2013

So, here I find myself halfway through 2013 without one little post made.  It's all good, it means life has been busy, which also means life has been exciting.

So a quick recap of the year so far.

January saw The Gathering and a meet up of 50 or so amazing people who make up a group called The Wasting Land.  Grown from the early seeds of a website and community called Distant Warning this year we celebrate our 10th anniversary as a group.  The logical place to have a get together was The Gathering, an annual music event in North Wales which celebrates the music of a band called The Alarm and their lead singer Mike Peters.  What can I say about the weekend. It was very emotional.  I'd taken it upon myself to organise a party for us all on the Friday night.  There were a few logistical problems when we got to North Wales, food to buy, a room to set up, all those things associated with preparing for a good night.  So I was a little on the fraught side when things kicked off around 6pm although a few select beveridges helped to chill me out. It was a great night with some lovely folks and something I will never forget.  

The whole weekend was special, as well as the music we did a dip in the sea for the Love Hope Strength charity on the Saturday morning, great way to dispel a hangover whilst raising some cash for a worthy cause. 

Play it Skinny

Mad People

Saturday night's alright...

Chilly Sunday Morning Wasters

February we celebrated Becky's 18th birthday with a trip to Dublin.  Most things that could go wrong, did go wrong, starting with us missing the flight out there early on the Wednesday morning.  Fortunately our car was at East Midland's Airport so it was a change of tack and we headed off to Anglesey to catch the ferry over to Dublin.  After the initial shock of missing the flight, we quickly decided to turn the disaster into an adventure and we stopped at Tesco in Conwy to get  bottle of champagne and some nice snacks so we could toast Becky in the middle of the Irish Sea.  So instead of arriving around 9am in Dublin, we got to our hotel in Sandymount at 7pm.   We had a lovely few days in and around Dublin, got to see Of Monsters and Men a band Becky had wanted to see.  Another band we had tickets for, Fidlar, cancelled their gig, so that was a bit of a bummer as the whole trip had been organised around them. 

RAW at the Guinness Factory

Guinness Factory

The trip home was not uneventful either.  Becky and I flew home, whilst Simon got the ferry back as he needed to pick the car up from Holyhead as we'd gone over as foot passengers.  We did catch the flights back, without incident, but on the train home from Derby Becky asked  if I had housekeys.  I didn't. Simon had the only set we had taken on holiday with us.  This was Saturday and Becky's actual birthday.  We had arranged to go to Fancy's in Sheffield to pick up her birthday cupcakes and to have a spot of lunch but we were locked out of the house.  Our kind neighbours let us rest in their house for a couple of hours while they went to the garden centre, then Becky and I decided to decamp to the pub for some Vodkas.  Becky wasn't well impressed at this stage - she was desperately tired as we had been on the go since 5am - and was going out clubbing with her friends that evening.  As the afternoon progressed she got messages from this friend and that to say they couldn't make it - her birthday celebrations were going down hill very fast.  I felt so bad for her. Simon got home about 3.30 and let us all into the house with our cases, we promptly turned around again and headed out to Sheffield to Fancy's for something to eat and to pick up the cakes.

Happy Birthday Becky

March was predominantly gig month and the busiest month so far this year socially. It started with a birthday gig in Cardiff to see The Alarm.  I've always wanted to do a 1st of March gig in Wales but never managed it so far.  It was great to have a meet up with some of the Wasters as well as a trip to see Simon's Dad.  Wonderful weekend all round.  We also got a chance to present Mike with a cheque for the money raised back in January when we did our dip in the sea.

 

Love, Hope, Strength Wasters

Next up we saw Stiff Little Fingers ably supported by The Men They Couldn't Hang.  Great night.  SLF are a band I have loved for almost 30 years yet this was only the second time I've seen them play.  We managed to get tickets for a warm up gig Kasabian were doing at the Dome in Doncaster.  Another disaster waiting to happen when the tickets were left at home, so we missed the beginning of the gig as Simon had to go back for them.  Then Becky felt ill towards the end of the gig so I took her out into the fresh air until the show had finished. They were so good though, and it was great to see them with a smaller crowd.  We also had tickets for Stereophonics in Doncaster.  I was ill so Becky used my ticket.  Apparently I didn't miss that much!  Finally Black Rebel Motorcycle Club played in Leeds at the end of March.  They have a powerhouse of a drummer and I forgot how the force of it goes right through your body.  It had been a few years since I'd seen them and good to hear their new stuff.

We also managed to fit in a weekend in Whitby with our amazing Stockport friends.  Great weekend with lots of fun and loads of laughs.  The Wigglers did some fantastic cover songs at The Station on the Saturday night - top night.  Loved every minute.

The lasses

The lads

The Wigglers

April was all about kittens.  We got 2 additions to the family called Dandelion and Burdock. They are mad as hatters and have really added an extra dimension to family life.  I didn't think I was ready for another cat yet after Pepper had died, but Jenny and Becky mounted a campaign which involved bombarding me with for sale adverts of the cutest kittens they could find via email.  Of course I capitulated and am so thankful that I did.  We have two of the most insane but cutest little kittens ever and I love them to bits.

I managed to squeeze in another couple of  April gigs seeing Frank Turner in Leeds and Birmingham.  Leeds co-incided with Record Store Day - which saw Becky and myself queing outside Crash Records in Leeds at 5 o'clock in the morning in the pursuit of vinyl.  Madness!!

Another of what was now becoming a monthly event - a mini-Waster meet up at the Frank gig in Birmingham. A great night with Nikki and Simon and copious amounts of Sailor Jerry Rum made for a fun time!

Wasters do Brum!

Wasters do Rum!

Just so you know that the music isn't always about established bands, its good to support what is happening in Sheffield and when I got an invite down to the launch party of The Monday Club's debut album (thank you Jonathan!) I was keen to check them out.  The Monday Club have a great sound, as do The Downtown Roots who were one of the support bands. Was a lovely night and good to catch up with Jonathan again, even if the music took the place of any coherent conversation!

May brought my final assignment for my course - the longest one yet so the most challenging for me so far.  The last block of the course was called Place and Leisure.  It looked at holiday destinations at the turn of the century and now, significant places of interest such as Stone Henge as well as learning what different philosophers deemed to be the best way to use our time and leisure time.  

I've thoroughly enjoyed this year's module - I loved the variety and the challenge that studying various topics brought.  I've discovered things I've never heard of like the Benin Bronzes.  I'm not much of a one for reading about wars, but studying Stalin opened a back door for me to sneak in and gain a better appreciation of that kind of literature also.

May has also brought A level exams for Becky - and Jenny put the finishing touches to her project for her final's at uni, as well as revising for her exams in June.  So a pretty tense time all round in the Woods household. 

We did manage to fit in a visits to Cambridge to do some punting with Jenny, and another visit to Newcastle to see Eileen, Richie, Les and Micky.

Punting with Jenny & Becky

Newcastle with Micky & Eileen

  

My lovely friends, and fellow Wasters Michele and Rev were over from the states.  We squeezed in a late night  meet up with Michele, her husband Dietmer and mutual pal Rue around Manchester Airport the night before they were flying off to Germany for the second leg of their holiday.  So pleased I took the time out to meet up with them, they are so lovely.  Rev was over from Oregon later in the month which saw another mini-Waster Gathering of Rev, Rue, Liz, Glenn and myself and friends Chris, Babs, Bridgett and Terry. It was absolutely wonderful to catch up with our more far flung members of the gang who we don't get to see often enough.

Rockin' Rev (front right), Wasters and Friends

May couldn't escape without us having at least one gig and it came in the form of The Everley Pregnant Brothers who played a cracking set at The Devil's Arse - aka Peak Cavern out in deepest, darkest Derbyshire.  With the lovely Sheila and Paul as company, it was a right laugh and a great way to end the month.

With Shaun from The Everly Pregnant Brothers

Just writing this and looking back at the past six months I realise what an incredibly privileged person I am to know so many lovely, lovely people, and to get to enjoy some of the best of times with them, what an incredible year it has been so far.