So, we loose 4-1 to the Germans and my World cup dream comes to an end. I’m gutted but I have had a great month in South Africa and I can’t wait to come back out here. The England team and the Wags went home yesterday and I’m on the next flight out of here!

Wayne Rooney heads home

John Terry's wife Toni at the Tambo Airport in Joburg last night

Joe Cole's wife Carly Zucker on her way back to London

Christine Bleakley

Disappointed England fans at the Free State Stadium

This man sums up the mood of the nation!

I managed to find out that the Archbishop Desmond Tutu was attending a school convention in Cape Town so I went along on Wednesday morning and just as he was about to leave I gave him a Sun branded vuvuzela and he happily posed with it. He was a really nice man and it was great to listen to him during a speech he made with local school children. I then found various other famous people including London Mayor Boris Johnson who also very kindly posed for pictures. Just like Desmond and Boris I fully support the vuvuzela!

Desmond Tutu with a Sun Vuvuzela

The Sun's front page

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson

I spent almost three months in Portugal during the summer of 2007 following the disappearance of three-year-old Madeline McCann from Praia Da Luz on the Algarve. I photographed Kate and Gerry McCann almost on a daily basis throughout their time searching for their daughter and got to know them both quite well.  It was strange seeing them again in Lisbon as they attended a court case against ex-cop Goncalo Amaral who claims they lied about their daughter Maddie’s disappearance.
A large pack of media gathered outside the central courthouse in Lisbon and the McCanns managed to sneak in through a side entrance avoiding everyone. We nervously covered every possible exit but luckily they decided to do a press conference at the front although as per usual it was a huge media scrum.

The McCann's speak to the press outside court

Kate McCann in Lisbon

The media scrum outside court

Kate McCann in Praia Da Luz in July 2007

I remember seeing the photographs of Christina Schmid as she waved and cheered the coffin of her husband Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid as his body returned to Wootton Bassett after he was killed defusing a road side bomb in Afghanistan. They were amazing pictures and it was great to see her smiling with such pride after such a tragic event.

I was sent by The Sun newspaper to photograph her the day before the funeral and she was still smiling. I wanted to get some nice portraits of her holding a picture of Olaf and I was pleased with the pictures.

Christina with a photo of beloved husband Oz on a tour in Afghanistan

Boyzone arrive in Palma to take Gately's body back to Dublin

I received a phone call from the Sun picture desk at 7am on Sunday morning sending me to Majorca following the death of Boyzone member Stephen Gately.
I managed to get to Majorca by 2pm and drove straight to Gately’s apartment in Port Andratx. Many rumours circulating among the press suggested that Gately had been drinking at several clubs in Palma on the night of his death.  I made sure that I photographed his apartment and the bars that he visited.
I was aware that Boyzone members were on their way to Majorca so I spent all day outside of Gately’s apartment in the scorching sun before they finally arrived at the apartment at 9pm.

Ronan Keating arrives at Gately's Majorca apartment

The first day was very busy, I must have driven hundreds of miles before I finally sat down for some food at 11pm. After dinner a few Journalists and I ventured in to the Black Cat (the gay bar Gately was last seen alive in) trying to see if anyone had any photographs of Gately at the club the night before.

The rest of the week was non-stop! My colleagues from the Mail, Mirror and Star were with me so between us we watched the hotel where Boyzone were staying and the apartment where Gately’s civil partner Andrew was at to keep an eye on any activity following his death. I managed to get a few shots as Andrew visited  Boyzone at their hotel.

Boyzone flew home on Wednesday and Louis Walsh (the manager of Boyzone) had told journalists that they were planning to come back later in the week to take the body back to Dublin for the Funeral. For the rest of the week the press and myself were in search of a mystery Bulgarian man called Giorgio Duchev who was last seen with Gately the night he died. We managed to find his address in Palma and I got a picture of him as he left his home one morning.

Giorgio Duchev leaves his Palma apartment

Lots of money had been put his way including a sum of 70,000 Euros from a Spanish Television programme to tell all about what happened that night.

Thursday morning was a very grim day, I spent a day stood outside a Morgue with lots of other media organisations where the post-mortem of Gately took place. Eight bodies were placed in to vans and a very helpful although slightly crazy member of staff kindly pointed out which body was Stephen Gately’s.

Stephen Gately's body leaves the morgue

As expected on Friday morning Boyzone returned to Palma by private jet and held a press conference. The body was loaded on the plane and soon after they flew to Dublin. Due to all the hard work and stress of the week I was pleased to be leaving too.

Shane Lynch with his new Tattoo in memory of Stephen Gately

Harry Patch at the age of 107

Canon EOS 1D mark II, EF 50m.  1/50sec @ f2.8, 200iso.

I’ve just heard the sad news that the last survivor of the First World War Harry Patch has died at the age of 111.
I was fortunate to have photographed Harry on several occasions and he always went out of his way to make sure I got some great pictures.
I took this photograph as he celebrated his 107th Birthday at his care home in Somerset. What a great man.

Troops march through Colchester

I braved the pouring rain to photograph the 16 Air Assault brigade marching through Colchester Town centre following their recent return from Afghanistan.
As well as getting some shots of the troops marching I was on the look out for any Muslim protesters, as a Muslim extremist group disrupted a recent march in Luton. There were no disruptions so I found a great position up on the Town Hall balcony and got some nice frames as they marched towards me.

The crowds brave the terrible weather

Canon EOS 5D mark II, EF 200m.  1/500sec @ f5.6, 1000iso.

RMT leader Bob Crow is blocked on his way to work by the Sun bus

The first time I met Bob Crow was on Wednesday when I was sent to the RMT offices to try and front him up with a reporter. After spending two hours to do the five-mile journey from South London to central London I was very angry that this man could cause so much carnage in London. He didn’t wish to chat to The Sun so when he came out to do a television interview I took advantage and photographed him in the street.  He became angry and said, “why are you taking my photograph?” I said, “Why do you think I’m taking your photograph?” What did he expect after demanding a Tube strike.  What an idiot!

After 48 hours of tube strike madness I was delighted when the office told me about Friday’s assignment. The brief was to take the Sun bus to his Essex home and delay Bob Crow on his way to work.  Bring it on!
I met up with one other Sun photographer, a Sun video man, two reporters and two bus drivers in a lay-by near his home at 5am. We were hoping that he would drive to work and that we could successfully block him into the small street, which he lives in. He only had one route out and there was a car on the drive so it was all looking good. One reporter sat in his car by his home, another sat at the end of the street and the rest of us waited patiently on the bus.  At 7.20 he set off on his journey to work but on foot. Not ideal but we leapt off the bus and blocked him off at the end of his street. His face was a picture…

Bob Crow see's the Sun bus on his way to work

Sun Reporter Alex West questions the RMT leader Bob Crow

We then pursued him for about ten minutes as he walked down the street towards the tube station. He refused to answer any questions from Sun reporter Alex West about how it felt to be delayed on his way to work.  When he finally arrived at Woodford tube station he became angry and called the Police.  40 Minutes later the police arrived and told Bob to get on his way.  We made him 40 minutes late…

Crow watches on as everyone uses the tube apart from him!

Now he knows how it feels!

Watch the excellent video at Sun Online

Former Gurkha Ram Bahadur Gurung in Intensive Care

This is 62 year old former Gurkha Ram Bahadur Gurung pictured in the intensive care unit of St Georges Hospital in Tooting. He suffered a stroke and died the day after I took this picture. Yesterday I photographed the funeral of this former Gurkha and met his daughters who say the last time they saw their father was when they looked at my photograph on Sun online as they were not allowed in to the UK to see him. I have never been into an Intensive care unit and found it a little shocking but spent about ten minutes photographing him. He was totally unconscious and I shot every angle possible before shooting some video on my Canon 5d Mk11 camera.  At his funeral yesterday the body was not covered up and this made some very interesting photographs.

Former Gurkha Ram Bahadur Gurung

This was my best shot. I did some photographs of his face but It did feel slightly wrong. I was on a small step by the side of the coffin and I was just hoping I didn’t fall!