I've never done an end of year list, as I can never remember what books or records I have bought during the calender year. Also, I buy so much old music, (I prefer 'classic') and receive a lot of new stuff in the post, (a lot of my CDs have the line 'promo copy, not for sale' on them. I once thought it would make a good album title, but it might backfire in the same way as calling your band TBC would), so it's hard for me to judge. So I've decided to attempt a list, in the form of an award ceremony. I did think of making some awards and presenting them to each person, but I really couldn't be arsed.

The Steve Oliver Awards

Gig of the year: Captain Dangerous

The album launch party for The Empire Never Ended took place at the Rescue Rooms on June 2nd with a headline gig backed by a sixteen piece orchestra. It showed why Captain Dangerous are one of, if not the, best bands in Nottingham. I know they divide opinion, but they are woefully underrated and deserve the success that less worthy artists are running away with at the moment. I saw Guns and Roses at the Arena few weeks before this, and Captain Dangerous put on a far better show. There will be a day in the future when some of us will be able to say that we saw Captain Dangerous in the relatively intimate surroundings of the Rescue Rooms, and the queue outside the sold out Nottingham Arena won't believe a word of it.

Bar staff of the year (club/venue): Glee

The staff at Glee are attentive, efficient, and polite, exchanging a polite chatter if time permits. In other words, they are a disgrace to the job!

Event of the year (music): Branch Out Festival

A Sunday afternoon/night of the cream of Nottingham's music talent, stretched over the cream of Nottingham's music venues. I felt stressed out trying to plot my route around the day making sure I saw the best bands, so I can't begin to imagine how stressful the organisation was.

Scandal of the year: Mushy peagate

Goose Fair was rocked this year when THE mushy pea stall did away with the traditional bowl and ladle of mint sauce, in favour of the shop-bought squirty bottle. Hopefully, order will be restored for Goose Fair 2013.

Event of the year (none-music): Sillitoe Day

The launch of the Alan Sillitoe smartphone app, which lets you follow the locations from Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. It featured talks from historians, writers, and readings by David Sillitoe, and took place at Nottingham Contemporary, (making it the only good reason to go into the place that I've ever witnessed, apart from when they have bands on).

Thing of the year: Nottingham Trend

On April 20th, Tony Bates prompted everyone in Nottingham to tweet about all that is good with our city using the hashtag #Nottingham. This led to #Nottinghamrocks becoming a massive trending topic on May 29th, showing everyone unlucky enough not to live here how they are missing out.