Ten Reasons Why It Was Great To Be A Brit In 2012

Let's be honest, it's been a pretty banging year. In case you have been living under a rock for the past year and have only re-surfaced for the festive period (something I feel I partook in slightly. Except my rock had internet access), it's been like one non-stop party for the Brits this year. We waved our hands in the air and, boy, we waved them like we didn't care.

But as we say goodbye to another year and look forward to another one, I thought it would be nice to look back at a pretty fabaroonie year. Let's just forget about all the bad things that happened this year. Recession-schmession.

1) The Diamond Jubilee

Yes it rained that long weekend. It rained a lot. But that didn't stop us drinking all the Pimms we could lay our hands on and still having a jolly good time. We saw our incredible Queen and Prince Philip brave the elements to travel down the Thames in the Jubilee Pageant  which, whether you liked it or not, you cannot deny was pretty impressive. In a time like this when lots are struggling financially, it was a symbol of unity.
If you are already cringing at my cheesiness, do yourself a favour and stop reading now. It's only going to get worse as I get more patriotic.

2) The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics
Cor blimey, nobody thought we would do it. But we became rather secretly smug as soon as we saw Mr Beckham floating down the Thames, luscious wind-swept locks, holding the torch. And if you didn't cry during the opening/closing ceremony, you are a soulless person and therefore I will probably assume that you're ginger. I think it truly made people proud to be British (and it gave me an excuse to watch the television all summer).

I know everyone is saying it, but seriously, it couldn't have been done without all of us. The British public. If we hadn't had been behind it and backing it, which admittedly at first we weren't, then it would have failed. But we all helped in our own little way, some more than others. Now would be a really appropriate time to thank all the Gamesmakers and Ambassadors, because, hey, if a tourist had gone up to just anyone in Waterloo Station, someone would've got hurt. I say Waterloo because my fabulous mother was actually a London Ambassador situated in Waterloo. Yes, she still has her pink and purple uniform. No, she won't let me wear it.

3) Team GB

4) #royalbaby
One of the reasons we already know that 2013 will be totes ah-mazing, daahling. The nation's sweetheart (not you Chezza) got her hair cut, and we already knew it. I told you all, physic alert.

5) UK Cinema
We had the latest Bond film, Skyfall, hitting our screens in October as well as other films like The Woman In Black, Wrath Of The Titans and The Hobbit released as British films. Ok, maybe they haven't been our greatest ever. But, hey Hollywood, we have 007. And Harry Potter. So yeah.

6) UK Music
So Emile Sande seemed to be absolutely everywhere this year and it became a leeeetle bit of a joke by the end, but you can't deny she has a great voice. It's also been a great year for other British artists like Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran and Adele. And One Direction. Like them or not, they've had a stonking year.
It was also the year that Girls Aloud confirmed their reunion, so we'll be expecting great things from this sassy bunch in 2013.

7) It was THE year for British fashion
One of the most memorable part of the Olympic closing ceremony (apart from the countless appearances from Sir Paul McCartney and Emile Sande, pipe down you two) was the fashion segment, when some gorgeous British household name models strutted their stuff in gold, what else? Lily Donaldson, Naomi Campbell, Stella Tennant, Kate Moss, Karen Elson, Georgia May Jagger, Jourdan Dunn, Lily Cole and, who could forget, David Gandy, dressed head to toe in British designers. So it wasn't as fabulous as the Spice Girls reunion, but it was pretty damn close.

Another, more light-hearted nod to British fashion was The Mayor of London's collaboration with Grazia magazine, named 'Hatwalk' where we saw all the famous historical faces we know so well accessorised with a hat. Hey Nelson, nice Union patterned thingamajig you got going on.

8) The world didn't end!
So this isn't strictly British-related, but hey, I know you breathed a sigh of relief and switched the kettle on when you knew we hadn't been stuck by a zombie apocalypse.
I mean, I never really believed it, but hey, you can never be TOO cautious.

9) We had some GREAT anniversaries!
The Jubilee wasn't the only anniversary worth celebrating this year. Other notable ones include:

• 50 years since the first Beatles single was released
• The sandwich is 250 years old!
• Shakespeare is 400
• Charles Dickens is 200
• 50 years of Bond films. All together now da da da da daaa da da da daa da da da da da da daaa

10) Hey, we're fabulous every year

We're such a quirky country with our traditions, and, honestly, it makes me proud as an iPhone 5 owner. We drink around 165 million cups of tea EVERY DAY and we do love our Christmas traditions. We have the pantomime, Christmas crackers and mince pies. Apparently not many other countries do that. News to me.

Also, we have our royal family who, like them or not, make us unique and lovable as a free National Health Service. You can't complain with that.

Oh. And cool accents.

I tried to come up with 12. Trust me, I tried my hardest. But I feel this isn't quite the audience to be talking about Innovation and Inventions in Britain. Maybe next year.

So there you go. The best bits of 2012 in a nut shell. 2013 is going to be a real game-changer for me, let's bring it on.

L x