The owner of Newport market stall Toy Army, Steve Reynolds, shares his pictures with CIARAN KELLY.

1. School photograph in 1978. I was about six in that school photo. I went to Brynglas Primary as a kid and sadly it’s no longer there anymore. I just have so many memories of my friends and the good times there. There have been some people there that I’ve not seen for 25/30 years and yet I can still remember their faces. It’s a bond that you never forget. It was a lovely school, with lovely green fields and woods for playtime. Now, going there, those fields are houses and there are bits of land overgrown. I think kids are shut in playing on their Xbox.

2. With my Mum and Dad in 1973. My mum, Eileen, is from Pill and my Dad, Jeff, is from Maesglas. When you have kids yourself, you have a go at them and my mum always says, ‘But you’ve done that.’ You put your parents through what they do. With the usual expenses, I don’t know how my parents coped and I have more of an appreciation for that as a parent. I always remember Christmas with my parents, not for the toys but for the family time together. Both came from big families so it was always nice to have big get togethers.

3. Our wedding in 1998. It was at St Mary’s Church at Malpas Road. It was brilliant, proper, and we did everything ourselves. The family helped with the catering and my uncle did the photography. All the family chipped in and there were around 200 at our wedding. I met Suzanne on a blind date in 1990 and went to the cinema on our first date to see The Hunt for Red October. We’re pretty different people and opposites attract. Some days, we love each other to bits and couldn’t live without each other. Other days...

4. Our kids: Liam, 23; Nicole, 22; Jacob 21, Jobe, 18; and our grandson, Finley, two, in 2014. That was just before Christmas in 2014. We got the photo framed as a present for my Mum. They’re all grown up and and are all working. They’re making their own lives and it shows you did something right. I was 18 when I had my first and most of the early years were spent working 17-hour shifts. I missed the initial early years, being in work or in bed. It’s a sacrifice you make as a parent in working to pay bills and eat. It’s nice now as the time is our own, especially with our grandson.

5. With wife Suzanne at Ayers Rock in March 2014. It was our first time in Australia and we were there for about five weeks. I have a lot of family over there and it was the first time in 25 years that I saw some of my cousins. I have a couple of relatives in Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway and we spent 24 hours driving in the car to get to them. Ayers Rock is one of the most spectacular things I’ve seen. It’s right in the middle of Australia and you just don’t realise the scale of the country.