ho ho ho and a bottle of gin for helen chambers, please

So, there you go. Another year draws to a close. Massive highs, crushing lows: standard fare for the 21st Century.

Personally, after the final shows of the year in York, I've been booking some shows, spending time at a desk and, in the past few days, back at the family home for that one time of the year it's acceptable to sit around and definitely not fight at all, no sir. I've just about recovered from the Christmas Party held at the Duchess in York after the final Black Swan show. Helen Chambers somehow managed to escape a hangover the next day despite being what I estimate to be 50% gin, so I bravely had enough of a hangover for both of us. Personally, I'm putting my downfall down to the Duchess serving their spirits in half-sized cups so, being a man of little desire to change my drinking pace, I managed to imbibe twice as much. All's fair in love and nightclubs. I'll see you next year for the rematch, Chambers.

I'm pretty damn happy with how a lot of things this year went. The difficult second album finally saw the light of day (indeed, I don't normally use the phrase Difficult Second Album, but some of the terms I have used for Back Down are just not fit for a public forum) and wasn't chased out of town like a scary mutant, we went touring in the US with Frank, tore 2000Trees a new chimney over the summer and finally admitted that you probably shouldn't be taking life advice from me via the medium of t-shirt.

Thanks one and all for your support. I really couldn't (and, more to the point, wouldn't) do this without you. There really are too many people to thank, so if you're reading this: this is your thanks.

See you in 2014.
b