As a child growing up I loved nothing more than sitting down with my father and watching a good old western or 'cowie' as we used to call them.

John Wayne, Alan Ladd, Jimmi Stewart, Glenn Ford, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas were all my heroes of the wild west as they'd go up against some real nasty villains such as Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance, Lee Marvin and Richard Boone.

They've made many westerns over the years but these originals, in my opinion are far superior and I loved every single one of them.

I suppose I didn't have much choice but to love westerns. I was named after John Wayne.

While I was being born the film 'The Sons of Katie Elder' was being shown on the television and as we already had a John in the family it was decided that I would be called Wayne.

I suppose with John Wayne's real name being Marion Morrison I was lucky to get away with just being named Wayne!

Every weekend we'd settle down to watch Shane, Rio Bravo or some other classic.

I loved it, quality time with my father with our mutual passion for our 'cowies'.

By the way, if there was to be a Guinness record for watching the film 'Shane' the most times in a lifetime, I'd probably win it!

The thing I liked most, and still do, about this genre of film is the moral lessons from each tale. Good always triumphing over evil. Loyalty and respect.

Standing up for what is right no matter what the cost. Sticking to your principles.

These life lessons heavily influenced me and helped shape my own set of morals.

Life learning a thing or two from art!

I wasn't a fan of cowboys fighting American Indians but I did love a tale of a good cowboy against a bad cowboy.

I remember my father asking me, when I was about ten years old, what lesson I'd learned from a certain western we'd just watched together and my response, missing the point completely and much to his amusement, was 'to always drink the water upstream from the cattle!'

From the age of about eight I wanted to be a singing cowboy.

I had the chaps and a sheriff's badge but I was sadly missing a horse and a herd of cattle, so I quickly gave up the cowboy bit and just stuck to the singing.

So when I first got up in front of an audience to sing and was petrified I remembered what John Wayne had once said. 'Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway'.

So I got up and I did my best.

I never lost my love of westerns, I have a vast dvd collection of them, and this Father's Day I sat with my sons and watched a good 'cowie'. with them. The circle of life!

Lovely memories from the past and lovely memories being made right now with my own sons.

That's everything from me for now but I'll see you all next week partners!