Review of 2011

A lot of people on Facebook are raving about 2011. I want to be a bit more considered than that – as you will see below. I would describe it as a funny old year. It ended much better than it started with a magical Christmas. And hopefully it laid the groundwork for a better 2012 – finally getting somewhere at work, marathon in the pipeline, driving lessons in full flow and a luxury holiday to the States booked.

Anyway, in time honoured tradition, here are my resolutions for 2012 and my review for 2011.


Resolutions
1) Run a marathon
2) Pass my driving test
3) Get promoted
4) Break 76
5) Become a photographer
6) Go on an adventure
7) Blog and tweet
8) Learn to play 100 new songs on the guitar
9) Save money
10) Have a better work/life balance

You may notice some similarities to last year.

Review

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
- Raised £1000 for charity
- Cycled round the Isle of Wight
- Visited Norway
- Cycled round Normandy and Brittany
- Hiked Hadrian’s Wall
- Won on the Grand National
- Flew a kite on the beech
- Climbed Mount Snowdon


2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I made ten resolutions last year. I didn’t do that well. But maybe a little better than the year before. I have returned to football and put in some good performances. I wouldn’t say that I am amazingly fit. I haven’t been promoted which has been a constant source of frustration, but hopefully that will happen soon. And I have done some good stuff at work. I haven’t passed my driving test, but at least I am learning again. I did shoot 78 round Oakwood golf course. I have had guitar lessons and I am definitely getting better. I haven’t written a book. I have blogged a reasonable amount including about my cycle ride in France. I have been there for my family and feel better for it. I am sometimes on time.

New resolutions above. They are quite similar to last year’s.


3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No


4. Did anyone close to you die?
No


5. What countries did you visit?
Last year I said I would never go back to the Netherlands because bad things happen there. I went back to the Netherlands. Bad things happened.

Apart from that, I visited Wales, France and Norway.


6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
- A more healthy lifestyle
- More contentment with where I am in my career
- I would love to say Sky Sports but I think that is one for 2013


7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don’t remember the date, but Stevie and Kate getting married was the most significant day of the year. It was brilliant to see two close friends so happy to be getting married. We celebrated with an adequate amount of drunken merriment. Jessica Rudkin put in an award winning performance.” Fuck them shoes!”


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
My bike ride to France. Going on my own, completely unprepared and with no plan was liberating. It was the best thing I did all year. I loved it. The charity bike rides were good too, as was the hike along Hadrian’s Wall.


9. What was your biggest failure?
I have been frustrated with my progress at work for a lot of the year, so I think that is my biggest failure. I also eat rubbish and need to look after myself better. I also need to be a better friend sometimes.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No. And the knee feels much better.


11. What was the best thing you bought?
I haven’t bought very much at all this year. I would say the scalextric I bought my brother for Christmas. That is a great present if I do say so myself.


12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
- Emad Nadim’s general behaviour always warrants celebration
- Stevie and Kate for getting married
- My mum has been pretty remarkable this year


13.Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
There were a lot of morons in the Priory in St Neots the day. David Cameron gets on my nerves.


14.Where did most of your money go?
Rent and debt. Depressing.


15.What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Christmas. Stephen hosted. We saw all of our closest family in a matter of days. We made a nice video for Jenna. It was a transformation from last year. It was the best Christmas for many years.


16.What song will always remind you of 2010?
I’ve racked my brains and there isn’t one.


17.Compared to this time last year,
I. are you happier or sadder?
Happier

II. thinner or fatter?
About the same

III. richer or poorer?
Poorer


18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
- Played golf
- Eaten green things
- Saved my money
- Kept in touch with important people


19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
- Eaten pizza and chicken
- Felt less self conscious/unsure of what I am doing


20. Did you fall in love in 2010?
No


21. How many one-night stands?
None


22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No


23. What was the best book you read?
One Day. That hits you right between the eyes. Closely followed by Cloud Atlas.


24. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Vaccines are cool. Wretch 32 and Example have a catchy song. I like Coldplay’s new album. Noely G never lets you down.


25. What did you want and get?
My Dad gave me all of his cameras which was nice.


26. What did you want and not get?
A digital clock radio that wakes you up by recreating sunlight. I’ve wanted one for a number of years now.


27. What was your favorite film of this year?
The Inbetweeners film. Or Arthur. Russell Brand was genius in that.


28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 28. It was a low key affair at ‘The Diner’ in Kensal Rise. Stevie and Kate bought me some nice gloves. I had a big chocolate milkshake and a burger. Perfect.


29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A long holiday
Promotion


30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Retro – as in I didn’t buy any clothes all year so there was a lot of recycling. I just bought some stuff in the sales. The theme has been cheque. I think that’s ‘in’. I could be wrong.


31. What kept you sane?
Emad Nadim. I couldn’t go on without him.


32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I’m rubbish at this. I rarely fancy famous people.


33. What political issue stirred you the most?
I think David Cameron’s decision to veto the European treaty was a little bit silly. I’m also stirred by the lack of leadership in the Labour party. I want them to get me angry this year and make me believe they are capable of taking on the Tories.


34. Who did you miss?
- The Pakistani family
- Family
- I’ve not seen Nick Howard this year. It would be good to see him at some point. Cheeky little bastard


35. Who was the best new person you met?
People at work… and some others…


36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
It’s easy to take the most important things for granted.

The day I nearly met Jonny Buckland from Coldplay

Yesterday I nearly met Coldplay’s guitarist. His name is Jonny Buckland.

I was on my way to a Coldplay charity gig. I got on the jubilee line at Baker Street towards the O2 arena. I sat down and across the carriage from me I saw a man wearing a beanie and looking quite stylish. I thought that’s a coincidence, he looks EXACTLY like Jonny Buckland from Coldplay.

In fact his resemblance was so disconcerting that I couldn’t concentrate on my Guardian. Not even the story about David Cameron wielding his EU veto. Surely it was impossible for Jonny Buckland to be travelling to a Coldplay concert on the tube.

As time passed, I became more and more convinced. But it takes a more courageous man than me to say:

“Hey, how’s it going? Aren’t you Jonny Buckland from Coldplay?”

“Don’t be ridiculous mate. If I was in the world’s biggest band would I be travelling on the tube? I mean there are no guarantees the jubilee line would even get me there on time.”

So I just stared at him. And what’s more, everyone was so busy doing their own thing, they didn’t seem to notice him.

When we arrived at Greenwich, I had to be sure it was Jonny Buckland. I followed him out of the carriage. On the platform he gave his bearded friend a knowing look as if to say, ‘I’m going to get away with this’.

But I was on to him. He pulled his scarf over his face and made his way to the exit. I followed him up the first escalator. I followed him up the second escalator. I followed him along the walkway to the O2, where he loitered outside away from the crowds.

He made a phone call. Seconds later, someone came out to meet him. I followed them inside. He was promptly taken round the back through the VIP entrance. That was all the proof I needed. It was definitely Jonny Buckland. It was definitely Jonny Buckland that I had sat across from on the tube for 30 minutes. It was definitely Jonny Buckland that I followed off the tube, up the escalator and towards the O2. And it was definitely Jonny Buckland that I had failed to take my once in a life time chance to say hello too.

I don't know why famous people would get freaked out by their fans.

Nevermind. Coldplay were good. I like their new songs.

Time to go Sepp

Reading the Guardian over a fish finger sandwich on my day off, I came across a story analysing the reaction to Sepp Blatter’s absurd suggestion that racist abuse in football should be settled with a ‘handshake’ and is all part of the game.

Sepp has been on borrowed time for a while now and has probably sealed his fate this time. But it's such a gaffe that he has also given politicians the world over fertile ground for a statement. You know you're in trouble when that happens…

Think of a subject to talk about that will connect with the average man….football

Think of a topic the majority of normal people will agree with…condemnation of someone who is accepting of racism

According to Owen Gibson's story in the Guardian:

“David Cameron last night backed Robertson’s call for Blatter to resign, describing Blatter’s claims that racism on the pitch is not a problem as “appalling”, adding that there was “no time for complacency” when it came to stamping it out.”

And

“Ed Miliband, the labour leader, said: “I think Sepp Blatter’s comments are a disgrace, frankly, and I think football needs new leadership. I don’t think he has shown in the remarks he has made recently, or indeed his record, that he can provide that leadership for world football.”

Time to get your coat Sepp.

A vision of better world part 2

Earlier this year, I said that a match.com advert was a vision for a better world - the one where two random people spring into song in an old antiques shop. Well, manipulative advertising has done it again - this John Lewis Christmas ad is possibly the purest thing I have ever seen:

This is the world I want to live in.

I thought that my satisfaction peaked at watching it. But then I sent it on Skype to a special friend on the other side of the world who was having a particularly bad day. Watching her smile gradually get bigger and a tear roll down her face as she watched it was the highlight of my day.

The resurrection of seminal Manchester pop group the Stone Roses

I love the Stone Roses. I have done ever since I started listening to their Greatest Hits on the bus on my way to work in an ice cream parlour in Vancouver. In fact I would go as far to say they are my favourite band (along with Oasis and the Beatles). And last week I came a step closer to fulfilling the dream of seeing them play live.

Music doesn’t excite me as much as it used to. It’s sad isn’t it? I think it’s part of getting older. You worry about money, your job, your girlfriend and your ever expanding waste line not helped by that gym you never go too.

I remember counting the days to seeing the Stereophonics at Donnigton Park. I remember creating a mix CD with the best tracks from my first V festival. And I remember my friends and me getting up at the crack of dawn to try and secure Oasis tickets the moment they were released.

Back then, gigs (I always call them concerts, but the sounds a bit Peter Gabriel now) would stay with me for weeks. I would remember the set-list. The words of the front men would go round my head for days. And I would try to learn the songs I heard on the guitar.

But it’s not like that any more. I rarely go to gigs. And even when I do, they don’t stay with me in the same way. The last time I saw Oasis is far less memorable than the first time, even though it was about 8 years later.

The reunion

So, the reunion of the Stone Roses has been refreshing. I first read the rumour in the Daily Mirror on about page 30. But couldn’t quite believe it. Even in the most recent interview I read with John Squire he said he had met Ian Brown for the first time at Mani’s mum’s funeral but was still retired from music and focusing on art. They had all ruled it out for years – “not in this lifetime”.

But by the Tuesday the rumour was too big. I couldn’t wait to see the press conference. What would they look like? What would the chemistry be like? Where has the drummer been all this time?

When I got home in the evening I watched it on YouTube. All 25 minutes of it. They didn’t give much away. But it was worth it for when Ian Brown said: “We’ll do it like last time. We’ll ride it until the wheels come off….and they did, didn’t they?” and when he asked the Daily Mail reporter if he voted Tory.

Getting a ticket was a no-brainer. The anticipation leading up to Friday was intense. I knew I was up against all of Manchester.

The day came. I sat at my desk pretending to work, but was really poised and ready for the tickets being released at 9:30am. As soon as the clock struck 9:29am, I frantically opened up all of the ticket selling websites and started pressing refresh as they literally broke under the demand.

You would have thought they would have figured that problem out by now. After 15 minutes of constant refreshing, my will was broken. They were sold out. Disaster. Disappointment. It was like Knebworth 1996, when I had to go on holiday in Italy instead of go to Oasis’s biggest ever gig.

But unlike Knebworth, this story has a happy ending. I had another look just after 10am. And another date had been added. Without thinking I bought two tickets and this time the website worked. When the confirmation came through on my phone 24 hours later, I gave it a goal scoring fist pump and “YES!”. Stone Roses. Heaton Park. Here I come.

Ride around London

Well it started in disaster.

My good friends Stevie and Kate were willing to give me a lift at 7am in the morning - very kind of them. To get my bike in the back of their car, I had to remove the front wheel. The bike fitted in the back like a glove. All the signs were good so far.

However 45 minutes later, when we were unloading the bike, the clip that connects the wheel to the bike was no where to be seen. We literally emptied the car looking for it. I called Emad, who was asleep, and got him to go outside our front door and search the street for it to see if I had left it behind.

In complete panic, Stevie and I walked to the registration desk – me carrying the bike, him carrying the wheel. We didn’t know what to do apart from cry out for help. We had run out of ideas. The bike repair man couldn’t help, the closest cycle shop wouldn’t open until 11am, and the last group were leaving at any minute. I thought that was it. I was going to have to give up. What would I tell all of the people who had donated? I could feel myself welling up.

Then a saint made himself known, a saint in the form of a mumbling teenage volunteer with long hair and wearing a beanie. He said: “You can have mine off my bike for a tenner if you want? It won’t cost any more than that to replace will it?”

I could have kissed him. Little did he know I would’ve given him £100 for that small piece of metal. This man has a lifetime of good karma stored up as far as I am concerned. Great things are going to happen to him. I mean it was a Sunday, Herne Hill Velodrome isn’t exactly in a metropolis of bike shops and he had lost his primary form of transport. He was going to have to go to some serious inconvenience to get his bike on the road again.

Trying not to think about that too much, I quickly joined the last group, did a lap round the velodrome and set off on my way.

Joining the back of the pack

Feeling relieved I made good pace to start with. The route headed out of London through Croydon and there were quite a few cyclists around. However after about ten miles I came across a sign with two arrows going in two opposite directions. I picked left. I picked wrong.

After about 6-8kms I hadn’t seen any more signs and was in a small village called Whyteleafe. I had clearly taken a wrong turn. By the time I got back on the route 30 minutes later I was well and truly at the back. This meant I spent the whole day playing catch-up.

The first stop was at the top of Box Hill – a long climb that will be used in the Olympic road cycling race. It wasn’t quite as severe as a couple of cliff faces I had to climb in the Isle, but I was still glad of the rest and cup of tea as a reward at the top.

The next 35 miles took me over the North Downs through country roads towards Windsor. This is where I realised I had fallen behind. They were packing up the rest station as soon as I arrived. I wolfed down a chicken sandwich and had about three energy drinks before setting off again.

The final leg

At the third stop at a community centre where they had run out of milk for the tea, I was told to ‘beware of the broom’.

“The broom? Well what’s the broom?” – apparently it’s a well known cycling term

“Yeah it’s a truck that picks up those people that can’t finish. The cut off point is about 5:30pm I think, so don’t stop for too long.”

Well that simply wasn’t an option. I couldn’t not finish. Not after all I had been through, what with the wheel clip and the saint.

Learning of the broom was probably the best thing that could happen to me. I set off with a new sense of purpose and was soon speeding past people. Maybe they didn’t know of the broom. All of the time I was just thinking of how I would stop the broom from sweeping me up if it was to come my way.

Thankfully, I stayed ahead of it and I dare say that the last 28 miles were the fastest part of the ride even with a couple of ‘finish you off hills’ coming in. The final part of the route took me into Lee Valley, ending in Chesunt at the Lee Valley White Water Centre.

I crossed the finish line at about 6pm and was welcomed by my old friend, Dave Boorman, who had coincidently organised the ride. The cycling festival I had been promised was just empty tents and people packing stuff away. I had missed the party, but there was plenty to celebrate after completing 185 miles in a week. I was knackered but elated.

Thank you again

As I write this, my bike rides have raised over £750 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research – a phenomenal amount of money. My original target was £370 – £2 for every mile. Although in hindsight that was not very ambitious, we have more than doubled it which has completely exceeded my expectations and made every hill worthwhile. Thank you. So much.

Cycling the Wight

Just in case you’ve missed the gushing Facebook updates of my mother, the news is that I completed the first of my two bike rides in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research on Sunday (www.justgiving.com/andrew-webster5).

But it wasn’t easy going. I had to battle endless hills, driving rain and a very dodgy cycling outfit to complete the course. However I was spurred on by the fact that I had almost met my fundraising target by the time I set off thanks to some very generous friends.

I set off from East Cowes at 9:45 and headed west towards Ryde through country roads and small villages. The first ten miles passed without incident apart from a wrong turn and a dead end.

However as I headed south, I started to hit some big hills. You could forgive me for thinking there was a typo on the sign below…

The second checkpoint, just short of halfway, was at top of the biggest hill on the route and with my legs shaking and feeling emotionally broken I was pleased to see my family sitting in the car at the top waiting for me. Despite my begging, they refused to take me home, but did offer me a seat in the back to eat my sandwich and some locally made fudge.

Setting off again, the rain began to fall and the wind blew in from the sea. It was pretty miserable for about an hour. As I cycled towards Freshwater though the weather improved slightly and the views out over the sea and white cliffs was pretty spectacular.

However the white cliffs I was admiring, soon became the hills I was climbing and I entered a world of pain once more. This time my strategy was to get in the slip stream of a pro cyclist and just follow their pace up the hill. I continued to do this with each person that overtook me. I was rewarded soon after reaching the summit with a piece of chocolate cake and a cup of tea at the Yarmouth checkpoint.

The last 15 miles from Yarmouth to East Cowes flattened out a bit and I roared towards the finish line with a couple of last minute hills for good measure. Back in East Cowes my family were there to welcome me and I was presented with my medal…can’t you just feel the pride on my face?

I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. It’s been touching how quickly I have been able to hit my target and every penny has been gratefully received. I'm now preparing for a mammoth 115 mile ride round London. If you’re still planning to donate, the website is www.justgiving.com/andrew-webster5