My favourite moment by Alex Unibrow

above - Unibrowed dirty picture taker

Thinking back on my favourite Love Chickens moment isn’t an easy task. From the moment Ferg called me “Iestyn” (while holding a copy of Rugby World held next to my head, just in case anyone was unsure), I knew there was something a little bit special about him, and the bond he creates with people, which is the backbone of the Love Chickens.My resemblance of the Rugby League and Union player has long gone, along with my hair, being replaced by a more furrowed, one lined brow. One thing hasn’t changed, and that’s Ferg and the camaraderie he inspires within the LC’s. Casting my memory back of Uni and Love Chicken days, there have been lots of moments that spring to mind, most of which are making me laugh as I type this.

Bath Spa Sevens, 2002, I was able to achieve my best sports photographs, including – Big Will throwing up, Carlton scoring a try, and Taz, Earl and Ferg surrounding Little Rhys, while naked, with the Ref showing them the Red Card. Unforgettable.Over the years I’m sure several pubs in Cardiff have kept in business because of the pounds sterling LC’s have handed over the bar, and I’m sure quite a few barmaids have also heard us tell them that we love them.

Above: dirty boys

Reflecting on LC moments couldn’t be done without mentioning Kiwi’s at some point too, the place where you lose your inhibitions, your looks, your clothes, your mind and your money all in search of women that have everything a man could want – Tattoo’s, facial hair and hairy chests. Yet, a night out wouldn’t be complete without it – plus Morgs falling asleep with a cock drawn on his face.More recently were the trouncing of the UWN Rugby Team on the shittiest day of the year, a magical mystery tour on the bus (which was going to take us to Cardiff via Usk if we hadn’t stopped the driver) and watching Wales win the Grand Slam.

Other events that come to mind are having the responsibility of photographing an LC get married in the best Wedding I’ve ever been to (even though I was throwing up blood an hour before), watching Ferg tackle WRU Chairman David Pickering, “having a quiet one” on a Friday - and not returning home until Sunday, being hit in the eye with a chicken nugget, swing ball and tears, turning into Hitler, being refused entry to several Newport pubs before 7, and losing my phone and wallet. After thinking of these situations, and many others I haven’t put down, I’ve come to realise there isn’t one that I look back with fondness or affection.

It’s all of these memories, which I love. Moments which create the look that a fellow LC will give when you meet in the street, the craic when we have a chance for a pint or two, the ability to meet up and even though we haven’t seen each other for months – we talk and get on as if we’d never been apart, which makes me smile when I think back, and look forward to the stories we’ll have to tell in the future: it’s this that make us what we are today – proud to be a Love Chicken.