2008 - A Year in Review
2008 Country of Living: England in LONDON!
Well, it was a year of dramatic changes in my personal live with my getting engaged in September to Melanie Hammond, a long-time friend of the family who I was re-introduced to at my grandfather's funeral in 2007. A year of changes indeed. I now have a flat in London with Melanie moving from Canada to join me in the new year.
Travel
Not a lot of travel, but did do a bit…Tended to be bigger distances…
- March - Italy - Mother and myself managed to go skiing for a week in Cervinia in Italy (on the other side of the Matterhorn from Zermatt which we visited a few years ago now). We managed to see an AC Milan game in Milan (football) as well which was very interesting.
- April - Yorkshire - Mother, my aunt Lois and myself staying in Settle in Yorkshire and visited Manchester and York.
- June - London - Melanie, my (now) fiancé visits me in London and Cambridge
- August/September - Canada - Visited my (now) fiancé in Mississauga (Ontario) as well as a cousin in Detroit (Michigan). Did I mention I got engaged? Well, that was on the 5th of September.
- December - Canada - Visited my fiancé (to bring her back with me to London in January…) as well as relatives in Burlington (Ontario), and Winnipeg (Manitoba).
Events
There were quite a number of interesting events throughout the year that I attended, including:
January
- 12th - London - i-to-i Information Talk about teaching English abroad (Talk)
- 31st - London (Savoy Theatre) - Fiddler on the Roof (Musical)
February
- 1st - London (Royal Albert Hall) - Cirque du Soleil Varekai (Music/Dance)
- 8th - London (Royal Opera House) - Magic Flute (Opera)
- 10th - London (Leicester Square) - Chinese New Year
March
- 6th - Cambridge (ADC Theatre) - Snippets: Footlights Spring Revue (Comedy)
- 15th - London (Festival Hall) - VSO 50th Anniversary (Meeting)
- 19th - Italy (Milan) - AC Milan (Football)
- 25th - London (Peacock Theatre) - Yamato (Japanese Drummers)
April
- 3rd - London (Apollo Victoria) - Wicked (Musical)
- 4th - Birmingham - Cadbury World (Attraction)
- 5th to 7th - Northern England - Staying in Yorkshire, Visit to Manchester and York
- 18th - London (The O2) - Cirque du Soliel Delirium (Music/Dance)
- 25th - Cambridge (Arts Picturehouse) - Persepolis (Movie)
- 25th - Cambridge (Arts Picturehouse) - Future Shorts (Movie)
May
- 3rd - London (ICA) - Death Note (Movie)
- 3rd - London (Odeon Leicester Square) - Review of 'Iron Man' (Movie)
- 8th - Cambridge (Arts Theatre) - Aspects of Love (Musical)
- 10th - Cambridge (Arts Picturehouse) - Grindhouse Double Feature (Movie)
- 11th - London (Barbican) - Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art (Art Exhibit)
- 11th - London (Imperial War Museum) - For Your Eyes Only Ian Fleming and James Bond (Exhibit)
- 12th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - Chess In Concert (Music)
- 24th - London (Odeon Leicester Square) - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Movie)
June
- 7th - London (Conway Hall) - BSFA Annual General Meeting
- 12th - Cambridge (Pembroke Cellars) - Footlights (Comedy)
- 14th - London - The Ivy (Restaurant)
- 14th - London (St. Martin's) - The Mousetrap (Play)
- 19th - London (Palace Theatre) - Spamalot (Musical)
- 20th - London (Apollo Victoria) - Wicked (Musical)
- 21st - London (Regent's Park) - Taste of London (Food Fair)
- 22nd - London (The O2) - Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs (Exhibit)
- 27th - London (Royal Opera House) - Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera)
July
- 2nd - Cambridge (Arts Picturehouse) - Prince Caspian (Movie)
- 4th to 6th - Silverstone - British Grand Prix Weekend (Car Race)
- 11th to 13th - Cambridge (Parker's Piece) - Big Weekend (Fair)
- 18th - Cambridge (Arts Picturehouse) - Wall-E (Movie)
- 19th - Farnborough - Farnborough International Air Show (Air Show)
- 19th - London - Stag Party for my friend Paul
- 27th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - BBC Prom Concert 14: Messiaen (Classical Music)
- 29th - Cambridge (Arts Picturehouse) - The Dark Knight (Movie)
- 30th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - BBC Prom Concert 17: World Music Celebration (Concert)
- 31st to August 3rd - Cambridge (Cherry Hinton Hall) - Cambridge Folk Festival (Festival)
August
- 6th - Wokingham - Paul's Wedding
- 10th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - BBC Prom Concert 32: Messiaen (Classical Music)
- 15th - Cambridge (Vue Cinema) - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Movie)
- 17th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - BBC Prom Concert 42: Messiaen (Classical Music)
- 20th - Cambridge (Cineworld) - Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (Movie)
- 24th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - BBC Prom Concert 50 and 51: Bach (Classical Music)
- 31st - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Copps) - Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco (Music/Dance)
September
- 5th - Mississauga (Ontario) - Got engaged to Melanie Hammond (Pleasure)
- 13th - London (Earls Court) - Dr Who Exhibit
- 13th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - BBC Prom Concert 76: Last Night at the Proms (Classical Music)
- 14th - London (Hyde Park) - Andrew Lloyd Webbers Birthday in the Park (Concert)
- 20th - London - Looking for new apartment…
October
- 3rd to 4th - London (Apollo West End) - London SCI FI Film Festival: Anime All-Nighter (Movies)
- 23rd - London (The London Studio) - Have I Got News for You (TV Show Recording)
- 25th - London (Excel) - MCM London Expo (Movie/Comics/Media Show)
November
- 1st - London (Odeon Leicester Square) - Quantum of Solace (Movie)
- 1st - London (Collesium) - Aida (Opera)
- 7th - Watched Melanie Perform in North Metro Chorus at the Sweet Adeline's Annual Competition in Hawaii
- 11th - Moved to London
- 22nd - London (BFI IMAX) - La Damnation de Faust (Live Opera Feed from New York's Metropolitan Opera)
- 26th - London (Royal Opera House) - Stars of Africa (Concert)
December
- 7th - London (Barbican) - 'O Fortuna!' The True Story of Carl Orff (Movie introduced by director)
- 13th - London (BFI IMAX) - Day the Earth Stood Still (Movie)
- 16th - London (The London Studio) - Have I Got News for You (TV Show Recording)
- 18th - London (Royal Albert Hall) - King's College Choir (Concert)
Reviews of the Year
Books
- A War of Gifts (An Ender Story) by Orson Scott Card (2007)
- Cell by Stephen King (2006)
- Iron Sunrise by Charles Stross (2004)
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2001)
- Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks (2000)
- Sandworms of Dune by Kevin J. Anderson, and Brian Herbert (2007)
- The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (2000)
- The Brightonomicon by Robert Rankin (2005)
- The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (1997)
- The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (1984)
Films
- Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2008)
- Beowulf (2007)
- Bleach: Memories of Nobody (2006)
- Casshan: Robot Hunter (1995)
- Chrysalis (2007)
- Cloverfield (2008)
- Dead Space: Downfall (2008)
- Death Note (Desu Nôto) (2008)
- Death Proof (2007)
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Persepolis (2007)
- Planet Terror (2007)
- Sky Blue (2003)
- Speed Racer (2008)
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Restaurants
- emni (Indian) London Islington NOW CLOSED
- Hazuki Japanese Restaurant (Japanese) London Soho NOW CLOSED
- hummus bros (Mediterranean) London Soho NOW CLOSED
- Peking Restaurant (Chinese) Cambridge
- Tandoori Station (Indian) Cambridge NOW CLOSED
- The Bakers (Pub) Cambridge
- The Cambridge Chop Shop (American/British) Cambridge
- The Green Man (Pub) Cambridge
Next Year
Well, we are definitely here for quite some time in London. We are getting married in October with visits from various people (including my mother and aunt) in the new year.
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Visit here for my review of 2007.