2013 in Review

That was a crazy year for me. 2013  began full of expectations, anxiety and frustration. 
The expectations were of a year full of interesting events and people, with much progress in the right direction for Suki10c.
The anxiety was pretty much centred on the financial position and the threat to Suki10c posed by the consistent attacks of the neighbour from Hell, referred to now as He Whose Name Cannot Be Mentioned.
And the frustration?  Without pulling any punches,  the frustration was created by the sheer amount of self-centered, arrogant,  small-minded, egotistical selfishness and blind ignorance exhibited by some of the people around me.  I don't need to name any names here at this point,  they who are guilty of such behaviour will most probably not be reading this blog and, if they are,  they will either not recognise this description or they will continue in abject denial. Either way, there is nothing to be achieved by identifying the guilty other than to bring even more frustration to myself.  Rather just leave them to carry on along the narrow path they travel and hope that they don't fall too hard. Fall they will, of that I am absolutely certain.
Let's now focus upon He Whose Name Cannot Be Mentioned.  I'm sure that some of you will already be fully aware of this particular person and the position I have been put into by him. I will try here to explain as fully as possible the scenario.
The man does not want Suki10c to exist.
There,  I know that's a lot to digest but there's no other way to explain it other than go into every last detail.
To that end, the year, or 8 months of it to be completely fair, has been filled with complaint after complaint.  I have dealt with it as reasonably and as patiently as I could,  but it has resulted in the loss of my business partner, a four thousand pound legal bill, hundreds of pounds spent on materials for soundproofing,  hours upon hours of hard work, and ultimately I have wasted so much time and energy defending the business against the onslaught it has left a very nasty taste behind. It would now seem that the beast of noise nuisance is slain, or, at the very least, wounded and lying low. No further contact from the council since August so my fingers are very much crossed that we have done enough to limit any sound leakage from the venue and that we should hear no more on that front. But you never know, eh.........and from what I am told via the local grapevine he is still fully intent on having the place closed down one way or another! ! Pick on someone else, bullyboy, I ain't scared of you in the slightest.

In May we all saw the final Drop Beats Not Bombs event take place to mark the tenth anniversary.  Yes, it absolutely was the end of the road.  Nothing anyone could say or do would ever persuade me to do another.  So much went on over the ten years of organising those events that even now the thought of it all makes me feel physically sick.  That might sound somewhat strange to you but it's the truth. I will write about it all at length sometime but to put it in as few words as possible here just be aware that it drove me to financial ruin, destroyed friendships, ruined my relationship, stretched my mental health to the very edge of insanity, and exhausted me on every and any level that you'd care to put forward. Maybe it is the case that it was never Drop Beats but myself that should be held responsible for all of that.....yes, maybe so. That's something that perhaps I will allow myself to accept in a decade or two, if I get that far. Or maybe turning my back on it all, encasing it in emotional concrete and never putting a sledgehammer to it will suffice. Seems I've had to take such steps a fair few times in my days upon this rock......

Hmmmm, I find my mind wandering towards places I'm not yet ready to travel, dear reader. So for that very reason I'm going to stop writing,  right now. I need to examine my thoughts without the danger of unleashing it all here without due care.

For now then, let's just call this blogument 2013 in Review Part 1 and perhaps Part 2 will make it next week......or perhaps it won't.