Stephen

ONLY ALBUM
1. "Songs For Silverman" - Ben Folds

NO SINGLES
...except the free ones from iTunes, and I often don't even listen to them...

ONLY 5 FILMS
1. Corpse Bride (October)
2. Pride & Prejudice (October)
3. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (October)
4. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire (November)
5. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (December)

TOP 5 CITIES
1. Cambridge
2. Birmingham
3. Bath
4. London
5. York*
*Narrowly pipping Durham and Lincoln

TOP 5 NORWAY REUNIONS
1. The Shindig Weekend (October) - a triumph of organisation and camaraderie, despite my own contributions to dampening the cheer.
2. After-concert-party at Darz's (August) - delightfully understated. Bats, bats, and an unusual supporting cast.
3. After-concert-and-New-Year-party at Freshfields (December) - steeply-sloping fun for all.
4. Tea in Marlborough (August) - a genuine reunion as Steph returns triumphantly to Europe, and Shula learns (hopefully) that four seats really can only seat four.
5. Fireworks-that-weren't-as-good-as-Midsummer-Common (November) - fireworks! Car park loitering! Candy floss! Random petrol station visiting!

Honourable mentions:
Toby Goes To Cambridge (excellent, but not hugely Norwegian),
TE Goes To Mai Thai And Thence To Narnia (a fine traditional Christmas outing, with added Hodgeses),
Shula19 (much more fun than Shula18, but [pre]dominated by non-Norwegians)

TOP CRICKET MOMENT
Finally becoming vaguely interested and even having some idea what's going on.

BOTTOM CRICKET MOMENT
Finally realising that Rupert Murdoch isn't just a pretty song, but has a dark underlying meaning that affects us all.

ONLY GIG (EVER)
1. Ben Folds @ Cambridge Corn Exchange

TOP 5 CONCERTS PLAYED/SUNG
1. M'sham Choral Society (December - Bach and carols)*
2. UCP (March) - Paert, Mozart, Schubert, Ravel**
3. Tsunami Appeal Come-And-Sing (January) - Vivaldi's Gloria, Mozart's Ave Verum, Handel's Messiah
4. Christ's Quincentenary: 1805-2005 (March) - Stanford, Parry, Elgar
5. Christ's Quincentenary Come-And-Sing (February - Faure's Requiem, Handel's Messiah).
*Note here the powerful recency effect in memory.
**The only one of my Top 5 to involve me playing the violin, and one of only two such concerts in 2005, the other being Christ's Quincentenary: 1505-1705 (which, I believe, is also the only concert I played in that's not on this list). Sic transit gloria, and such.

TOP 5 CONCERTS ATTENDED
1. Christ's Voices (November) - Mozart's Requiem
2. WSYO (December - Shakespeare in Concert
3. Trinity Choir singing on the river (June)
4. WSYO (April) - Shostakovich X
5. UCP (November) - Shostakovich, Faure, Sibelius

ONLY 2 BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2005 THAT I'VE ACTUALLY READ
1. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
2. Talk to the Hand
3. Christ's - A Cambridge College Over Five Centuries*
*I've started it, honest

TOP 5 MISCELLANEOUS
1. Opening an exam to find that after weeks of pretty-much-literal blood, sweat and tears you could answer not just three questions but nine; subsequent/consequent wearing of white 'fur' hood and parading through the town; subsequently returning to visit Cambridge having once left.
2. As You Like It at the RST; more generally, discovering a little more of how much beauty and interest there is in Britain, featuring London, The Midlands, and The North, as well as The South-West.
3. Shiny new mountain bike; more generally, beginning to enjoy new experiences that aren't quite 'like me'. See also 5.
4. Doughnut!Guardian
5. Finally discovering the joy, or at least convenience, of the sleepover: more generally, a more venturesome approach. I think I've done reasonably well for someone who until August hadn't been further than 15 miles on his own. See also 1, 2, 3 and to some extent 4. Note also the impression that my year began when my finals ended ...

Read Shula's!!!