Has it been a year already?

Exactly one year ago today I arrived in the UK. My reasons for coming over to this side of the planet are varied, and it hasn't always been the smoothest ride, but I'm still eternally grateful for everything that's happened to get me here and since. The last year has easily been the best of my entire life - and I still have plenty more to go.

With that, I'm just going to go through some of the highlights:

Travel

One of the strongest reasons for moving to London was to see more of the world - but if I have any regrets, it's that I haven't seen enough yet! Easily the best place I've been to so far would be Ireland, followed closely by Berlin - I just had such an amazing couple of weeks touring Ireland that I'm still seriously considering moving there at some point. I truly loved Bath (one of the few places I've been to so far that I could very happily live in), had a ball wandering through the castles in Conwy and Caernarfon (the latter particularly due to most of the town being surrounded by the castle walls) and although Cardiff wasn't quite what I was expecting, Cardiff Bay easily made up for it - both aesthetically and for guilty reasons (although I didn't manage to see any Doctor Who filming while I was there). And I can't forget Portmeirion, although I'd love to see it again with a blue sky.

I wish I'd had more time in Amsterdam and Berlin. I saw some wonderful things (and met many wonderful people) in both cities, but I barely scratched the surface of both and now I find it hard to justify going back when there are so many other places vying for my attention.

This year I've been too busy working to go anywhere (save for a pleasant weekend in Brighton). This will be changing quite soon, though, as in a week I'll be back in a plane - flying back home. But only for a two week visit, there's still way too much to see and do over here for me to leave yet. Lee has been organising a trip to Pamplona to see (and maybe partake) in the running of the bulls and I'm planning a solo trip to Scotland during the Summer - plus I still need to go see Paris to visit my cousin... and I'm sure there'll be plenty more.

Music

Wow, I knew the music scene in London was good, but I never thought I'd ever have such a packed year of gigs! All up, I saw: Nine Inch Nails, The Young Gods (twice), Pop Will Eat Itself (!!!), vileevils (twice), Ned's Atomic Dustbin (twice), Skinny Puppy, EMF, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, The Australian Pink Floyd Show, David Gilmour (!!!), Miles Hunt, Sonic Youth, Tool, Das Pop, not to mention the many bands I shared the stage with (Something Beginning with L being my favourite).

Last year I also ended up in three bands and I can now happily say I've played some gigs in London. Although the first band dissolved before we could play any gigs, the second is still going strong (with our new guitarist) and we're looking to play some shows outside of London in April. The third band is sort of on a break at the moment, but at least we got to play one great gig in January which still makes me smile when I think back to it. I desperately hope we can get back together, but at the moment it's not looking good.

Funnily enough, the music has also mixed with the travel at times, having been to Birmingham three times to see a different band each time (PWEI/vileevils in Stourbridge, Ned's in Wolverhampton and the Aussie Pink Floyd Show in the ruins of Dudley Castle - that was a great night!). And, of course, my night in Brighton to see vileevils again! I'm going to finally see a gig in Birmingham itself in November too, when Carter, EMF and vileevils play - can you believe that lineup? No chance in hell I'd ever get to see that back home!

What's happening gig-wise this year? Well so far I have tickets to see Killing Joke twice in May (in their original lineup - again, I'd never see this back home), Roger Waters in May (yes, he was that good I'll gladly sit in the nosebleed seats to see him again!) and, as I've just mentioned, Carter USM and EMF in November (twice). There's a few other gigs I'm eyeing off as well: Ladytron (who we saw support NIN exactly one year ago and were stunning), Goldfrapp (because I dig them a lot), Ministry (because I've never seen them and this is the last time I'll ever have the chance) and maybe Einsturzende Neubeaten (mostly because they are legends - and because I can). Undoubtedly there will be plenty more announced soon - I can't wait!

The Rest

Amazingly, I've run into some wonderful old friends while I've been here, and made plenty more new ones as well. Without wanting to single out anyone, I just want to thank two people in particular:

Lee - I can't offer enough gratitude for everything you've done. I doubt I'd have ever come over here if it weren't for your offer, and I doubt I'd have lasted as long here without your help.

Kylie - thank you for talking me into staying. You were right, I would've regretted it if I didn't stay - and now I don't want to leave!

As for everyone else, thank you for making this past year fly by and I hope to catch up with you all soon.

Well, enough of the over-sentimentality - I think it's time to get out of bed.