It's Nearly Over

I can scarcely believe that I have been back in the UK a whole year. In some ways it seems a lot longer than that, yet in others it's been like the blink of an eye. At this time last year I was still in Georgia, stateless and belonging apparently nowhere. I wasn't sure what to do or where to go (although I did know a few people I would have liked to have told where to go, that's for sure), but I kept blogging, durnit. I wasn't gonna let my public down.

At this time of year, with just a couple days to go till 2011 (that's two thousand eleven, NOT twenty-eleven, people. God, that's annoying), the 'Net and every little sub-section, sub-genre and oddball category you can imagine (and some you can't)  is full of lists of Top Ten Moments of 2010. Top 10 Soccer moments of 2010. Top Ten Emmy moments of 2010. Top Ten Accountancy moments of 2010. Top Ten Vietnamese Nail Salon Owner's moments of 2010. So, not being slow to recognise a bandwagon when I see one, I thought I would try to think of some of my Top moments of 2010 and seal my place in the 2010 moment-list-writing thingummabob of the blogosphere, and all that jazz, innit, blud? And then once I write them down maybe they'll make a coherent list of about ten. So here goes. My list of  Memorable Moments (good and bad) from 2010 in no particular order. There may be more than ten.

• Spending 7 hours in Dulles Airport watching the constant coverage of the Haiti Earthquake on CNN and Headline News. 
• Snow! Actual real snow. Not the pretend stuff you get in Georgia that only stays for a day.
• Having three jobs in a year.
• Catering for the Town Mayor.
• Proper fish and chips!
• My old girlfriend from 1987-88 becoming my new girlfriend, and moving in with her.
• Making lots of new friends, and seeing a bunch of my old friends for the first time in many many years.
• Fireworks in November instead of July.
• Halloween at The Rare Breeds Centre.
• My Sister and I's End of Summer BBQ.
• A reawakening of my passion for photography.
• A guest shot on my friend Clark's blog.
• Going to lots of fun places and eating at lots of nice restaurants.
• Seeing Billy Bragg in concert, and meeting him after the show. 
• The Smallhythe Beer festival, where we first met The Dealers' Pierre Vincent.
• Seeing The Lucky Ones, a truly great band.
• Staying at The Queen's Head in Rye.
• Mandy and Kev's Wassailing party and their End Of Harvest Foraging party, the pumpkin casserole, the sloe gin and the dandelion wine.
• Making fun movies and taking lots of pics with my nippy little phone.

I could probably think of a bunch more stuff but my elbows are tired, and I need another sip of coffee before it gets too cold to drink and I have to go downstairs and zap it in the microwave. Plus the longer the list becomes the more pointless the whole exercise seems. So what I am going to do is to wish you all a jolly New Year, although I am sure you will hear from me before the big night.