Born 1964: As a teenager I spent a lot of time at Lido Baths when my Dad went to his weekly Blackpool Sub Aqua Club meetings. Okay I spent one night a week at Lido baths, this is where I learnt to swim and had my first encounter with Diving. On weekends our family would drive to the lake district where my Dad would dive in Winderemere or Coniston lake and rummage around for old cod bottles. My sister and I would stand in the freezing rain pretending to enjoy our day with Mum and Dad. Mum took up shooting in the woods, which I always thought odd, standing in the rain firing pellets at old coke cans.   Anyway 30 years or so later I started to work in the travel industry for major tour operators and on August 6th 2010 I was invited for my first DSD, which I have never looked back from. I have been lucky enough to be able to dive in the waters around the Canary Islands at least once a week for a whole 18 months, more recently five times a week. I am now finishing my PADI Divemaster course and look forward to continuing my training all the way. Although once I have achieved my Divemaster I will gain experience taking specialist courses before going on to instructor level.   So thats me a lad from Blackpool living the dream in the Canaries, although I leave on Oct 31st for the winter I will continue diving and I'm sure I will return to these waters.   A big thank you to Jerry, Gary & Mark for teaching me upto Open Water and some Advanced, Riann for taken me every week to a different dive site in Tenerife whilst I was there for six weeks and completing my advanced. David, Mariska, Eileef, Nadine, Marik, Dagmara, Nigel (The Cameraman), Katie, Anna, Anija & Jukka for the fun we've had in Gran Canaria. Suzanna my Gran Canaria dive buddy and all my past and future dive buddies far too many to mention.  This is such a great sport.   John