2009 - A year to forget or a year to remember

I am torn, was 2009 a good year or a bad year for me, or for anyone for that matter?

Personally I spent the greater part of the year on the dole. For someone who has worked all but eight months for the previous twenty five years or so this came as a shock. Sure I had most of my rent paid, but the dole leaves you almost unable to live. My outgoings exceeded my income every month. I got some part-time work in the Summer but that extra money just got taken away four months later when it had all been spent anyway.

This has necessitated a few changes in lifestyle. I have become a professional happy shopper, with Tescos too far away to walk I have managed on using Somerfield, Aldis and Waitrose. You may wonder about the latter, Waitrose as a happy shopping venue, what can you get there that is cheaper than elsewhere, does my essential shopping list include Smoked Salmon, Stinking Bishop and chantrelle mushrooms? Well no, but Waitrose are value for money for some items and their essentials range has become, well, an essential. Pasta, Pesto, Coffee, Marmalade and Washing Powder are all cheaper at Waitrose and good quality too. Even the Dingle yesterday decided the coffee was adequate and he is such an instant coffee snob as to be unbelievable.

I have been priced out of going to football to a large extent. The pressure to have a competitive team requires higher wages and the bean counters at Ipswich Town increased the ticket prices when many clubs are cutting or freezing theirs. Attendances have fallen as a result. This is sad on two levels. One I love my football and Sky Sports News is no substitute for being there, and secondly as a member of Section 6 my voice is clearly missing at some matches. Sad Days when your number one hobby is denied you by Capitalism.

I have been jobhunting but it has been a fruitless task, agents are mostly arse, full stop. Every job appearing on Jobserve, Jobsite or Jobs24 involves an agency. The agents get inundated with applications and CVs and it is nigh on impossible to get yours to be put forward even if the job fits your CV like a glove. Add in that they make daft comments like "I didn't put you forward because I thought the job might bore you" or "I will not put you in for this job because your salary demands are too low" Hello, which bloody planet are you on, there is a recession, my salary demands are low because I want to be competitive and quite frankly let me decide if I will be bored, not you on the basis of my CV. Arse I tell ye the vast majority are arse. Unregulated, untrained, unknowledgable about IT, why are they allowed to decide who gets their CV put forward when theirs just reads Salesman or Saleswoman.

On the other hand 2009 has been a good year for me socially and artistically. I have improved friendships with many good mates and made some really good new ones. One friend called Steve May is trying to resurrect his sort of Jazz Combo called Trancethon. He used to have a 12 piece band, now it is just him. So having met him last year we sat down and recorded backing tracks for him to use of some of the other parts of his music. Then using Ableton I live Mixed it for him at Eddyfest at the Edwardstone White Horse in August. It worked it went down very well and we are aiming to take this onwards. So I now have an artistic and musical outlet I previously did not have.

I returned to cycling. Given my mate Malcs old bike I have cycled around Suffolk most of the year. I have obviously got fitter, except when I crashed and broke a rib and it "only urt when I larffed" But good to get back on a bike again.

The Brewery Tap has been the bedrock of my social life. The number of times I have been in other Sudbury pubs in 2009 can be counted on two fingers which is incredibly apt. It is a real local, full of real people, not alcoholics, not fighting drunk, just nice happy people and wonderful ale. So many thanks to so many people who have bought me pints in 2009. When I get a job in 2010 I will repay your kindness.

Then there was Festinho. What can I say. I wished I had turned up a day earlier to work there, I enjoyed it so much, there was hassle for sure, but also so much fun. The crew excelled themselves, exceeded last year. Festinho came of age, it became a fully fledged festival and one that Tom, Simon, Ru, Charlie, Mikey, Caro, Piers, Jasper, Susie, Matt, Ben and anyone else in the crew I may have missed can be rightly proud of. I look forward to 2010 already, the time is diaried as time off whatever I am doing. I continue to spread the word. My aim is twofold, to secure the services of enough volunteers to make it all work and work to sell all the Sunday day tickets.

There was a sad moment, the tears I shed for the mighty memory of Sir Bobby Robson was the worst. It was truly like losing family. So very sad.

So what do I hope for for 2010. Well a job obviously. I need gainful employment so shameless plug, if you know anyone who needs a Network Engineer or all-round support person, get them to contact me.

I also hope we get a good government, I sincerely hope the Tories fail to gain a majority as their incompetence will destroy the limited good work of the last 12 years and I would not employ George Osborne to open my piggy bank let alone manage a developed economy. Maybe we will get the electoral reform this country so desperately needs to breathe new life into politics.

Clearly I want Ipswich Town to improve, climb the table and in an ideal world make the play-offs. Not that I really want to see Premiership football that much, it really is overhyped too expensive and quite a dull experience. Roy Keane is really growing on me though.

I would love to get more involved in music making. There is a lot that could be achieved, we just need the luck, hard work and determination to make it happen.

Oh and I wish all my friends family and acquaintances a fun, happy, prosperous and auspicious 2010 and decade. It this next decade going to be held in a bivvy bag or a Marquee as it will be "the Tenties"