Eight years ago today our firefighter friend passed away in a freak road accident. We spent many fun days with him and Chanel - we went on holiday together, hiked together, played in a band together, and did far too many silly things (and I do mean silly!).

This old Bedford fire truck reminded me of the time he invited Kerry-Anne and I over to the fire station - so that we could practice abseiling from the rafters in the garage area (where the trucks park).

After tiring of climbing up and down ropes, he pulled one of the fire trucks from the garage, hooked it up to the water mains, and taught us how to use a fire hose. (No, the Fire Chief wasn't in at the time, in case you were wondering. ;) )

Later that evening, once it was dark, we decided to record footage for a music video by strapping a camcorder to the front of a rescue vehicle and racing around on a nearby dirt road as if on call to an emergency.

We somehow managed not to break anything that night. It was an awesome evening - likely never to be forgotten.