Looking back at 2013

Looking back on what I wrote this time last year, it’s fair to say there was a lot of cynicism and negativity about my future. 2012 was the year when the security blanket of university was taken away from me, and 2013 seemed rather bleak. I was facing an uncertain future in the BBC, and had resorted to taking a dead-end job at PC World to keep the money flowing in. I left my mum who moved to Scarborough and moved in to a small terrace to stay in York, and just kept on going.

How things have changed for me!

I don’t think I had imagined how rapidly things would change, more so for me this year than at any part in my life. Time to look back on what a smashing year I've had.

Work

                                           

At the start of this year, I had 2 jobs. One which I loved (BBC Radio York), and one which I despised (PC World). Sadly the latter paid more, and I found myself having to give more priorities to it. In any case, shifts at Radio York were starting to dry up – so I began investigating possibilities like the Mark Forrest show. It was particularly tiring, most days I would work the breakfast shift (6-9) at Radio York, go off to PC World to do a 10-6 shift, and then get the train to Leeds and work from 7 till 10pm. I was shattered most days, but it helped me chase potential jobs in the radio world.

Trying to flog things to people was never my forte. In fact, before I left PC World things were coming to a head – I was going to be counselled every week until I sold more insurance. Looking back on it all, I can’t believe how long it seemed at the time, and yet it was only 2.5 months that I spent there. I don’t think I will ever set foot in one of their stores again.

The search was on for a permanent BBC contract, something I had been looking for since I joined the corporation on a freelance contract. This year I applied to Tees, Essex, Wiltshire, Cambridge – and finally Bristol. Far too much money was spent on train tickets to various parts of the country for my interviews, until I got an email in February inviting me to the BBC Bristol site in March, and the only date available was the 5^th March…my birthday.

So off I went to a city I had never visited before, my birthday cards were in my bag and a lot of uncertainty was in my head. Would I do it and finally be able to break free of York? The day itself was unseasonably warm, and I ended up being 20 minutes late due to delayed trains. Still, I arrived in the reception of this huge BBC complex and sat down to wait.

The board itself didn’t go at all well. I thought I panicked on a few questions, and left feeling a bit dejected. I had a wander round Bristol before getting the train back up north. What a crap birthday that had been. Even the wine I bought on the train to celebrate tasted like vinegar. I stacked my birthday cards on the table in front of me and slumped in to my chair.

On the 8^th March 2013, the call came.

I had a voicemail on my phone asking me to call them back, so I sat down in the canteen at PC World and rang. A piece of paper was in front of me ready to receive the feedback from the inevitable rejection, and then something remarkable happened.

“We’ve decided that we’d like to offer you one of the two jobs, working on the breakfast show. We were impressed with what you demonstrated, and see a real potential in you”.

I promptly thanked them, punched the air and left the shop. I think I was in tears when I rang my mum and my grandparents – things were so awful at the time that the job offer was my escape from it all.

Best of all, I had made my family proud of me. That’s all I ever wanted when I left university.

So in April 2013, I joined the BBC on my first full time job. Not bad going, considering I had only started doing work experience in April 2012 at BBC Radio Lincolnshire answering phones. Now here I was working on the peak programme for 80,000 people in Bristol!

My new "office" for half the day

Though the job has its many draining aspects (not least the 4:30 starts every morning), I am happier now than at any other point in my life. This is what I studied for 3 years at university, and what I love doing. All of a sudden so many doors have opened to me, trying to create an iPlayer brand for our show, social media stuff, packages on the radio – and all because I persisted through the awful times at the start of the year.

It’s just so rewarding to feel like part of a proper team, who are all very supportive of me. I do look back and wonder how I made the transition, being given about 2 weeks to find somewhere to live and move my life to the West Country.

Bristol

At the start of this year, I had never even been to Bristol – now I can’t imagine life without it. It just oozes creativity, whether it’s in the pop up shops, the graffiti in Stokes Croft, or the clothes you see some people wearing. Bristol is certainly a lot more different to any place that I’ve ever lived in.

The transition was a little bumpy. I spent a week here before I moved, living with Nick’s parents, Dave and Sarah, who very kindly took me round endless amounts of houses to find the right one. They also put me up for that week, I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them!

The houses were…interesting to say the least. One house even had a couple making rather loud love to each other in the next bedroom whilst we were looking around. After the first week, I couldn’t find anywhere and returned to York wondering what to do next.

Meeting K-9 at the BBC Children In Need event, Bath

As luck would have it, I was offered an attic room of a family house in Cotham. Dave and Sarah were to store my things, and I would be living out of a suitcase for my first month in Bristol. After much searching, I visited my current home and decided to settle there.

What a shame things didn’t work out, for now I am desperate to leave again! Most people will know what I’ve had to endure living at this place, whether it’s naked men bursting in to your room after house parties, finding the word “cunt” scrawled on pieces of Tupperware I own, or endless subwoofer noise – it’s not been the nicest place to live in. There are just too many people in the place, which is not a good combination considering how early I get up for work.

However, spending some time here has allowed me to get to know Bristol a bit better. All being well, I will be moving in to a 2 bed apartment with a friend from Bargain Hunt. Fingers crossed this goes well or I shall be back scouring Gumtree.

Friends

One of the things I have admittedly struggled with this year has been making friends. Bristol is chock full of young people, we've got 2 universities and endless trendy cafes and bars – so meeting people shouldn't be so hard, or at least you’d think so. Outside of work, I still don’t know many people in Bristol, and I have at times felt lonely. 

A lot of weekends are spent just sat at home, so something needs to be done to rectify this. It’s always such an uphill battle trying to fight the constant feeling of weariness you get from living such a different day to everyone else. Most house viewings recently have seen me dead on my feet, as people ask me to turn up at 8:30 or 9pm, when I am usually thinking about getting in to bed.

I say this to be honest, not for some inadvertent cry for help. Far from it, things could be a lot worse...

The vintage stuff

For want of a better title, this has positively exploded for me this year. This time last year I was worried about cutting back on record purchases as I couldn’t afford them, and now here I am making regular trips to dine and dance at The Savoy Hotel. I can’t quite believe it myself. Walking in to that glamorous lobby in my finest dinner jacket and patent shoes just feels so right.

A lot of it started with a trip to Blackpool in February, where I had the pleasure of dancing at The Blackpool Tower Ballroom, along with 1,100 other people. The sheer number of people, and the period dress was an amazing sight to behold. For that night only we were whisked away to the time, or at least it felt it.

Neil, Sue, Lisa and myself in the Savoy Hotel, London

When I moved to Bristol, I started looking at mini trips to London, as it seemed relatively close – and I was amazed at how cheap it could be too. With a few weeks’ planning, I can get a return ticket to London Paddington for £23 with my railcard. Naturally I’ve been most months this year!

It’s all thanks to Sue, who I met at Blackpool – she has very kindly allowed me to stay with her at all of these vintage events. In fact, it was her who encouraged me to visit London in the first place. In return, she gets a glamorous dancing partner in me!

Events like the Palais De Danse, and later Alex Mendham’s Orchestra at The Savoy have really opened the lid on the London vintage scene for me, and I now feel like it’s my second home in many instances. It is just so much fun to leave work at 2pm on a Friday, and be dancing in London that night.

The following day is usually spent sifting through records at my favourite shop in Walthamstow, Tony’s Tunes. I’ve lost track of the great finds I’ve made there.

Some resolutions

This time last year, I wrote:

“My resolution this year will be to get serious media employment in radio. I don’t care what, or how – it is going to happen”.

I guess that pretty much happened as I had wanted it to. I still consider myself a lucky man to be doing what I am doing, so more of the same please! Up to this point I had put so much energy getting in to the BBC, so I’m still trying to figure out what direction my life should take next. I guess I’m starting to take steps towards this, such as learning bulletin reading, coming close to passing my driving test, and other bits for when I should hopefully move on up the ladder. I do worry about not setting anything specific, but for now I just seem quite content to carry on doing what I am doing.

I’d like to stay in Bristol for the time being, I just feel that this city still has a lot left to offer me. Whether it’s the new circle of friends, or the job, or just the experiences I can have in London – I think I will end this year with a smile on my face when I look back at what I wrote last year, and think that things ended up going better than I could have hoped for.

So thanks for a fun year, and here’s to the next time. 

Jonathan Holmes and Pandora Harrison, relaxing at The Savoy Hotel, 26th July 2013.