My 2022 Highlights
It feels as though my 2022 was sadly filled with more low points than highs, but luckily there were a few days and moments I can pinpoint and mention where everything didn’t feel so bad. As we turn over our calendars and enter another 12 months where anything can happen, I wanted to reflect on and share the few highlights of my 2022.
My First Published Story
I stumbled upon a competition hosted by my local library group, calling for entries of poems and short stories up to five thousand words long. I remember messaging a friend asking them if they think I’m capable of writing a new five thousand word short story before the submission deadline, to which they expressed their belief in me. Prior to this I had been working on a novella since late 2020 and chose to use this challenge to create and expand upon the backstory for one of the main characters called Gemini. Over the course of I few days I sat down, typing away, crafting ‘Prelude — The Driveaways’ and submitted to them.
After a few email exchanges, news soon came back to me of my short story qualifying for inclusion in the eBook anthology they were crafting. The title was shortened to just ‘The Driveaways’ to avoid any confusion for readers upon release, but when it came out in January 2022, I was elated to know my original work of fiction was out there in the world. It also resonated on a personal level, quelling my creative insecurity and doubt, telling me how my work must be worth something to be included. And it also reinforced the belief I have of me working better as a writer as opposed to anything else I’ve done creatively.
Debut Radio Appearance
As a result of my Trans Talks series on YouTube, produced in conjunction with my previous Uni, I was chosen to be the lead interviewer toward a set of gay celebrities for LGBTQIA+ History Month. After the interview happened, me and my co-interviewers appeared on BBC Radio Suffolk to discuss the event. This marked the first time I had ever appeared on the radio, with the interview taking place over Zoom but broadcast live, as part of their BBC Belongings series. It’s still a pinch me moment, something which comes to me every now and again, remembering leading an interview with Charlie King and being on local radio discussing it a few weeks later.
‘PSY 9th/Colourful Album’ Is Finally Released
I won’t go into my foundations as a PSY fan, this video of mine discusses that better, but the release of ‘PSY 9th’ was a landmark and personal achievement for me personally. After being postponed in 2019, I never thought the day would ever come, until I woke up to the news one day: “PSY coming back / ‘PSY 9th’ / 2022.04.29 (Fri) 6PM KST.” Before I knew it I was simultaneously back in 2019 and 2013, wearing my ‘Gentleman’ replica sunglasses and eagerly counting down to release day. With each new track artwork being revealed I would bore friends, speculate to myself and watch discussions unfold among the fandom. While waiting for the release I had PSY and his P Nation colleagues on constant repeat, making PSY my most listened to artist of 2022 in my Spotify Wrapped (landing myself in the top 0.01% of listeners) and ‘Ping Pong’ by HyunA & Dawn my fifth most listened to song of 2022.
After the released I recorded the above video and purchased a copy of the album, which was shipped from South Korea, while videos of almost every track were released over the following weeks. ‘9INTRO’ stands as my favourite, but ‘Celeb’ means the most to me. Here’s what I wrote on Instagram after watching the video for the first time: “the celeb music video was finally released yesterday, and after i finished watching it i burst into a ball of tears, which sounds really stupid and pathetic. it’s very rare being alive makes me feel anything positive, but this album and these videos feel like a reward for making it this far. i am incredibly thankful for PSY 9th”
Once his Summer Swag concerts rolled around, I’d watch fan videos and his own with jealousy as I can only dream of being at a PSY concert myself. What’s worse was seeing PSY bring out special guests like Sunmi, Heize, Jessi, HWASA, Hyuna and Dawn to perform during his breaks — all these artists are ones I’d discovered after returning to the PSYcho world. Perhaps the most momentous moment of the entire era is ‘That That’ and the subsequent live video from Summer Swag, showing PSY and Suga performing their collab together for the first time. The K-Pop crowd went wild across the world, and PSY managed to release a song bigger than ‘Gangnam Style. Just as he predicted.
First Time Podcasting
In addition to my first ever radio appearance, I became a podcaster this year too, appearing in two different places. One of which is the Let’s Get Real podcast, another collaboration with my previous university, with the hopes of making an educational show to raise awareness and educate people regarding all things LGBTQIA. In three of these episodes, I sat down to help interview Cherry Valentine, Elliott Mason-Wright and Amal Fashanu; the latter was so most hard hitting, leaving me highly emotional and in need of five minutes to collect myself after Amal departed.
Secondly is my double appearance on Chris Johnson’s Purple Knights Podcast. We first sat down to discuss a (currently) unreleased Prince album called ‘Camille’ after I helped break the news on Twitter. Another highlight related to the episode is how much the album means to me as a trans-femme artist, which I was able to discuss with Chris, with him remarking how accurate and well written my track review of ‘If I Was Your Girlfriend’ is. Later in the year I returned to the PK Podcast, along with Kurt Hoffman, to pay tribute to George Michael. We discussed his legacy, music, and how much he means to us individually.
Ncuti Gatwa Is The Doctor
I was sat doing Uni work one Sunday afternoon when the news broke. It was totally unexpected, out of the blue and quite random. I didn’t know who Ncuti Gatwa was at this point, but after learning he was the “wash your hands you detty pig” guy from ‘Sex Education’, I was extremely interested. I then sat down to binge ‘Sex Ed’ myself after having never seen it and watched every scene of his through the lens of “how would this work in the context of the Doctor?” By the end of series three, I was entranced and hooked. Not only is this an incredibly gorgeous, queer, androgynous person but he can also do hilarious and serious perfectly — as a ‘Doctor Who’ fan, I feel whoever plays the Doctor should be able to be the funniest and most serious person on screen. Ncuti captures this perfectly.
While this video I made after his announcement may not have sounded so enthusiastic, with each passing day and breaking pieces of news, I become more ecstatic and impatient. Sometimes I sit and think just how lucky we are to be getting Ncuti Gatwa as the next Doctor. He’s only spoken one line on screen as the Doctor, but it made me lose my mind. I am so impatient for his Doctor to come into the fore this Christmas and feel this is the most exciting thing the show has had in a very long time. As much as I love Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor and feel incredibly attached to her era, especially the ‘Flux’ series, Ncuti Gatwa is already my new favourite actor to play the Doctor. The future is here!
Rediscovering Christine & The Queens
My first discovery of Christine And The Queens was thanks to an ex-girlfriend in 2016, when I was in sixth form. I loved a few tracks from their debut album and would play them infrequently through the years. By 2018 I was getting stoked over the two singles (‘Girlfriend’ and ‘Five Dollars’) from their upcoming second album, but somehow never got around to listening to it. Nor the six track EP released in 2020. After hearing the mesmerising ‘Je Te Vois Enfin’ shortly after release however, I fell in love all over again. So much so it became my #1 most played song on Spotify this year; I played it 150 times and am planning a special way to commemorate my love for the song and Redcar — the new masculine persona Chris took on for his third album.
Once I finally listened to his second album, I totally fell in love with it and began to thoroughly research the entire album. I have a half written review of it in need of finishing, which I hope to do and release later this year. And what made his second album so special and resonate so deep within me was studying and learning of Redcar’s gender journey while also progressing on my own. I came out as non-binary in Summer 2022 and listening to Chris/Redcar’s music, especially his second album, was so empowering. I truly found myself, so much comfort and understanding in the music. Like a warm hug telling you “it’s okay” and “I understand”. Despite half the album being sang in French, his native tongue, the music and passion within each song alone was enough to cheer me on and inspire me. Without Chris, I wouldn’t be the enby I am today.
Doctor Who Worlds Of Wonder
After falling back in love with my show during the pandemic/lockdown, I think 2022 was the year ‘Doctor Who’ truly became everything to me. Riding off the high of ‘Flux’ and beginning the year with the amazing ‘Eve Of The Daleks’, while also being incredibly sad Jodie Whittaker’s last rodeo was ahead, a true highlight of the year came when Worlds Of Wonder was announced. Akin to The Experience in Cardiff, which I never got to visit, a new exhibition was curated to allow fans of the show to get up close and personal with props and costumes. Not just from ‘Flux’ but dating all the way back to the 60’s and 70’s too. It was set-up in Liverpool, a good five hour drive from me, but I was lucky enough to attend. I have a whole video talking about my experience waiting to be released, and a plethora of photos from the day too. What really made this day special was seeing so many real things from my all time favourite show.
I got to touch a real life Weeping Angel, I found out I’m taller than a Dalek, I saw a TARDIS console and every single sonic screwdriver. This was me, a total nerd, in my element. For a few hours I was Dr Who, my dream since I was six years old. Following this we went around Liverpool and explored, giving me a chance to stand where John Bishop uttered the words “what’s the point of being alive?” — generating the Evil Dan meme within the community — and stand in the same spot where he joined the TARDIS team. For one day I was living ‘Doctor Who’, which ended with me buying a box set of Peter Capaldi’s first series of the show. He’s my favourite Doctor and my hero. But this day, October 15th 2022, was the best day of the year. Perhaps the best day of my life so far.
Seeing Richard E. Grant Live
After falling in love, being inspired and enamoured by Richard E. Grant since watching ‘Withnail And I’ for the first time in 2021, I got to see the man with my own eyes. It came about after he released a book chronicling the ill health and subsequent passing of his late wife, who challenged him and his daughter to find “a pocketful of happiness in each day.” He then announced a book tour, with a date in London at the Palladium, and I made it my job and duty to attend. That I did, which you can read all about in this review I wrote.
It had been ages since I was last in London, so returning to the Big City was exciting itself. Not only was I seeing one of the most important men in my life, but I was visiting a part of the city I hadn’t been to alongside my mum and her boyfriend. It was a day out for us all, even though it was only me who was there to see my beloved REG. In addition to spending what felt like an hour in Fopp, we went to Forbidden Planet too, where I walked away with a novelisation of ‘Scream Of The Shalka’, an animated ‘Doctor Who’ episode with one Richard E. Grant voicing an incarnation of the Doctor. As well as his latest book, I went home that day with another book all about him. The love I have for this man!
Doctor Who Am I
Early November saw a very exciting theatrical release for all UK ‘Doctor Who’ fans: a documentary called ‘Doctor Who Am I’, filmed across several years, and chronicling the American convention circuit for all things ‘Who’. It was created by Matthew Jacobs, who wrote the 1996 ‘Doctor Who’ TV Movie, and was co-created by Vanessa Yuille with a plethora of ‘Who’ related stars. Me and a friend from university both went to see it in Cambridge, with the company of Matthew’s sister, which launched into a lengthy conversation to discuss the film and our own memories of ‘Who’ together afterwards. My friend wrote a review of it on their Instagram when they got home, and I sat down to record my own review the next day.
There was so much passion, insight and relatability within the film I had to sit and share with whoever watched my video — and I wanted to help advertise it as much as possible. After posting my video review, Matthew and Vanessa were both kind enough to not only watch my video, but share it around their own online community for the film too. Being able to speak to both creators, with one being a veteran of my all time favourite TV show, was one of the most incredible things to happen this year. I’m so thankful they found the time to watch my video and were able to create and release the documentary in the first place. I can’t wait to see what they both do next and would love to work alongside them both sometime in the future. My fingers are crossed!
Realising I Wrote A Book
Between February and September 2021 I would spend almost each day writing in a diary through lockdown. All my thoughts and feelings, the good and the terrible, were embedded into those pages. It discussed everything from crushes to working on my first album (‘Inner Mechanisms Of A Soulless Body’), being a college student during the pandemic and being trans in a mildly proactive household. After unintentionally leaving the project behind, I was sifting through files on my laptop in September 2022 and rediscovered it. A whole 149 pages of it, which made me sit back and think “… I’ve written a book!?”
Conversations were then had with trusted friends: “should I release it?” As I have a fear of family members coming across my innermost thoughts, but simultaneous hope somebody like me would stumble upon it and realise they’re not alone and find comfort in it. After consulting several people, plans and ideas were put into place and serious consideration were beginning to be made. While I cannot announce a release date for ‘Lockdown Diaries: The Fact of Fiction’, I can tell you work is being done to perhaps unleash it into the world. Maybe my dream of releasing a book is closer to coming true than any of us thought?
Alongside my debut book potentially on the horizon, I have lots of ideas and projects rattling around my brain I hope to realise and release across 2023: more reviews, videos, maybe some vlogs and even more stories too — but more on all that later. Please do be on the lookout for them all, as every bit of support and engagement means the world to me. You can follow my antics and keep up to date with them by following my Instagram: vickyxleigh. Let’s all make the most of 2023 together ❤
