Snow and arrival of  Ben

With Ben's arrival suddenly I had a member of the family who was up just as late as me. One or the other of us tended to stride in at gone 12 at night then stay up even later just talking. It was wonderful having him here and the late nights will not be the same without his "I really should go to bed" shortly followed by another hour of Xbox. He now has his own cottage a few minutes down the road, a pokey little place, but I'm sure he'll manage. =)

And now as it turns out...Ben will be leaving us towards the end of January to work the rowdy Suffolk Pubs....he lasted a year.... lightweight  ;-)  ....He will be sorely missed.

Walking in Wales

The annual walking weekend never fails to be a highlight of my year. Not many things are more enjoyable than causing havoc on 12 mile walks with the Scarbs, Habashi's, Kings, Brents.....the list goes on and on! We were in Wales this year in a wonderful place on the coast literally minutes from the beach yet still in the middle of no where. The usual death defying stunts and breaching private areas to hunt for air rifles and bows an arrows occured and I must say we hit the motherload with that basement! All sorts of treasures.

This year, however, we we doubly lucky in being able to go walking in Wales twice! Later in the year we went with the entire Griffiths Meddly to the Brecon Beacons. In a monstrous cottage with table tennis, table football and 3 ropeswings you couldn't go wrong really! I had an amazing time consisting of cave exploring with the cousins, sprinting around hunting for a style which the map claims "must be somewhere around here" (It was in the next field) and watching the most recent addition to our family doing frankly dangerous stunts with fireballs on string. Not to mention Nigel coming scarily close to getting hit by a firework in the family display! And of course the family tradition of sing-songs late into the night was well upheld!

Spain

Spain, quality accomodation, beach, pools, do I really need to say any more? Oh yes of course the highlight was the Griffiths's inbuilt need to get away from the crowds and head off up into the mountains. Incredible scenery, get away from those resorts people, there's views to be found!

Exams

Yay exams -_- ... In the last academic year I did my AS level in Biology, Psychology, Drama and English Lit. My results were AACC which I was overjoyed with to say the least! I have since dropped English Literature and am pressing ahead with my other subjects wit all the enthusiasm I can muster. I very recently did my practical exam for Drama but will not know the full result till the Summer once I have done the written exam (Yes that's right written!) Biology and Psychology exams are looming in January. Joy.

Andrew - Music + Band

A couple of years ago now (Is it really THAT long!?) I joined a band with three of my longest friends. David, Michael and Matt. This year we finally came up with a band name....Laika (The first dog in space) And began to get to grips with garage band. At last we managed to record a track! If you want to have a listen go to:

www.myspace.com/officiallaika

On top of this I have also been messing around on the piano a great deal grasping at moments of "inspiration" to attempt to get together some sort of a solo composition. These too are on myspace (well my favourite ones are)

www.myspace.com/officialandrewgriffiths

Enjoy! =)

New Wine

A fun fest of mahussive tents, caring for small children and general immaturity. Great fun and I will most probably be returning next year!

Devon

I love Devon. Plain and simple! The annual Fireworks competition in Plymouth is a must see! It's just incredible every year without fail! The rest of the visit this year was as fun as ever. Even if I did miss some epic parties.    -_-

Greenbelt

Undoubtedly the best year of Greenbelt so far and I've been going since I was born! Had amazing times, very little sleep after a couple of all-nighters meeting random strangers and playing music in the early hours! Met some incredible people who I hugely look forward to seeing again next year! Incredible bands played with many now worthy to be added to my playlists for regular listening! Definitely a major highlight of my year! =D

Muse weekend - party down by the River Dart

This could not have been more spur of the moment. Muse (A band I have liked for a while after being introduced to them by the band) just so happened to be playing in Teignmouth (Their hometown) and the stage just so happened to be facing the family flat. Oh and the flat happened to be unoccupied! To put it simply, with a car load of people we drove down to Teignmouth and was the concert for free with one of the best views in the house (we were barely 400 metres from the stage which is better than yu'd get at Wembly Stadium). Additional hilarity was added by knowing a friend (Samuel Healey) had paid silly amounts of money to see the same concert. Ahahahah =)

After this by chance we were very lucky in it coinciding with my Uncle Glyn's birthday party! Down by the River Dart with the wind up record player running away having a picnic. It felt like I had just stepped in to some kind of scene from a very old movie! The only thing missing was a butler! Here's some film footage from the Muse concert and the birthday picnic.

 

University Hunting

Oh the joys of open days. I visited a great deal of University's this year including Durham, York, Bristol, Exeter and Bath. On various occasions this meant being put on a train and told I would be staying with some friends or relatives. The nerves of being out there by myself were not helped by my father giving me the Briggs's OLD ADDRESS! Unbelievable. However, I survived and have now submitted my UCAS application. A few days ago I was delighted to recieve my first Conditional Offer from Plymouth University! But my main goal is to study BSc Psychology at York University.

Talent Show

My sister Abigail, being the absolute headcase she is, decided that instead of taking a simpler option she would organise an entire Talent Show to raise money for "Music for Peaceful Minds" headed by a friend of the family Bethan. Being Little Miss Organisation this event was of course a success and a lot of money was raised. I myself took part in two acts one solo piece and also with the band formed just for the event... "Hamish". Goodtimes!