Top people of 2011

After the 'pandagate' row the other day, I thought about putting a list together of my top people of 2011. Then I realised that would be hard and would potentially lead to more arguing, so I didn't.

However, there are some really ace people who I would like to pay a bit of tribute to, and those are the people I met off Twitter this past year, whom you should all follow. There's quite a few to get through, so I might miss someone out. Let me know if I do and I'll rectify it straight away.

Without further ado...

The first person I met from Twitter was @juliet_mcr. A wonderful woman, who was maligned by the Daily Mail and took them to court. As a result of this, now a law student. That same day I met @RopesToInfinity. Sarky but loveable git who writes No Sleep Til Brooklands, a great Mail-fisking blog, when he can be bothered to update it. Boyfriend of @other_red, who is awesome. Now, in order to make sense of things, I'm going to break the rest of the people up into categories...

People I have been out for drinks with:


@cpoffers - My most frequent drinking buddy in That London. Wonderfully acerbic sense of humour and a great source of cat pictures when I'm feeling down.

@stavvers, @mediocredave, @jedweightman, @seanjohalloran, @a_y_alex, @marxroadrunner - very funny, fiercely intelligent people who are often found plotting the demise of the Tories, of which I wholeheartedly approve.

@ludditewebdev, @iamminihorse, @karen_hackett - along with some others mentioned above, got me drunk on shots and kidnapped me at Victoria Station. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Had a great time with them and they're a pleasure to follow.

@scriptrix, @LosTheSkald - Classics-loving couple. Always have an interesting angle on politics and teach me a lot with their tweets.

@sonniesedge - one of my favourite people ever. Hilariously funny, totally on the ball and one of the best people to watch Doctor Who when hungover with (and one of the best people to get drunk with in the first place).

@scattermoon - great woman - gave me a much-needed place to stay after London Slutwalk and got me a job (even if it didn't work out!)

@JulietJacques, @ParisLees - fantastic Graun-writing trans* rights activists.

@QOFE, @sandyd68 - my wonderful Brighton-based Twitteraunties - if you could get kettled with your aunties then go get hammered with them while you scream obscenities at Question Time.

@nautilusinred - Trade Union activist who always has something good to say.

@voqo - very clever lady. Great fun to be around.

@Puffles2010 - or rather, Puffles' bestest-buddy. Offers an interesting perspective from inside the Whitehall jungle.

@interama - very nice person. Incredibly intelligent and knows her baking.

@ruthiedee, @clogmuso - Labour party members I didn't want to fight - a rare occurrence. Lovely Bristol-based people.

@heyhayley - now housemate of mine - her fault I moved to Bristol. Thankfully :)

@commuterist, @amipepper - fab couple. Commuterist has taught me a lot about economics through his tweets.

@BookElfLeeds - great tweeter on the subjects of Marxist feminism, libraries and literacy. Can handle obscenely strong strawberry cider that's served from a box on the end of the bar very well.

@bolli_bolshevik - very funny radical feminist and organiser of Leeds Reclaim The Night.

@Stebax - very talented media blogger at Enemies of Reason and at the New Statesman.

@DocHackenbush - comic genius and awesome at captioning images. Made my Facebook profile picture. Totally worth getting lost for two hours trying to meet him and Hackenbush Jr.

@kit_withnail - the man for whom the phrase 'fiercely intelligent' was invented.

@jaykayell_ - helped me avoid the Royal Wedding in London. Deserves a medal just for that.

@5ChinCrack - brilliantly hilarious author of Five Chinese Crackers - gives out the not-coveted 'Tabloid Bullshit of the Month' award.

@Trishie_D - laugh-out-loud funny American ex-pat. Always willing to help people. Me in 20 years time, without the being funny or American or nice.

@JenClone, @pitandpendulum, @Oddtwang, @SuperRetroid - one of the funniest groups I've ever had the fortune to meet. All great tweeters, and introduced me to a story I can neither erase from my memory nor tell anyone about.

@jdthndr - lovely student of Proper Journalism (it can be done!) and great person to have around. Cheered me up many a time.

@atomicspin - brilliant science and media blogger at Atomic Spin. Moved countries just after we managed to have a pint together. These two events may or may not be related.

Bristol Feminists:


@sianushka, @annifrangipani - awesomely dedicated co-founders of Bristol Feminist Network. Tireless campaigners and organisers of Bristol Reclaim The Night. Sian blogs at Sian and Crooked Rib and has just published a feminist anthology titled The Light Bulb Moment.

@NimkoAli - another woman who seemingly never gets tired. Co-founder of anti-FGM groups Daughters of Eve and CLIT-ROCK.

@marstrina - awesome radical feminist. Blogs at Not a Zero Sum Game.

@madamjmo - writes a great feminist blog with an emphasis on book reviews at Madam J-Mo. Once saved me from being stranded in Birmingham.

People I've met at demos and similar places:

@kateosgreatos, @toivoperson, @andyhaden, @sinisterpics, @ayiasophia, @bristolnoborder, @nynyflower, @iaincollins, @latentexistence, @penners_, @seancourt, @mortari, @catalyst45, @anonymoosh. Special mention in this category goes to @SallyBercow, who took a picture of my chest at London Slutwalk and sent it to Guido Fawkes, who then put me in the 'top protest totty' section on his blog. Cheers for that Sally.

Super-special mention:

@Pani_Bufetowa and @NeverFadingWood - who I am sure would be the most awesome drinking buddies ever if they didn't insist on living in Poland. Wonderful, caring, brilliant, funny couple. Definitely top of my 'to meet in 2012' list.

Last but not least, my lovely boyfriend @Chris_GLS, who I started talking to about this time last year on Twitter and started dating in March. There's not much I can say here that won't make people vomit, but he's proper awesome and really helps me out all the time.


There you have it, my favourite people from 2011. Meeting all of you has made this year so much fun,  and compiling this list has also made me realise how many more people off Twitter I'm absolutely desperate to meet. So... how's everyone's diary looking for 2012?