Five and a half years after leaving the world of press photography I was tempted back in by an offer I could not refuse. In a case of "it's not what you know, but who you know" I was given the opportunity to be on the photographers team for the Queen's visit at De Montfort University in Leicester.

The person I know is Stuart Wilde, who a long time ago was my first ever boss at the Derby Evening Telegraph. Since those days Stu has also worked as the picture editor at the Lincolnshire Echo and is now a freelance photographer. He was hired as the consultant chief photographer to organise the team to cover the Royal visit to DMU by Keith Perch, a former editor of the Derby Evening Telegraph, who until a few months ago was the editor at the Leicester Mercury (this is a tale of regional newspapers), and is now head of corporate communications at De Montfort.

So Stu rang up a bunch of his old pals (remember the regional papers? That's were he got them) and that's how I got to have a taste again of being a press photographer.

It was great, it brought back a lot of good memories. But camera bags haven't got any lighter over the years.

Anyway, here they are The Queen, the Prince and the Duchess.