Ben Hughes, who has been given just six months to live, talks about the latest items he has ticked off his bucket list in his weekly shropshirestar.com blog:

Hello Shropshire, I hope I find you all well and fighting them nasty winter bugs off.

I always worry about this time of year with all of the bugs flying around but, so far, fingers crossed I havent picked up any infections and I hope that it stays that way.

This week has been very hectic for me, but filled with many amazing memories and happy times.

It all started last Tuesday night with a trip to Frankie and Bennys in Telford. A lady called Amy Forster had contacted me through my Facebook page saying she was wanting to organise a three course meal for my wife and I.

It was a lovely gesture by her and we had a wonderful meal there – thanks to the manager Zach and all of his team for allowing it to happen.

I had chicken wings in hot sauce, meatballs with spaghetti – and boy were them meatballs big! – and, to finish, I had warm brownie cubes with ice cream – heavenly.

My meal was delicious and throughly devoured, whilst my wife Ayla opted for potato skins, New Yorker chicken and sticky toffee pudding. I was allowed a spoonful of the dessert and have to say it was top notch.

On Wednesday, I went to visit my Auntie in Stratford with my nan and we ventured into the Cotswolds, visiting a few places I had been when I was little, such as Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water.

We went for a lovely meal in a quaint country pub and visited a few of the quirky little independant shops in the villages. It was pretty cold, but wrapped up in scarf, gloves hat and blankets, I was able to make it through the day and the only downside was the lack of time. I am hoping to revisit just after the new year for a longer break down there.

On Saturday, my friend Rob and I were guests of a lovely couple from Swansea, Dai and Sharon Thomas, who had invited us down to watch the Mighty Jack Army (Swansea City) play Fulham, as one of the items on my list is to visit every Premier League ground. The weather held up for us and made it such an enjoyable occasion.

Within five minutes of our arriving, the players started pulling into the car park. Dai, quick as a flash, was there asking for photos with me and I ended up meeting Michel Vorm, Scott Sinclair, Stephen Dobie, Nathan Dyer, Danny Graham and Neil Taylor.

I obviously brought them luck as Swansea ran out 2-0 winners with Sinclair and Graham scoring and Vorm saving a penalty. It was a great day and, as I say, such a lovely couple and I will be pleased to keep in contact with them.

Ayla and Ben with Dawn, Graham and Dylan at the Brittania Stadium

On Sunday, Ayla and myself found ourselves off to Stoke to meet another family, Dawn, Graham and their very special boy Dylan. Dylan had to have a liver transplant aged just nine months old, but unfortunately at 5 years old he needed a second transplant due to ill-health.

I am pleased to report that, since his second transplant, he has had no further complications and is now leading an active and healthy life – long may that continue for him.

We attended the Stoke v Spurs game with them and I was a lucky mascot for the home team again as former Spurs boy Matthew Etherington scored two first half goals to put Stoke in a commanding position.

The away side did pull one back through a dubious looking penalty which Emmanuel Adebayor converted, but they had Younes Kaboul was sent off with eight minutes to go which made Stoke’s job of hanging on easier. Again, we met another lovely couple and will enjoy keeping in touch with them and following Dylan’s continual progress.

So it was quite a busy week and this week is shaping up to be as well – I will have reports on an amazing meeting, fine dining and possibly some other things next week.

Just as I am signing off for this week, tickets are still available for our New Year’s Eve fundraiser at the Brooklands. Also, if you can help out in any way by donating something towards our raffle it would be very much appreciated.

All the best until next time,

Ben x