musical Les Miserables. We decided that we would take her, but make it extra special by taking her to Broadway! It also made a lot of sense to combine this with a present for Kristine - a big Disney fan. The Lion King was getting rave reviews and (at the time) could only be seen on Broadway. Tickets booked, job done, we were on our way. Turned out to be a fabulous trip in all ways.