2011 was an eventful political year, with the Arab Spring, phone Hacking and the death of more than one tyrant. On the flip side, it was also a year of wedding fever, Prince William finally made an honest women of Kate Middleton on April 29. Kate Moss and Jamie Hince, Lily Allen and Sam Cooper (she also announced her pregnancy), Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig, Prince Albert and Charlotte, Zara Phillips and Mark Tindall and Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell all tied the knot. Kim Kardashian got married too, but so briefly it is barely worth mentioning.
There was tragedy when Japan was struck by an record 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a tsunami. Followed by nuclear disaster at Fukushima, which is still being cleared up by brave workers, at serious risk to their own health.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher.
In August London burned as riots spread all over England, people died, lost their homes and taxpayers were left with a bill of over 100 million.
The Arab Spring started when 26-year-old vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi. set himself on fire in protest in a Tunisian marketplace on December 17th 2010. It lead to leaders all over the Arab world standing down including Hosni Mubarak (Egypt), Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and the death of Gaddafi in October.
Silvio Berlusconi also finally stepped down.
Osama Bin Laden was killed ten years after 9/11.
The press went mad over Pippa Middleton’s bottom. As did PR companies.
Super Injunctions were the buzzword of the year, but the name of the footballer came out after he was named by multiple people on Twitter. The film star who slept with the same prostitute as Wayne Rooney, however, got away with it. Our article on it was one of our most popular of the year, getting over 14,000 hits in a matter of hours
Borders book store closed down, as did the Space Shuttle Programme and Harry Potter ended after a decade.
The Iraqi war ended in December. A date set by the Bush administration.
Liam Fox lost his job.
The Phone Hacking scandal ran and ran.
Charlie Sheen lost it, but bounced back.
Aung San Suu Kyi was finally released from house arrest.
Frost’s Politician of the year is the people of Libya.
Anders Behring Breivik went on an murderous rampage in Norway on the Island of Utoya, leaving over 80 people dead and many more injured. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg called the attack a “national tragedy” and the worst atrocity in Norway since World War II. Stoltenberg further vowed that the attack would not hurt Norwegian democracy, and said the proper answer to the violence was “more democracy, more openness, but not naivety”. In his speech at the memorial service on 24 July 2011, he said what a proper reaction would be: “No one has said it better than the AUF girl who was interviewed by CNN: ‘If one man can show so much hate, think how much love we could show, standing together.’
The end of Harry Potter.
Frost started a campaign to end Prescription charges in England, the only place in the so called ‘United’ Kingdom still paying them.
Jessie J had a breakthrough year and confessed to being bisexual.
David Walliams swam the Thames. He raised £1 million for Sports relief.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher split.
As did J-Lo and Marc Anthony
Ryan Gosling had a brilliant year and was in the brilliant Drive. http://frostmagazine.com/2011/09/drive-film-review/
Sir David Attenborough dazzled again with Frozen Planet.
Frost Women of the year: Kate Middleton. After ten years and two break-ups, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton finally married her Prince Charming. Their wedding was watched by more people than 20 million people and the new Duchess of Cambridge has been wowing press and public alike with her style, charm and poise.
Man of the year: Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs died too young, aged 56, after a long battle with cancer. He changed the world with his vision and business acumen and when he died the outpouring of grief would rival that of Princess Diana. A true loss of a visionary man.
Most inspirational person: Eva Schloss. Eva survived the holocaust. She lost her father and her brother, her mother also survived and went on to marry Otto Frank and Eva became Anne Frank’s step-sister. She is truly the most inspirational women I have ever met. If you don’t believe me, read her books. The Promise: The Moving Story of a Family in the Holocaust
or Eva’s Story: A Survivor’s Tale by the Step-Sister of Anne Frank
[Full disclosure: I was in the West End Production of the play of Eva’s life; And Then They Came For Me.]
Kim Jong-il, Lucien Freud, Christopher Hitchens, Liz Taylor, Amy Winehouse and Vaclav Havel all died in 2011.
Adele and Katy Perry released the albums of the year.
Kristen Wiig co-wrote and starred in the hilarious Bridesmaids, which proved women could be funny.
Unemployment was high and economical troubles rumbled throughout the year. The US lost their triple AAA credit rating.
Finally, a great article.
http://frostmagazine.com/2011/10/top-10-common-faults-with-human-thought/
by Michael Morpurgo. It tells a story of a boy and his horse against the backdrop of World War I. The story also tells the little-known and often forgotten story about the horses used in World War I, most of which died.
