2012

Just like all the previous years, I have intentions of updating this blog on a regular basis, but I keep on failing to do that.
 
So, the start of a New Year. Happy New Year everyone. This year my intention is to update this blog on a regular basis. Let's see how I get on.

So I've got nine months or so to update you on from 2012. Some of the highlights were:

• Regular trips to Liverpool to visit Vanessa. She lives in the city centre which is very plush, renovated for its spell as the European City of Culture in 2008. The docks area is very pretty. The local accent though is not the nicest. We took trips to Southport which is a proper old-fashioned seaside resort - we walked along the pier and into the penny arcade - and to Crosby beach which is the location of an Anthony Gormley sculpture called 'Another Place'.

•  Lots more running. I did two marathons in 2012. The Edinburgh marathon at the end of May took place on a scorching day, the first (and possibly last?!) hot day of the year, which affected my time. The Rutland Water marathon was a beautiful course around the reservoir and nature. The temperature was around 4 degrees C, it drizzled a cold rain the whole day and the course was wet, muddy and hilly. It was quite fun for the first 10 miles or so, but the enjoyment slowly seeped from my body at the same time as the feeling flowed from my fingers. After 3hrs and 38 minutes, I was glad to finish and go to warm up inside. My sister took nearly two hours longer. She certainly looked a big chilly when she finished. The event was pretty poorly organised - no space blankets, no hot drinks, nobody to tell you where they'd put your bag, no medals. I have also become a fairly regular member of 'Park Run', a 5km event which takes place every Saturday morning in parks up and down the UK, and in fact in certain venues around the world. I have been attending the Wimbledon Common version.

•  Football away days with Pie took me to such interesting towns and cities as Bradford, Cheltenham and Chesterfield. The Bradford trip was mentioned previously, the Chesterfield trip was a small part of another weekend in Sheffield which followed that same now-traditional formula.
• Weddings - as always! Four this year, taking me to Acton, Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Surrey. They all had their moments. During the last one, I was dragged onto the dancefloor by four of my female friends and encircled such that there was no escape!

•  Cricket, the other standard event - trips to Lords and the Oval. The day at Lords was quite even, the day at the Oval was less so. The result of the series was disappointing from an English perspective.

•  Bit of 'culcha'. I went to see Richard III at the Globe Theatre. A fantastic show, amazing performance by the lead actor, but extremely uncomfortable seats. Vanessa and I went to see 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' in a custom-made marquee in Kensington Gardens. The tent was a circular one, with a circular stage in the centre. Images telling the story were projected on the interior of the tent, while the actors were acting the story. The costumes were quite impressive too. The whole audience gasped when Aslan first appeared.
• Trip to Royal Ascot with my flatmate of the time. It was the first time I'd ever been and it was more fun than I was expecting. The Queen was there. I won precisely nothing.
• My friends came to vist from Singapore and we had a nice time catching up. Thought I'd better mention that as one of them is among the one person who reads this blog!
• I had two main holidays, went to a music festival and saw a small sporting event which took place in London. More on those in other posts.

So that was it, my 2012 summarised.