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A new inspiration in my life

I apologise in advance if this blog gets a bit gushy, but I’m a very happy man right now! My wife, Tatiana, gave birth to our beautiful baby boy Edward last week, and I can honestly say it’s the best feeling ever.

He was born last Thursday, weighing in at 7lb 2oz, and came home on the Saturday. He’s got dark hair – at the moment! I guess that might change as he grows older. He looks more like Tatiana than me, which is probably a good thing, and he smiles a lot. Well, when I say smile, it’s probably wind, because I know they can’t really smile at that age. But he has these lovely little dimples, so I like to think he’s smiling.

He arrived two days early so that meant I didn’t miss the PTC in Gloucester this week, and it means I’ll be in Bulgaria this weekend. I know it’s going to be hard being away, as I’ve only had a few nights with him so far, so if I go out early in a tournament there’s always a nice consolation waiting at home.

I want to be very involved in everything. I’ve changed nappies and try to share everything with Tatiana. Well, not breast-feeding, obviously! As this is our first child, we were both a bit daunted as well as very excited, but we’ll take everything in our stride. Even the lack of sleep. We only get a few hours every night, but as soon as I hold him, or he falls asleep on me, it’s just an amazing feeling.

This month will be hard because I’m away a lot and I want to be there as much as possible, but having Edward has given me a new impetus and I think he will have a good impact on my snooker. He’s inspired me to want to do even better, so I can provide for him and make sure he wants for nothing.

Like most dads, it will be great when I can teach him sports and play football with him, and when he gets older it will be amazing having him there at snooker tournaments with me. But I’m just enjoying the way he is at the moment.

Still close to home, there has been a huge amount of support to save Willie Thorne’s club in Leicester from closure. Not only was my mum working there, but it holds a lot of special memories for me, as I grew up playing snooker there. It is probably one of the most well-known clubs in the world and every pro has played there at one stage or another.

I know everyone involved really appreciates the level of response to save the club, and there is a lot of optimism that the main room and bar can stay open. We’ll find out, hopefully, next week, so fingers are very much crossed.