12 months ago yesterday I arrived in Cape Town at the start of my “Gap Year” – over the course of 7 months I made my way around South Africa, Swaziland and Oz, loved every minute of it, and cannot believe it has been a whole year since I set off already.
So since I am in a nostalgic mood I think I will take a leaf out of Dan and Tommy’s book, and present my highlights of 2008 and my hopes for 2009 – although that is a complete unknown at the moment.
Travel
Ok, given that I spent 7 months out of the country this year I guess that Travel would have to top my list. Thanks to some crazy planning I managed to cram a whole load of stuff into my schedule including Ramsey Street, watching Kelly Slater take on Mick Fanning in J-Bay and being just yards away from Dan Carter at Newlands in Cape Town… Awesome!
Check out my Flickr stream for photos
On a less hedonistic note, however, my top travel moment must be when I saw 7-C perform “I’m going on a bear hunt”. I spent a month working with the Grade 7 classes at Thembelitsha Primary School in Knysna, and it was amazing. We touched on music, poetry, Shakespeare, tongue twisters.. and unlike kids of a similar age, I was never told that they were too cool to take part.
<video coming soon>
Music
Now I’m not really a top 40 kinda gal – I have no idea who is number 1 now and my days of hanging on Dr Fox’s last word ended when 911 split up. But my impression of the music industry is that if you look, true talent is waiting underneath the surface. And this year did not disappoint, especially as I also had the chance to discover new bands when I was away!
This year I worked at V Chelmsford again, and whilst I never want to see another pint of Strongbow for a really long time, I was able to enjoy the acts in between pints. For me the highlight had to be the Zutons who I have been trying to see since I missed them in Liverpool in my second year. Easily one of the best sets I have seen all year 
Sport
Keen eyes may have noticed an extra RSS link on right hand side… Yes, 
Rugby League has arrived in Falmouth!
2008 wasn’t the brightest of years for the Quins. The season started well but a number of high profile injuries and a string of bad results in the summer resulted in tempers fraying during a “local derby” against the Catalan Dragons. Not our finest moment.
But 2009 is a completely different ball game. The League is bigger with the inclusion of the Celtic Crusaders and Salford Reds; Licences now determine who plays in the Super League (replacing the old-style promotion and relegation); and questions have been raised about the future of the club if attendance figures remain low.
Nonetheless the future looks bright for the London Based club. Quins Captain, Rob Purdham, represented his country and his club down-under during the World Cup this year. And with Luke Dorn returning to the Stoop, playoff hopes are high for the new season!
On a completely unrelated note, Kelly Slater has morphed into the Doctor’s mechanical companion k-9. After a 4th round finish at Mundaka, Slater was once again crowned World Champion.
It has been an impressive season for Slater. 2008 saw him dominate the WCT this year, winning 7 out of the 10 events. Not bad for a 36 year old!
TV
Ok, given that all plans for Saturday had to be finished by 1735, I could not end this blog without mentioning Matt Smith, soon to be Time Lord Extraordinaire! – One of the best kept secrets for YEARS.
Now I am sure that there will be lots of fans who will not agree with Steven Moffat’s decision to put a 26 year old in charge of the only Tardis left in existence, but since David Tennant’s “Doctor” has been so popular, I think it was the only sensible option. Break with the old and embrace the new! Bring on Spring 2010!
