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A Year in the Life

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Blog
Archive: 2005 - 2006



"A Year in the Life"
1st January 2006, 00:00 GMT

© 2006 James O JenkinsAnd yet another year has passed! 2005 went out in style with the London firework spectacular, a £1 million investment by the kind taxpayers. As 2006 is nearly in my mind (i.e. I'm no longer writing 2005 after each date I do) I started pondering the achievements of the past year and thought I'd share with the world, a recap of 2005. As of today, I'm sat at a monitor typing my memories of the past year and the huge events that have passed before me.

Now in the famous words of Julie Andrews... Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

The Beginning

January saw the onset of resists and newly prescribed A-Level modular exams, in which revision had hopefully started at the end of 2004 - needless to say Christmas made a mess of that plan... With January exams out of the way it was back to normal lessons in Business Studies, Film Studies, German and Physics. The, perhaps unusual, mix of fun, hilarity and serious science proved to be an ideal combination that kept my interests up till the end of the era at Cowley. January also saw my investment in Season 3 of the hit show "24". In my opinion this season was (and still remains at the time of writing - including the first 5 episode of Season 5) the season with the most shocking twists and sheer excitement in terms of the characters and narrative. For those of you who haven't seen it I urge you to take a peak at its splendidness! Two other films bought during January were "The Day After Tomorrow" and "The Bourne Identity". The latter of which, I'm ashamed to say, I still haven't got round to watching - over a year later! So, as you can see the January DVD sales certainly got me hooked.

Statue of LibertyFebruary 2005 was a funny month, the weather took a turn for the worse worldwide as Tokelau - holder of the .tk domain - was hit by Tropical Cyclone Percy, the fourth storm to hit the region in the last month. With that the Cowley clan, headed once again by the superb Ms. Ward, set off on their sequel adventure to New York - the DVD feature of which can be purchased via the products link - hoping that recent harsh weather would prevail and see snow throughout Manhattan island; unfortunately this wasn't the case, it was much warmer than the prequel and it rained a lot more (not exactly what we were expecting weather-wise). The trip was again a superb success however, thanks to the dedication of both teachers and pupils for the fun and enjoyment of all. I simply will not forget my first two times in New York and am extremely jealous of those who get to star in the final instalment of the New York trilogy!

Back from the February half-term break saw the onset of exams and March moving into view and the application process for university completely finished. A visit to a Warwick open day was certainly a glimpse into what I am now living. March also saw the onslaught of adulthood as one wee child turned 18, much to the dismay of the child himself - of course the child is me. The sheer shock of becoming 18 and knowing that life (in the words of Mel C) will never be the same again, no more childish running and jumping and the continuation at this point of my two jobs - totalling on average 16 hrs per week (although it did rise to around 24hrs when Saints had a match) as well as revision and coursework for the 2-month-away A Level exams! And yes, this did appear too much, as, at the end of March I reluctantly handed in my resignation to St Helens Hospital. The job was simply too time consuming for myself to continue, as well as the commitment to Duke of Edinburgh, Cowley DVD marketing, Cowley DVD productions, Grade 8 Piano, my 4 A Levels and not forgetting the now well-into-season Saints RLFC. I remember fondly the job, the colleagues' quirks, the patients' mannerisms and one elderly lady, who simply asked for bread every evening rather than the full roast dinner...

Moving into April and the A Level process starting the end-cycle of its thoroughly distinctive stress-inducing procedures. The German A Level oral exam happened around the end of April/beginning of May and with the help of the German assistant I did the best a single-student class could. The end of March and beginning of April saw TV take a turn for the better, with the materialisation of the familiar TARDIS once again on UK screens. This was perhaps the turning point for me, in terms of media recreation, as I immediately researched the previous series and looked into the forums for future series and stars. Another TV related era that came to an end was the final release of the Brittas DVDs, which brought back so many 90s memories it is simply insurmountable how much that DVD release meant to a 90s child. April also saw the holiday of a lifetime to the historically-charged Berlin. The rented apartment furnished for kings, and supplied by Cowley Language College for me was simply an amazing opportunity to learn more about the culture of post-war-post-reunified Germany and almost certainly helped in my oral exam as discussed earlier.

May came and went without much punch as the same routine geared me up towards the May-June-July exams. The closer the leaving date gets, the worse the tension gets and the pressure mounts. June was the most jam-packed exam month, with exams fully overloading my life, as, on average 5 modules for each course were sat, i.e. 4 A Levels times 5 modules for each - normally exams lasting between 1 hour and 3 hours! If only I knew what I know now, I wouldn't have made such a fuss! June also saw the culmination of the Doctor Who (2005) series in which the infamous DALEKS returned to take over planet earth, simply amazing BBC drama - long may it continue!

July came and the Cowley era was certainly coming to a close. The VI Form ball, saw tears and laughter as we reminisced about the unforgettable past 7 years. My leaving video (shown earlier on in the year) is a nice tie-in to this topic, as it got the reception of "aw" when DJ Sammy's candlelight version of "Heaven" played in the background to 7 years worth of video and photographic still footage. This, shown in the final assembly accompanied another of our genius ideas, undertaken by the fabulous Mr. Lau; the toilet-roll covering of Mr. Dunford car, shot in the morning, edited by the assembly and shown (as if live) to a stunned Dunford and the entire VI Form common room; only to be interrupted by the culprit - Mr. Lau coming storming in - with perfect comedic timing with the toilet roll around his body as if it had just occurred! Simply one of the funniest moments in Cowley history - given the context of Mr. Dunford's efforts to "hide" his car from such attacks! If only he'd have parked it elsewhere!

July also saw the culmination of Bob Geldof and co's efforts for a re-boot of the issue of Africa and the G8 summit's importance in tackling it. Live 8 was a stunning global event, spreading across the world live to billions of people. An event so breathtaking it highlights the year as one in which people took a stand against world debt, poverty and suffering. A truly inspirational act, that encouraged the younger generation, as well as the older into action for their beliefs. July also saw me, for the first time, working 2 weeks full-time at St Helens RLFC, not really affecting the bank balance as much as I'd hoped but... that's Saints for you! One of the most important events in July (apart from Dad's birthday) saw me completing my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, in what was one of the most emotional journeys I've ever experienced! Travelling through the battle of the Somme, in both a journey of discovery and excitement, as I discussed complex science with none other than the King himself, formerly know as Ronnie - I'll simply never forget the conversation that concluded that if time travel were possible, we are now standing on the very ground were so many gave their lives for their country. I would recommend a journey to the Somme battlefields for everyone, not only those interested in the period - it is simply too big an event to miss the opportunity to witness the effects of it as first-hand as possible, both on a human level and on an environmental level. The trip saw the culmination of 4 years of enjoyable and yet trench-foot-inducing hard work, both on the behalf of Paul Griffiths and co and Team Griff themselves. The final night in the Hotel in France was simply too emotional and saw me trying to communicate my prepared speech of thanks to Paul through blubbering tears of sadness and joy; sadness at the passing of an era and joy at the sheer experiences I've been given - that moment will simply not happen again and for Team Griff I know it is one that will be remembered for the rest of time itself.

Well after that quite deep, philosophical rendering of July, we come to August, which was a very lazy month indeed and a time for me to simply take a breath and lie back after what was a non-stop 8 months. The year had gone so fast and I remember thinking of the year ahead and what life would become, as I sold another ticket to a super-league fan. This laziness and unpreparedness for the life I was about to embark on was carried through into September and it was only on my sister Lisa's birthday party that I realised the full effect that university life would have on me and the life of my family. Although I look upon university as an excellent "inter-temporal" investment, I can't help but think of the family-life I've left behind - thank god for short terms and long holidays!

Fresher's Festival - ©2005-2006 andyholland.co.ukSo on September 24th, my life change forever as I officially left home for Warwick, swapping the luxury of St Helens for the student accommodation provided by Warwick. It was a time of both anxiety and excitement - a strange period, the leaving of good friends and being away from family, along with the prospect of meeting new friends and joining of many new opportunities and interests. Freshers' weeks in September (as pictured left) proved to be the building blocks for the foundations of friendships with both course- and house-mates, and the drunkenness didn't stop between one day and the next!

October came and went as if somebody was pushing me from behind - with no real effort in terms of work or leisure, I was riding the surf, so to speak, that was the realisation of my life at Warwick. I joined both WarwickSnow and MusicTheatre Warwick as well as WarwickTV and all of which have allowed me to explore my interests in a more economical and fun way, with people who enjoy the same enthusiasm as I have for the areas of expertise. WarwickSnow for example saw me on my first (now of many) 3-legged bar crawls around the uni and in the local, Royal Leamington Spa - the chance one again to be a child is simply amazing! November saw me passing my Grade 8 piano exam - the culmination of 10 years of persistent practise, which I will treasure as a skill and artistic form forever...

So, we come to the closing stages of 2005, with most of the main events covered (with the exception of very personal and other memories that I probably have forgotten to include - it was such a busy year). December saw me return home from Middle England to translate all my first experiences of the bubble that is Warwick to family and friends. I got to see the Cowley Christmas production, which was always a favourite, relaxed and enjoyable experience to be part of. I also got to meet up with old friends and teachers, which is always superb and go on to enjoy a nice quiet Christmas, surrounded by family and of course the new addition to the household - the sister's boyfriend - always an enjoyable experience! Christmas is a time for family, friends and acquaintances to meet up, generally be nice and enjoy what can be a fabulous two week celebration of the past year. This Christmas, however enjoyable, I got a glimpse of the past year and how much has changed and the memories that have been forged forever in time. Nevertheless, life is for living and grabbing every opportunity given; that is what I've taken as a statement from 2005 - although lots has changed, the memories forged can never be taken away, for enjoyment for years to come. Thank you to everyone who has been part of those memories. It simply has been an amazing year!

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