And so here we are at end of another year…all of a sudden 2016 seems to have passed by very quickly!
As I write this, I guess I’ll look back at the past 12 months with a tinge of sadness given the names of celebrities who have passed away such as David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Terry Wogan, Paul Daniels, Ronnie Corbett, Victoria Wood, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Caroline Aherne, Gene Wilder, Rick Parfitt and in the past few days George Michael and Carrie Fisher who I, along with millions of other young boys (and probably a few men too) had a huge crush on when she was Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi. I don’t know whether this year has seen more celebrities pass away than any other year or if it’s just a case of being more aware of it due to the media coverage. Maybe it’s simply a fact that for people who made names for themselves in the 70’s and 80’s they are now getting older, as we all do and it’s just part of the cycle of life.
Yes it’s sad when a celebrity passes; I think it’s because they are part of our lives as we grow up. For example, Wham always goes down well at a gig, Prince was a musical icon and I love Purple Rain, Carrie Fisher was in Star Wars, enough said, and I remember Saturday evening television with the likes of the Two Ronnies and Blankety Blank with Terry Wogan. One of my favourite films and yes, I’m a big girl, is Love Actually which Alan Rickman was in so all these people are part of my memories at various stages of my life. However I am also aware that there are people fighting battles every day who aren’t celebrities and aren’t in the public eye and there are people who experience sadness and grief in their private lives. I remember all too well dj’ing at a wedding reception in April for a young couple, Rob and Alice, and two months later Rob sadly passed away. Alice only recently turned 21 years old and I can’t help but admire her bravery in getting married at a young age to someone terminally ill. To counter that, I dj’d a birthday\celebration party back in March for a young lady, Katie, who survived cancer aged 15 so while there is sadness, there is also immense joy to be witnessed. I guess the fact is that you will hear the sad stories more than the good stories but there is beauty out there and you don’t have to look too far to find it. I dj’d at Naomi House children’s hospital in October and that was a great experience as all I was doing was giving up my time but, hopefully, I made a few children smile that evening – the feedback was that they loved it which was great to hear and I look forward to returning in 2017.
By some quirk, it would seem that I am booked for weddings more than any other event and each and every wedding I have dj’d at this year has been fantastic. I am humbled and honoured to play a small part in one of the most important days in a couples life and I wish each and every couple the very best for their future together. I do sometimes wonder what the first year of marriage has been like for newly weds; hopefully it’s full of love and laughter. Sometimes I get asked what’s the best part of doing what I do and every time I answer I simply say it’s the people. Without a doubt, I have met some absolutely fantastic people throughout this year and I also get to see the time and effort people put into their parties whether it’s a surprise party where the guests all wore masks of the birthday boys’ face so when he turned up, he was faced with a crowd of people all wearing a mask of him, or it’s sorting out decorations just to make sure everything is perfect or it’s simply just being there. I have seen tears of joy, hugs, handshakes; I’ve heard laughter, witnessed heartfelt, personal speeches and talked to more people than I can recall and I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it and the overwhelming emotion I witness at every single event has been one of pure love.
I hope 2016 has been a good year for you and as we close the chapter on this year, I hope that 2017 is a great year for you; thank you for letting me be part of your memories in 2016.
Martyn