I have been in two minds about whether to do a kind of New Year/Year End round up for 2018. It has been quite busy. More importantly, it’s been pretty good.
My year essentially kicked off in a lovely little pub in South Birmingham. It was a big get together/celebration organised by my friend Emma, who I met at Cadbury College. She had been very ill in 2017 and she basically just wanted to rejoice over her recovery. A few other members of the Cadbury crew were there such as Alison and Shakera. All of whom I hadn’t seen for ages.
Soon after, I got together with Team West Indies to help them prepare for the Roller Derby World Cup at the beginning of February. The WC was amazing. Once again, I got to meet up with some of the best skaters in the world and catch up with a few old friends. Better still, I only had to drive a couple of hours to do it. Manchester is a bit closer than Dallas. I also multiplied my derby t-shirt collection.
The week after that, I took pat in a roller derby boot camp hosted by Miracle Whips. I learned a lot and she was so nice. Unfortunately, it was the first time I had skated since my ankle sprain the previous September and my body was not happy with me afterwards. Although I did attempt to get my fitness back up and get back into roller derby training, I did find it very difficult to do so consistently. Especially when I started attending rehearsals with Midland Opera during the summer and autumn.
In April I caught up with my friend Shakera to see Ugly Kid
Joe on their “America’s Least Wanted” 30th Anniversary Tour. Yes, it
really has been that long since “Everything About You.” For the record, Whit
Crane has aged very well.
30th September was my birthday. As it was a
landmark one this year because I was 40 (gasp!), I decided to do it in style by
having a little party and then jetting of to Cape Verde for the week. My work colleagues
were kind enough to do a collection for me and my lovely M-I-L provided me a
cake. Cape Verde was beautiful, despite the stifling heat. White beaches, turquoise
sea and an all-inclusive resort. What more can you ask for?
27th October was my 11th wedding
anniversary. So, I spent the day with my husband throwing axes at Whistle Punks
followed by a lovely Latin American dinner as Las Iguanas.
The following day, I went to Telford to attend and help out
at the WFTDA ECC in Telford. This was followed by a Halloween themed after party,
which was awesome. If there was a prize for the scariest costume, I think I would
have won it.
As I mentioned before, I started rehearsing with Midland
Opera again. We performed Carmen during late November – early December. First
two performances were at Stirchley Baths, the second at St Martin’s Church by Bullring.
Ironically, I was back at St Martin’s a week later to perform a reunion
performance with Birmingham City Council Choir.
Although I had a fantastic time performing Carmen, it was twice as long as the production we did the previous year (Norma) which meant twice the amount of work to get it running. This year I decided to switch from Soprano 2 to Alto 1. I was quite surprised at how challenging it was. Although I generally didn’t have to sing as high, the part had a lot of harmony. Considering that sopranos tend to sing the melody, I found learning the alto part made very counterintuitive. Along with the usual chorus work, I also played the small part of Lillas Pastia. The performance proved very popular and I was very pleased to read quite a few rave reviews.
Monday, 12th November was a great day for me. I went to London to see Dita Von Teese at the London Palladium. The show was so glamourous and sparkly. It was amazing. To top it all off, I was able to meet her afterwards. Just typing about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
As expected, December was pretty festive. I wasn’t feeling too well for part of it, so I had to miss the work Christmas do and the post-Carmen get together with Midland Opera. I did attend the Blitz Dames Christmas/End of Year Awards party. There was great food, a quiz (which my team came last in but whatever) and some banging choons. Highlight had to be Fiend tearing up the dance floor with some bhangra dancing to Punjabi MC. I spent Christmas Day at my brother in law’s house and filled my face with delicious food and prosecco. We then played this funny game after. Can’t quite remember the rules, they were a little complicated and I was a bit tipsy by that point. The Friday after Christmas, I went to a wedding reception at Highbury Hall. The bride was Hannah, a former Blitz Dame who skated under the name Supertedds. It was nice to catch up with her as I hadn’t seen her since the summer and her dress was beautiful.
On a slightly different note, anyone who knows me well will be aware that I have had some moderate mental health issues. Although I suspect that they started way before, I didn’t realise that there was a problem until I had a mental breakdown in 2011. Although I have been taking medication since then, during the last couple of years I can honestly say that mentally and emotionally, I am the healthiest and happiest I have been for a very long time. In fact, it has only recently dawned on me exactly how sick I was. It’s actually quite shocking how I was able to (albeit barely) function considering how really not well I was. Take it from me. Mental health medication really can save lives.
Well, that was a quick lowdown of the past. Now I’m going to talk about the future. One definite goal for 2019 is to move away from operas and fully get back into roller derby and get a place on the Bomb Squad roster. I know this sounds really cliché, but one thing I really need to do is deal with my weight. I am the heaviest I have ever been, basic moving around is getting more difficult and now that I’m officially middle aged, my body is starting to show signs of wear and tear. My body needs to be in peak condition in order to achieve this, so I need to ditch the timber and get my train on.
So yeah, I had a busy 2018. I have lots of ideas for 2019 and lots of optimism regarding the outcome.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!