Two-thousand and five: a retrospective So here we arrive almost at the end of this year (I’m posting now as I doubt I’ll post again before the new year), sitting listening to 102.2 FM and Nat King Cole crooning on about chestnuts and open fires. It actually feels festive, sort of.

[A warning before you proceed: blogs, by their nature, tend to be quite mememe. This post is no exception. In fact, it's particularly self-indulgent. It's all about ME and MY YEAR. YEAH. I'll tell you about other people some other time. Maybe, if you're lucky, or nice or something. Yeah.]

Firstly, and we may as well begin with the present, I’ll point out the photo (below somewhere) taken yesterday looking into Argos in Croydon. Specifically, looking at the queue for the Elizabeth Duke counter in Argos, and- fuck me!- the size of it! It seems a good, hmm, 90% of Croydon will be receiving some lovely chav wear this Christmas. Oh the mirth. (To clarify, this is not some socio-economic statement of snobbery, but just an expression of sadness at the level of pikeyness frothing around. Put down the fake-gold blingbling, stop with the Burberry, just leave it and walk away. Please.)

Anyway, I digress. This is a retrospective of the year: and what a year it’s been. Near-death (well, saying “being rushed to hospital” would be much too melodramatic) in France from a bout of mononucleose, or glandular fever as we call it this side of the channel; bored to tears stuck at home (the reason this blog came into existence) during the recuperation; then a month of excitement in the exotic land of the Finns, Suomi, Finland! That was so cool looking back, (check out the archive and read some of the happenings from April/May), swigging beer and vodka with the students celebrating Vappu, freezing our nads having a picnic in the park with temperatures close to freezing, and generally coming to love the wonderful people and city of Helsinki. I said I would go back at some point, and that really is a promise I will keep myself.

So after this, a little fun diversion to Leamington Spa, and then the Smallpeice Gap Year was over. What happened then? Well, it was summer, but what the hell was I up to? A holiday to Spain, then Glastonbury (whoa! that was ace!) then nothing. Nada. I think I wasted the summer- I can’t think of anything particularly fantastic that I got up to to begin with, or work I did, or anything like that. It went by unnoticed. The shame!

Oh, I guess there were the Spanish lessons, which were fun, but only for a week. Nearing the end of the summer, the work finally picked up and I was earning some moolah, and yay! another holiday! This time to la France, with two good Smallpeice chums, and this was super-fun: particularly being accused of shoplifting…

Arriving back it was back to the hard work- this time getting ready for heading off to that big bastion of education, Fenland Polytechnic. There was the IEE interview too, for a scholarship, which went very well I’m glad to say (although with strict conditions, but we don’t like to talk about those), and then the bags were packed and then, then I was on my own. In my new room, my new place, my new life. Well, the next stage in my life at least, and gosh, wasn’t it going to be tumultuous. As this is all fairly recent now, I won’t go into details, but settling into my course wasn’t as happy as could be- don’t get me wrong- I love the place and have made some lovely super-duper friends and stuff, but the course is bloody tough. Nail-bleedingly tough.

A pleasant arrival arrived too- my new niece. All these extra new family members is making me feel old! I’m not the youngest any more! *Sulk*

Then back home for Chrimbo, which is where we find ourselves now, Christmas eve sitting at home with the radio on, a pile of work still to be done in front of me, and pondering over the bits and pieces that have happened that I’ve not written about or forgotten about. Perhaps some of the ones I’ve not written about I’d rather forget anyway.

Yeah, so, let’s not get glum, shall we? It’s Christmas after all! I’ll leave this post with a message of goodwill and cheer, and feel like the Queen wishing peace and blah blah blah… hell, have a happy new year everyone. Let’s make 2006 super-cool!

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Listening to: Christmas Crooners.

Posted: 24-12-05 22:58 :: Permalink: http://ben.corale.co.uk/archive/v1/216.html

Comments Use the form at the bottom to post your comments. Here is the feedback:

Wolfie writes I can't believe you didn't mention me. Commented: 25-12-05 18:54

Chris writes True argos story, a lady asked about the gold at Elizabeth Duke, and the guy behind the till goes:

YOU WANT GOLD, YOU GO MIDDLE EAST. Commented: 29-12-05 17:26

Mareike writes Why didnt you buy me some lizzie duke? I even sent you a postcard. Now I shall never drink tea or watch Braindead with you again.
Sulk. Commented: 08-01-06 21:56

The blog author writes At that moment I took the photo (despite hiding behind the super-size tracksuit of a Croydon chav), the hordes inside noticed the flash of the camera. Thinking it was the glint of something more blingy than they were buying, they began what can only be described as an horrendous stampede of fake Burberry and Reebok (or is it rbk these days?) Classics. I had to run, run through the crowds, as fast as my spindly little indie-boy legs could take me.

Alas, and this is where the story is leading, I could not enter Argos to join the queue for the Elizabeth Duke and my eventual goal of purchasing something made of green-skin-inducing "gold" and clown shaped failed. Perhaps these are what I could have bought? http://i22.ebayimg.com/01/i/05/d7/f9/07_1_b.JPG Commented: 08-01-06 23:09

Mareike writes ok, well, I suppose that's okay then. Just make sure you get me those clowns before the auction is over...RUN! Commented: 24-01-06 17:33