2012...Part 1

2012: A Year In Review Part 1

So, that was 2012?  And how did it treat you? For me it was a year of massive ups and pretty big downs!

January started well, with wedding planning and a trip to TNA Impact in Manchester, where I interviewed then TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode and tag team legend Bully Ray (formerly Bubba Ray Dudley).  So that was kinda cool!

February was pretty damn good too, had a great time at the SFX Weekender in Wales.  I travelled there with an old friend, Adam and some friends of his, I was a late addition to the party.  It started well, at 7am, in -5 degree temperatures, in a car without a heater.  We drove to Barnsley spraying de-icer on the windscreen so Adam could see out of it! There we switched cars to a lovely heated BMW driven by Lee, an old friend of Adam's. Much more comfortable! We arrived at Pontin's only to be pulled over by a load of Stormtroopers, where we were all pulled out of the car and patted down, disbelief is the word! All good fun though.  I had made plans to do a few interviews with some of the writers who were attending the Con, but very disappointed that there had been some sort of rail problem in London, which meant Stephen Mangan and Anthony Stwart Head would not be attending as advertised.  Still, onwards we go! I met up with the very lovely  Sam Stone, Emma Newman, Kim Lakin-Smith and Maria Dahvana for my radio show 'Fixated On...'  All of these ladies were delightful guests and provided me with some excellent audio for the show, particularly Emma, who I had intended to spend 15 minutes with having a chat about her book and we talked in the car park for nearly an hour!

The highlight of the entire weekend, aside from the ridiculously hot girls on stilts in tiny pants, was Brian Blessed.  It was supposed to be a 45 min Q & A but I don't think the host actually asked him a single question and he talked solidly for about an hour, fantastic man, worth the trip to Wales on his own! We had to leave early because of the atrocious weather but had a cracking time.

I also went to Nottingham for a Southside Wrestling show with my newest friend, Dani, where the catchphrase of the year was coined, but you had to be there to understand it! #lookatthesizofyourhead. Interviewed the best tag team in the UK (in my opinion), The Predators, who were brilliant guests, and uter gentlemen.
March was a busy one for me, I went to Manchester to see one of my favourite bands 3 Doors Down, reviewed it for Soundsphere Magazine, but also interviewed one of my musical heroes, Chris Helme (The Seahorses, The Yards).  3 Doors Down were good, but let down a crowd who came to hear Kryptonite.  The real highlight of the month for me was meeting up with Chris Helme to record the show, I had met Chris a few times in years gone by, but never really had time for a chat.  Chris invited me to his house for the recording and was a great guest.  We talked his musical history, including The Seahorses, who recorded one of my all time favourite albums in the late 90s, and played tracks from his new solo album, The Rookery.
I also spent a few days in London with one of my very favourite people, Kerry.  This trip was my first experience of the legend that is Megabus, arriving over 2 hrs late, but really cheap, so...