Farewell to 2013

Once again a year has gone by in a bit of a blur, despite not actually doing much of note.  For the most part it's been the same old stuff, but if I'm in a bit of a rut it's a comfortable rut, cosy, and I can call it my own, complete with pictures on the walls and stuff.

This year we went to Lindos not once but twice, as our last few June holidays had been less than ideal, sometimes down to the hotel but not the place (Skiathos), the place but not the hotel (Zante) or absolutely everything (Polichrono), so we decided to stick with what we know and love and went to Lindos twice.  My birthday there was enjoyable, although the meal I'd been looking forward to at Ambrosia was a disappointment as the chicken wasn't that nice and it was served with broccoli and couscous.  Still, I had a creme brulee for dessert, which was very nice, and the Lindos View gave me a T-shirt as a present :-)  The resort was much quieter in June, and we thoroughly enjoyed the rest.

The August holiday was also in Lindos, but this time it was much busier, and full of Italians as always.  We were also swamped by a huge wedding party from Liverpool who were accompanied by a bald man whose legs seemed to go in a different direction to the rest of him when he walked, but he was predominantly bald.  The song "Blurred Lines" was playing almost everywhere, which drove us a bit mad, but they also played lots of stuff by the likes of Chic, which made up for it.  404 was our favourite bar once again because they played lots of great music most of the time (apart from the night DJ Shay played "Blurred Lines" and looked really pleased with himself as a result,) but we still like Pals a lot for people watching, as long as we shut our ears most of the time to muffle the R&B they seem intent on playing.  The best restaurant in the village is definitely Odysseia, and this year we managed to spend more time talking to Dimitris and Anna who run the place, plus we're also "in" with Yannis, the owner, who lets on to us in the street when he sees us - a nice feeling.  Lou's birthday meal was in Odysseia, and Dimitris & Anna brought a special dessert over for her, sang a song to her, and made the night feel really special, with no broccoli or couscous in sight.  Our friend Alexandra at the Lindos View presented Lou with a bottle of wine, the label personalised, and it is still standing in our kitchen where we can see it every day.

Where will we go in 2014?  Well we've already booked Lindos for August, but at the moment the June holiday is undecided.  Hopefully we'll choose somewhere soon, and book it of course.

Lots of records came out in 2013 and disappointed me.  David Bowie returned from his semi-retirement with "The Next Day", but the album wasn't very good - I get the feeling that if it had been written by someone new it wouldn't have been released - yet the music press raved about it.  The same was true of Arcade Fire's "Reflektor", trailed by its superb title track, but the album was a sprawling mess, and after trying several times to crack it I gave up, which upsets me as I'm a huge fan of theirs.  The Yeah Yeah Yeahs returned with "Mosquito", trailed by the superb "Sacrilege", but it was a messy, unfocused album.  Another band I love, The Airborne Toxic Event, released "Such Hot Blood" a long time after it came out in the US, but sadly it was rather bland, lacking their usual fire.  Thankfully I've recently subscribed to Google Play Music All Access, which means I can listen to pretty much whatever I like, whenever I like, for £8 a month, and as a result I buy far fewer CDs which turn out to be rubbish.  Good albums this year have been released by The National ("Trouble Will Find Me") and best of all, Prefab Sprout ("Crimson / Red").

Thankfully this year I weaned myself off all of the medications I'd had prescribed, and although the icepick headaches still plague me I'm pleased that I'm not having to take the tablets anymore, despite the pain.  I also stopped the tablets for my acid reflux and after making some dietary changes I've been free from the acid.  I was told earlier this year that my cholesterol was a little on the high side, so I immediately made major reductions in the amount of butter and cheese I eat, moved away from sandwiches and started eating porridge for lunch, and as a result my cholesterol plummeted and the weight fell off me - in physical terms my trousers have gone from a 34 or 36 waist to a 32, and I can pull the 32 waist pants on and on without unfastening the waistband.  It feels quite good really, being a bit lighter.

Only a couple of books have stuck in my mind this year.  The Morrissey autobiography was hugely enjoyable, if in need of an edit, but the two best books I read this year were "Stoner" by John L Williams, and "When It Happens To You" by Molly Ringwald, the latter of which was unexpectedly excellent.

As for concerts we've only been to a few this year.  I bought a ticket to see The Airborne Toxic Event but after the disappointment of their album I decided against going, mainly because I couldn't be bothered when the night came.  We bought tickets to see Placebo but again we didn't fancy it when the time came, so we sold the tickets to David Hollis from work who told me after the gig that it was one of the best ones he'd ever been to.  Oh well.  So of the ones we went to see, what's the chart from worst to best?

6: Muse, Etihad Stadium, 1st June
Actually a very boring gig.  We've seen Muse several times now and it all feels a little over-familiar.  Their recent music isn't that good, and they're repeating themselves live, using the same props and effects for certain songs.  I'm not sure if we'll go to see them again.

4= The National, O2 Apollo, 11th November
A difficult choice.  We've seen some great gigs this year and only the one duffer (Muse).  This was a great gig - I went with my mate Des as Lou isn't a fan - and had a great time, and would definitely go to see them again.

4= Low, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, 18th November
My favourite band, and I saw them twice this year.  This was a fantastic venue, and they were as great as ever, but I felt the setlist was a little too heavily focused on the new album.

2= Peter Gabriel, Phones 4 U Arena, 25th October
A great show, but if it highlighted anything it was that So has aged quite badly and away from the big songs it's got a bit of filler.  Fantastic performance though, and I loved the lighting.  Also a really good choice of support acts - two Norwegian women (think they were Norwegian), then a sign language choir who signed along to "Blood Of Eden" which was strangely moving.

2=  Depeche Mode, Phones 4 U Arena, 15th November
Still one of the best live acts I've ever seen, and they were on fire that night.

1: Low, Central Methodist Hall, Manchester, 25th April.
A bit of a magical evening really.  A lovely, intimate venue, and a fantastic performance by the band.  Nicely mixed setlist, and I loved every second of it.

Lou's favourite was Peter Gabriel, then Depeche Mode, then Muse in last place.

Once again I've not really done any writing this year, apart from finishing a story called "Ink" earlier in the year, and I've not played the ukulele or done any drawing.  Next year I hope to change these things.  One thing I did achieve this year though was I completed the Fopp Challenge by visiting the Cambridge branch in December - the only Fopp I'd previously never been to.

On the Scrude front there was a lovely Scrude reunion consisting of Scrude and their WAGs. Additionally I wrote a beautiful and moving song called "The Promise of Brown" which you can hear here, and then weep.

So hopefully 2014 will bring good health, good music, good books, good holidays, and some ukulele madness.  Fingers crossed.