My retrospective series on the best of the last year fittingly ends with the times I remember most fondly from the year. 2013 was a great year. After the turbulent year of 2012, when I left the safeties of secondary school for university, 2013 was rather more smooth sailing, and had some fond memories.
I thought I’d catalogue, as much for the benefit of my future nostalgia as anything else, the things that will forever send me back to 2013. This is the year that was:
County v Caley last game of the season
After what was a great season for Ross County, there was a slight, unfounded, disappointment that we wouldn’t qualify for Europe. There was no right to be – having just been promoted from the lowly First Division; however, the last game of the season still shaped up to be the most intense of the entire campaign – as we faced our rivals Inverness Caley Thistle in Dingwall. They still had a shot at reaching Europe, something they would never let us forget if they had managed it, and had been unbeaten against us in our previous six encounters that season.
Caley fans descended on Dingwall with beach balls, heralding what they thought would be their inevitable triumph. Thankfully, after a fantastic game, they were proved wrong. Both sides played a great game, but County were on top through most of it. Canadian defender Andre Hainault struck around 60 minutes into the game to send us all wild. It was the last game for many of our longest-serving players, such as Paul Lawson, Iain Vigurs and (so we thought) Richard Brittain, which served to make an emotional occasion even more so.
Winning against your rivals is a feeling that County fans hadn’t had in a while, and it was a great way of ending arguably our best ever season. It was made all the sweeter by the Caley fans celebrating the goal of the wrong team in the St. Johnstone v Motherwell match, a game which saw the Saints qualify for Europe at Caley’s expense. At the end of the game, beach balls were left on the pitch to the mercy of the wind. I managed to keep one as a memento of a match I’ll remember for a long time.
Finishing first year
First year was great, and I thoroughly enjoyed university, but finishing first year was definitely a highlight. After months of hard work, and then three weeks of exams, the day of my last exam was a great relief.
It was a lovely sunny day as I woke up for the last time in my room in Johnson Halls. I went to my exam, taken on a computer in a cramped classroom, and then strolled leisurely through the beautiful campus before making my final packing arrangements. Although getting from the university to the train station was a bit tougher than usual, taking a great deal of possessions with me, it made it all the sweeter that it would be last one I’d have to take for a while. A long and eventful summer opened up ahead of me.
I wondered when I had my last day of sixth year whether that feeling of the last day of school would exist at all beyond then. It returned joyfully on the last day of first year.
Kavos
What a holiday that was. After spending the best part of nine months away from my best friends, reuniting and travelling to Kavos in Greece was fantastic. As someone who loves the sun, being abroad for the first time in three years was enough to make it one of the best weeks in the year. But there was so much more to enjoy about Kavos.
Spending half our time in The Barn, a bar across from our hotel, drinking beers, playing FIFA and pool, generally trying to extinguish the hangover from the night before, was the perfect relaxation needed after a year of work.
The nights out were amazing. I think most of us would agree the paint party on the first night was the best. From there we alternated between nights of relative quietness, playing hysterical games of cards before going out, and huge nights out in the clubs of the strip. We went go-karting a few times, leaving me with a physical reminder of the holiday in the way of an exhaust burn. We even went on a “crazy speedboat” to an inlet on another island closer to the mainland. It had beautiful, clear waters and a white sandy beach, the sort of thing most people holiday for.
Kavos was an amazing holiday, and I’ll be lucky to have another one as good for years.
Summer Quizzes
It was a feature of the year before as well, but the pub quiz was an absolute staple of my summer. Every Wednesday night (when I was in the country), we’d go to The Mallard for our weekly night out. It didn’t matter that we had work the next day; we’d all have a great time just being together without drinking as much. Did we ever win? Not this summer while I was there. Did it matter? Not at all. There was something so nice about being with your friends at least once a week after not seeing them for a long time that made the Mallard quiz more special than just a night at the pub.
Summer Work
Another thing that was new for 2012 but returned for 2013 was working over the summer at TEFL. I loved working there; it was a perfect match of being close to where I live, doing a job that I enjoyed and having work colleagues who were as friendly and good company as you could want. We even had bacon rolls on Thursdays – what’s not to like?
I had a role in the changeover between the old TEFL England, TEFL Scotland and TEFL Wales into the new TEFL Org UK website. It was a tough and technical job at times, but I like to think that it was a success overall for both me and the company.
I also got to take part in a training weekend with Talent Scotland at the Fairburn Activity Centre, and despite my cynicism towards the general style of event, actually quite enjoyed my time there.
When you are younger, you’d hear people complain about work or say that you might not always be able to do what you want to be doing. I can’t ever say I ever felt like that working over the summer.
Andy Murray Winning Wimbledon
After years of watching Andy Murray, admittedly only really at the closing stages of Grand Slams, seeing him go so far at Wimbledon was a real delight. I watched his US Open win the year before, staying up until 3 in the morning to do so, and wondered if he’d ever win the tournament every Brit really wanted him to.
It was the ease at which he won Wimbledon, in the end, which made it so good. He beat Novak Djokovic, perhaps the world’s best player over the year before Wimbledon, in straight sets. No drama. No heartbreak. Just happiness tinged with a sense of relief. Scotland’s sporting son of a generation had finally made the history that he craved.
Sadly injury put paid to Murray’s season shortly after Wimbledon, but with two grand slams and an Olympic title in the bag now – who knows what he could manage in 2014?
I somehow think, though, that nothing will trump Murray’s Wimbledon win for a long time in British tennis, maybe even British sport, and that witnessing the first British winner of Wimbledon in 77 years was definitely a noteworthy point of the year.
Belladrum
Always a shoe-in as a contender for best weekend of the year: my fourth Belladrum, and third in a row, could well have been my favourite. Although the weather wasn’t as typically kind as it usually is, the usual gathering of friends for a drink in a field was definitely as good as it always is.
This year I saw fewer bands than I ever have before, due to a line-up that was rather weak and apathy towards leaving the campsite and our drinks behind.
I saw Dire Straits, reformed without Mark Knopfler as The Straits, and they were good. There were a few songs I was looking forward to, that were dutifully done very well, but I also realised that they had more songs that I recognised but never attributed to them and that made me appreciate them even more.
By far the better of the two acts I saw, though, was Seasick Steve. His own brand of three-string trance music, as he calls it, captivated the entire audience with folksy, bluesy tunes that were as summery as you could find. It was a delight to watch him play, and there more than a few good songs that I added to my iPod after the festival.
Runrig Party on the Moor
Runrig are one of my favourite bands by far and luckily, because they are Scottish, it means that I regularly get the chance to see them. This time was special though, being the 40th anniversary of the band and being just six miles from my home, with the concert held in Muir of Ord.
Over the years Runrig have perfected their craft of playing to the masses. I was there at what some consider to be their best concert ever at Beat the Drum in 2007, and that night made me a fan for life. They are just as good live, with lead singer Bruce Guthro leading a great performance, as they are on record. Runrig concerts are a guaranteed delight.
However, for the 40th anniversary, original singer and band founder Donnie Munro returned for three songs. The atmosphere when he appeared on stage was electric, as fans saw their band fully reunited for the first time in almost fifteen years. It was a magical moment.
Personally, the best thing about the concert was hearing a few of the older Runrig songs that I’d only heard on CD/cassette before now. Being the 40th anniversary, and covering songs from nearly all their albums, I heard my first live renditions of older hits such as “Dance Called America” and “The Cutter”, two of my absolute favourite songs.
I doubt that Party on the Moor will have the same long-term effect on my musical taste as Beat the Drum did, but I don’t doubt that it was the best Runrig concert I’ve been to.
And to top the night off, I was able to go to a party as my alter ego Carlsberg Man afterwards, which was a highlight in itself.
England v Scotland game
The last time Scotland played England, I was only five years old – so I’ve never really had the opportunity to experience a national team game where I felt the same passion and tension as a derby game. This year’s match with Auld Enemy was perhaps one of my favourite football games I’ve seen in a long time.
Scotland played like a team that really wanted to win. Aside from qualifiers, which generally meant disappointment and despair, Scotland hadn’t really played in a game where winning meant anything at all since that hope-crushing defeat at Hampden against Italy in 2007. This was a game of similar tension, and it was “just” a friendly.
Taking the lead twice definitely helped raise the tension. The pub where I watched the game was packed, and when Scotland scored, the place erupted (aside from a few out-of-place England fans). It was disappointing when England equalised, and eventually took the lead to win the game – but Scotland always seemed a threat against a side which was far better on paper. It was also nice to see Kenny Miller score; the player that scored the first goal I ever saw at Hampden against Germany in 2003, in what became his last international appearance for his country.
I’d love to see another England v Scotland game again soon, and assuming it’d be at Hampden; hopefully I’d be able to be there in person as well.
GTA V being released
GTA IV was my favourite game of all time, and I’d waited almost two years since the first trailer was released announcing the next Grand Theft Auto. This year I finally got what I’d waited for.
In short, I love GTA V. It’s a bigger, better and much improved version of the game that I’d considered my favourite before. Since my review, the online part of the game has been greatly improved, with new functions like the race creator adding new reasons to play. Whether I’m as nostalgic about V in a few years as I am about IV, I don’t know, but one thing is for certain – that I’ll be playing around in GTA V until the next one comes out.
Moving into my new flat
The first year of uni was important, in that it was the first step away from living at home into adulthood. However, living in the halls of residence that I did was almost like a halfway-house between the dependence of home life and the independence of living as an adult; because bills were paid for, my meals were cooked for me (and not very well I must add) and the only space I had, personally, was my room.
That all changed for second year, though, moving into my first flat with two friends I’ve known for a while. Getting the flat was a big struggle. It took us almost three months of searching for flats, going to fruitless viewings and rejecting flats that were too small or too expensive before we found the perfect one. It’s close to the uni and the supermarket, as spacious as we could want and, for me, comes with an en suite penthouse room. Living with friends as well is great compared to just seeing them when it suits everyone. It’s an ideal scenario.
There are a few drawbacks, to be fair, in that it is a bit further from the centre of town, making it thirty minutes’ walk to Union Street, and perhaps on the expensive side (although it’s hard to find a bargain in Aberdeen), but I’m very happy with my first flat and hope to be living there throughout my time in Aberdeen.
Intramural Football League
A fixture of my first semester of second year has been taking part in the uni’s intramural football league, where students can make their own 7-a-side football teams and take part in a league. I’d barely played any football in the year leading up to then, much to my frustration, and I was very glad to be able to pull on my keeper’s gloves again.
Our team was called Dyslexia Untied, and for the first few weeks we had big dreams of perhaps winning our league. We kicked off with two 5-0 wins, the best possible with a mercy rule in place, and things were going well. However, a mid-season wobble began with a close defeat against Unathletic Bilbao, and then two drubbings at the hands of the two best sides in the league. Although we managed a victory against the minnows of the league, we couldn’t finish in the top half – with a deserved defeat in our final game against what became the league’s 3rd best side.
The next season begins in the second semester, and with some players transferring to other teams, and hopefully some new signings, it’ll be interesting to see how we do. Playing football is still one of my favourite things to do, and I’m very happy to be doing it regularly again.
Starting blog/Working for the Gaudie
Last, but certainly not least, one of the things I’ll remember most about this year is properly kicking off my blog properly. I love to write, and jotting down my thoughts was something I’ve always done from a young age. I’d started a Blogspot blog a few years ago to try and share my thoughts with people, but only posted on it infrequently.
With the reveals of the new consoles at the start of the year, there was a lot of information being created around it, with game news websites usually splitting it all into individual articles, so I thought I’d have a go at condensing all I knew about them into one article apiece. I got a good response and kept going.
And from there I branched out into posts about further topics that interested me, particularly football and the independence referendum, but I tried to cover a broad range of my interests in my blogs as well.
In October I decided that rather than post to a rather unspectacular Blogspot website, I’d have a go at creating my own blog on my own website, and here we are! I signed up for a domain, WordPress hosting, downloaded a theme that I thought was good-looking, and started writing more frequently – and I’m very happy with the outcome. I like working with websites and seeing how they work, as well as writing, so it was always going to be something I’d enjoy. There’s something pretty cool about having my own space on the internet.
My blog has helped me get some great writing experience, such as writing for The Great Scottish Debate website, and this month working with Aberdeen Uni’s student newspaper, The Gaudie, on some of their online ventures.
It’s been a pleasure writing and blogging this year, and I hope to continue doing so as often as possible in 2014.
Thank you very much for reading this mammoth account of my year, and indeed any other of my blogs from 2013, and I’d like to wish you a happy and healthy New Year! Slàinte mhath ‘s gu math theid leibh an ath bhliadhna!