herlifestoryonepicaday

2012 was an amazing year if you were from these small, wet islands and I am privileged to have been able to have been able to go to many of the events that made it such. This photoblog idea was suggested on Twitter last year and I signed up for it happily. I have been a diarist since 1990 so having the discipline to take one photo on a Smartphone and update it every day wasn't too hard. There was one night where I dozed off and woke up well after midnight but I just changed the settings to the USA 'went back in time' and posted...

My new year's resolution this year is to continue the blog over on Blipfoto where I can keep up with my other compatriots. There is another interesting group on Twitter: @Snapadays that you might want to follow? The other resolution is one that I make every year - to make best endeavours to see someone important in my life every month.

Now, I am unashamedly going to share my year and the people that made it.

January 2012 was seen in at my house with my dear friend Colette and her lovely children. We had fireworks at midnight and now apparently Ingrid believes that Bonfire night happened at my house. It's so appropriate that I started a great year with Colette - we have had startlingly parallel lives and I have always relied on her so much. That wasn't the only great day with her - we also had a great trip to BBC Bang Goes the Theory Live in Sheffield and a fab night out.

Also in January I went to a Tweet up in Wetherby where I got to meet @OldTownPaul, @FiTunstall and @GhostoMichael. Now Twitter saves my life. I mean that. I am a gregarious chatty person who, when my son goes to bed, is alone in a house every night. But I'm always with people on Twitter. Those who do not use it ask me how I know who to follow and I honestly don't know. The only rule I have is I avoid slebs and try to interact with new followers: like minded people come via like minded people and now I know lots of wonderful people online and in real life via Twitter. Other Tweet ups included @EmilyPink at My Life Story in London and going to visit @ArtLessOrdinary and @InactiveRebel (along with @OldTownPaul) in Hastings. On the way to meet @MaxiGinslinger and her boys in town for the first time, my son remarked you aren't meant to meet strangers off the internet. But I am glad I have and do! Since then I have met many of the Leeds Twitterati: @Deccerrss in Temple Newsam Torch Ceremony, @MrsMannion an.d @sewhipfolkie at Caitlin Moran and via the Twitter Nexus @gazpachodragon's Kirtstymas loads of lovely people - @margotbarbara, @Avonwy, @MissPembers, @Tess_HS, @Jenella, @MysteryPickles, @LyndonMarquis and lots of other lovely people whose Twitter names haven't stuck in my head but who I do follow. I have even had the privilege to mix Twitter and work when the lovely @SewYou inspired my students on a craft day. My Twitter highlight was being @PeopleofLeeds in September when I spoke for the city and, inspired by One Day, tweeted (edited) diary extracts for a week thereby interacting with some great new people.

There are also people on Twitter who live a long way from me and who I am unlikely to meet in the foreseeable future but who make a real difference. I know I will fail if I try to mention them all but there are some that I speak to practically every day and who are ever present in my life, leading this list is @RubyMalvolio who probably knows more about me than me. Without @aisfornala my music taste would be limited and I always love my chats with @MarkHyson who wisely added me AFTER I went to Hastings so didn't have to out up with me in the flesh! I always love the unmitigate filth from @meyoucantsee, @illgiveitago and @gaiatheorist. Another hefty dose of socialist feminist sense and humour is @lepopnoir who lives very close to me and who I have sadly failed to meet for coffee so far. I have really appreciated the support of @CraigHopton for my photos and his poetry. There are so many other people I speak to and I appreciate all of you.

In February half term I was in my home village of Corfe Castle with my Mum and Dad. I can't even express how important they are in bringing my son up. Their love for him is incredible and we always have amazing times with them. This year we have been in Corfe many times and then over to Brittany in August. When my son was ill they travelled hundreds of miles to look after him whilst I worked. No words could ever repay the emotional (and financial!) debt I owe them. February was also a month where I managed to take a good photo of Temple Newsam looking like a scene from Breughel.

In March I went to Cambridge to see Sheila and go to the Cambridge Science Festival with my son. I've been privileged to see a lot of Sheila this year: I stayed at her house that weekend. She visited us in Corfe during the summer and stayed at my house in time for my birthday meal in September. I think a highlight was Bruce Springsteen in July where we got to have an amazing lunch with Stuart and have a great gossipy St Andrean catch up. It was lovely to meet Keith and his family too. Springsteen was amazing and we were at the infamous gig where some jobsworth turned off McCartney and Springsteen jamming (although shame such editing wasn't available at the Olympic Opening ceremony). Other great gigs were Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets with Jane and Ali, My Life Story with Helen and Stef, Ben Folds Five with Stef and Georgiana, Carter USM with Eleanor and Nigel and going to Live at Leeds with Rich.

In June we went to Northern Ireland where I crossed one of the major items off my bucket list: to go to the Giant's Causeway. In Northern Ireland we stayed with Heather and it was utterly glorious to get to spend so much time with her and to see her beautiful home in Coagh. On the north coast we say the Olympic Torch pass through Bushmills which was the first event of our Olympic year. We also saw it come to the beach at Castle Rock and the pattern of me crying uncontrollably at Olympic emotion was set for the rest of the year. My son and I also saw both the torch and the great Dame Mary Peters in Belfast. It was incredible to be stood outside Belfast City Hall surrounded by a huge crowd listening to the Olympic ideals of peace in that city and realising what a journey Blefast has been on in my lifetime. Our final Torch Relay event was at Temple Newsam in Leeds with Helen, Lindsey and Kathryn. Later that month we had our traditional late night at the Sixth Form ball with us getting home about 5am.

My son does lots of activities including lifesaving and on a freezing day we went to Blyth in Northumbria for him to compete. We were well warmed up by visiting Emma and her lovely lads afterwards and letting our dudes hang out together. On the Sunday I had to go for a walk to cope with the possibility that Andy Murray wouldn't win at Wimbledon. And then he did - maybe not that day, but in great style.

My summer was incredible. In July my son and I went to Greece and travelled over 1500km in a week seeing Athens, Mycaenae, Delphi, running the ancient Olympic track at Olympia and going to less famous, but equally amazing places such as Nauplia, Mystra and Meteora. If you would like to look at our Greek Odyssey it is on my other blog www.1940schildhood.blogspot.com here.

There's no way I can write about 2012 without mentioning the Olympics as it's been the most incredible experience. I remember clearly having a three year old toddler in the kitchen of my mum's old house in Portugal on 6th July 2005 when London won the bid and promising him that we would go to the Olympics. And we did. Whether it was waking at 3am in Greece to cry through the lighting of the torch or crying on the beach at Weymouth when Brad Wiggins won the time trial, or screaming and crying on the M1 as Mo Farrah did the double I spent most on the summer in tears. And it was fabulous. We were lucky enough to go to both the Olympics and the Paralympics and had, quite simply, an unrepeatable experience. It was particularly lovely to get Paralympics tickets unexpectedly (a lot of time was spent in Brittany on my iPhone refreshing the ticket website) as we got to stay with Debs and have dinner with her, then see Helen to top off an amazing summer.

I've also seen lots of Stef this year - of course! We have had many Nandos and cinema trips but I think a real highlight was going to the York Mystery Plays in August which sums up our friendship perfectly: medieval history plus a huge dollop of fun. Special thanks goes to Stef for getting the final two Caitlin Moran tickets in Waterstone's too.

In October we went to Shropshire and Wales where we stayed with my lovely cousins Viv, Rob and their boys Josh and Oli. My son loved seeing his cousins and we had a great visit to the Ironbridge museums. Then we went to Cardiff for the Doctor Who Experience and to go to the Millennium Centre.

I've had quite a literary year and it was great to go to two literary events with Floss: James Nash's poetry launch and to hear Michael Morpurgo speak in the Town Hall. This year we've also had loads of lovely meals with Rachel too to relax from work. And this has been the year when work worked for me. My classes have done really well and so have I. If I look back through this blog I see I have worked so very hard and it's been worth it. My work colleagues are also vital friends and without Rachel, Andy, Sam, Lindsey, Helen, Suzy, Kelli and the other Andy I´d go mad. We work ridiculously hard, we don't fake controlled assessment grades Gove and the kids get a great deal from us. I'm proud that I am finally good at my job. Through my job I met Caroline and it was lovely to go to her hen weekend and wedding. Another wonderful friend that I saw in Brighton is Becca whose marriage announcement and brilliant lack of pretension is the best way to get married in my honest opinion.

December has been busy and long. Over Christmas we have all been unwell but it was great to spend it in my parents´revamped home in Corfe with Helen and Scott. I ended the year as it began - with a dear friend of 20 years currency Richard in Lyme Regis. Seeing him reminded me how important St Andrews is to my life and 2013 sees 20 years since graduation. I truly hope we will manage to sort a reunion of everyone sometime next year.

Thanks for reading (if you have) and I apologise for any omissions. I have so many people in my life and such a rich tapestry. I love that my diary and these photoblogs mean that none of it is ever lost.

Happy New Year x