follow the yellow brick road

I’m half asleep this morning, owing to a whistle-stop journey up to Liverpool and back yesterday, followed by a book launch in the evening, and then a very disturbed night’s sleep resulting from a leaking ceiling. (What is it about me and leaking ceilings anyway? Is it something to do with my Lancashire roots – perhaps my special 'superhero' power is the ability to conjour water from the skies even when indoors?)

However, I just wanted to write a quick lunch-break post to say that Follow the Yellow Brick Road has been shortlisted for the most excellent Manchester Blog Awards once again this year – this time in the Best Arts and Culture category! Thank you very much Manchester Blog Awards!

I’ve been really enjoying making my way through this year’s shortlist, which includes some familiar delights like My Shitty 20s, Cynical Ben, Big City Little Girl, Manchester is Ace and Lady Levenshulme, as well as some fantastic new (to me) discoveries including Manchester Zedders, Justtesting, Lost in Manchester, Forgetting the Time, Words and Fixtures, I Thought I Told You to Wait in the Car and ... well all of them really. And I’ve especially enjoyed reading my fellow nominees for Best Arts and Culture blog, which are all excellent.

Here’s the full short-list: definitely well worth checking out!

• The Manchester Zedders
• Levenshulme Daily Photo
• Manchester is Ace
• Lost in Manchester
• Rainy City Tales

• Justtesting
• Lady Levenshulme
• Cynical Ben
• Forgetting the Time
• My Shitty Twenties

• Bookwitch
• Follow the Yellow Brick Road
• The Manchester Hermit
• Run Paint Run Run
• The Shrieking Violet

• Santiago’s Dead Wasp
• My Shitty Twenties
• Dave Hartley’s Weblog
• I thought I told you to wait in the car
• Big city, little girl

• Wondrous Reads
• Songs from under the floorboards
• Words & Fixtures
• Tales of a Sleepless Toddler
• My Manchester

The winners will be announced at the Manchester Blog Awards event at Band on the Wall on Wednesday, October 21. I'm going to be reading at the event, which is quite exciting! Find out more and book tickets here.

… and whilst we're on the subject of awards, I was also rather flattered to discover recently that I’d been bestowed the Plashing Vole’s very own special honour (what else but) The Order of the Vole!

Vole described FTYBR as “a stunningly literate and highbrow piece of work which conveys the excitement and variety of the arts world with delicacy and not a hint of the preciousness with so often permeates such affairs.”

Gosh. I am bridling as we speak. Shame there’s no one to show off at: I’m all alone in the office today but for a prawn and rocket ciabatta. Anyway, I reckon that’s not bad for someone who is currently doing a very convincing impression of a dormouse. Thanks very much Vole!

Right, self-congratulation lunch break over. Time to get back to the coalface…