My 2011...

This quick blog post does come with a disclaimer that my memory is terrible and it’s only thanks to a quick browse through Facebook that I remembered some of these things and I could only rewind Twitter back to August because it was so slow so perhaps I’ve missed a few things here and there, but might revisit it as I remember!

2011 has definitely been an interesting year both with some big highs and some big lows. Here’s for an interesting 2012 to follow it!

The New Year started in pretty much the usual way in January, back to work and getting ready for another term. In fact, it was a quiet first few months of the year, either because not much happened or I didn’t make a record of it. I was back on air with Mike and Kev as part of the ...and be done with it show on RamAir 1350AM and I feel that we all stepped up a gear in 2011 to make the best show we could, throwing much more time into it in the way of features, content and expanding the presence of the show online and in podcast form, continuing the show well into February and, of course, beyond.

Still working as the Media and Marketing Co-ordinator at the University of Bradford, the term went by quickly. In March I could indulge my techy side by purchasing the new Nintendo 3DS console and, though it would struggle for games until the tail end of the year it was a great purchase and very entertaining.

April got all the more exciting with my twenty-fifth birthday which I spent with friends and then with family. It was also the month where we came up with an idea on the radio show that seemed like a good idea at the time – do a weekly spoof of the new Doctor Who series – which, though great fun to write and act out, did shackle me to writing by numbers especially when I did Torchwood as well which overlapped with the second half of the Doctor Who series, but what we all produced was great and was something else to add to our collection, and certainly added to our portfolio of what we can achieve!

Also in April I went down to London with friends Ian and Rachael to the Student Radio conference at the University of Hertfordshire. Experiencing my first time on a MegaBus and my first visit to London in a long time, it was a great few days of socialising, attending lectures and cementing in my mind that radio would be what I’d want to go into. I also got to meet one of my heroes, Dave Gorman, to ask him about radio and get a sound bite for ...and be done with it.

In May, not under the happiest of circumstances, I moved into a new flat in Little Germany. Suffice to say in a nutshell the first four months hadn’t panned out like I’d hoped and it was not a happy time. But, now living on my own for the first time in two-and-a-half years brought with it a new found freedom. I could finally get my space to set-up a home entertainment area, a radio studio (which I built up over the summer and used for podcasts for the radio show) and have the opportunity and space to invite friends over which happened many times over the summer from the flat warming to random nights, and it was nice to get back in touch with friends I’d maybe not spent as much time with as I should have. I made a pact that I would try and stay in contact with as many old friends as possible which lead me to over the course of the next few months meet up with an old school friend I’d not seen in eight years, which was a thoroughly enjoyable day, and a few other acquaintances from the past.

Seven months on and I love my flat. It’s a different experience not sharing a house with someone but it’s given me the time to help satisfy my love of writing, radio and – to a certain degree – cooking, and have held several Sunday dinners over my time there and not poisoned anyone yet!

Also in May my favourite television show Primeval made a return, so that was fun to watch!

With the uni term at work coming to an end, with the Party On The Amp end of term event going well with the fairground, Chase and Status and general buzz going down well (arguments over barbecues aside!) I had more free time to do things among work as there was that gap between the end of term and preparations for freshers’ week.

Having dabbled in parody songs over the years and in particularly the months leading up to June, myself, Mike and Kev finally took the plunge and recorded a whole spoof album of our own parodies, plus booklet, photographs and much more, adding another tick to our achievements in radio over the year. As well as the fun we had doing this with Phil, Poppy and others, I organised a small barbecue for friends in June to celebrate the summer but also looked further to expand my experience in radio by going to BCB – Bradford Community Broadcasting – and doing their training with the hope of going on air. As I write this at the end of December my first show is about to go on air. It was a great few months of training under the funny and friendly stewardship of John Gill and I met some great people from loads of different areas and backgrounds who also shared an interest in radio.

In July I was part of the team from work who went to Center Parcs, my first time there, as a staff-sabbatical get-to-know-you week. It was a fun week where I tried for the first time to ride a bike under the tuition of Chris (let’s just say I don’t think I’ll be doing the Tour de France anytime soon!) and also a time to really bond with colleagues and it was, mostly fun, with nights of Just Dance, cooking and walks plus much more. Also in the month I finally finished putting together ‘Studio P’ and I would meet up with Mike, Kev, Steph, Saz and others every Wednesday to record the ABDWI podcast whilst we were off air. I also attended a showing of the Harry Potter film in IMAX with some friends.

Throughout August I continued with my training at BCB and also started writing occasional blogs for the website All Noise, though would eventually stop as communicating with them proved tricky. I also went to my first ever stag do, proving that I’m not exactly the most social when it comes to drinking and dancing but it was a right laugh of a day even if I wasn’t feeling that well, plus attending the wedding of former RamAir presenter and friend Dave who got married that month. I was an usher for the first time and also did the DJing at the night, which was as tricky as I imagined it to be with such a wide range of attendees so I don’t think I’ll be doing that again in a hurry, but it was a great experience.

I also headed over to Scarborough for the day with Mike, Kev and Steph to film a summer promo video for the radio show which was great fun to do and, I think, came out really well!

Onto September and with the shadow of freshers’ week hanging over there was still time for me to go to the excellent Bingley Music Live once more, as well as see the Kaiser Chiefs live, satisfying my love of live music as well as having the opportunity to review them both, something I’ve been trying to do in the last few months to bolster my writing technique and portfolio via my blog, so much so it’s becoming on the verge of an obsession now that I seem to review anything and everything. But, hey, it’s all good experience!

Also in September we said a temporary goodbye to Phil Bowes from the ABDWI team who departed for American shores but would stay in touch with the show throughout the next term of shows and also got involved with the media side of the British Science Festival when it arrived at the University of Bradford the week before freshers, with RamAir used as a base for its media side.

Freshers’ week went by in its usual haze of late nights, early mornings and lots to do and cemented in my mind how things had changed since the first freshers’ week I’d been involved with as a staff member three years previously. Now onto the fourth I’d experienced working there the move to Student Central, the increased footfall, and the growing ambition each year from the Students’ Union of putting more on, plus the awakening of the University to how much the SU actually does during freshers’, was proving to be tiring on everyone concerned but equally rewarding, though it did come with its frustrations from certain quarters when we were victims of our own successes and demand.

After the pressures of that week were over, it was time for October and on a musical front new releases from Electric Six and Aqua to keep me, er, rocking over the month. I also dipped back into my childhood and won my first competition in years, netting some Johnny English: Reborn prizes ahead of seeing the film. As a child I was a “comper” in waiting, entering loads of competitions and being very successful in getting prizes.

Also in the month I saw Dave Gorman for the second time in a year, this time doing his hilarious PowerPoint Presentation show at St. George’s Hall, a show I missed eighteen months previously due to my incarceration in hospital. I nearly missed it again due to myself and Ant almost DJing a wedding on a night but that fell through. Possibly for the best!

In October I also started a brand new show with fellow RamAir presenter Carl. A northern show called ‘Bitter and Pies’ it’s been a laugh from the start to now and it’s refreshing to find someone with a similar daft sense of humour to myself and who has become a good friend and co-presenter over the last few months. Thanks Carl!

Autumn was also a time when I feel that things shifted back to the happier times of years gone by. It was a great to see more people joining ...and be done with it on a Wednesday, with Steph, Saz, Carl, Liam, Ryan and others becoming key part of the team, plus Sam returning on air and brilliantly becoming more involved again, plus shows like ‘Friday Night Live’ which, though I wasn’t able to contribute as much as I’d hoped, felt like both old and new presenters were coming together and forging new friendships.

November was mostly a good month. With some additional parody songs recorded in September and writing going on throughout the months, ...and be done with it also stretched out into the world of video again after the summer promo video with our cheerleading spoof which showed me struggling to do it thanks to a pulled muscle but also Kev in a skirt, with full credit to him for doing it.

Also in the month myself and Carl went to see Milton Jones live at St. George’s Hall, and also continued our voyages out and about to see both Electric Six and Lancashire Hotpots live in York.

Unfortunately it wasn’t all good news in November. Back in early summer my granddad, my dad’s dad, was diagnosed with cancer and hospitalised. Though I didn’t get the chance to see him in the summer, he was out relatively quickly before I got back to York, I did aim to see him when he became ill again in November. Sadly he passed away the day before I came back. In November we attended his funeral.

Families as they are, I hadn’t actually seen my granddad in probably fifteen years as we’d not been in touch with that side of the family for a long time, something that I’ve always found unusual but, knowing families of friends, it’s not that uncommon. It’s strange to attend a funeral of a relative but feeling a little bit out of place being there as I didn’t really have much of a connection to him like others in the room.

It was the first funeral I’d ever been to, which I consider lucky as I reach twenty-five and a half, and it was great to catch up with family members I’d not seen in many, many years. I just wish it had been under happier circumstances.

December has possibly been one of the busiest months yet. I’ve continued to make the effort in trying to get my work out there. I have been lucky enough to get my writing now on websites such as Brash Games and Den of Geek, with other websites running some material in the new year. The ABDWI team came together to finish off recording and production of the second parody album as well as enjoying a Christmas meal out in Wetherspoons and the UBU bar. My first BCB radio show makes it’s on-air debut at the tail end of the month and mid-month we were lucky enough to have been successful in being awarded the hosting of the 2012 Student Radio conference next year in early April, meaning I’ll be celebrating my twenty-sixth birthday with one of the best things in student radio. The best bit was that it justified the work that myself, Ian, Chris and Claire did in putting together the application in tight times around freshers’ week but will also highlight Bradford, the University of Bradford and RamAir as great places.

It wasn’t all happiness in December though. After noticeably losing weight earlier in the autumn and being diagnosed with cancer, and being put on medication, we made the difficult decision of putting one of our cats, Katie, to sleep as she was continuing to struggle going to the loo, bleeding and losing weight. On December 10th we headed to the vet and said our goodbyes before doing the deed and burying her in the garden, leaving her sister Charlie now as the sole cat, who we think now is coming to terms with her absence and has become much more of a house-cat than before, but we’ll see soon how much this is down to the weather and having people around the house on holiday.

Also in December my parents and I enjoyed some trips out, to the excellent York pantomime and to see Arthur Christmas in the cinema, as well as enjoying Christmas together and seeing the grandparents and my auntie over the New Year period.

So, that was my 2011. What will 2012 bring? I’m continuing to try and push for a career in radio and continue trying to get my writing published, even if it’s still for free. Here’s to more ...and be done with it and Bitter and Pies shows, more shows on BCB and more great radio, newspapers and events via work at the University of Bradford Union of Students. With the Student Radio Conference to look forward to and my first trip abroad - to Paris – coming up, and hopefully not the end of the world, let’s see what 2012 will be like!