2009

John and Sam have already called to say happy new year. Not because they’re old and have headed to bed already, (though they are and they have) but rather because they’re in the middle of the Malaysian jungle and over there they’ve already stepped into the new decade. Stepped very carefully, mind you, lest giant millipedes decide to jump up their trouser legs. Giant millipedes, incidentally, are apparently about the size of chorizo sausage. There. You’ll never eat that again, will you? You’re welcome.

I’m not sure I’ve ever done one of those retrospective posts. Not because I’m all for looking forward, or any of that arse, but because it seemed too much like hard work. But it turns out that if you can blog a fair amount during the year – bam! – it’s half-written for you by the time you get to New Year’s Eve.

So what have I done? I’ve done a bit of travelling of course. I never thought I’d be one for needing annual travel insurance, but thanks to a job that leads me to the continent and the UK’s handy-dandy proximity to, well, all of Europe, I’ve turned into a bit of an itchy-footed one. Lauren and I took the Eurostar to Lille for a day in March, where we photographed everything they have and then just two days later I flew to Salzburg for 30 hours to attend a book launch. In April Suzy and I went to see Hubert’s concert in Saarbrücken and then at the beginning of July we headed to Austria for the finale festival of Hubert’s three year project. We flew to Salzburg and then went to Gmunden. We met up with the band and went to Hallstatt. Where they heartlessly abandoned us. Then we were rescued. And then mildly abandoned again in Ischl. Finally we made it to Linz in one piece for the next three days of music from around Europe rocking Linz harbour. Not content with that much travelling though I trotted off to Salzburg again at the end of November, where I brewed the most awful cough I’ve ever had.

The Austrian part of my world also had a few nicely head-swelling things for me this year: my photos being used for concert posters, getting my name in CD liner notes and being up on stage with the rest of the team on the last evening in Linz.

Of course 7 Days was there every season to glue me – and so many of you across the world – in front of the computer, admiring photos and commenting. There were 72 people for one season, which nearly did us all in and so now the group is closed to new members except those related to or friends with current members. One photo I took in the summer was also somewhat poignant as it was of me on my way to say goodbye to my Granpop in Northamptonshire. He died a couple of weeks later from lung cancer and is much missed. I thought it would be the fact that I now have no grandparents that would feel strange, but it’s more that I hadn’t realised how often I thought to myself “next time I write to Granpop, I’ll tell him that”. Then again, if it turns out that Granpop was right about the ways of the universe after all, he already knows.

The vegetable patch at the top of the garden has been busy again this year, providing me with kilos of tomatoes, runner beans, beetroot, carrots and cucumbers. Now I’m even trying to be clever by growing forage rye over the winter to catch nitrogen and – possibly – magic gardening fairies in the soil. Success in the patch has certainly outweighed interest in knitting this year. The two needled-mojo just didn’t turn up this winter, though I did have fun making some salt dough decorations and people’s Christmas wrapping and handmade gifts this year have really got me thinking about what I could do ~~to win~~ along the same sort of lines.

My friends and I did well keeping our stomachs full and our minds interested in suitably cultural things through the year: butterflies, Ross Noble, dinosaurs, Shakespeare, The Nutcracker, posh afternoon tea, curry, Mexican, Italian and of course our traditional indoor picnics on a rug on the floor. The latest one was the Christmas picnic in front of our tree, just a week before we had another big snowfall like the one in February. This pile stuck around much longer than usual though, with a few flakes still in the garden on Christmas Day. Not exactly a white Christmas, but close enough. And now, I’m in for the night, the year, the decade, pretty much ready to see what 2010 will bring.

Happy new year, guys and girls. You’re all coming over to help me dig in the forage rye in the spring, right?

Monkey nuts!

One of my Christmas presents this year was a monkey nut growing kit. Monkey nuts being, I was quite disappointed to find out, just another name for peanuts. Tip to gift-givers: next Christmas, I’d like the opportunity to grow myself a cute monkey.

The kit consisted of just three parts: a disc of eco peat made from coconut shell, a terracotta pot and seeds. The peat disc needed to soak for 2 hours in 150ml water, so I used my cup measure. A cup measure? What is a cup measure doing in your British kitchen? I KNOW. I’m just that cosmopolitan. My scale even does both ounces and grams.

I plonked the disc into the water, expecting to have to swill it about a bit and to have time to arse about getting a nice shot of it gradually doing whatever it was about to do. But apparently the peat didn’t know about the requirements of a blogger and thus exploded into a pile of wet peat in just a few seconds while I clicked away and hoped for the best.

By the way, anyone thinking they might comment on how extraordinary it is that our countertop changes colour so quickly can instead either buy me this, or go back in time and remind me beforehand that I have a fancy flash I could use. Or they can just be quiet and go and photograph something very dark against something light.

I carried on with the planting the next morning, as I’d started this Christmas evening and clearly got distracted by festivities. No problem though, as the peat was still very moist. I filled the pot most of the way with the peat and then opened up the seed packet.

Perhaps someone can explain to me why I was surprised to see two peanuts in the packet? What exactly was I expecting? (Intentions for 2010 so far: 1. get light unit 2. be clever)

So I covered the nuts and now we wait.

We wait to see if one morning I’ll come downstairs to find that a squirrel found the seed packet in the bin and broke in and stole my peanuts while I slept.

7 Days: Day 7 – Merry Christmas

All glammed up for the festivities, ready to eat great food and be with the fambly. Well done on another great week everyone! It’s always a pleasure to hang out with you all. Even Sarkasmo. I’ll have the mosaic up … next decade.

7 Days – Day 6: Jingle Bells carousel

Watching my Jingle Bells carousel that came from Hellbrunn Christmas market in Salzburg. Now I suppose I really should go and help in the kitchen, where there’s a ham that needs my attention and parmesan is waiting to be grated.

7 Days: Day 5 – Silver

Suzy makes a guest appearance with me here, holding Damian’s candelabra (one of many, apparently – he’s just THAT posh) by the Christmas tree. The three of us went to a Christmas singsong at a local pub and sang ourselves hoarse for three hours with a fun mix of carols and secular songs, finishing with a rollicking rendition of Slade’s “Merry Christmas Everyone”.

Proceeds from the evening went to the Hospice in the Weald and raffle tickets were being sold by a man carrying a six week old baby boy in a sling, thereby effectively drumming up increased sales by parading something incredibly tiny, smushy and sweet. PR companies take note of this clever marketing ploy!

7 Days: Day 4 – I see me

A swanky hand-crafted makeup pouch and a little mirror were my gifts from Lauren this year. That woman is totally showing us all up with all her handmade cards, classy gift wrapping and seamstress skills.

7 Days: Day 3 – Nuts to the postman

The gift I wanted to get Debbie for Christmas is best priced across the other side of the Atlantic and so I enlisted help from Bethany to place the order and then I’d pay her back (and we know how easy that was). Being a generous soul, Bethany enclosed a little something for me in the parcel too.

Today the packet arrived in the backlog of post that had built up over our snowy few days. Apparently our postman isn’t one for getting too much snow on his boots. There were envelopes from around the world for me and then Bethany’s parcel.

It was bound with tape that read “Received in damaged condition. Rewrapped by U.S. Postal Service”. The tape seemed to cover only a tear in the padded envelope and so I didn’t think too much of it. I opened it up and inside was the gift for Debbie, a Christmas card and a plastic bag – which had a sizeable rip in it and nothing but a few crumbs inside. The hand-written label revealed that they were the remnants of what I’m sure were delicious sweet & spicy candied nuts.

“Just for you” Bethany had written on the label, “Sharing is totally optional”.

Apparently not.