2009: The review

Hi Cherryaders, I know we’re well into the new year now and that Christmas is sadly becoming a hazy memory (though, hey, only 348 days till next Christmas, the countdown has begun!), so thought I’d do a very quick review of the year that was 2009. Before I start, I know this is hardly original, but isn’t the snow great? It’s been really fluffy round here and when Adam and I returned from the Fuel quiz on Tuesday we built midnight snowmen (which are still standing I’m proud to say!), what could be more lovely! Plus, despite treacherous ice on the streets of Rusholme we made it to Under Achievers last night and had a wonderful night catching up with everyone, having a dance and seeing the fabulous This Many Boyfriends perform, first proper night out of the new year and what a way to start the ball rolling!

Anyway, 2009? What was all that about then?

Well, my PHD was my priority I got a lot of writing and research done and continued to realise just what a great decision returning to uni has been, I’ve learned a lot and done some fascinating research and interviews and hope my writing has improved. My thesis is really starting to take shape.

Cherryade didn’t take up much time this year but it was a landmark year for us with some utterly amazing releases, including the truly astonishing debut album by The Lovely Eggs and the very long awaited debut album by The Bobby McGee’s, plus brilliant singles by Fever Fever and Kids Love Lies, a fabulous sophomore album by Ste Mccabe and of course volume 5 of a Very Cherry Christmas, bigger and better than ever! It really has been a perfect year for Cherryade!

Some great nights out were had in 2009, gigs and club nights in abundance, and when I’d had my hip done I was able to go back to some serious dancing! Hooray! Nights out were made all the better by the presence of our fabulous friends, we’re very lucky!

July saw our regular trip to the best festival in the world ever, Indie Tracks, a wonderful time was had as always, three days of superb music and company, only problem was I was due to have my hip replacement done 4 days later so I was having to take it a bit easy, move slowly and sit down lots but still had a great time! Later in the year we did our first Minehead ATP which was fun, I’m going to post a belated review soon.

In May I auditioned for, and was surprised to be offered, a place on the Manchester uni University Challenge team. Our first 2 matches, against Royal Veterinary and Kings College London respectively, were broadcast in July and December and I’m delighted to say we won both! Our next match is on Monday 11th January (first quarter final match) and is against St. Andrews. I’ve written extensively about the experience elsewhere in this blog so won’t repeat myself, a review of our second round match should be ready shortly!

I was in a play in March which the Manchester University Women’s rights group, The Riveters, were putting on, it was a modern re-interpretation of the ancient Greek play Lisistrata and was lots of fun! I’m not an actor by any stretch of the imagination but I am a proud member of the Riveters and so was delighted to be involved in such a great project! Feminist theatre rules!

Probably the biggest thing that happened to me in 2009 was that I had a total hip replacement at the beginning of August. I had spent a lot of time planning for what would happen afterwards, I wasn’t sure how much uni work I’d be able to do or how long it would be before I could go out, the surgeon told me to expect to be on crutches for 12 weeks and everyone was stressing what a big operation it was. I was terrified as I’ve never had major surgery before, but a quarter of a century of rheumatoid arthritis (I’ve had it since I was born) was making it impossible to get about without being in severe pain. I can’t say that the hospital bit was fun cause I just couldn’t wait to get home, but once I was home the change was amazing, the excruciating pain had totally gone and I felt great, I was off the crutches after a record 5 weeks and even while on them I managed to attend eas many gigs and club nights as usual and even made it to the Pride march, plus we did lots of museums and galleries and made a few trips to see my parents in St. Annes. In fact, we had a great summer, despite the crutches! Adam had taken leave from work so we got to spend lots of time together, go on lots of outings and do some much needed filing in the office! Plus, I got absolutely loads of work done, an incredibly productive month and a bit! Basically, though I was really worried about it beforehand I’m so happy I had it done as it’s made life so much easier and I’m much better than before and can go out dancing again and can thankfully walk longer distances again! Would highly recommend it (if you need it of course!)

2010 is shaping to be an amazing year too with lots of exciting research planned for my PHD, some exciting Cherryade releases in the pipeline and loads more!

Happy new year everyone!
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk