Neil Hopcroft

Its a long time since I’ve been to Whitby (I think I was last there while I was living in Tokyo).

This was a smaller affair, only a couple of hundred people at the Metropole. There were three nights arranged, 30th, 31st and 1st, with the highlight obviously being the 31st to see in the new year.

Now, most of you know I’m not much one for celebrating new year, I like to mark it and recognise it as a time to think afresh about how life is going but the celebration itself doesn’t have much interest for me – theres too much drinking and silliness for my liking, and I feel a bit like I’m bringing people down by not joining in.

evilmattikinz was teaching us Briscola on a 40 card deck while simonsatori left his (replica, I assume) firearm on the table giving our corner the air of an illegal drinking/gambling den of years passed.

The new year was seen in without major catastrophes and a fabulous time was had by all. Though somehow I was feeling a bit detached from it, the crowd has changed in the time I’ve been away, or maybe its really a different crowd where I was expecting it to be the same. For a start I didn’t actually know many people there, and anyway everyone appeared to be very coupled off, so they were there to have a pleasant middle class, middle aged time with their partner of choice trying to relive some of their wild youth in a safe environment. This worries me, since the environment is very different to that I knew only a couple of years ago. (I’m not sure I’ve really explained what I’m feeling properly here…and I’m aware this could be read as being negative, its not intended to be, more of a ‘this isn’t me’ feeling…best thing to do would be to talk to me about it next time you see me if you think I’m being critical, I can probably explain myself better in person).

Variously over the weekend we visited the abbey, watched the bridge open a couple of times, visited the basement of the Metropole (hardly the souterrain it was sold to us as, but quite a fascinating insight into the way the place works), walked on the beach, banquetted and avoided indoor minigolf.

Probably the closest thing to excitment was the following:

I’m awake

*peeks head around the corner*

…Is it safe to resurface yet?

Thats most of the festive season over again – I don’t know why but it hit me really bad this year. Having a miserable cold for most of december didn’t help, but I don’t think thats the whole story.

Still, things this year are a bit better than they were last year, I’m in a job that has at least some prospects and, despite my recent malaise, my head is in a much better place, admittedly not sorted by any stretch of the imagination but able to face the world.

I’ve felt an odd excitment about entering this year, something about it feels really positive.

Christmas itself was a fairly low key family affair, just four of us having a nice meal and afternoon together. A couple of days later was a rather larger gathering bringing in a number of members of the extended family, complete with the usual tensions (I managed to respond with rather more vitriol than intended to one of the jibes by an aunt, after which I thought it politic to remain quiet…for which I was treated to mindless discussions of the complexities of cooking jam, among other things).

Then there was a game of Civilization. I’d forgotten what a great game it is, though it isn’t a short game so its a bit difficult to find days to play it.

Next was Whitby for New Year, but I’ll make a seperate entry about that later…interesting but not quite the gossipworthy event that some people have been lead to believe.

“What you do is you take your package of spagetti wrapped in tinfoil and you gaffer tape it to the end of the oxygen nozzle….I’m trying to get the iron hot enough but I think I’m going to run out of spagetti first.”

Steven Jesse Bernstein – dreams and desires, but more so. How come I’ve not listened to this before?

Frivolous sentence to spoil the ‘first sentence of the month’ meme.

Hark the filthy angels sing (worksafe) … includes Helen Love doing ‘Merry Christmas I don’t wanna fight’ (which is probably due to the Ramones originally?) mixed with a bit of Super Trooper for good measure, and also a version of ‘Stop the Cavalry’ with Kazoo solo. Shame about the stupid download site but its worth the patience to get the music….oooo, and Hyperbubbles ‘Away in a manger’ is quite, erm, unusual.

Isuzu do Paris (contrast with Dancing Saabs)

“his USB Voodoo Word doll plugs into your computer and, when you stab it with a pin, prompts a great gushing of vicious prose onto the screen”

Theres something so beautifully wrong about Heaven 17 covering Don’t fear the reaper

Oh dear, I think I ate too much crystalised ginger. I’m now feeling vaguely nauseous, and every time I lie down I get flashbacks of last nights dream involving saws, which is definitely not good.