Hello, Goodbye

It's New Year's Eve. In some parts of the world it's already New Year's Day. And where am I? Relaxing at home with the family? Off out at a house party or getting cold and wet at a city centre New Year celebration? Nope. I'm working. And found out that I would be working less than a week before Christmas. This pretty much sums up 2012. It's been like that.

Last year, as the last whisps of 2011 melted away and 2012 arrived, I remember feeling quite melancholy. It was a feeling that clung to me for weeks. And not without good reason. When I look back now, as I'm about to close the door on 2012 forever, I can see it's been a year dogged with ongoing issues, few resolutions and lots of goals left unachieved.

The first half of the year, Granny was very poorly. We were all very concerned for her and to that I added the weight of concern for my Dad and cousins. Steve and I made two very long trips to Canterbury to visit as her health deteriorated and finally my last surviving grandparent passed away.

The second half of the year has been plagued with work issues, as my previous employer's contract came to an end and a new (incompetent) contractor came in to take over. There has been much anxiety in the build up to the transfer, which has manifested in people generally being unkind to each other. I've had to say goodbye to some great colleagues (and one very good friend who is bringing in the New Year in Australia). The final culmination of this has been mass redundancies and some really inappropriate and unfair actions by the new employer. This has been the single most stressful thing I have been through with any employer and I hope I never have to repeat anything similar in the future.

Our house is still on the market. It still hasn't sold. It's still causing a disproportionate amount of stress with dickish estate agents and a kitchen roof that continues to leak. We've missed out on a number of opportunities, the worst of which was a house with a turret. Even with the front of the house sinking, it was a bargain and it would have been a beautiful home. I fear I might always regret that as 'the one that got away'.

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However, 2012 has a few things worth remembering it for. I have waited for most of my life to see The Phantom of the Opera and I was not disappointed when Mum and I went to see it in May. It was spectacular and if I had been able to afford to see it again, I would have. I also saw Starlight Express this year. I've wanted to see it since I was about twelve so it's been a long wait.

May was a great month this year; as well as Phantom of the Opera at the Palace Theatre, Mum and I had a trip down to the Big Smoke so I could sing at the Royal Albert Hall with Sing Live and the Night of 1000 Voices. I love the choir. I love singing. And combining that with the trip and having Mum there was a real treat.

Mum, Steve and I holidayed in Cyprus in May as well. We lounged around the hotel pool and the hotel bar and the hotel restaurant and our room and didn't leave the hotel all week. It was almost perfect. But I really must stop eating milky and creamy things: My stomach can't take it!

In August Ann and I went into Manchester for one of those makeover days where they take photos. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it and came away with a bunch of photos that I'm really pleased with. They actually make me look quite normal, and not strange or hideous. Although they do show I have a dent in my forehead. Investigations into the cause of the dent are ongoing. (I suspect Dad might've dropped me on my head as a child.)

One final highlight of the year has been Pinterest. Ah, what joy. And what agony. Pinterest inspired me to make some of my Christmas presents this year. Claire got a handmade bracelet that I was quite pleased with. My Dad received an iPad case made out of a recycled suit jacket. I gave my Mum a scrapbook of our wedding photos - it wasn't quite finished but I think she was really pleased to finally have a wedding album. Ann got a Memory Jar. And my in-laws... I made them a patchwork quilt, which I finished at 2.30am on Christmas Day. It turned out really well and I have a queue of people asking for me to make them one. So Pinterest has been a success in that it has lead me to achievements myself.

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Looking forward to 2013, I'll be graduating from the Open University, achieving my Literature degree. I'll also be going to see Wicked when it tours (another one of my favourite musicals ticked off the list) and I'm hoping to get to see a few more theatre productions this year too. I would love to see Avenue Q, although I'd be surprised if that opportunity rolls around this year. I'm really looking forward to the Les Miserables movie, and Sing Live's first concert of 2013 on the 3rd of Feb at the Bridgewater Hall.

I'm renewing my 2012 New Year's Resolution to read 12 books (I only managed 6, with 2 still on the go) but I think I might have to aim for 13 books as it's 2013.2013 will also see the first draft of the novel that I've started at least three times, and I'm determined to keep a diary. Writing has to be a focus of the year, if for no other reason than it's necessary for my degree, so I'm relaunching my writing blog tomorrow. I'm not setting a goal of blogging every day, but I want to make sure there is regular content, and if I'm writing everyday that should be easy... Should... Be... Easy. Famous last words.

I really want to spend a bit more time with friends this year; I feel like I've hardly seen Ann or Claire and I'd really like to meet up with some old friends that I haven't seen for a while. I'm already dreaming up a visit to Ally and Rich in Londonium, and maybe lunch or dinner out with Jo Jo from First Choice. And who knows what else I might manage to do.

So I'm making 2013 a year of friendship and achievement! 13 might be unlucky for some, but it's never steered me wrong. Hello 2013. Goodbye 2012.

It's a Dog's Life

Like any other person heading off on holiday, I pack my holiday essentials: sun cream, toothbrush and books, Books BOOKS. This June was no different. One of the books I decided to take was Marley and Me by John Grogan. I saw the film a little while ago and thoroughly enjoyed the tortuous tale of a young family and their maniacal mutt. And the book was a marvelous read and I highly recommend it, whether you have seen the film or not.

When I was little - I mean really little - I always wanted a dog and was not allowed to have one. My parents were justifiably concerned that being a child, I would not take good care of a dog and the responsibility would therefore be left to them... or rather Mum! Mum finally yielded following a break-in and we went to a local family that had just had a litter of Border Collie pups.

It was my brother, David, that picked out our treasured family pet. She was originally called 'Dotty' but Mum insisted that she was not going to walk around the village calling "Dotty... Dotty... Come here Dotty!" so we quickly renamed her 'Brèagha', Gaelic for beautiful. Although the name was apt (she was a beautiful dog all her life), Dotty was perhaps just as apt because she was a complete nutcase! She hated men and barked non-stop at any man (other than David, Dad or my husband, Steve) who entered the house. She had a penchant for digging, which manifested initially in uprooted rose bushes or holes under the fence (despite the gate being wide open all the time) and later in a six foot hole at the side of the house, which Dad discovered only when my parents eventually moved. She used to sit on your shoulder (was she a dog or a parrot?) and watch TV. She was particularly fond of Star Trek The Next Generation and used to sit a foot away from the TV and tilt her head from side to side. She loved yoghurt pots, even when they was no yoghurt in them; plant pots, without the plants; and plastic lids, which she could destroy within 24 hours. She wouldn't eat unless you tried to take her food away and loved nothing more than a good game of 'My Bone'. She chased sheep, rabbits, birds, cats, people and even cars; one time she did actually catch a rabbit... and then promptly let it go because she didn't know what to do with it. Her answer to grooming was to swim in a river, in the sea or any other body of water, as long as it wasn't clean. She hated the bath and the brush in equal measure. She used to run in fear of Dad's hiccups but couldn't love enough when you came home after being away - even if 'away' was five minutes to nip round the corner to the shop. She was my best friend as I grew up and the day she had to be put to sleep (due to cancer that had spread in her hind quarters) was no less heartbreaking than the day my brother died because she was just as much a part of our family.

The wonderful thing is, reading Marley and Me and chatting to a colleague at work who has just got a new pup, my experience of having a dog, and the love that I and my whole family felt, is not unique. John Grogan suggests that you can learn a lot from a dog and asks how many people in the world can make you feel so loved. What is also incredible is the connection that you can feel to other dog owners. You share a great common ground and together you laugh at your pets' follies, despair at their lunacies and you share joy and pain at their lives and deaths. A dog might bring noise, chores and fur in abundance to your home, but he or she brings so much more. I miss my dog and if it wasn't for the fact I work 5 days a week, I would have another in a heartbeat.

Time Flies...

Boy and how... September and October seem to have passed by at light-speed. Already it is a week into November, Christmas is on it's way and I have barely even started the shopping. (Normally at this point, all but a handful of pressies have been bought.) I am not very organised!

So why have two months been and gone without me even noticing? I have been busy busy busy!

September:
The month started off with a well deserved holiday. It's been the best part of twenty years since I last visited the Costa Brava. It was cheap and cheerful so off we trotted. I have to admit that I had hoped to rekindle something of my childhood wonder on this trip but I was initially disappointed. Short of gouging out my adult eyes and reinserting my eyes from twenty years ago, I don't think I could ever have overlooked the tired and tawdry surroundings, the graffiti scrawl and the general sense of decay. The hotel was very nice, but not without its problems - mainly location and some very thin walls that meant the light switch next door would woke us up a few times. Also, due to the crap exchange rate between the pound and the euro, it was expensive to eat and drink - both in the hotel and beyond - but we did manage to do a brilliant bargain day trip to Barcelona. We got a return ticket on the train that included a ticket for one of the open-top bus tours around the city at half the cost of any of the organised trips and the best thing was that we got to do what we wanted, when we wanted and for as long as we wanted. My impressions of the region didn't much change over the course of the week, but fortunately we still had a fantastic time. It was definitely worth it.

A few days after we got back from Spain, it was Last Night of the Proms time again - already so soon! We went up to Buille Hill Park at the top of our road for one of the Proms in the Park performances. We were treated to some fabulous musical fayre from the BBC Philharmonic, Juliette Pochin, Jon Christos and headliner, Chris de Burgh. As well as Last Night classics like Jerusalem and Pomp and Circumstance, the show included a bit of Gershwin, Pirates of the Caribbean and a stunning performance of Habanera.

The following weekend was busy in the extreme. The last big rehearsal for our concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday followed a singing workshop in Huddersfield on Saturday. The workshop covered a number of subjects and was led by Kevin Miles and Dirk Donahue, both of whom work for Disney in Florida. Kevin is the current captain of barbershop group, the Dapper Dans, and Dirk is the current captain of Disney's Voices of Liberty. Both fellas were really fun and fascinated by the fact that us brits pronounce all the lyrics correctly. :o) To finish off the day, the group had the chance to sing with an original Disney recording of God Help the Outcasts.

The last weekend in September was the big show - a Sing Live performance at the Royal Albert Hall! This concert was special for several reasons. First, the venue. The Royal Albert Hall opened in 1871 and has hosted the world's most notable performers. Every major soloist and orchestra has performed at the Hall, including modern greats like Pavarotti, The Beatles and Frank Sinatra, the Hall also welcomed classical greats like Rachmaninov and Verdi to the stage. Secondly, this concert was the crowning glory to a year long celebration of a decade of Sing Live. It was clear that this was an emotional experience for Sing Live founders, John Morris and Linda Metcalfe. Our Musical Director, Steven Roberts, was also thrilled to be conducting over 600 voices at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a long, tough weekend, starting on Saturday morning with drive down to London followed immediately by a full afternoon rehearsing - with all 630 performers for the very first time! Sunday was just as hard work, with a second full afternoon rehearsing, this time at the Hall itself. We barely had an hour to break before we lined up for the performance. But all the hard work was entirely worth it. I still can't express how amazing the whole experience was and I would do it all again in heartbeat!

This week we have just started rehearsing for the next major performance at the Bridgewater Hall. The programme will include lots of amazing Disney music, plus musical classics like 'Anything You Can Do' from Annie Get Your Gun. I can't wait!

Bank Holidays Are Made for Moby

Ever have one of those perfect moments where you think 'yeah, that's what it's all about'?

It's bank holiday Monday, the sun is shining and it's almost uncomfortably warm (for once). There are kids walking down the street with footballs and riding bikes, families heading out for the afternoon and hardly any cars about. I've just finished a long, hard slog on my last Open University assignment for this year (only two weeks late... oops!) and Moby is playing on iTunes. But not just any Moby, the original and best album: Play; the one from which every track has been used either in a movie, a TV series or an advertisement. Yes, this album is just that good. The music from The Beach came from this album and so did that awesome track that plays at the end of the Bourne movies.
So apart from the bloke over the road that is rather noisely jet-washing the patio furniture and their kids' outdoor toys, it was one of those perfect moments. But we'll forgive him for his ceaseless whirring and spraying noises for now because we're in a really good mood.