Dear CT on your 21st birthday,
I met you for the first time many years ago when you won a competition in school and I was tasked with giving you your prize (a box of Celebrations), but we met properly when Aiden kind of convinced me to tag along to choir when we first started college. We formed a kind of awkward little group - the two of us, Aiden, Jasmine and occasionally Emma - then there was an open evening (and our first performance, argh!) and we bonded while sitting in the empty common room singing pretty much every single Tim Minchin song that existed at the time... and then we embarrassed ourselves laughing at 'anywahere' in the middle of our first choir performance.
Then, for reasons I can't quite remember, you ended up helping out with our Children in Need fundraising activities. By this point, you had deemed us both 'CT' and you stuck up a sign saying that CT "is fabulous" and made me sit by it. This was also our first photo together, woo!That Christmas, incidentally, you drew the best Christmas card EVER and I now have a fabulous drawing of Tim Minchin wearing antlers stashed away to keep forever. I'm sure my efforts were nowhere near as... efforty?
At some point round this time, you also gave me a spare ticket to Daniel Sloss (& Kai Humphries) and our comedy adventures kicked off with a rap battle, far too much hummus and some excellent hugs. There was also the senior citizens' common room Christmas party where we ran around in Santa hats, sung along to an out-of-tune piano and did an excellent job of losing an elderly woman at the end of the day.
(NB: For some reason, you wore my fancy Santa hat that afternoon and I wore a crappy one that college handed out, aren't I a kind CT?)
So then we had the genius idea to go busking for Red Nose Day, 'cause for some reason we clearly had a ton of confidence around that particular time. We had two rehearsals (one at yours where I met basically your whole extended family, and one at mine where you didn't) then rocked up at college in weird-ass fancy dress and entertained the disinterested masses of Castleford for a day.
And then you left college (booooo!) and I had a crappy year while you had fun at university, but we still met up for comedy gigs (Jon Richardson springs to mind).
So, where are we now? Well, we're currently plotting an excellent science/laserquesting adventure with Eliza, spending lots of time tweeting and being witty, being in love with Lee Pace's lovely face and having arting days. We also had an interesting evening cooking with my dad. That was awkward. Sorry about that. You made a fabulous salad though.
CT, if I didn't have you, life would be incredibly dull. I'd certainly have a lot more hummus, nonions and homemade jam, but really, who needs it? Having said that, if I didn't have you, there might actually be a kangaroo. Who knows? Despite appearances, you like a good Dr Dre beat and will always beat me at rap battles... especially if they're occurin' outside our favourite door. That oh-so-controversial favourite door. Ahem. For your 21st, I would very much like to take you to meet Shovel from M People and follow it up with a trip to the theatre for the poor. We'll obviously have to stay overnight in a hotel but that's cool because BREAKFAST BUFFET! Although we'd better watch out because a gay man might try and bang us at Paddington. Wouldn't that be a birthday to remember! Oh, but maybe if we both double denim-ed it up, we might not be so attractive to him after all. And if we go along and dribble peaches then we'll be fine. Right, that's a plan. We'll have to do all of that after our epic geek's day out, though. And at the end of it all, we can celebrate your new-found grown-up-ness by sitting and drinking white wine in the sun.
Seriously, though, I have never met someone quite like you, CT. You have always been nothing but nice since the day we met (whichever that was, pick one if you like) and I am so thankful that I nervously tagged along to choir that day. Because of you, I have met so many of my favourite comedians had unforgettable experiences. I love everything about your quirky personality - everything from your nerdiness to the strange faces you pull (remember that photo from Children in Need? It still makes me howl with laughter) to the fact that you are yourself through and through. You are one of the most supportive, enthusiastic, encouraging people I know and you are perhaps the only person who listens to my mental ideas and thinks they're great.
Thank you for simply being you.
I hope you have a wonderful day and I will see you soon for adventuring and gifts!
Lots of love and macaroons,
CT xoxo
