I’m quite sure that there will be moments in everyone’s life which you simply cannot forget: moments so important to you that they stay with you, and you think of them every day just to remind yourself how incredible life can get. Today marks the ten year anniversary of such a moment for me. In fact it’s the ten year anniversary of the single greatest moment of my life; a moment so profoundly significant to me that simply thinking about it gives me light in my darkest glooms. Ten years ago today, I met Sir Patrick Stewart.

I remember every detail of that day like it was yesterday: the trip over to The Excel Centre with Lyn and Paulo; getting there early, and being fascinated by the Destination Star Trek exhibition; the conversation I had with Tim Russ; spotting Colm Meaney. Most of all, though, I remember meeting Sir Patrick.

Of course, that moment was so significant for me because I had just spent seven years completing my Masters by Research thesis. In my thesis, I wrote extensively about my relationship with The Ahab Scene in Star Trek First Contact, and why that scene is so significant to me. To have been able to tell the very man who appears in that scene, and who I wrote so extensively about, about my work was a dream come true. It was a once in a lifetime event, and, like watching Monty Python Live, the fact that it happened still blows my mind. Remembering that such awesome things are possible is enough to brighten up my darkest day, and make me wonder what equally incredible thing might come next.