We Won an Award

 By Ashley Lister

This week’s theme is pain and pleasure – a topic which I can tie in easily to this blog’s Thursday night victory at the Radio Wave Culture and Lifestyle Awards.
For those of you who didn’t receive a text, tweet, email, telephone call or FB update on Thursday night, the Dead Good Blog received the Website of the Year Award for 2012. If I haven’t already thanked you for your support and your vote, then I must now thank you wholeheartedly.
Thank you all for the votes. It is truly appreciated. The contributors deserve the recognition and we honestly could not have won this award without your support.
But I’m wanting to talk about pain as well as pleasure.
I should begin by talking about the pain that came from having my tuxedo shrink. (On that point I could also talk about the pain that comes from comments of people suggesting I’ve gotten fat and my tuxedo hadn’t really shrunk. But I’m not a small-minded person. Apparently my backside is no longer small either).
Nevertheless, the pain of wearing a suit that is too small was just one of the points that hurt on Thursday night.

It was more painful that three of our main bloggers weren’t able to attend. Stylish Ste and Suave Shaun (both looking distinctly dapper) were there. But the wonderful Lara Clayton, Lindsay Barlow and Vicky Ellis were absent due to other commitments and conflicting circumstances.
This was painful for three reasons: 
1) All three absent writers are talented and hard working and deserved the opportunity to let their hair down at this event. Ladies: I’m truly sorry circumstances were against you.   

2) The photographs we’ve taken would have been a lot easier on the eye if there had been some female content within them.  

3) You three were sorely missed. You deserved to be a part of the triumph. It would have been wonderful to be able to share the evening and the victory celebration with each of you in person.
Absences aside, it was the pleasure that marked the evening. The awards ceremony was prestigious and swanky and wonderful. I drank champagne and lager. My head still hurts. I could write prolifically about the pain of that.

A bloke approached Ste and myself early in the evening and asked if we were a couple. If he had seen how much Ste was kissing me after we won, then I’d have been waiting with anticipation to find out the answer to that question. In truth, it would only have taken one more kiss from Standard Ste and I would have been reaching for my lucky condom.

Another bloke later called me a sissy for wearing a tuxedo. I could have taken issue with the comment. I could have wondered why he was telling me that I looked like a sissy for wearing a tux when there were a thousand other guys at the awards dressed identically. But I let the sleight pass. I might have looked like a sissy in my tuxedo. But I was a sissy in a tux holding the award for website of the year.

In conclusion, I’d like to reiterate my thanks to everyone who helped us secure our success. Below I’ve reprinted the poem I read when we received our award:

We’re a poetry blog for the brave

Where the writers try not to behave.

I’ve just made this small note

To say thanks for the votes

And, of course, thanks to Radio Wave.