Happy birthday to the blog, everyone look at me

(The world scampers to The DG’s office door, and raps upon it excitedly)

World: Come out! Come out! You must come out, it’s your birthday!

(Sound of empty bottles clattering to the floor)

Me: Hmm, what what? I’m awake, I’m awake, I was writing, I swear to God I was writing! (Sound of the Invictus advert playing on loop) Oh Christ, close down, close down! Where the hell is the mouse?!

World: But Demon Gin, you must come out, you’re one year old and there is fun to be had!

Me: (Rubbing bridge of nose) Ok could everyone just SHHHHHHH for FIVE seconds?! Okay…..okay…okay…(sound of bottle being opened)….okay, what’s going on?

World: It’s your birthday! Open the door!

Me: It isn’t my birthday.

World: It is!

Me: It ISN’T.

World: But it IS!

Me: My birthday is in August!!! Unless….how long have I been in here?

World: No, you silly goose! It’s your other birthday!  Your blog’s birthday!

Me………OHHHHHHH! Yes, yes, it is! WellactuallyitwastechnicallymidDecember, but okay, let’s go with this.

World: Yes! And it's also a brand new year, and we want to know your thoughts on the past 12months for some reason! Could you let us in? It’s quite difficult to keep this excited at a closed door.

Me: Fine, come in.

World: Thanks. So we want to know what you’ve learned in your wow there are a lot of empty bottles in here.

Me: I’ve been testing some new beers for a blog post.

World: And the pile of porn under the desk?

Me: …Blogging is a lonely business.

World: SO! Why don’t you run through your highlights from the past year? Tell us everything!

Me: Uhh…couldn’t you just read the blog?

World: Apparently not. You see, all bloggers are obliged to write a new year's post summarizing all that they have experienced and accomplished in the previous 12months because writing about it every week/month was clearly not attention seek-y enough.

Me: (ponders) That is GENIUS

World:  We know! And if you could throw in a line or two about what you've learned and how you feel you've grown as a person, it'll really give it some balls.

Me: Oh very well. First of all, here are my 2014 highlights.

In 2014, I…

Directed my first play

Went to the Edinburgh Festival and Las Vegas

Redesigned the blog 

Discovered more gin. Such lovely gins...

Finally watched Silver Linings Playbook and 500 Days of Summer, and was sick in my mouth several times 

Put many bars & restaurants to the test 

Put beautiful (and some worrying) things on my face

Ate a lot of salmon pate 

Acted in plays. PLAYS

Hung out with some cool cats

Heard Wise Words and new Sounds

And I think I lost this hat

 

But I mainly had lots of fun with some pleasant people

 

After one year of scribbling, I am still delighted to have this blog to my name. Seeing people like and comment on my posts has been an bigger buzz than I imagined, and it keeps me typing in my darkest moments. And without The Demon Gin, I would not have had the opportunity to visit Junipalooza or cover the fantastic Wise Words and Sounds New Festivals. I also would not have motivated myself to visit London’s incredible cat café, go tequila tasting or had the nerve to tell you all about how to find love on Valentine’s Day because my way is the only way that will work.

This year, I intend to take stock and stick to a regular schedule with a mix of reviews and rants, and  to explore more options for promoting the blog via social media. FYI bloggers - sharing posts on Google+ has made  huge difference to my hits, so do not ignore it as a channel. I do need to make better use of Instagram, though, as it is one channel I neglect.

God only knows why you keep reading my blog, but I love you for it. 2015 is here, tiny darlings, so let me know what you want to see more or less from The Demon Gin.

Thanks to all you wonderful people who have been reading this little blog, and who have supported me. Thanks to the many establishments & events I have visited whose organisers were kind enough to share and repost my reviews. Thanks to Emma (my designer), to Becky (my mentor), to Canterbury (my home), and to those who love me and who I love in return.         

As a final treat, here are some of the weirdest Google searches that have led people to my site:

• Is gin good for your penis? (Yes. Yes it is)
• i think i couldn't live without internet (neither could I)
• demon.com shoes (I am thinking of branching out)
• it's not ___ cat (what?)  

See you soon, tiny darlings...