As always, before I start this blog I remind myself of all that happened to me in 2014 (read here).
I ended last year with lots to look forward to and high hopes for 2015. I have not been disappointed.
I pondered whether to do this blog this year as it’s not really music related and that’s why most people read my posts, however as an annual tradition I thought I should and also it’s a good exercise to focus on all I wish to achieve for 2016.
I’ll try to make this one more concise… he said…
 
As the title states, this year has been The Year of Family for me. After getting our lovely new kitchen extension we were able to transform the back area of the house into a guest bedroom come music room. This has enabled several of my good friends and two of my brothers to come visit and it has really been special having these people in our home throughout the year. On top of this, we have attended several marriages and spent time with more of our friends with trips over to the UK. Since losing my dad in 2014 I have found a new drive to make the most of every day and this has been helped by continued financial stability, thanks to my hard work with WardsWebsites and the truly fantastic things Michelle continues to achieve in her managerial role at work.
We have enjoyed trips, as a Family unit the four of us, to Barcelona, Mexico and New York. Holidays of a lifetime. The kids continue to grow into the glorious creatures they are. I think we are doing a good job in helping them find their own characters and guiding them on what’s right and wrong. A great indication of this is I can probably count on one hand this year the amount of times I have wanted to strangle Mikey.  Drew now has a boyfriend. I no longer want to punch him on the nose every time I see him. He’s becoming part of the Family too.  Michelle told me this morning that I’ve been “the best” I’ve been this year in a long time. I am more chilled and happier more of the time.  I smiled. Then I thought about. Then I wanted to hurt her. We are all at our happiest in a long time.
In years gone by I have talked of financial instability. We’ve been through ups and downs. I am not motivated by materialist things yet this year I have attained lots of them and this makes me happy – I won’t lie. I have Michelle’s old “new” car and she enjoys driving around in a brand new one every day. We’ve had a new upstairs bathroom. The terrace has been renovated/improved and the kitchen is now totally perfect. I have more gadgets than you can hope to use and my “music room” is my joy every Sunday as I present my Radio Show. Whilst we lead a very modest life, we do not want for anything. This makes me happy.
Another thing that makes me happy is my new-found appreciation of keeping fit. I have definitely become a fully-fledged member of the Gym Wanker brigade. Earlier in the year I completed my first ever Marathon with a great time, as well as a triathlon. I am now training again for the Rome 2016 Marathon and once that is out the way I will focus back on lifting weights which I enjoyed so much throughout the summer this year. I started “fasting” and really can’t recommend it enough to anyone wanted to REALLY lose weight. Yes I’m a stick insect but to shift those pesky pounds around the gut I found that not eating every day/night between 8pm and 12 noon really worked. If you want more details then get in touch and I’ll be glad to direct you to our little group of house lovers that motivate each other and share diet and exercise tips.
I continue to enjoy my life away from the stresses of weekly travel to gigs as well as not keeping up to date with all the new releases, ‘not being a DJ’ is really working for me although as I type this I am making plans for a couple of VB gigs in exotic places and look forward again to a summer residency at Thai Beach Club that worked so well last year. I’ll be sharing those recordings in the coming weeks. My release with Sofia Rubina did relatively well and I look forward to starting some new Soul Central releases with Timmy Vegas in February, yet I still have no desire for this to enhance my DJ career.  As mentioned, The Vocal Booth Radio Show has given me a whole new passion for my music again and I thoroughly enjoy going through my vinyl collection every Sunday between 4 – 6pm GMT.
 
Outside of arranging a little party we have every September, I spend most my days designing and tweaking websites for a living. WardsWebsites continues to grow and I love the creativity this gives me, as well as improving all the time and learning and helping bring people’s ideas to life. This year saw a wide diversity of clients have their sites built with me and I thank each and every person that shares my calls for work whenever I am quiet. Respect !
Which leads me onto one of, if not THE most important thing in my life.
Next to three people I sit at the dinner table with every night, The Vocal Booth Family continues to bring me the most joy and inspiration anyone could ever wish for. I’d be here all day trying to get across just how much these people and this event means to me. I’ve got a couple of things up my sleeve for 2016 that I’m so excited to share with you all. Thank you, just thank you !
As I think of the VB Family I think of several individuals in particular.  Weddings. Births. Deaths. New Jobs. New Houses. New/No relationships. New dogs. New underwear.  
It has been a shit year for many but a good year for most. The transition from old year to new is always a positive one. If your year has been strong, you are energised and encouraged to make the new year EVEN stronger, if your year has been shit then you get to wipe the slate clean and are encouraged to make the new year EVEN stronger.  It’s a win-win.
I could have written so much more on so many other things and been more specific on small happenings throughout 2015. If you want to see my year in picture form, take a look through my Instagram Feed.
2016 will see us hopefully travelling more as a Family and continued health and happiness. That is all I desire.
It’s New Year’s Eve. I’ve got a dinner tonight with Vocal Booth Family and then a party until the early hours. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be. Hopefully, next year you can be here to join us.
Thank you for following/sharing/reading my thoughts and nonsense throughout the year/years and I look forward to growing alongside you long into the future.
 
Respect !