It is now 2008 and in keeping with the tradition at this early part of the year I thought I would waste some web space with a review of the last twelve months.
Here, in no particular order, are the highs (and lows) of the year;
- Best Album: Lloyd Cole – Live at the BBC. Not so much at the BBC, rather a recording of one of the dates his last electric tour (in 1995) at the Hammersmith Odeon. With honourable mentions to Time on Earth by Crowded House and Somewhere Else by Marillion (sorry chaps, its a step back from Marbles).
- Best Gig: Lloyd Cole – at the Basement, Sydney. As I was watching this gig I realised that Lloyd Cole has soundtracked the last twenty five years of my life. Either that or I’d had one Stella too many. He can still write and perform some amazing tunes though. Honourable mention – Francis Dunnery at the Fleece in Bristol. Cracking gig but where was the bonhomie Frank?
- Best Book: Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials. Technically it’s three books but it is my list so I can put what I like. Now this is proper fiction, unlike that Harry Potter tripe that all of the young people are reading. Smart, intelligent and thought provoking with a ripping story line and some interesting ideas about, amongst other things, parallel universes and religion. A very close runner up in this category was Robert Harris’ Imperium. Get hold of a copy and read that as well. If you want to see what I’m reading you can always take a look at my LibraryThing catalogue.
- Best Film: The Simpsons Movie. Despite a weekly dedication to Dr Kermode’s podcast my recollection is that we only went to the cinema three times last year. Must try harder in 2008.
- Best Job: Last year I officially had more jobs than I saw films. Without denigrating any of my marvellous employers the time I spent in Pymble between March and October last year was some of the most interesting of my working career. I shall be looking forward to a slightly less crazy and more rewarding experience in the coming year.
- Best Holiday: Keeping up with the tradition of taking the good weather with us our trip to the UK in October was full of good weather and happy times. Thanks to everyone who was so hospitable and accommodating. Next time though, can you ease up on the presents for the ankle biters? Thanks awfully. An honourable mention needs to be made to our trip down South with the Lewis/Perry party at Easter.
Oh, and of course family of the year goes to SWMBO, JFGP and MIGO.