My 6 favourite things...... editorial for the Cornish Guardian newspaper

There must come a time when desperation for a story just gets too much!

That day was just before Christmas when I was asked by the local newspaper if I'd feature in their "My 6 favourite things" article.

So here it is, no show without Punch as they say.......... OH AND YES IT IS A SELFIE!

ADRIAN LANGDON, a wildlife and sports photographer and retired BT engineer, lives in Wadebridge, and shares the six things most dear to him.

"I retired last year after 43 years with British Telecom mostly spent as a technical officer working on maintenance of the local telephone exchanges and while I miss all the camaraderie of a great bunch of workmates I'm really enjoying retirement," he explained.

First on his list of favourite things is a local river.

"I count the River Camel that runs through Wadebridge as one of my favourite things as it has always played an important role in my life and I love spending time outdoors, especially on its riverbanks," he said.

"I was born in the Polmorla valley on the outskirts of Wadebridge and could see the Polmorla stream from our window that feeds into the River Camel by the town bridge and I've felt its water over me on more than one occasion.

"Our next house, at Egloshayle, backed onto the river enabling me to go fishing over the garden wall and subsequent moves within the town have always given me views of the Camel from our windows.

"In fact I reckon that I've got my feet wet on virtually every stretch of the river from its source on the moors to the point it joins the North Atlantic off Padstow.

"I now give illustrated talks on the wildlife and landscape of the River Camel from source to sea, and am hoping to get some of this work published in the near future."

Next on Adrian's list is a kayak he bought to celebrate his 60th birthday so he could spend more time on the river.

"I love just drifting along with the tide and keeping a camera ready for any birds or animals I spot from my water level viewpoint."

Third on his list are photography and his cameras.

"Photography is another major obsession for me. It has gone way past a hobby and my passion for particular aspects of it such as photographing birds, animals, travel and sport, have taken me all over the world in pursuit of images.

"I've been a member of the Wadebridge and District Camera Club for almost 40 years and am the chairman of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Photographic Group. I'm also the voluntary warden of the Walmsley Bird sanctuary for the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society and love spending time on the Amble marshes armed with binoculars and cameras.

"I'm also often found with my cameras on the touchlines of local football or rugby pitches and sometimes on the boundary of Wadebridge Cricket Club taking photos for the sport pages of the Cornish Guardian."

Another of his favourite items is his passport, representing his travelling.

"We travelled a great deal when our children were small and we particularly love the National Parks of North America and Canada," said Adrian.

"We've always rented a motorhome in these fabulous places so that we can spend more time out in the wilds and love nothing better than sitting round a campfire watching the sun go down in the Rocky Mountains.

"My family have always been supportive of my whims to go to places 'off the beaten track' and many of these places have strong memories for us, so my favourites must include our passports and a family photo taken after we all hiked to the bottom of Bryce Canyon in Utah USA."

A family photo is one of Adrian's most treasured possessions.

"The picture is particularly special as it is one of the few we have that has the whole family together, (I'm usually behind the camera).

"It shows my wife Linda, sons Arran and Calvin, and our lovely daughter Alaina who was so tragically taken from us when she was just 15 years old.

"It is times like that when we value our time spent as a family group and I have many fond memories of us all sat together on the side of the Grand Canyon waiting for the sunset or clambering across a glacier in the Canadian Rockies."

Last but not least is Adrian's laptop and the internet.

"I've included my laptop in the photo as it is representative of all the online devices I use, desktop PC, phone, netbook etc. The internet has certainly changed the world and I've tried to keep pace with the technology and use it to show my photos online and to keep in touch with friends around the world.

"I usually check my e-mails and read the BBC news when having my breakfast and one morning I was having a real time conversation with a friend in Finland about the nesting of the great grey owl that he was photographing and there was I eating my toast in Cornwall … quite surreal."

Read more: http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/favourite-things/story-25759679-detail/story.html#ixzz3NrlX2HFS
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