My 2009

January – Spend New Year in Crewe and went to Chester Zoo which was brilliant but bloody freezing. Introduce my Grandma to James for the first time. Picked over the remains of Woolworths (RIP). Lucy comes to visit. My sister goes to hospital with chest pains. She’s fine. Apparently a lot of teenage girls get it. Hmm. That stuff aside, January is a bit of a killer mostly because work was terrible. I couldn’t wait to get to the end when I visited Iceland. 

February – Had the most amazing time in Iceland. It’s just a stunning country, even under all the snow. I saw the Northern Lights, visited Pingvillar National Park, saw the Gullfoss waterfalls, saw the original Geyser, and many other things. They have some damn tasty snacks. Their chocolate is great as are pastry products. Not the dried fish though. Ugh. Ended the holiday by bathing in an outdoor geothermal pool. One of the most amazing things ever, my skin felt wonderful for weeks after and I still daydream about the place even now. I should probably move there. I bet I could buy a house for a bag of chips.

In other more boring news I went for a job interview at Keighley library. I didn’t get the job but it’s the first of many I’ll go for. Start to look for flats in Leeds and then secure one.

March - Went to see Lenny Henry in Northern Broadside’s Othello and West Side Story. Moved to Leeds, a great decision even if we did get stung by our cunty landlords and suffered stupid deliveries.

April – Uni starts to come to a climax and the fear sets in. Saw The Tempest which was disappointing despite it being performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. My line manager leaves her job leaving me as the sole Quality person in the College. Go back to Crewe for a bit and visit my old colleagues at the library. Bought some amazing knitted peas from a stall on Brewery Wharf. Ordered my Girls Aloud singles box set. Frivolous yes, but I never got to have a proper pop phase when I was growing up.

May – My 25^th birthday. I spend it in Tropical World, walking round Roundhay Park and having tea in Little Tokyo, my favourite restaurant. (up to 10^th). Visited James’ grandma and family for his birthday. It was ok although james didn’t have a good time :s Have to deal with an OfSTED visit at work on my own. Went to see Ross Noble in York who is hilarious as usual. Go to see Saint Etienne in Sheffield who perform the whole of Foxbase Alpha and some other hits. Went to a BBQ at Rich and Greg’s but had to come home early as it was Eurovision night! Went to London for the weekend and saw Hairspray, had an explore around Greenwich, took a boat down the Thames and went to see Girls Aloud at the O2. Saw An Inspector Calls at Leeds Grand. It’s the most awful play I’ve ever scene and we nearly walked out.

 

June – Went to see Bedroom Farce which turns out to be the best play I’ve seen. Finally got round to having a house warming party with lots of board games and then a night out at Baja and introduce the world to my ‘Single Ladies’ routine. My Mum and sister come to visit and we take them to Harewood House where we watched a bee-hive demonstration.

July – Go to the Thackery Museum in Leeds. On getting to the section entitled ‘pus’ I promptly pass out. This was the worst thing that happened this year as, as a consequence, I suffered numerous panic attacks and anxiety related problems for as long as six months afterwards. It’s just shit. July’s a rough month. My Girls Aloud box set arrives! Went to see The Saturdays in Manchester. Went to Party in the Park in Leeds. Highlights are Dizzee Rascal, Little Boots and Frankmusik.

August – Went to Leeds Gay Pride. Had an interview at Halifax Central Library, another job I don’t get. Visit my family in Crewe and go to the Blue Planet, and have ice cream at Snugbury’s!

September – Come back from our holiday in Mayrhofen in Austria. Wonderful Alpine country with glorious weather. We did loads and saw a lot – waterfalls, farms, mountains, glaciers, cities. Really good fun. And beautiful, everywhere was covered in flowers. Some great experiences. Write my dissertation. It makes me want to cry and I resent writing every single word. When I finish it James takes me to Little Tokyo to celebrate.

October – Saw Dial M For Murder at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Went for an interview at Leeds College Of Art, I don’t get that one either. Jonathan comes to visit and we revel in computer gamer-y at the Expo exhibit in Leeds. Had a lovely day in York too. Went to see Alesha Dixon in Manchester.

 

November – Went to see Alphabeat in Leeds. Went to see Frankmusik and then VV Brown as well. Two years worth of studying leads to me getting a merit for my MSc making me a proper Master of Science and a master of libraries. Not that I work in one…Go to London to see John Barrowman not perform in Les Cages Aux Folles (boo), and Blood Brothers. Meet Melanie C who is lovely.

December – Interrupt a game of strip gay Wii bowling when we go to Rich and Greg’s flat. Several icy weather causes me to fall on my arse a number of times. Inspires me to buy three pairs of trainers in the Xmas sales though – more than I’ve ever owned! Went to see The Pet Shop Boys At the MEN. Spend our first Xmas alone and cook a lovely dinner. Visit James’ family for more food and then my family for New Year.

So on paper it looks like I've had a pretty good year and I have. It was just marred by an over bearer anxiety, but let's forget about that because wirting it all down has made me feel that 2009 was full of a lot of highs for me and that's the main thing. And there's been some great music and films released this year which have bucked the mainstream in a way.

Music-wise I've made a list of my favourite albums but to be honest, the to p could seriously go in any order as there have been loads of excellent albums I've had the chance to listen to and yet there has not been one absolute stunner. Not that this matters when things are as good as this. Still, there were a few reliable groups that really let me down, mostly electro ones. Client, Fischerspooner and IAMX produced albums I wasn't fussed by and I thought they were a sure bet. Cheryl Cole's was beyond disappointing as well and La Roux's effort and Florence and the Machine's could both have been better.

Top albums of 2009:
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
2. Little Boots - Hands
3. Annie - Don't Stop
4. Lady Gaga - The Fame/Fame Monster
5. Venus Hum - Mechanics and Mathematics
6. Frankmusik - Complete Me
7. VV Brown - Travelling Like The Light
8. Dragonette - Fixin To Thrill
9. Peaches - I Feel Cream
10. Dan Black - Un
11. Pet Shop Boys - Yes
12. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
13. The Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
14. Charlotte Hatherley - New Worlds
15. La Roux - La Roux
16. Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe
17. Florence and the Machine - Lungs
18. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

My soundtrack to 2009 (in no order):

Shakira - She Wolf
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
Depeche Mode - Wrong
Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Lady Gaga - Just Dance
Bat For Lashes - Daniel
Lily Allen - The Fear
Peaches - Lose You
Frankmusik - 3 Little Words
VV Brown - Shark In The Water
Alphabeat - The Spell
Charlotte Hatherley - White
Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc.
Natalie Imbruglia - Want
La Roux - Bulletproof
Noisettes - Don't Upset The Rhythm
Venus Hum - Mechanics and Mathematics
Mini Viva - Left My Heart In Tokyo
Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway
Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers
Annie - Anthonio
Little Boots - Remedy


I'm not going to do a retrospective of the 00s because every time I think about them all I think of is how bad it all was. Terrorism, the economy, the music industry going down the pan etc. Hell even something that seems to be quite good like the internet falls apart on closer inspection. It's addictive but a lot of it's superfulous and trivial. For every 2.0 application that brings people together there are plenty more that concentrate on individualism and self-promotion. You only have to look what it's done to the music industry. I can't help but feel that people have lost the appreciation of music as an art form. The internet has its plus points though, I'd just like to see the next year or so move away from depending on it, and that goes for me too. Anyway, it's hard to be optimistic about the 2010s when the Tories are likely to get in in May. Boo.