#i do enjoy john finnemore's stuff

[borntolurk]

Oh man...

(Caveat: I'm not going to lie, I too found Maggie to be Odd in some highly specific ways that kind of align with the OP's. But-)

But oh my god, first of all, I'm sure that Gaiman appreciates all the faith that the OP has in him, but he'd better hold on to it because as you note in the tags he is being insulted in EVERY line. Like, dear lord.

And honestly he's getting more insults than he deserves, because not every divergence from the writer's preferred character interpretation is bad writing or an error! Seriously! Do I think that there was some bad writing/characterization? Yes, I do. Do I think that that is clearly an objective problem with the script? Not necessarily, because while sometimes bad characterization IS bad writing (for example, if the characterization is thin or wildly varying), sometimes it does come down to one's subjective interpretation of the character based on evidence, and when someone is acting out of character you need to provide a LOT of proof that that is definitely their character before you ascribe it to Obviously Purposefully Bad Writing.

(TBH, also, I don't think all of the things that the OP pointed out as bad writing were bad. Some of them were just... cliches, but the kinds of cliches that are tropes. The kind where, hey, they're cliches because they're pretty normal things to say and so lots of writers use them! But that's a subjective opinion of mine so I won't insist on it.)

Even more importantly though, as I said in my post yesterday, it doesn't matter if there's a way to read bad TV as good, if you still don't actually enjoy the thing itself! There's no such thing as having experienced it wrong. If you didn't like it, that's valid. (To paraphrase Frasier Crane, "sometimes a TV season is just bad, doomed, and no amount of discussion will save it!") Even if I completely bought this theory, it wouldn't change the fact that the bad parts were just... not fun to watch. And no amount of retroactive anything can change or justify that. (For the record, I don't believe that everything that the OP singled out as bad is bad. I also disliked some things that the OP was apparently fine with. But the point still stands.)

Most key point, though- when you've gotten a one season extension on your passion project show, and you don't know if you'll get a third season to wrap it all up... you don't gamble on getting the third season by producing a "purposely bad" second one!!! That makes no sense! Nobody would do that! It is against literally every logical instinct that a creator of a show budgeted at millions of dollars could POSSIBLY have, particularly if he wants people to agree to spend another few millions of dollars on making more. It would be so massively shortsighted. Not only that, but if someone isn't bright enough to have figured out this whole plan, then he risks alienating an entire fandom that didn't like the season, and even if it DOES get removed he could lose the viewing base (though I guess he could just decide that it no longer matters once S3 is commissioned, made, and done, or assume that later he'll be vindicated).

There are a whole chain of really bizarre assumptions that are required to make this possible. They don't make sense. But that's not really my takeaway.

My takeaway is that we need to trust our guts.

The OP is spending a lot of time not trusting their gut. They're putting a lot of faith in Neil Gaiman, who is, contrary to what is apparently their opinion, capable of disappointing them. They're suppressing all their own instincts and tastes that would, under normal circumstances, allow them to reach their own opinion on whether something was good or not, and rewriting their own brain, practically, in order to value Gaiman's reputation over their own judgment.

Don't do that. Trust your gut, not Gaiman's.

The Magic Trick You Didn’t See: Being An Analysis of Good Omens Season 2

(or: Neil Gaiman, Your Brain is Gorgeous But I Have Cracked Your Sneaky Little Code And Have You Dead To Rights*) (*Maybe)

***

Soooooo I just spent the last 48 hours having a BREATHTAKING GALAXY BRAIN EPIPHANY about Good Omens Season 2 and feverishly writing a fuckin16,000 word essay about the incredible magic trick that @neil-gaiman pulled off. 

Yes, it’s long, but I PROMISE your brains will explode. Do you want to know how magic works? Do you want to know what Metatron’s deal is (I’m like 99% sure of this and it’s EXTREMELY FUCKING GOOD)? Do you want to know about the Mystery of the Vanishing Eccles Cakes and the big fat beautiful clue I found in the opening credits? Do you go through the whole inventory of Chekov’s Firearm & Heavy Artillery Discount Warehouse? 

Here is the essay, go read it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/ When ur done u can tell me I’m an insane crackpot, and u know what, i won’t even be offended

In case you don’t know whether you want to bother reading the whole enormous thing on google docs, I’ve put the first couple sections of it under the cut. JUST TRUST ME OKAY, HEAR ME OUT, THIS IS VERY EXTREMELY COOL, NEIL IS GOOD AT HIS JOB–

Keep reading

[o-uncle-newt]

A guide to John Finnemore (in particular his Double Acts) for the Good Omens S2 lovers, haters, and everyone in between (I promise, there's something for all of you!)

Found this in my drafts recently and honestly, I feel this is evergreen, so here y'all go:

As I mentioned semi-facetiously in my previous post, I don't care whether you loved or hated Good Omens S2- you're probably sleeping on John Finnemore. He's a super talented writer and while he's collaborated with other writers like Mitchell and Webb and Armando Iannucci before, I still think his best stuff is his solo stuff.

But where to start? Behold! I shall now recommend a different Double Act (that is, a different episode of his radio series of excellent half-hour two-hander comedies) for every kind of person who has reacted in literally any kind of way to Good Omens.

If you love stories about two people working on opposite sides in a conflict who over time break down each other's defenses to become valued friends despite the continued conflict between their sides, with some queer undertones: Unquestionably you want S2 E4, Penguin Diplomacy

If you loved Good Omens S2 because it's quiet, gentle, and romantic: S1 E6, Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic in principle but wish there was a bit more plot structure: Still Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic but watched Good Omens S2 and were like "this is quiet, gentle and romantic?!?!": DEFINITELY still Hot Desk

If you hate quiet, gentle and romantic and want something darker and more cynical: S1 E3, Red Handed

If you were meh on S2 but did find yourself enjoying the Job minisode: FREE ROLL! You can choose any Double Act at random and will probably enjoy it.

If you loved Good Omens S2 because you love characters who give off vibes of being dim yet helpful: Well, really you want to meet Arthur in Cabin Pressure, but from Double Acts you'll do great with S2 E5, Here's What We Do, and in a very different way S2 E2, Mercy Dash

If you loved Good Omens S2 because lesbians: S2 E3, The Rebel Alliance

If you like lesbians in theory but wish that Good Omens S2 had maybe sketched out theirs a bit more: Still try Rebel Alliance

If you were annoyed by the minisodes because there wasn't enough old-timey dialogue in the olden-day bits: S1 E4, The Goliath Window

If you like the Victorian minisode because you like the era: check out S2 E1, The Queen's Speech, which literally has Queen Victoria in it

If you think that Crowley making gentle fun of Aziraphale's magic tricks is entertaining: try S2 E6, The Wroxton Box

If you like relationship dynamics where one half is trying/pretending to be cool and the other one has absolutely no interest in it and likes the first half just how they are: try Here's What We Do

If you enjoy the whole corporate-nonsense aspect of Good Omens: give S1 E2, WYSINNWYG a whirl

If you think that one of the main flaws of S2 was that it didn't have Mr Young in it anymore: S1 E1, A Flock of Tigers

If you like Good Omens because you like fandom and fanfic: S1 E5, English for Pony Lovers

And, if you love the idea of a cliffhanger but also want the satisfaction of knowing there's an amazing ending coming: Wait on Double Acts and just listen to Cabin Pressure. And when you get to the end of Yverdon-les-Bains, before you move on to Zurich just take a moment to remember all of us who nearly died for two years waiting for the finale.

Anyway, happy listening!

[andrewknightley]

I think you might really enjoy Cabin Pressure, it's similar to the other offbeat british comedy stuff that you like! it's a radio sitcom based around a tiny airline that owns one (1) plane, two pilots and has to take on wacky cargo and passengers to keep things running. it's written by john finnemore who's a co-writer on the new season of good omens, and has an amazing cast including benedict cumberbatch as one of the pilots (pre-sherlock so no typecasting and he's genuinely very funny)! I cannot recommend it enough and I'm sure I can dig up the episodes if you're interested c:

Ooooh sounds fun!! Tragically I have personal beef with benedict cumberbatch because he made me lose the bus once so that would be an extra efford I had to do fggfj

[thekenobee]

Meeting John Finnemore & Margaret Cabourn-Smith & Simon Kane

*WELL*

Since you asked me for a tale of how I met John Finnemore & Margaret Cabourn-Smith & Simon Kane I believe I have something that you might find interesting.

I arrived at London about 40 mins before the play so I decided to take a walk from Victoria Station to Earl's Court.

That was a mistake.

Turns out the distance between those two stations is... Well, Might have slightly OVERestimated how *fine* it would be to walk there.

And then it all started- it was just like in a film- me running across the town, heart on my sleeve, asking people directions; at some point I considered bursting out in tears but since it would only slow me down, I didn't.

Although the thought of not making it was ringing in my head I didn't throw in the tunnel- I've loved those people for far too long to stop now!

Finally, I managed to get into the underground station which was not closed due to works carried out and soon thanks to absolutely Terrific staff working there I was at London Wonderground at Earl's Court!

Kind of.

I did arrive there, yes, but it was the backyard of the place the play was being held.

Exhausted, fire in my lungs I started running like a woman who had nothing left to lose ( I was a woman who had nothing left to lose after all!).

After what felt like eternity I approached the ticket office.

And then it all went WRONG AGAIN.

They didn't accept cash payments(card only). I tried to book a ticket at home but the site stopped working(coincidence?I DON'T THINK SO). As a last resort, I took my credit card- I wouldn't want to pay extra fee as the currency wasn't exchanged but sometimes things are just that important.

And the my payment was declined.

Not knowing why, I slowly started running out of ideas. I came all this way from Poland, Brighton only to be stopped at the ticket office?

But then one of the workers printed out a ticket and gave it to me whilst smiling.

"Those things do happen, enjoy your evening!" He explained.

I was... Completely in shock...

My face must have been priceless at the time.

Truly touched, I thanked him several times, grabbed my ticket (God bless this man) and ran(I should participate in a marathon, now to think of it) to...

...a WRONG TENT.

Thankfully, one of the staff members offered to give me a hand and show me the way to "Criminals". Worry in his eyes he asked whether I was alright.

"Yeah, you know" articulated I between one painful breath and the other " I just came all the way from Poland to be here, basic stuff, you know".

"You've come straight from the airport then?" He gasped, astonishment painted all over his face.

"Brighton, to be precise!"

Witnessing my devotion he was truly touched.

He led me to the other lady which showed me the way to the tent where the play had been already being performed.

She asked -exhausted-weary-looking me if I was alright.

"Yeah, basically fine, I just came all this way from Poland" repeated I.

"Did you, really?!" (Good God, I need to stop being that devoted otherwise I give people heart attack).

She took my ticket and wished me a lovely evening.

I arrived there late, exhausted, anxious, shy, hopeful... And whilst going up the stairs I heard HIS VOICE.

He hasn't changed from the moment I heard him for the first time on the Radio.

It was just like a melody I followed.

I knew I was home.

He was standing there- alongside Margaret Cabourn-Smith and the rest of the cast- smiling like his smile was too big for the atmosphere.

For the next 15-20 mins I simply couldn't believe my own eyes.

He was just what I knew from the other Radio plays he was.

I took a seat which was luckily free...

It felt like home.

Although it was 3 days ago I still find it hard to believe.

The play was absolutely terrific, Margaret was brilliant and John Finnemore... was finntastic!

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to ask questions or take any pictures due to many reasons but that was not a problem at all.

A bit later on I spotted SIMON KANE in the crowd- he was with his friends so I didn't want to interrupt ( I WAS SO SHOCKED I COULDN'T MOVE too!).

But to sum up all of this, I don't remember being more fulfilled in those 22 years than I was that week(and this Sunday evening).

Sightseeing, the language, absolutely lovely people, vintage shops (not gonna lie!), the views, the weather, all those dreams...

Now I'm sure I'll move to UK one day- my heart was designed that way.

❤️

[yszarin]

seen people on twitter talking about what got them through 2020, but twitter scary so I’m just gonna ramble about podcasts here. I’ve loved audio fiction since I was little, when my brother used to bring me big finish doctor who to listen to when I was sick, and they’ve really been great for me this year in terms of... want story but too tired to keep eyes open? podcast. need to do a mundane task but can’t stay on it? podcast. need something on before you sleep because if you leave your brain to its own devices it’ll eat itself? podcast. looking for queer rep? podcast. below the cut I’ve stuck 10 of my favourites of the shows I started listening to this year, and I promise they’re not all from Definitely Human.

Down - fiction, horror - a state of the art submarine with a less than state of the art crew descends into a newly-discovered Antarctic trench, “The Bottomless Pit” for the purposes of exploration and science! This goes about as well as you would expect. Episodes are super short and it’s entirely possible to listen to the whole thing in less than a day, although unfortunately it’s currently unfinished due to covid, so I guess it’s more that in less than a day you, too, could join me in unintentional hiatus hell. It is worth it.    

Enthusigasm - nonfiction, talk - Rusty Quill patreon exclusive show in which Helen Gould talks to people about things they enjoy. It just has the loveliest energy, and is exactly what I’ve needed this year. They’ve done episodes on subjects including baking, the horror genre and trash tv, and every one of them has been a joy, even when it’s about stuff I’m not into personally. How RQ manages to consistently produce The Best Content I don’t know, but by god do they do it.

Everything is Alive - interview - Gemma Amor recommended this and she’s usually right about such things. It’s a series of interviews with inanimate objects, all of which are animate now and have things to say. I’m particularly fond of the gay subway seats and was emotionally distraught by the cuddly toy. Very good to listen to to fall asleep.

Marscorp - fiction, sci-fi comedy - Station Supervisor E. L. Hob is awoken from suspended animation on Mars and must do her best to restore the colony’s original purpose of terraforming the planet. If you teased Jonny Sims for naming his main character after himself and also playing him please get ready to forgive him for everything, as you meet Tom Dalling, David Knight, and Dave Price, played by Tom Dalling, David Knight, and David Price, and written by Tom Dalling, David Knight, and David Price. I’m furious.  

Pax Fortuna! - actual play, adventure - a rotating group of characters leaves a horrified and occasionally maimed trail of NPCs behind them as they adventure in and around the prosperous island city of Fortuna. The shifting cast works really well, allowing for some PCs who are just objectively terribly people, while keeping the whole thing feeling really fun. Particular favourite PCs are Selwyn Bloodstorm, half-orc in search of gold accidentally ending up with friends, Alfonso Boyo, a necromancer but only in the most bureaucratic and horrifying way possible, and Almira Q Appleby, gnome inventor presenting such items as The Potato Peeler (may contain combat setting) to an unsuspecting public. The series comprises six interconnected smaller stories, each with multiple episodes, all of which are around 25-30 minutes long, which has been a particular joy for me, as someone who has difficulty with episode lengths of over an hour and is so often “I love AP podcasts. love to actually listen to one someday”. Pax Fortuna! is the caramelised nut bowl of actual plays, in that I found it very difficult to stop consuming it, now it’s all gone, and I’m sad. There are only two fics on AO3. Please listen to Pax Fortuna!.    

Shadows at the Door - anthology, horror - A collection of quiet horror stories, mixing older tales, both classic and less well-known, and modern ones. The soundtrack is by Nico, one of the editors on TMA and Good Egg, and it turns out, also Skilled Egg at soundtracks. Each story is followed-up by a discussion of its themes, and some tangents. Also very nice to fall asleep to, lots of suggestions of new things to look for, and the stories themselves are well-dramatised.  

The Monster Hunters - fiction, comedy - It took me a bit of time to settle into this - I have a tendency to bounce off comedy, apparently - but once I had I was very settled. Roy Steel and Lorrimer Chesterfield are there with fists and brains respectively to hunt monsters and be anything from vaguely to pointedly sexist because it’s the 60s/70s (it is intentional and ludicrous). If you’re familiar with John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme, you can listen out for Simon Kane as Sir Maxwell House. Some nice spooks, especially in the Christmas specials.

The Amelia Project - fiction, comedy - Need to disappear? The Amelia Project will help you fake your death and reappear in a new life. Each episode takes the form of an interview with a new client, in which they tell their story, and the circumstances of their death and next life will be decided. The creators had a stall at PodUK and gave me some Malteasers which it took me approximately 10 months to eat because I didn’t feel like I’d listened to enough of their show to deserve them. Fun fact! There are plenty of chocolate foodstuffs that will take this length of time in their stride and still be as new when you eat them, but Malteasers are not one of them. Luckily finishing off S2 of The Amelia Project has been its own reward, and I still have plenty to go!   

The Infinite Bad - actual play, horror - a slowly-forming found family leaves a traumatised and usually dead trail of NPCs behind them despite their best efforts, as they are embroiled in a globe-spanning investigation of horror and mystery. Uses a modified version of the d20 modern system, set in the inter-war period, and, it should be noted, contains depictions of period-typical racism. Other CWs (this list is not exhaustive) include child death, pet death, gore, disease, misc death (so much misc death), so please be careful if you choose to listen. Also contains stairs, the inherent malevolence of citrus products, and things which are viscous.

These Flimsy Rituals - actual play, fantasy - I’m not very far into this one, due to episode lengths, but when I have the spell slots to do so I always enjoy listening to it. I’m in the first bit, which follows a group of people fleeing a living storm. They have some really lovely lyrical bits at the starts of the episodes that I could listen to for hours, I’ve found those of the characters that I’ve met very engaging, and I’m interested to see how it unfolds.

[lothiriel84]

Crossing the city's compactness pierced by the spokes of underground passages

A map of Esmeralda should include, marked in different coloured inks, all these routes, solid and liquid, evident and hidden. It is more difficult to fix on the map the routes of the swallows, who cut the air over the roofs, dropping long invisible parabolas with their still wings, darting to gulp a mosquito, spiralling upwards, grazing a pinnacle, dominating from every point of their airy paths all the points of the city.

- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

Or, a pretty random account of my recent trip to London and Brighton. 

The thing about London is that you actually have plenty of different options when it comes to public transport. All you need to do is to get yourself an Oyster card, then you can travel across the city by Tube, Overground, bus, tram, train, boat, DLR - which the Train Driver from JFSP reminds me is an automated light metro system - and if my memory serves me right, even the Emirates Air Line.

That means it’s relatively easy to travel between any two points within the city, barring of course any disruption, traffic, delays, or whatever; the only downside is that, if you’re like me and rely entirely on Google Maps to calculate your route, you might end up discovering you haven’t the faintest idea where those points are located on an actual map. Travelling mainly by Tube, I invariably fail to figure out the relative positions of my starting point and my final destination, up to the point that I sometimes can’t even remember if a certain spot is located either in North or South London. And given how big London is, and how different from one another each of its areas are, you might have a hard time reconciling all the different images in one single picture - especially if you tend to visit different areas at different times.

The 'famous buildings and landmarks’ London is different from the Docklands London, which is in turn different from the Royal Parks London, and so on. And as I’ve already visited most of the classic tourist attractions, or simply don’t care about some of those, I find it far more interesting when I happen to find some less known spots, or even better, places that are somehow significant to one of my interests. (My favourite is quite obviously references, or even actual locations, from my favourite radio shows and podcasts. I once went all the way to London Bridge solely to stand on the exact spot where the bunker from The Bunker podcast is supposed to be located, and then all the way to Brixton in order to get a look at Electric Avenue. I’m not even sorry.)

As I tend to have a problem with planning my trips - as a result of a mix of being anxious, and trying to save myself any unnecessary disappointment if I end up not being able to go - I usually have to come up with new sightseeing locations on the spot, which is not the easiest thing of all, and mostly involves seeking inspiration in the most random of places. This time around, it was a Facebook post from one of those ‘visit London’ pages that prompted me to go to St Dunstan-in-the-East, which is a public garden within the ruins of a church; it might be small, but it makes for a great spot for picture taking, or attempting to, at any rate. After that, I simply fell back to one of my favourite haunts, which is Greenwich and its park; the cold wind surely didn’t help, nor did my lack of sleep from the night before, but still a lovely spot all the same.

All of this was last Wednesday, of course, after landing in Stansted and taking a train into London. On Thursday morning, I was once more on a train, only it was headed to Brighton this time around; and as I’ve done little else other than looking forward to John Finnemore’s Flying Visit for the past three months, you may easily guess my reasons for going there. I had already been in Brighton on a previous occasion - as Facebook’s mainly useless time hop function reminded me only a few days later, it was very close to precisely two years before - only that time around I had been so desperate to reach the Seven Sisters that I spent very little time in it, seeing basically nothing but the Pier and some random landmark as I walked there from the train station. This time I spent most of my day around the Royal Pavilion and the seafront next to the Pier, once again taking pictures - because that’s my actual idea of fun while being on a trip - until it was finally time to rush to the Brighton Dome Concert Hall for the show. (I am the kind of person who is perpetually late, no matter what. Still managed to get there ahead of the doors opening, which as far as I’m concerned is a major win.)

As for the show itself, you can find a longer and quite more rambly post here; however, please bear in mind that it contains plenty of spoilers, which might somewhat ruin your enjoyment of the show if you’re going to go yourself. For the purposes of this (horribly long, I’m afraid) account of my trip, suffices to say that it was a joy from start to finish, and that the cast seemed to be having at least as much of a fantastic time as the audience themselves. For all that I love their voice acting, seeing them on stage was miles better, and John’s new material was particularly clever and funny in places. And, well, don’t tell the man himself, but I somehow found it endearing when he fluffed the lyrics a bit as he was singing one of his solo songs - which is more than understandable, as I don’t have the faintest idea how any of them did manage the feat of memorising so much material in such a short span of time, not to mention the lines that are specifically tailored to each of the tour locations, which is definitely impressive.

After the show, I was one of the few people who successfully located the stage door, and was lucky enough to be able to say hi to a few of the members of the cast. (No idea why they kind of seem to expect that fans would only be interested in meeting John though.) I barely caught a glimpse of Margaret and Lawry, while Carrie was talking to a gentleman that apparently was a former children’s TV presenter of some sort - she sounded positively chuffed about meeting him, which was quite adorable. John, on the other hand, was more than happy to sign stuff for the handful of people gathered out there, and I can’t even remember what sort of idiotic things I must have told him, but as he’s one of the loveliest men alive, I am fairly confident he didn’t get offended or anything. Simon was also incredibly lovely, and took the time to chat for a bit; he looked like he was having a great time with the tour, which is brilliant. (I think I might even have been briefly introduced to David Tyler, as he was passing by. I probably just stood there gaping as a goldfish, woops.)

Given how I was staying in Brighton for the night, I decided to take the opportunity to go back to Birling Gap on the following day. It’s a beautiful spot, with the Seven Sisters stretching on both sides, and I actually managed to take a walk along one of the paths that stretch along the cliff edge. (Oh, and I didn’t risk missing the last bus and get stranded in the middle of nowhere this time around, so that was definitely a plus.) I should really try and plan a proper trip across the UK at some point, or at least one that doesn’t require me to stay overnight in London, because I love both the seaside and the countryside, and there are so many beautiful places I haven’t been able to see yet. Still, it was lovely to be able to go to Birling Gap once more, and I did go back to the Brighton Pier for a bit before finally taking a train back to London.

As it happened, Saturday was also the day of the omnipresent Royal Wedding - which I had completely failed to factor in when I was booking my trip - so I decided I might as well go somewhere quiet, yet not too difficult to reach by public transport. My original idea was Richmond Park, but a poster inside one of the Tube stations had kindly reminded me that Kew Gardens was also an option, and as I had only managed to see less than half of it on my previous visit, I decided I might as well go back there. It was a warm, sunny day, and I did enjoy wandering around its paths and several glasshouses, taking far more pictures of flowers that I know what to do with. But that’s what I always do, so nothing to see there.

That being said, I think I’ve finally reached the end of this unnecessarily long account, as I flew back home on Sunday morning, and that’s all there is to say about it. I may or may not be on tenterhooks already, waiting for my (paws crossed) upcoming trip to Edinburgh, but that’s a story for some other day.

[wexlerkimberly]

2017 summary under the cut lol

2017 has undoubtedly been a mixed bag o'stuff but i'm thankful i've been able to do so many amazing things yet again this year. i feel like i'm probably forgotten something because i'm dumb and forgetful and had to use other people's social media and my sister's memory to remember what i've actually done this year lmao. anyway, here goes:

january - went to oxford and met up with the lovely sammy. it was a rainy day but i still got to see how beautiful oxford is. we went to the prison and got an interesting albeit creepy tour, we had a nice lunch at prezzo then i dragged sam to the ashmoleon museum which i loved. overall it was a great day and i love her lots @tudorbitch ❤

february - saw tegan and sara with my friends which was so much fun.

april - saw billy elliot: the musical with my mom. i'm not a massive musical fan but billy elliot is one of my fave films so i thought we'd give it a go but it was actually really good and i enjoyed it a lot lol cried like 5 times. all the lil child actors were so talented and i loved them all so much.

may - went to alton towers for my brother's birthday. i love roller coasters but i hadn't been to a theme park in a good few years and i was really anxious about going (lol when aren’t i though for realllll) especially because i'd never been to alton towers before. but i had a great day and i loved it! i think my fave ride was probably galactica?????? the smiler made me feel violently ill lmao it throws you about way too much!!!!!!!

may - went to london with my mom and our friend to see don juan in soho starring david tennant. we had a lovely lunch in the pub right over the road from the theatre and the play itself was so amazing. it was so funny and ridiculous and the cast were all so incredible.

june - wta event in birmingham. me and my mom got tickets for the ENTIRE week because we're very greedy. it was INCREDIBLE. we got to see so many top matches and it was great to see petra kvitova return and win the title. was also fortunate enough to meet garbiñe muguruza and get a picture with her. i thought a full week at the tennis might get boring after a while but it wasn't because there was always a great match to watch or you could see other players training on the outside courts. also very lucky that the weather was insanely hot that week so none of the matches were rained off.

july - hyde park festival with my mom, my sister and our friend for my sisters birthday. again, we were fortunate with the weather. we saw mystery jets, tears for fears, cold war kids, white lies, a bit of elbow and, my fave, the killers. an amazing day.

july/august - family holiday to france. our first half of the holiday was spent down in the dordogne region and the weather was blistering. we went to the local medieval town a few times, to the lascaux cave paintings and to beynac castle and town. the campsite too was lovely and we hung around there a lot. for the second part of our holiday, we went to brittany but on the way there we went to oradour which was a poignant and worthwhile visit. in brittany, we went to the local towns such as saint-malo, the various beaches and got very early on the rainiest day to visit mont saint-michel. a genuinely enjoyable family holiday.

november - saw the killers twice in two nights. two very different but utterly amazing shows. like i cannot fully put into words how great it was to see my fave band again and manage to get so close to barrier. i maintain my stance that the killers are definitely the best band i have ever seen live.

november - atp tour finals. saw goffin v federer, murray & soares vs peers & kontinen and dimitrov vs sock. some incredible matches and, as always, the best atmosphere in that arena.

november - saw greg davies with my dad. sooooo funny.

december - to break out of my anxious bubble, i've been trying to do more things independently to build up my confidence. one of these included going to london by myself to see john finnemore's souvenir programme recording (i listen to a lot of radio 4 comedy lmao forgive me). it was a hilarious show and london looked spectacular lit up for christmas but i'm mostly proud of myself for navigating the tube by myself, getting there ok by myself and talking to new people on the train back.

overall, this has definitely been a very mixed year with lots of highs but also quite a few lows. i am only really trying to focus on the positive aspects. ultimately, i think it has been a pretty important year for my own personal developments and i have achieved some key personal milestones this year, i think. specifically, i have been working on improving my anxiety and self-confidence.

i have survived my first year of uni and i’m now in my second year and very much settled into the routine  and my course and the commute and stuff. i am much more willing to do things by myself now, such as go shopping myself or even go all the way to london for a show by myself. additionally, i have tried to get more involved in activities happening at uni. i am still struggling with this but i have made definite improvements but attending some labour society meetings. this sounds stupid but over summer, i wore shorts and dungarees and showed off my legs which i would have previously been way too self-conscious about. crucially, i think utilising my uni’s counselling service has been very beneficial to me in helping me manage my anxiety and anxious thoughts.

i have not been perfect this year and i have definitely made quite a few mistakes. but, not to be disgustingly cheesy or anything, i hope 2018 is a year of continued growth and development for everyone, including myself. take care and have a very happy new year!

(see also: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011)

[notasapleasure]

jimtheviking replied to your post: jimtheviking replied to your post: ...

Oh come on; WTNV and Lore are great stuff!

I don’t know Lore, but I enjoyed WTNV (waaayyy behind though). But I guess I think of WTNV just as a serial, like any other radio serial I’d listen to in the 6.30pm slot on Radio 4 (told you I was too old for this shit). I’ll do listen again when I’m cooking (which is also when I listened to WTNV) if I’ve missed something like the Now Show, or John Finnemore, but I’ll never download an audio of a programme to listen to whilst I’m out and about. I don’t really do audio books either. It’s obviously great that we have all these things, and I’m in awe of the fact podfic exists, but I’d never listen to it myself.