This is my review of my 2010. Enjoy!
January -
The mocks and college work came thick and fast. Law was getting more and more complicated, History had lost me completely and English was, well, English. The snow we had towards the end of the month will live with me forever, I have never seen anything like it! So much fun was had in it, but it did last a little too long! Oh, I failed my driving test again.
Portsmouth were doing "ok". We started our FA Cup campaign by beating Coventry in a replay in the 120th minute, talk about leaving it late!! We subsequently beat Sunderland 2-1 at Fratton in the next round. Our embargo was lifted. Sort of. We could bring in loanee's and free's, but not "buy" players. We got Jamie O'Hara back on loan and brought Quincy back to the Premier League.
In Pendulum news, work on the new album was coming along nicely, with new tracks being previewed at a headline show at Matter, o2 London, with El Hornet being joined by Speed and Anscenic on the decks. This show enticed the world to new tracks such as Watercolour, as well as The Vulture, Crush and The Island amongst others.
February -
The intensity of work was taken up a notch, with the results of the mocks and re-takes out. I did no better in my English re-take, still on a B grade, but i was happy with my mocks, getting an A and two B's. I had heard back from all my university choices and had 5 offers out of 5, so i was pleased. However, i already knew which one I wanted to go to.
Portsmouth had a month which summed up 2010 for the club. Days before playing Southampton in the FA Cup, the club was issued with a winding-up petition, but thankfully was given a stay of execution in the High Court. The players didn't let this affect them and went and trounced their rivals 4-1 in their own back yard!
The odd sample or leak or scrap of news was coming out of the Pendulum camp, with the 3rd album being entitled "Immersion". In addition, a UK tour was announced which included a headline performance at Wembley Arena in May. Watercolour was confirmed as... Watercolour and not the previously thought "Take me out of here".
March -
More of the same at College, more failed driving tests, work work and more work, with a final push being made towards those all important exams.
Portsmouth were getting ever closer to relegation following a 9-point deduction, but now focus was on the FA Cup and a lunchtime clash at Fratton against Birmingham. 2 Piquionne goals, the second less fortuitous than the first, put Portsmouth into the semi-finals and a trip to Wembley against all the odds.
Pendulum were preparing and finishing Immersion, with a mid-May release closing in. Watercolour was to be the lead single and debuted as Zane Lowe's Hottest Track in the World on Radio 1, showing the world just what the band had in mind.
April-
Ah, April. Well, i passed my driving test at the 5th attempt! A big monkey off my back. I attended my cousins wedding in Cambridge. I worked hard. I accepted my place at Oxford Brookes. That's about all!
Portsmouth were relegated one day, then beat Spurs in the Semi-final the next! The mad world of Portsmouth FC. The shock to end all shocks was fantastic for me. How Spurs didn't score and win I will never know! We were battered, but survived and Dawson's slip let Piquionne score, whilst KP Boateng scored a penalty at the death to make it official: Portsmouth were in the FA Cup Final. Again!
The main Pendulum news of the month was that fans favourite track, Ransom, had been cut from Immersion as it "didn't fit" according to the band. This was met by disappointment but also news that it would emerge "at some stage".
May -
Brilliant Month. I had my exams (i had the flu whilst i did them!). It was a relief to get them completed after years of hard work. I just hoped i had done well enough....
Pendulum hit Brighton in May and I went down with 2 mates and a load of others that i didn't know, but soon got to know and have kept in touch with since. A great gig even though not too much from the new album was forthcoming. It was great to get front row and even get one of the band's water bottles, we then saw in my mate's 18th birthday, which made the night even better.
Portsmouth had the small matter of a FA Cup final against Chelsea. This time it was different. The fans went for a day out expecting nothing. We enjoyed it so much more, despite the result and Boateng's missed penalty. My hard work on twitter had paid off too, i found a Chelsea supporting friend right before the final and we have kept in touch ever since. (this paragraph is dedicated to @shivamlm, haha!)
Pendulum exploded. Immersion was a Number One album, Watercolour got to number Four, Pendulum's highest ever single. The vibe was huge, Pendulum got massive. The worldwide release of the album was met with critical acclaim, tracks such as Witchcraft, Crush and tune of the summer, The Island would prove to be huge.
June-
Literally nothing happened in June. Not even joking!
July-
More eventful! Went to Warriors Dance Festival and saw Pendulum, Chase and Status and The Prodigy smash up Milton Keynes and play to 65,000 people. An amazing day even if the logistics were difficult, (long story!). Met up with 2 sets of friends there, which completed the day!
I also went to Guilfest, where a dream of mine was achieved; to see the masters of electronic music, Orbital. I loved it, even if it wasn't that busy and they were great. Also saw Milton Jones there, just to top it off!
Portsmouth were enjoying a much-needed break, even if Avram Grant had left and half the team had gone.
Pendulum hit Milton Keynes, and in truth be told, it was their worst performance. Outdoors doesn't suit them, nor does a massive venue. However, they still smashed it to bits!
August-
Wow! I got my results - 3B's! I got what i needed for uni! I'm going to Oxford Brookes! August 19th was one of my proudest days, I was just so happy to have made it. Results night was excellent. Spoons in Guildford was ram-jammed, everyone was happy and the night was brilliant, having fun with old friends and new. Oh yeah, the next morning i was off to V Festival for the weekend with 2 old mates! (see a previous post for more details)
The next week I went to Coventry for the opening day of the season. Failure. Big failure. A team full of kids and one's who wanted to leave. An experience best left forgotten.
Then it was off to what was to be the best weekend of my life; Reading Festival 2010. Carnage, pure carnage. Pendulum headlining the NME Stage, a proud moment, a hell of a lot of new friends, a 42nd Birthday and a flag to match (Mark!) many laughs, many "new experiences" had, and a load of fun in general, despite the weather!
Amongst all this, I also saw the T20 Finals day at the Rose Bowl (see a previous post for details), another great day of the year for myself, a Hampshire fan.
September -
I was off to uni! Oh my god! It was dawning on me, and quickly! I met my flatmates at 3am, after a fire alarm. Messi, Raymond, Ed, Sophie, Miguel and later on, Natalie. They are great to live with, so much so, i'll be living with 3 of them next year too! I settled into uni really quickly and got to grips with Law easily too.
Portsmouth managed to not win in their first 7 games, which luckily came to a halt following a 6-1 demolition of Leicester at home late in the month. A true highlight so far!
Pendulum were back from their festival tour and announced two tours; a short one of Australia and a fully-blown Arena tour of the UK, again including Wembley! Naturally, i was going again!
Oh yeah, it was my birthday on the 23rd!
October -
More of the same at Uni, work, fun and more work!
Portsmouth had a fantastic October, including a home victory over the impressive Nottingham Forest. Suddenly, from relegation candidates, the club were very much play-off contenders.
The Island was released as a 3rd single by Pendulum, after the release of Witchcraft in July, with the promise that if The Island charted higher than it's predecessor, Ransom would be released. It didn't. It wasn't.
November-
Coursework began at uni and the workload increased. Everyone was getting along great in the flat and I was making more friends in lectures too. Happy times!
Portsmouth had a shaky November, including 2 defeats, but also a win away at Swansea, highly impressive.
Pendulum destroyed Austraila and were in deep preparation for their UK tour which started in early December. Rumours of new live tracks being played gathered momentum.
December -
More coursework, more exams, oh, I love it really! This is what uni is all about!
The snow certainly disrupted things; more on that later.
Portsmouth had a disjointed December, with matches against Burnley and Scunthorpe called off, yet the club prevailed against Norwich and gained a point at home to Millwall and away to Leeds, no easy task. However, as always, nothing was easy, with contractual disputes and lack of funds making Steve Cotterill's task harder.
Pendulum smashed their Arena tour, with every date sold out. Wembley was massive, despite the snow doing its best to stop me. New live tracks did emerge, namely Different (dubstep remix), Comprachicos and Encoder. The show was off the scale, yet again, no damned Tempest! I need to see that song live!
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So, that's my review. It's been an amazing year, with the highlights being getting into uni, passing my driving test, Pendulum in general, Reading festival and Portsmouth FC (sometimes!). Here's to you, 2010.
Roll on 2011!
Grant
