Wednesday 18 January 2012

Review of 2011


Best Music

- Valhalla Dancehall - British Sea Power
- Skying - The Horrors
- Let England Shake - PJ Harvey
- The English Riviera - Metronomy
- The King of Limbs - Radiohead

Best TV - Comedy

- Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle - BBC2
- Frank Skinner's Opinionated - BBC2
- Psychoville 2 - BBC2
- 10 O'Clock Live - C4
- An Idiot Abroad 2 - Sky1

Best TV - Drama

- The Hour - BBC1
- Great Expectations - BBC1
- Being Human - BBC3
- Boardwalk Empire - Sky Atlantic
- United - BBC2

Best TV - Documentary

- The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse - BBC4
- Paul Merton's Birth Of Hollywood - BBC2
- Space Shuttle: The Final Mission - BBC2
- Sir Jimmy Saville at the BBC: How's About That Then? - BBC2
- Arena - George Harrison: Living In The Material World - BBC2

Best Film

- Senna - Asif Kapadia
- Submarine - Richard Ayoade
- Attack the Block - Joe Cornish
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - David Yates
- Super 8 - JJ Abrams

Most Significant News Events

- The police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham acts as the catalyst for riots and looting across the UK.

- Mohammed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian fruit seller, sets himself alight in protest at his treatment by Government authorities sparking a wave of revolution in the Middle East toppling Egypt's President Murbarak and Libya's Colonel Gaddaffi amongst others.

- The News of the World is accused of hacking the phone of murder victim Milly Dowler leading to further revelations of unethical practice at the paper and resulting in numerous high profile resignations and the ultimate closure of the paper by News International. The Leveson Inquiry into press practice, culture and ethics is ongoing.

- An earthquake and resultant tsunami in Japan cause the devastating loss of 18,000 lives.

- The Occupy Movement at St Paul's Cathedral in London symbolises a year in which protest at Government spending cuts, rising student tuition fees and banking practices was rife. The largest general strike since the 1920's took place in protest against public sector pension plans.

Most Memorable Sporting Events

- The England Cricket Team secure their first victory in an Ashes series held in Australia since 1987.

- The current Barcelona FC team secure their legacy as one of the all time greats with a master-class of passing football to defeat Manchester United at Wembley and claim their 3rd European Cup victory in six years.

- Jenson Button takes the unlikeliest of victories at a rain interrupted Canadian Grand Prix, passing Sebastian Vettel on the last lap and having made an incredible 34 passes and six total pit stops during the race.

- FIFA confirm the 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar, corruption claims are made by senior officials and gay rights groups condemn the decision to hold the event in a country that still outlaws homosexuality.

- Commentator Richard Keys and analyst Andy Gray expose a deep seated sexism at Sky Sports when their off air comments about female work colleagues are revealed. Both lose their jobs at BSkyB.

Most Memorable Personal Events

- Relocating the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology's library collection to a safe new home at Lloyd's Register of Shipping.
- StixStag in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Summer holiday to Bideford, Devon with family and friends.
- The Horrors live at The Roundhouse.
- The Manics live at the O2 Arena.
- The first year George really appreciated the magic of Christmas.

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