2007 - Jesus Mound - Sonja, Nic

December: It was Christmas Day. Jo and Kelvin were up at 7 and then gone in the early darkness. As the light began to fade up on a new day, we prepared for a breakfast of Italian cake and strong black coffee (from mum's new gizmo).

2007 - Jesmond Dene - Nic, Sonja

December: Nic and Sonja had to continue their journey North. After breakfast I took them for a whirlwind tour of the Dene... for Sonja it was her second visit.

2007 - Jesmond Dene - Nic, Sonja

December.

2007 - Jesmond Dene - Sonja

December: I introduced Sonja to my old friend in the woods.

2007 - Jesmond Dene - Nic, Sonja

December.

2007 - Jesmond Dene - Sonja

December.

2007 - Jesmond Dene - Sonja, Nic

December.

2007 - Jesmond Dene - Nic, Sonja

December.

2007 - Jesus Mound

December: staying in my old bedroom I'm surrounded by the possessions of Freddy (mum's lodger). Including a photograph of his father that reminds me so much of Dr Jones in the Temple of Doom.

2007 - Jesus Mound

December: view from my old bedroom; final rays of light on my last time in this house in 2007...and judging from conversations with mum, I'm aware of a possible countdown to a time when this house will no longer be in the family. Interesting changes ahead.

2007 - Jesus Mound - Djr

December: I sat in my bedroom watching the sky grow darker. I felt important to do so. What a year. What an amazing year.

I left mum not long after 6 P.M... weighed down with my green Berghaus (from 1986) and a satchel containing my laptop and camera to take onto the plane with me. It was an easy flight. Jo was at the airport to meet me, waiting in the car outside. When I got in I discovered she was wearing nothing but a rain-mac and a pair of stockings and suspenders. Hello Bristol :o)

2007 - Cosy Castle

December: getting home we played tease, whilst I built a fire and got the lounge roasting hot....

2007 - Cosy Castle - Oj

December: love this girl.

2007 - Cosy Castle - Oj

December.

2007 - Boca Bar - Jules Ms Scarlet

December. Kelvin rejoins us for his final day in the UK before returning to Madrid...and an uncertain future. The Bristol Crowd get together at Bocha Bar to say hello goodbye to him... noticeable by their absence are Tony, Sonja, Zaniah...even Matthias.

2007 - Boca Bar - Vicky, Simon P

December. Vicky is nearing the end of several months being nothing but a mum 24/7 to little Orson. Simon is coping with lack of sleep and a full-time job that demands much travelling (early starts and late finishes).

2007 - Bristol Airport - Kelvin Sharky Bones McCoy

December. Kelvin slept over at Cosy Castle... the next morning saw us nibbling toast with strong coffee before driving him to the airport for his flight back to Madrid. I found myself reflecting on the huge changes in my life... both since this time last year (I was still in Newcastle, 4 weeks after Dad's death), and since this same journey, taking Kelvin to the airport only four months earlier...

...four months earlier, I had just enjoyed an amazing week following my 37th birthday, with Kelvin over from Spain, Zaniah over from Australia, Ramona over from New York and my little sister over from London...Kelvin was the last to leave and as I took him to the airport on a heavy and grey day, I knew I was looking at the end of 2 years (plus) of creative freedom; my money was gone, I had to get a job... I was very close to a precarious edge....

...so dropping Kelvin off this time, on a bright December morning, with such an amazing new phase of life in motion...it was a good feeling.

2008 - Cosy Castle (Sky Bunker) - Djr

January: despite finishing the creation of Yellow Dawn back in June 07, it was riddled with typos and had new systems never play-tested before... so it's taken 6 months of reading, reviewing, editing and correcting before I finally reached THE END.

My God... what a mammoth project...something that began way back in late 2005 after Hagen broke GAME. I launched the first edition, a crappy PDF in spring of 2006... but the real hard work began in February 2007... after I'd compiled and published God Seed, Dante's Fool and Iron Man Project through LULU... I sat down and began to the real writing of Yellow Dawn, and it consumed my life and my world until June. Good memories.

2008 - Cosy Castle (Sky Bunker)

January: And this is where it all took place... the cumulations of many years of work laid down within the walls of the Happy Flat (1995 - 2006). .