Interviewpilez: Cai Griffiths April 29, 2011

You asked for it, you got it!

Ever since our awards in January, we’ve been inundated with tweets, emails and the occasional poke in the arm from readers wanting to know when we’d pin down Ospreys prop Cai Griffiths for a chat. After a flurry of tweets and last minute panic on the streets of Landore, our Lauren sat in the bleachers of the Liberty Stadium ahead of the Ospreys’Magners League game against Munster to talk rugby, beards and get to the rather red bottom of what goes on when the O’s are on the road…                                                                          

Cai Griffiths: The Beard Days

How’s the mood in Ospreylia at the moment?

It’s good, looking back a couple of months ago we were quite disappointed with the Heineken Cup as we targeted that this year. But now it’s positive. Last three games we’ve lost our way a little bit, but tonight should be a good one to turn it around to be honest.

There’s quite a lot of change going on at the moment, are you seeing that as something positive going forward?

Yeah there’s a couple of players leaving but every year you have players leaving and coming in. It’s just different as a couple of the bigger names are leaving this year. Exciting times coming next year, we’ve got some quality players coming in.

You’ve been with the Ospreys since the beginning, so do you feel like you’ve grown with the club?

Yeah I feel like I’m Ospreys through and through, to be honest. I’ve been here since 2003, so it’s been a good few long years. I’ve seen a lot of changes but in the last couple of years it feels like we’ve gone up another level, regarding this place, the players, the coaching staff we’ve got and even the pitches where we train, so it’s all positive.

Would you never be tempted away by the money elsewhere?

Not at this stage, no. I’ve got another year on my contract out here and then we’ll see how I feel!

Well done on your 100^th cap last week, but earlier in the year you also won two awards from Manpilez, how did that make you feel?

It was awesome when I heard about that! It’s good, Twitter, I just find it a bit of fun, it’s a good way to communicate with the fans and get stuff out there. When I got those two awards it was awesome!  The third with the hundredth cap… that was a great achievement to be honest. I think I’m only the second non-international to have it so it was a great honour.

Do you think you might have a bit of a Twitter problem sometimes?

I’ve got into trouble one or two times, so I need to be careful what I’m putting on there sometimes. But no, Twitter’s a good laugh, I enjoy bantering with the other boys, especially with the Scarlets boys and stuff. It’s just a bit of light hearted stuff but sometimes people take it a bit too serious but you’ve just got to take it with a pinch of salt, to be honest.

Regarding your other award (for ‘Best Bromance’, with former team mate Edd Shervington): How much do you miss Edd, really?

I miss him a lot to be honest. Actually I’ve just come off the phone to him, he’d just come off from playing today. I speak to Edd on a daily basis, we’ve both got an iPhone 4 so we tend to FaceTime each other quite a bit, we’ve got a nice bromance going on. He’s a very close friend. He’s a man with a lot of values, so you’ve got to keep your good friends quite close to you.

You help him out on the farm, don’t you?

Yeah, I’ve been on the farm with him a few times and he said there’s a job for me when I’ve finished my career. I don’t know if I’ll actually take that and play with the pigs and stuff when I retire but it’s a big farm he’s got there and it’s going good, so it’s good for him!

How’s your season been?

It’s been good, last couple of months it’s been really good, I’ve been starting quite a bit. First half of the season wasn’t too bad, I played a couple of games here and there but I’ve found that you’ve got to play a good couple of games on the bounce, get into a rhythm and know where you are as a player. I’ve been working hard, not just on the field but behind the scenes as well and it’s paying off. I’m not involved here today which is a bit disappointing, but we’ve got another game and hopefully two more after that and it’s the off-season!

What’s your highlight been?

Probably reaching my 100^th cap for the Ospreys. There’s been a couple of things but that one really sticks out to be honest. Seeing the quality of the other players who have reached that 100^th cap and be so lucky to hit it. I’m god friends with Filo Tiatia and he just missed out he was on his 99^th cap [when he retired from playing], I talked to him before I had my 100^th and he said some good things before I went out there.

There’s been a lot of talk this year about issues around the scrum, as a prop do you feel there are problems or is it conjecture?

There’s a lot of talk about it, and there are a lot of reset scrums. Personally, I think all round there needs to be a bit more awareness. I think some refs have got it but some refs tend to guess on it. I don’t want to put the blame on refs as some props do, not deliberately, bring it down. If you don’t win that engagement they’d rather take the 50/50 risk of going to deck and maybe getting a penalty against you , penalty for you or a reset scrum so I think some props, if they don’t get the hit, they think they can go back or collapse it. But I don’t think there’s a major issue to be honest.

So… what was the beard all about?

The famous beard!

It seems to be coming back already…

I know, I usually go for the stubble look! The beard was there for Grow a Grav in November, then December came and it felt a bit chilly so I kept it on. It just grew and became a part of me, to be honest.

It was almost its own person at one point!

Yeah, I know, it nearly had its own name I think! Saved me buying a scarf for the winter, but the weather’s got a bit hotter now so I thought it was time for a change so I‘ve clipped it off.

What does ‘Clean Off’ actually mean?

Clean off…  it’s a term we use quite a lot down here…It’s clean off,  maybe another way of saying it is ‘off the hook’ just a bit wild!

What’s with all the aubergines, can you explain that?

That aubergine is a close guarded secret among my group of friends…

Would you have to kill me if you told me?

Yes, and everybody else around us.

How much Nando’s do you eat a week?

The amount of times I’m in there I should have a Black Card I think! I go there quite a bit, I enjoy it, it’s nice, it is what it is. It’s sort of quick, like fast food, but it’s not as well if you know what I mean? It caters for my dietary needs and most of the boys. So yeah, Nando’s is a good shout, and I should have a black card!

If you we stuck on a desert island with two of your team mates who would they be and why?

It’d be Edd Shervington… it’s quite hard. So many good boys! I don’t think it’d be Tom Smith to be honest, cause he doesn’t offer much, seems I carry him much of the time. I think maybe Jamie Nutbrown, he’s a good boy, brings good banter with him so it’d be them two.

What would be your perfect day off?

Just one day?

Yeah, you could do absolutely anything with it though…

It would be somewhere sunny, with music blaring and a beach…

Mumbles, then?

Not quite Mumbles, no! Somewhere exotic!

Who’s your best or worst roommate when you’re away?

Best roommate I’ve ever had is probably Andrew Milward, and old tighthead here, used to bring muffins all the time. I had to make the tea for him, but in return I’d have a muffin!

Worst… I’d say the worst is Tom Smith. Full stop.

Have you two had a row or something?

No, no, no, it’s just Tom Smith!

Do you have a pre match ritual?

Leading up to the game, no not really. I just try and chill out, have some food. If we’re playing at home and I have to cook the food, I find it hard to eat it for some reason, I don’t know why that is.

Going into the game I listen to some music and I have got a bit of a ritual, I can’t leave the dressing room last and I tend to be running onto the field the third player.

Do you have a song that you play to get you into game mode?

Little bit of funky house bit of Akon sometimes, just depends on what mood I’m in. Sometimes I’ll go for a little bit of 30 Seconds to Mars; I mix it up to be honest change my playlist week by week!

What’s your favourite book?

Don’t read books!

…CD?

My favourite Mp3…

Sorry, we’re a bit old school!

CD’s what are they!? Nicki Minaj, Moment 4 Life, that’s my favourite song at the moment.

So what’s your favourite film?

There’s so many, Gladiator, 300, Man On Fire, something along those lines?

Favourite game?

At the moment it’s Call Of Duty

Bit of a long standing one, that one, isn’t it?

Yeah, it kills the time and again, it’s good banter. I’ve got a couple of the boys addy’s, different teams and stuff and we tend to play against each other. You guys interviewed Danny Care didn’t you? I’ve got his addy but I’ve not had chance to play him yet so if he’s online when I am I’ll kick his arse!

What’s been your favourite incident or prank when you’ve been away?

Um, good crack is playing that game where you play table tennis but you all go round the table… You get three lives and if you miss a shot you lose a life. If you take all three lives the other boys are allowed to slap your arse with a bat or a flip flop so, that kills the time when we go away?

Is there someone who’s particularly bad at it?

No, we’re all pretty bad we all have glowing arses when we’re away… due to that game!

Who’s your rugby hero?

When I was growing up, Jonah Lomu, he was massive I don’t really have a hero but I do always look up to him, he was an immense player.

Interview by Lauren, picture from Zimbio. Amazon links help to support Manpilez

Belated Newspilez: Here’s our Graham (or Lauren) With a Quick Recap… April 8, 2011

Hey, look  we didn’t die of anti-climax from the last weekend of the Six Nations! An anti climax so severe it managed to leave everyone but Ireland lower in the table than they’d seemed to be heading and lead to the silverware being dished out in what looked like a cupboard.

With every one of the Six Nations returning to base camp with their tails between their legs, there seems to have been something of a resurgence in the domestic game. Though the Magners League and Aviva Premierships rattled on really rather nicely during the competition, the wounded internationals appear to have returned purely to prove their mettle and so the race to the respective playoffs has become mightily interesting over the last few weeks.

In particular, the Aviva Premiership felt like a cup final weekend last week, and that was no more felt than at The Stoop, where visitor Leicester Tigers beat Harlequins in one of the most closely and fiercely fought clashes we’ve seen all year. Punches, failed scrums, contentious tries, yellow & red cards and at one point, boots, were flying all over the place. It was messy, but boy was it exciting as both teams played their skins off.

The Citing commissioner had a mightily busy weekend all of his own and as well as Quins’ Joe Marler and Tigers’ Marcos Ayerzer’s bans for their fisticuffs towards the end of the match, Mark Cueto found himself in trouble after getting a little too far up in the grill of Northampton Second Rower Christian Day. The wait till Cuets’ hearing will be a particularly long one for England fans, as ‘contact with the eye or eye area’ can attract a ban of as much as two years.

In the Magners league, things weren’t quite so fraught but that’s not to say they were any less exciting. With the leaderboard painfully close and just three weekends left to go, the competition is massively hotting up and Munster v Leinster in particular had supporters in fever pitch, only for Munster to scrape past their visitors with a 24-23 victory. Meanwhile, the South Wales Derby of Ospreys v Blues ended in a draw after both teams defended their actual bottoms off to end 21-21 without a single try being scored.

Both leagues are having an off-week this week to allow for the excitement that is Heineken and Amlin Quarter Finals which means the madness has descended. ..

• Saracens, now without the media whirlwinds of Brendan Ventner and Gavin Henson have caused a stir this week by spending their week off training with the Miami Dolphins and taunting members of rival teams via social networks. Expect a lot of forward passes at Vicarage Road in the coming weeks as they try and secure their place in the Home Playoff zone
• Ben Youngs, fresh from thrown-out-ball-gate, has become Leicester’s Karl Pilkington after a mystery member of the Tigers squad has started a twitter account @stuffbensaid. So far it has featured such gems as : “ME: I heard you’re doing a session with Kyren Bracken Every Fortnight Lendrid: I am, but not every fortnight, he’s only up twice a month”. Tom Croft has also managed to convince Ben that they could breed salmon ready stuffed with cream cheese.  No, really.
• The Ospreys have sadly had to lose two players to enforced retirement on medical grounds in the space of a week. Firstly Ben Lewis was taken away from the Liberty Stadium by a nasty neck injury sustained early in the season, and young lock Conor McInerny has succumbed to a persistent knee injury. We wish them both all the best of luck for the future.
• Gavin Henson scored his first try for Toulon. The media have dubbed him The Best Player In The Universe again. We’re going to give him a few weeks before we pass judgement.

Closer to home, you’ll hopefully be pleased to hear that during our absence we’ve been away plotting for more great stuff for the next few weeks, and you know what, you’re going to love it. Not that we’re blowing our own trumpet or owt. We’ve lined up some cracking interviews  over the next few weeks to fuel your excitement as the season comes to a head.

First to get a grilling will be winner of your favourite nudey picture, Harlequins scrum half Danny Care, then we’ll be  heading west to bother Bath prop David Flatman and finally over the border to annoy Ospreys prop Cai Griffiths and referee Nigel Owens. And we’ve even got lovely lady rugbyist Jemma Cooper from Quins’ Ladies giving us her twopenneth. Blimey.  As ever, because we’re lovely,  if there’s anything you’re dying to know, get in touch with us in the usual ways.

This week we’ll be down at the Stoop for the Amlin Cup Quarter final clash between Quins and Wasps, so if you see us, say hello!

Words by Lauren

Awardspilez 2010: the long awaited results! January 30, 2011

Before we announce the long awaited results of the inaugural Manpilez Awards, we’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who sent in nominations, promoted us and, most importantly, to those who voted! The response to our humble little blog continues to amaze us; the day the polls opened was our busiest ever and over the week that followed, over 1500 of you put your mouses where your mouths are and cast your votes.

The polls have been pretty telling – it’s safe to say that a fair few of you share our appreciation of fine looking forwards and beautiful backs given the big response to what we dubbed The Hormonal awards and we also realised that out attempts to curtail our Welsh Bias were either a) failing or b) unnecessary as the votes seemed to stack up highest the further down the M4 the nominees were from!

And now, without further ado, we’re pleased to announce your winners!

Represent! The good, the bad and the downright regrettable marketing and PR moments of 2010…

–          The “Where’s Mine?!” Award for Best Kit and The “You Want Me To Wear What?!” Award for Worst Kit

However much you love your team, the chances are they’ve had at least one kit which you haven’t been keen on. What they’re wearing dictates what you’ll be wearing on your weekends for the better part of a year, so whose was the most desirable strip in 2010 and whose left you running in fear to the nearest GAP, desperate to purchase the blandest, least offensive garment you could find?

Secretly fearing the worst after a glimpse of the training kit (it was a bit… busy); it was love at first sight for Lauren and Anna, two self-confessed purple addicts, when the new Ospreys kit was unveiled. We’re very happy that you agreed with us and voted in droves for the indigo chevron look! In an awesome exercise of neutrality, you lovely people voted the Barbarians kit your runner-up.

Captain Alun Wyn Jones shows off the winning kit in fine style

Your least favourite, by a long shot, was the new Wales kit, which is saying a lot in a year when Stade Francais offered up this eyesore: Incidentally, Gigi’s garm placed second, but it was the newly Admiral sponsored Welsh national kit that turned up your noses, with cries of “It looks like a football kit!” and “Bring back the Brains!”

The real opinion splitter of this year’s looks was the England Anthracite Grey strip, which attracted exactly the same amount of votes in each category. Love it or hate it, the attempted justification from Nike that it’s “the colour of the thorn of the English rose” remains highly dubious.

–          The What The Shit Is This? Award for Daftest Piece of Merchandise

After Anna’s piece in the autumn highlighting  the various and delightful pieces of tat club shops across the nations are touting, we asked you which ones you couldn’t quite believe you’d coughed up cold hard cash for. It was a close call, but eventually, you decided that Mugs bearing the face of Emyvale’s favourite son, Tommy Bowe, were the most regrettable, no matter how much it warms your hearts to see him go over the whitewash, he shouldn’t be keeping your PG tips warm when you get home. Noteable mentions also go to Ospreys Dummies, Scarlets curtains and plastic ducks of every nation.

–          The Barry Scott Award for Most Hilarious Advert, Promo Moment or Photo Shoot

Every year, our pitchside heroes sell tiny bits of their souls in the search for their retirement funds. Sometimes, it’s a clear and logical part of the job; for example Lee Byrne and Shane Williams advertising fitness suppliments or James Haskell promoting… himself. But occasionally, a team or player does something so bizarre that it doen’t matter what the product, charity or competition is, you’ll never be able to take it seriously again. Surprisingly enough, this category was won outright  by Gavin Henson. You see, we had so many nominations for daft publicity stunts from His Satsumaness that we had to consolidate him into one easy to handle nomination, which he stormed with nearly 50% of the vote. Even in the face of Bath getting their teddy bears out for no descernible cause. Oh dear.

–          The It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time Award

This one should surely have belonged to Joel Monaghan and his shamed canine counterpart, yet even ill advised bestial photography wasn’t enough to make you forget the WRU’s ever-so-sensitive placing of a giant Gavin Henson on the side of the Millennium Stadium to coincide with the launch of the award winningly bad new Wales kit.

Never one to be outdone, big Gav’s turn on the dance floor also had you clapping your palms to your faces as it proved to be more toe-curling than toe-tapping.

The Breakdown… because the nice thighs are an added bonus, not the reason we’re here…

– The I Gotta Feeling Award for Best Game

You’re not a true rugby fan until you’ve travelled half the country chasing your team’s dream only to spend 2 hours in a cold stadium having your heart broken one pass at a time. Sometimes it’s hard to remember why we’re doing it, and then something happens, some master stroke, a magic moment that switches a game from depression to ecstasy, a build of energy that leaves you hardly able to stay in your seat from one minute to the next, where the whole crowd come together so you’re lifted so high you’ll be bouncing on air for a week. 2010 was, thankfully, a year of moments like that for many teams, from New Zealand’s efforts in the tri nations to The Magners League Final that nearly wouldn’t quit but one game stood out above all others to anyone in the northern hemisphere.

The scene:Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, Scotland were on fire and the men in Red had been fighting a losing battle… until Shane Williams made a break for the line with just 7 minutes to go. Nobody quite knew why, but from that moment on, we all believed Wales could come from behind, no matter how impossible it looked on the board. Moments later Leigh Halfpenny managed to make it over the ine after a failed attempt from Batman Roberts and before we knew it 14-24 had become  a staggering 31-24. My heart is still pounding almost a year later and even the neutrals out there were glued to the scenes like Wales were playing for their own survival. For 10 minutes one cold and rainy afternoon in February 2010, Everyone that wasn’t Scottish was Welsh.

–          The Don’t Call It a Comeback Award for Best Return

Sadly, Rugby is the kind of sport where nobody is immune from the twisted fate of injury or the ringing sound of a wrapped knuckle. Last year was no exception but your winner was not a victim of injury or the IRB citing committee, but of the mother of all hangovers. As was well covered by the Pre-manpilez press at the time,  one member of the Wales squad chose to celebrate a little too much after the aforementioned dramatic scenes against Scotland. In a golf buggy. On the M4.

After that, Mr Gatland banished Andy Powell from the squad, but while some thought his Wales Career was over, he kept chipping away behind the scenes both for Cardiff Blues and Wasps and come the Autumn Internationals he was back. And not only was he back, he was better than ever before, proving to all doubters why he deserved to represent his country again.

Well done, Gorby, you won your place in the squad and in the hearts of the Manpilez readers.

Honourable mentions must also go to Irish Ledge-Bag Paul O’Connell who had a frustrating period of staring angrily as Munster misbehaved in his absence before coming back to whip them into shape and Mefin Davies who came back to his Ospreylian Roots after a spell in Leicester of all places.

–          The Workhorse Award for Best All Round Performance

Based on our search stats, we knew Tom Croft would end up winning Something, but to be honest, we thought it’d a) be in the more hormonal categories and b) nowhere near as close as this. Thankfully, you lovely lot have proved that while you keep finding us looking for young Mr Croft in various states of undress, the real reason you admire him so is for his grafting on the field. Whether he’s stealing line out ball, driving scrums or making like a winger, you can always count on Crofty to put in the work.

However, just three votes separated Tom from our two runners up, Mr Richie McCaw is a controversial character, but nobody can deny he shows up and puts the work in, usually even when he should probably be in the bin. However, in the case of our second Runner up  Ryan Jones, many have tried to deny his quality over the last 18 months, which the Newport lad has countered by putting in some absolutely belting performances for region and country, and generally proving himself to be a bit of a ledge.

–          The Jiffy Screaming “Don’t Panic!” Award for Most Heartstopping Moment

We can’t say we’re surprised at the winner of this one, those last 10 minutes of the Wales v Scotland game which you voted your match of the year, and frankly it wasn’t even close. We’ve already waxed poetical about the ins and outs of the incident in question, but nothing quite sums it up as well as seeing it. So here’s  a Youtube clip.

–  The Chris Ashton Award for Best Try

Anna suggested the title of this award as a joke as there seemed to be little doubt that Ashy‘s jaw dropping try in October’s England v Australia game would sweep the board. Needless to say, you were all as impressed as us and no doubt held onto the memory with the aid of Lauren’s MS Paint skills. Our Welsh readers left only a slim margin between Ashton and the irrepressible Shane Williams, however, with his little gem against Scotland in the Six Nations coming a close second and also showed support for George North with his international debut coming in third.

–          The Ledge-Bag Award for All-Round Hero

Let’s face it as soon as BOD was nominated in this category, we should have known what was going to happen. Half of Ireland want to be him or worship at his church when he’s wearing green and the other half are busy pretending to hate him while he’s donning the blue of Leinster. A legend on the field and a philosopher off it, It was always going to be Brian O’Driscoll.

That didn’t however, mean he didn’t have some serious competition in the form of the amost Jack Russell-like Welsh winger Shane Williams. Even Scarlet’s supporters can’t begrudge Shane a try, as when he’s on form (which is nearly always), the tries don’t just come, but they come bang on time and out of seemingly nothing. We love Shane, you love Shane, and we’re all glad he’s back in time to tear up the Six Nations.

The Hormonal Section… because the nice thighs really are an awesome added bonus…

–          The Dropped Handkerchief Award for Most Swoon Worthy Player:

There’s was never really much doubt in our minds over which way this one would swing as soon as the nominations came in. Since our launch, one man has brought more people to our blog than any other (although Tom Croft is a strong contender!) That man is your Most Swoon Worthy Player, Tommy Bowe. Maybe it’s the smooth Irish tones, the butter-wouldn’t-melt smile or even the ability to save potentially disastrous dinners with impressive chocolate fondant, but whatever he’s doing, Tommy’s status as Manpilez Poster Boy #1 is now officially secured! Your runner-up was the equally lovely Olly Barkley, whose erudite wit and Twitter babysitting banter has been setting a fair few hearts a-flutter.

Your most lusted after player, Sir Thomas of Bowe

–          The Sorry I Forgot What You Look Like Fully Clothed Award for Hottest Photo

To be perfectly honest, we were a little surprised at the winner of this one. Based on comments we received through the three channels our site stats and our general demeanour, we assumed Danny Care’s fans were going elsewhere for their kicks. We were wrong, and of all the beautiful slices of naked manflesh on offer from the Dieux Du Stade to the Matt Hampson offering, Danny Care’s stint of near obscenity in the Rugby’s Finest Calendar won the lion’s share of your votes. Once again, however you lovely lot proved you’re all about style over filth and your runner up was the really rather overdressed Olly Barkley in this year’s Bath Rugby Calendar. Lush.

Your winning image

 

–          The Oh Daddy Award for Hottest New Father

Your run away winner was Ryan Jones, who left the other daddies trailing in the dust. In a year which has seen our RyJo scapegoated and snubbed, he managed to maintain his awesomeness and dignity while also becoming a father and sporting a dashing silver streak in his hair. Like you, we love him.

If there's two things we like here at Manpilez HQ, Ryan Jones and Tea would be high on the list...

Let’s hear it for the boys… because it wouldn’t be the same without the banter and bromance…

–          The #FF Award for Best Tweeter

Much like the Most Swoon Worthy category, we had an idea of who might storm this one, as there is one man who has done more for Twitter than the likes of Stephen Fry and Ashton Kutcher could ever dream of. That man is Cai Griffiths. We here at Manpilez feel Twitter ought to pay Cai commission for every new person he gets to sign up and double it if they’re an Osprey. Generous with his replies, liberal with his hash tags and always drifting somewhere between obscure and hilarious, Cai had won this award before we even thought it up.

While you lot were voting this man your King of the Twits, Tommy Bowe was posting this picture all over Twitter (Thanks Tom!)

Which leads us nicely into our next category, where you have chosen Cai Griffiths and Edd Shervington as your winner of the I Got Your Back, Bro Award for Best Partnership. Once side by side as front row forwards at Ospreys, they are now separated by club but are held together by a bond of kettle bells, chicken wings and unflattering Twitpics. Far less off the wall and far more genteel is the epic bromance between your runners-up Tom Croft and Ben Youngs, who have warmed hearts with their tales of shared pets and bad cooking.

–          The Clean Off Guy Award for Most Entertaining Player

Most discerning Rugby leaning folk will tell you that a large part of the deal with the oval balled game is the banter. In fact, some rugby folk are so obsessed with banter they go feral if left alone for too long. To that end, every team has a member whose value to the squad isn’t confined to their skills on the field and it’s those who we’ve come to celebrate with this award.

As you can expect, with so many characters around it was a very close call with just one vote separating our winner, Ian ‘Ianto’ Evans of the Ospreys and David ‘Flats’ Flatman of Bath. Both boys seem to have had more than their fair share of injury of late but both have put it to good use in entertaining the nation, Flats with his columns in the Independent, and Ianto with his legendary Yaks. We Salute you both, boys!

A massive congratulations to all our winners and a huge thanks  to you for all your votes and nominations. See you next year!

Words by Lauren and Anna, Pictures from all over the shop