How has life been for you and yours over the last 12 months?
Use this space as you want – maybe a chance for the AW community to reflect and share in the quieter, shorter days at the end of December.
This is a service Hannah used to provide each year – it was good to learn about what everybody had been up to. I hope I’m not treading on her toes in posting this. I look forward to reading anything and everything you want to post. I might even find the time to remember and write up what I did this year.
I’ve been fine, thanks for asking, and I hope you and yours are too. I’ve stayed well and not being a sociable man, wfh suits me. So long as I have my other half I haven’t missed seeing other people. It sounds cold, but I’ve never enjoyed company in large or frequent doses.
What I have missed is experiences – holidays and gigs (though we did get to over a dozen shows this year). Not just the events, but having reliable points in the calendar to look forward to. The furthest I have been from Essex since 2019 is Manchester to see my partner’s daughter, and I have my fingers crossed than some travel, even with restrictions, may be possible in 2022.
There are others who will have suffered far more than me, either directly through Covid or indirectly from either health conditions which have been neglected or hating the life forced on them by circumstances. I don’t have any major life-changes to report as everything has pretty much been in stasis; it’s been dull much of the time, but for me not particularly unpleasant.
In case this sounds too positive I should add that The Light is finding the pressure on hospitals, where she works, a great strain. The difficulty isn’t just patients admitted with Covid, though the PPE and extra caution required is obviously no fun, but the fact that patients admitted with other conditions are separated onto the ever increasing number of Covid wards if they test positive. So if she is seeing a stroke patient (one of her specialities) they may not be on the stroke ward, and the work is spread out over a large hospital estate with routes that have to be planned around the ‘red’ areas of Covid wards and corridors. The pressure on beds where she works is huge and not helped by effectively running two hospitals in one. Add in the number of staff isolating either because they have Covid or someone in their household has and it has made for a very difficult time for her at work. Media commentators who spout off about how the NHS is safe now that Covid is thankfully a less-lethal condition can safely be told where to go.
It’s been good, thanks.
Work has been a great improvement with a change of management. I got in the best shape of my life (endangered the last couple of months by a ridiculously persistent and unpleasant cold and a loss of willpower!) My plan for 2022 is to try and beat my three running personal bests: 5k in 19:57, 10k in 42:29 and half marathon in 1:47:08. It’ll take a lot of work, probably six months of training to get back the significant ground I’ve lost in the latter part of this year, but I’m up for it.
The real joy has been socially, though – seeing friends again, socialising with my team, a couple of 25-year reunions, a couple of black tie dos, going for dinner, drinks, karaoke, on holiday with my folks. Every one of them has been a pure joy, and has filled me with a sort of hopeful reminder of how good humans can be.
I’m what you might call a friendly sociable introvert: I love people, but need recharge time, and often that’s led to staying home as the comfortable default. What COVID taught me is that friends and family aren’t something you can take for granted. Get out there. See people. Here’s to more of it.
(By the way, I think the flip of covid and being indoors is that it’s led to a lot of people sitting indoors glued to screens and getting gradually angrier and angrier and less and less likely to see people and touch grass. Introversion and misanthropy don’t need to go hand in hand, but I think the one is a risk factor for the other, and those of us who find socialising tiring should always be watchful of where those tendencies can lead. Misanthropy is a proper sin, in my view.)
Merry Christmas, everyone. Love one another.
This is so true. It’s so easy to get used to being in your little corner of the house and retreating. Forgetting to go outside and breathe. This whole thing is so so damaging mentally for some.
My take on life’s a bit different to yours, h’pig.
If mysanthrope means having “a hatred of humankind” (internet says so) then I wouldn’t describe myself as such. But if mysanthrope means “a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society” (internet says so) then hell yeah.
Dislikes humankind? Generally, yep. I don’t see much to like in most of humankind (too much evil crap and shit stuff and we allow it to happen. And social media and YouTube are real windows into how utterly crap so many people are. And so are the governments we vote for).
Avoids human society? Yep again! Most people are downright boring. Even the nice ones. Especially the nice ones, perhaps. I’d rather swim, read, play guitar, go for a walk, watch telly, watch a film, go for a drive, play with animals, play backgammon, visit The Afterword or sleep than have a boring conversation. I consciously embraced not bothering with a social life many years ago and found doing so made life far more pleasanter and me more happier.
My year’s been pretty good. Covid’s taught me I can get away with doing even less work than I did before.
Social media and YouTube aren’t a realistic window on anything.
I’m glad you’re happy, though. We’re all made differently, and some of us are not wired up in a typical way. Generally, though, I think most humans would do best to interact with each other face to face. We evolved as a social species. It’s what we are, and for most of us, the internet satisfies the surface craving for contact without being the real deal. I think if it’s not heavily rationed or mindfully watched, it is to human contact what opiates are to human happiness. Manipulating the chemicals without satisfying the deeper needs.
I see internet’s interference with real living as a very different issue to the socializing/not socializing one though. Personally, apart from here (bless you all), I’ve never been interested in interacting with strangers on the internet.
“Generally” speaking, you’re quite right about socialising. Most humans seem to love socialising. A complete mystery to me, but one I’m happy to acknowledge and accept. It’s particularly true of younger people and more true of women than men, I’d say. But there other sides to the coin. Three of them, at least.
I sometimes see likeminded so-called “grumpy old gits” like Sean Ryder and Julian Clary boasting in interviews about how they are happiest just staying at home. (I can totally identify with them.) Then there are people who socialise simply because they’re not happy in themselves or their homes. Socialising, frequently associated with alcohol or drugs, can be seen as a hollow distraction, a band-aid that doesn’t address the real problems. Then there are those people who should socialise more, who should be encouraged to socialise more by their loved ones, because they need to rather than shutting themselves off. And finally there are the people who socialise just because that’s who they are (and jolly good on ’em).
Hard to know who’s who sometimes.
I have the same problem with Coldplay.
Gawd, I wish they’d come up with a cure for a lack of willpower..
My problem is more sticking power than willpower. I get bored of projects and want to move on, so the thing with health and fitness is I’ve got to keep changing what the project is.
Before, it was losing weight (at my lightest this year I was six stone lighter than at my heaviest in 2011). That then overlapped with becoming better at running.
Now I’ve decided to make the focus pretty much purely about the running, to try and see how good I can get. If I can run 5k in under 20 mins while eating for a serious calorie deficit, what happens when I forget about the calories, eat for running, and just try to be fast? That’ll be fun.
Basically the loss of willpower coincided with losing focus on a long term project. Just got to start the new one!
Some seriously good times there hedge. Long may you run.
Not bad at all thanks. No major health concerns for me, other than an ongoing need to try and be a bit fitter…just the ability to have a bit more puff would be nice. The year has just ended with me leaving my job at a college thirty miles away for one only five miles away, so the work/life balance is only going to improve from here onwards. And only five and a half years till I can retire…
Happy Christmas and happy New Year to all. I may be only a mere footsoldier here but I really enjoy my visits!
In some ways the last three years have all blended into one. 2019 was a personal lockdown for me, attempting to recover from surgery and coming to terms with the impact of that. I was ready to take life by the balls at the start of 2020 but Covid put a stop to that (a weird deja vu for me, given the previous year). I took the opportunity in that year to really commit to improving on the guitar, having previously been primarily a wind player but unable to do so after lung surgery. In that year, I also switched from a horrible role in my company to a much better one in product management. But as a flip side, I got my diagnosis of MGUS.
2021 was actually a great year on the whole, but in an odd way. A couple of my team at work went through some challenging personal stuff, which gave me a different perspective on life. I also fully confronted what had happened to me in 2018-2019-2020, and got treatment for the resulting PTSD which is still ongoing. One of the benefits of that treatment is that I am somehow kicking a long-running anxiety in the arse, and I care a lot less about nearly everything. The side effect of that, was it gave me confidence to start doing my own music again, after years of not bothering, and also gave me freedom to follow whatever weird muse I got, instead of thinking about who was going to listen to the end result. I studied sound engineering and learned how to use Logic Pro X. I learned how to program a synth.
My trips outside have been few due to health concerns, but I accepted that and have embraced it. Things will get easier. Rarely has there ever been a year where I took it by the balls and got the most out of it that I could like this one. It’s been great.
Not great, but better than 2020, am missing live music and my general socialising could be counted on one hand (almost), also work has been incredibly intensive, I wish I could retire.
On the plus side my teenage daughter now lives with me full time, that also brings quite a few challenges. Managed a couple of trips, one semi regular one to the paradise that is Prince Edward Island and I made it to Yorkshire for a week to see my brother.
Could be a lot worse, hope for loads of live gigs, bit less work and more travelling in 2022, we shall see…
Mmm, ok. Not great. Work has been brutal due to staff shortages and loads of new business so everyone is constantly under the cosh and stressed, culminating in me quitting mid November and taking some time off to recover. Lockdowns have seriously screwed around with the boy’s A levels which is worrying – still not out of the woods of course and I won’t relax until results are out (and quite possibly not then either depending on what they say).
I suppose everyone is healthy and as happy as everyone else is which is all I want really but for me 2021 can do one.
I started the year as a postman, which I did until about May, when I quit because a) the office I finally ended up at, after being shunted around, wasn’t that well run. b) I didn’t want it to become what I did.
Regular work came back a bit after that, then went crazy in September/October. November was very quiet but December, much better than expected. The summer felt like being semi retired, which was nice and made up my mind that if I was able to, I’d retire or seriously cut down.
Family are doing well, looking at uni for my daughter. Aged parents are even more aged and infirm: MIL 98 in January, bedridden with dementia. My dad will be 93 in January and not terribly mobile but can still live independently. My wife gave up care work after 18 months as it’s really badly paid and was causing her back and joint pain.
All in all, we’re doing ok and fortunate to be financially ok for a while longer.
Personally not bad. I agree with @hedgepig regarding the need for personal face to face interaction. I tried to work partially from home (2 days per week – my choice – not mandated). Personally
2021 has felt like a continuation of 2020, and not always in a good way. On the positive side I retired in January and while there have been lots of benefits, the change from not having daily social contact through work has not been easy. Mrs Bone still works long hours, and not seeing a great deal of her while I have lots of time on my hands has been a difficult transition. Sadly, her retiring any time soon is not an option. I’ve been plagued with a number of niggling health issues too, some of them unresolved, and turning 60 this year was a sobering moment. Like @Gary I’m not big on socialising and am often happiest at home in my own company. The trick of retirement is learning to accept that time moves at a different pace, and nothing is urgent any more. All in all, it’s been a funny old year, but I have a lot to be thankful for.
I turned a corner this year. During the total WFH period (which I’m now startled to learn was only about ten weeks for me…. seemed to last a fkin lifetime) I came closer to having a breakdown than I ever have done. The work was relentless and horrifically difficult. For several weeks I woke up and immediately regretted that I’d woken up…. I mean that’s not good is it?
Needless to say my endlessly patient wife bore the brunt of my bad moods and exhaustion. Strong words were had chez Moose and a lot of calculations were made and – long story short – I cut my hours by a third. I just had to reduce the presence of my job in my life. I’m doing a course with the spare days which may or may not lead me out of this hellhole of a job and into something where I get treated like a human being. It’s a good job I didn’t marry someone with expensive tastes.
Mrs M’s health has its ups and downs. Aches and pains aplenty. Personally, I continue to ride to ride my luck with my physical health – for example in recent years I’ve elected to deal with my cholesterol problem by just not getting it tested. Sorted! (I am aware that this is idiotic. ) Next year I need to take back control (wash my mouth out with soap and water). Neither of us have had Covid as far as we know. Week in week out the single pink line appears in the little window and I, for one, wonder how I’m getting away with it.
Actually I wonder that all the time, about everything.
Peace out folks
Keep it up Moose, it’s obviously working on some level.
Ta.
Sounds like a good move, glad it helps. I have wondered about asking to move to 80% maybe in a couple of years, but as I currently work about 130-150% often 7 days a week I am not sure how that can work.
Part of it is that I’m essentially working to rule on the basis that I don’t owe my employers my sanity, or indeed anything else. I’ve carved out a chunk of the week where they can’t touch me. The out-of-office-auto-reply is a wonderful thing.
Mine is switched on until Jan 4th. However what I do is project based and I am judged on completing within certain deadlines, doesn’t matter too much to my bosses how long I work as long as it gets done
Not bad on a personal level. I agree with @hedgepig regarding personal face to face contact. I tried working from home on a hybrid basis – 2 days per week – my choice, not mandated. Other than the opportunity to play my music while I worked I hated it. I need the banter and the exchange of ideas that is easier in an office. I quickly returned to working full time from office.
The constant changing of regulations did my head in but I had a summer where I could get to meet my son in Iceland for the first time in 2 years. In September we were due to holiday in Barbados but a week before we went Barbados had a spike in cases and introduced a 9pm curfew. We quickly changed to Corfu and managed a half decent holiday but not what we would have chosen. I had a number of weekend escapes in Somerset, Salisbury, with our Daughter in London and finally a wonderful week in Skye and Perth in November. Concerts were less in number but somehow better in quality, last week was the pinnacle with Robert Plant and Saving Grace playing a real stormer at Birmingham Town Hall.
On the sad side my elder brother in law has endured terminal prostate and lung cancer and I watch him lose weight and the will to live on a weekly basis. He has recently started to receive palliative care from Saint Giles which appears to have perked him up. For his Christmas present my wife and I got him a day out with us at Warwick races including a 3 course meal at the winning post. He has described it as the best present he has ever had. It is in 3 weeks time and I hope and pray that it is one of his good days and we can enjoy a quality day with him.
I agree with you about the office Steve. I have been in this job for just over 18 months and been in the office twice. In fact we only had an office for a few months for various reasons but I delighted in working from home, mainly because I hate commuting so much. But I’ve come to realise how important the environment is – not for unlocking the creative furnace of the great British worker tosh that the government come out with, but rather it is an important heat sink for the stress and irritation that builds up at work, and the positive feedback when things go well too. I suspect had I been in the office more I might not have quit when I did.
Sorry to hear about the BiL – something similar happening in my world too – one day at a time…
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what on earth led you to choose to meet up with your lad in a frozen food shop? And why had you done the same thing two years ago?
Funny old year: a cumulative tsunami of work pressures tipped me back over an edge I thought I’d seen the last of, necessitating time out and a return to the joys of Prozac. Thankfully they have kicked in after the usual chaos of the first fortnight thereof, and Christmas seems to have timed itself quite well, after all. Looking forward to next year and getting back on the saddle.
Generally a good year.
Family are all well and happy, daughter happily enjoying Year 8 at her school and my son looking forward to going to ‘Big School’ in September. Became financially secure after selling my buy to let house to some lovely people (neighbours three doors down from us).
Work is good and nothing to complain about…I could do with losing a bit of weight though.
Not a bad year, TBH. More work than i can do, and in demand and mentioned in dispatches, so no financial worries. Most mornings I don’t have to set the alarm. I rarely feel tired the way I did when in my salaried position, and I’m making more. The mem now settling on a period in the foreseeable future years for retirement. Caught up with old friends who have enriched the quality of my down time significantly. My academic citations will probably be better than ever this year, even though i have retired from academic publication, pretty much (a few bits and bobs coming out, but once they are done, can’t be arsed to fight with journals when I could make a 4 figure sum in the time spent on such a task). Children; one got married to her trans woman partner, one decided they were non-binary, and another they were trans-female and lives with their male partner, so we’re cutting-edge in terms of current gender mores. I am doing my best to become more sensitive and kind to the delicate sensibilities of youngsters, and getting better. It helps to cut off toxic media from yourself, I find, as it creates a way of thinking which makes you more unkind than you need to be for no particularly good purpose apart from trolling. I lost 2 inches off my waist and lost and kept off 7kg by eating more like the mem (still the weight she was when we got married 30 years ago) and reducing my drinking, and hope that this trend continues, as it was pretty painless, tea and water being my preferred drinks now. I know many people are struggling, so count my blessings for now, and wait for the next kick up the arse.
Hanging on in there. Work has been tough and right now its suddenly got a lot tougher again, with the current uncertainty just exhausting for everyone. The organisation I work though has generally played a blinder and kept on going through all of this, and despite the situation right now is certainly in a much better place than it was twelve months ago. I have been back pretty much full time in the office since September and that’s great.
Away from work, things are good, and we have managed to catch up with some friends we hadn’t seen at all through 2020. But the lack of going to gigs, and the theatre, or the occasional long weekend away is wearing. I think it is the lack of big punctuation points in the year – those big occasions, or holidays, or shows, that you remember. Somehow streaming a Netflix series just ain’t the same.
First world problems though, I know that. We are all healthy, I am still in a good job, we managed a summer holiday to the South West. But dear God, I just wish this pandemic and all that it brings with it, as well as our awful, venal, utterly incompetent government, would just go away.
Here’s to 2022.
Generally OK – no health disasters (just aging). I think I finally “got” this Working At Home lark and actually created a proper office space rather than the dining room table.
Do miss being in the Office – one day a fortnight ago I was in the Office with about 4 other colleagues. It just “felt” more real than just pressing buttons and talking to photographs on Teams.
Also, I changed jobs in September so the last 3 months has been a rabbit in the headlights time, and not what I was hoping for (yet). The right decision? Time will tell, but my general confidence and job satisfaction is on the floor at the moment. Keep on keeping on …
The easing of restrictions meant I managed to get out to loads of restaurants and pubs, a few gigs, and catch up (in the flesh) with friends and family. Something we perhaps took for granted before, but it was a massive boost.
And the “getting out” thing also meant I got to go to the 3 days of the British Grand Prix
(the “please self isolate” message a couple of days later took the shine off that though).
The latest wave came at a time when confidence was rising and more gigs, weekends away, meals out etc were planned – now on the back-burner. I think my Risk Appetite has taken a kicking this past 20 months.
Managed to avoid any infection from C-19 so far, so hoping to stay lucky and get back in the world (virus allowing ) a lot more next year
Started year with a degree of of optimism. The last couple of years I had lost my mum (age in the main) and brother (brain tumour). Then there was Covid and I had long Covid (mouth taste smell) which would not go away. 2021 had to be better. Didn’t it? …..
No diagnosed with cancer in the summer (SCC) grew rapidly and alarmingly. Proved to be malignant. Pressures on health system delayed diagnosis,cancelled treatment and operations. I hoped for the best. Planned for the worst. Realised in my demise I could help (financially) my nearest and dearest (no dependents). A coping mechanism and a relief. Work was steady and a helpful rock if stability (in the main) to cling to.
Eventually surgery and radiotherapy has put me in a much better place.
A sense of perspective and what is important gained (maybe, until life in all its complexities clouds that clear vision).
I end 2021 naively hopefully 2022 will be better.
A happy and healthy Christmas and New Year to all.
Shit I hope that encouraging trend continues Leem.
2021 comes to bite me in the bum (again). For a variety of reasons I had not had a proper Christmas since 2017. Sweated on lockdown this year but look as if at least Christmas Day I would enjoy a massively longed for day with my best long-standing friends family. Young and old. Fabulous hosts. A joy. Then …. 3pm pinged. 4pm booked and had PCR rest. No symptoms, jabbed etc. However, in all good conscience don’t feel I can risk other people (with a variety of health issues) and their feeling comfortable and at ease. So best I take the decision myself and withdraw unless the PCR test comes back quickly with no problem (which I expect). It’s not only my Christmas after all.
Xmas dinner out at a pub with Fam this year. All this week been half-expecting a call/text saying it’s cancelled but seemingly not. Been doing my twice-weekly Lateral Flow tests like a good boy for the last few months and so far so good. Most recent (negative again) was a couple of hours ago.
I’m not a very sociable person at the best of times but all the masking-up, social-distancing and restrictions on things to get out and do/people to see are producing a sort of mild low-level depression in me. Quite a bit of my rather pitiful social life has been affected.
Whilst I wouldn’t say I’ve been completely reckless, I’ve not always kept to the very best advice on protecting myself from infection this year. I’ve managed to remain uninfected throughout. I obviously have a pretty good immune system. Hope it continues.
Oh man Leem – sorry to hear that. Hope your day was ok notwithstanding
A mixed bag.
The positives.
Still new relationship is turning into the best of my life. Thanks Tinder! (It even works for the middle-aged). Glad we got the first few months in pre-Covid and lockdown. Three months WFH together in her house in the pueblo an unqualified success. First holidays together – still Spain-based but a blessed relief to escape the confines of Madrid. We even managed a joint trip to Ikea without arguing or anything, so the signs are good.
Kids happy and healthy and doing spectacularly well at school, all this despite all the crap and complications their elders (and the world) have sent their way over the last 4 years or so.
Family reunion. UK-based parents and 2 other expat siblings all found their way to Madrid in the summer so 18 months of separation was finally over. That was a good week.
Negatives. Health and work.
My company has ‘enjoyed’ a merger and gone mad. As a colleague said the other day the new ‘leaders’ (not managers or anything silly like that) are trying to turn a global company with 5,000+ employees into a start-up. The results aren’t pretty so far. We’re good at what we do, could do with some updating, but that’s not going to work. WFH (apart from the brief interlude in the pueblo) was getting trying and solitary but a very brief return to the office wasn’t a great success. Hybrid working meant that there were about 10 people there at any one time. So, acres of empty space, very few water-cooler moments and plenty of tumbleweed.
Then health. The year age and (past) lifestyle caught up with me. In the spring I found myself in A&E after a quickly terminated life-insurance check-up found I had critically high blood pressure. That was a surprise and also means that my insurance payments are critically high too…
Then 3 months ago my long-dormant herniated disk decided to make a reappearance, knackering my lower back and left leg. Literally can’t walk more than 100 meters, and am occasionally to be found crawling from room to room. 3 months of non-Covid related confinement so far. Just got my first walking stick (I’m 49) which is hugely helpful in getting round the flat. And while a poorly-funded, Covid-knackered, health service is doing its best, it’s going to be a while yet before a specialist can have a proper look and hopefully solve it. The upside is that kids, family and partner are all massively supportive and patient, so here’s to 2022. Plenty to look forward to (hopefully…!)
Its been a funny old year. Obvs.
It feels like life has been on hold for a year or two and that is not too desirable when you are on the cusp of 60 so realise you don’t have such a large number of years left that you can afford to be wasting them.
Mostly WFH can’t be good for you, and yet I kind of enjoy the hermit-like existance.
But in spite of all that, it has turned out to be a pretty good year in the end. In April I had an operation to fix the hernia my big cancer op of 2019 left me with. That left me out of action for longer than I expected but once I was up to strength again it was just all good stuff.
Two family weddings, one of them our daughter’s.
Despite the best efforts of various medical episodes and the lockdown-induced difficulties in getting bookings, I managed to pass my test for a full motorbike licence and then went out and bought myself a shiny new 500cc Honda.
And in the last week or so I got offered a new job, which I will start in February – same company, same work, higher grade and more money.
And, to quote Doctor Who (I think), nobody died. Nobody I know personally anyway. I’ll take that!
I’m not sure I agree that WFH being not good for you. Although I wouldn’t want to do it all the time (I’ve been going into the office about 2 days a week recently and have enjoyed it), I’ve always felt that the worst/.most stressful parts of the working day are the commutes. Cut them down and a job I already massively enjoy doing, improves almost immeasurably.
You know that you’re not in an office job when it takes a whole thread until you realize that WFH means Working From Home…I was searching my brain for possible phrases, but could only come up with What Fresh Hell! 😀
In my case you were right the first time 😉
For many it is binary, either in office or at home. I have to work in the office, haven’t seen many of my colleagues in nearly 2 years
After various job and home changes, I finally ended up in a situation where I can walk to work in 5 minutes. I finally managed to eliminate the commute from my routine and then it all became a moot point.
We are supposed to be doing hybrid working now where we go in a couple of times a week, but I have just stayed at home and gone in for meetings because I can do that. Eventually I stopped bothering after going to the office and ending up having a video call with somebody who is still at home.
Hot. Really effing hot. That’s my abiding memory of this year.
It’s been our first full in Alice, and we like it here. The immediately available bush, the (relatively) gentle pace of life, the quiet…It wouldn’t be for everyone, but it is for us.
We’ve seen other bits of Australia, and liked it. Perth Freo, and Brissie area – all nice, and great to visit.
I’ve ended up working for an Aboriginal-owned corporation, which has necessitated some visits to communities outbush. Eyeopening is not quite the word. You know the desolation of the base in The Martian? Some of the communities make that look like a bustling metropolis.
I haven’t seen my son for 16 months in-person, and that’s starting to grate a bit. Still, hopefully see him next May when he graduates High School and goes to University, a steop I’m really not ready for.
All in all, a far better year than many in recent memory.
Here’s to 2022 being a much better year. Love and vibes to all, especially those battling any personal/health issues.
Overall it’s been an okay year.
I’m still pretty much ‘early retired’ after getting a payoff a couple of years ago. I’m still enjoying the lifestyle and we are financially secure so no real incentive to look for a new job – still the position that if something interesting comes up I’ll consider but I’m not actively looking for anything (I.e. I’m too damn lazy and want people to come to me….).
This all means that I continue my reasonably healthy lifestyle which involves a daily morning swim and mostly home cooked food (and with my wife being vegetarian when it’s just the two of us, it’s healthy too).
Its also been the when the kids have transitioned to independence….. the elder boy has finished his National service (compulsory here in Singapore) and will be off to Uni next year (not sure yet if UK or overseas) and the younger boy finished his A levels and will start his National Service in January. We are very much getting used to it just being the two of us again after all these years.
Life has pretty much gone on as normal here in Singapore despite the pandemic, albeit with some level of restrictions. I feel we are getting close to the “just live with it” phase. The main impact have been the fact we haven’t been back to the UK for a couple of years and I am really looking forward to being able to do that again (hopefully in the Spring). Obviously the other impact has been the lack of concerts / theatre / etc (not that it was exactly brilliant before COViD).
It has been simultaneously unusually quiet (as in not noisy) and unusually eventful.
The year started with me in Shielding (immunosuppressed) and both Offspring learning from home. Shortly after Shielding ended, Offspring the Elder had a spontaneous pnuemothorax (collapsed lung) so none of us could mix outside the household for risk of bringing home an infection, surgery in late June, and by the time she was able to leave the house she was off to university. She’s settled in amazingly well, considering, although health is still fragile (within days of coming home for Christmas, we had an ambulance to the house and a trip to A&E for x-rays).
Offspring the Younger scraped into the local sixth form and is doing pretty well, despite missing a subject by one GCSE grade, so having to take an alternative third A-level.
Not having much time away – unable to for reasons above – I had the late October half term off and pottered in the garden. I replaced a rotten fence post and gave myself a hernia in the process. Busy hospitals mean a long wait – I get scanned in mid-January, gawd knows when the corrective surgery will be. I’m in discomfort rather than pain, so can’t really complain, although I’m effectively housebound (again).
Mrs F’s employer had a shake-up this year. After feeling like she missed out on promotion a few years ago, which would have been unusual as she was then working Part Time, she had three internal interviews (one for her current job, two for more senior roles) and aced all three. She starts (working even harder) next month.
Due to Mrs F’s translatlantic work meetings, studying/sleeping teens, etc, the record player has rarely been on. The good news is, after 10+ years, work is finally underway to soundproof my garage (and have a dedicated WFH box-room office). The hernia prevents me from anything DIY, but Mrs F continues to keep me in the style to which I have become accustomed, so I’m going to pay an electrician to do the stuff I can’t.
All round, we’re all (relatively) healthy, solvent and secure. It could be a lot worse.
I hope to move into the garage by Easter 2022, pending the hernia surgery date.
Best wishes to all aboard the AW. Some of your health scares have made me realise that living with Crohn’s and a hernia are a walk in the park. Not that I can manage a walk in the park at the moment…
Only got one of those thankfully, hope the hernia clears up. I had a very painful knee in the summer, couldn’t do anything and it was quite depressing
I always feel awkward contributing to these threads because, as usual, I’ve sailed through the year with the kind of good luck that only comes from absurd privilege. Good physical and mental health; a challenging but rewarding job, mostly done from a shed a 30-pace commute from our back door; enough social contact to satisfy the misanthrope in me he’s made an effort; finding pleasure in simple things; 25 years of (almost) completely happy marriage; cycling for fitness, avoiding social media for sanity, drinking for England.
One day gravity will get me, but not yet, not yet.
You bastard 🙂
I know! Sorry.
Well I would like to salute your good fortune, Monsieur Fromage 🍺. Such stories make me feel a bit more perky by some kind of osmosis..
Perky By Osmosis – lost VDGG instrumental ahoy!
Nah, nah, Gawd bless yah, nahhh….
Much more likely to be Monsieur Fromage…
I can’t remember anything that happened for most of this year. Last year was the same. Got a new IT consultancy job in October, which is fun, technically difficult and very challenging. Worked from home the whole time except a couple of trips into the office to print a pile of shit on their paper with their ink. Got fed up with working from home about a week ago, and decided I needed a break. Along came Christmas – splendid timing! Hope next year perks up, as I am keen to visit the client, though they are a long way from home and I don’t wish to make working away a habit. I did that before for years and it nearly ended badly. All in all a cultural desert apart from the music I buy to hear at home. Last night’s gig, which was to have been the first one attended since God knows when, was cancelled as one of the girls in the band tested positive last week; the good news is the tickets will carry over to the re-scheduled event. That’s on December 13th 2022. See you there!
Marry Christmas one and all, and a very happy New Year!
Exhausting.
Four listens is probably enough, mate.
Arf!
I have conducted a detailed audit. This year, I haven’t listened to so few albums since 1986.
This got me thinking: I probably didn’t listen to more than about fifty albums altogether in 1986. Most of them I would have played many, many times. Was I less happy then? No.
A combination of life going faster with age (I’m in my 58th year), plus my ADHD tendencies, means that it can be hard to get a coherent sense/shape of this last twelve months. That notwithstanding…
Health & Fitness (as opposed to quasi-jazz mag Health & Efficiency) has been a big thing for me ever since I sent for a Charles Atlas course when I was 9 years old. Parents these days would intervene and ask why the hell a Year 4 child would feel the need to beef up for self-protection, but they were different times, and thus began the journey, with weight training, martial arts, marathon running and indoor rowing being pursued to sometimes ridiculous levels of intensity.
This past year, partly because of the injuries incurred by the above, my fitness has been kept up via far smarter training, utilising tai chi, chi gung, high intensity interval training on the exercise bike, meditation, yoga, walking loads (I don’t drive) and weight training done ever so slowly and with good form. I lapsed just the once, hubris in extremis, buggering up my lower back when showing some young ‘uns how good I was on the Concept2 Indoor Rower.
And so it was that the near-blackout I experienced at a Stiff Little Fingers gig in November was particularly worrying. Happily, all the medical checks have been good, blood pressure is low (though not too low) and there have been no repeats.
Probably because I’ve had this lifelong thing about fitness, I’ve no health insurance and my pension planing is piss-poor. This grand canyon sized oversight concerns me, and I, like, really ought to get round to doing something about it, but work this last year has been the highest volume ever. Like every other therapist I know, I’ve regularly had to say no to taking on new clients, something I’ve always found difficult what with being self-employed.
I love the work, and I love that I learn stuff all the time, both via clients and via loads of CPD courses. It’s a privilege indeed. On the WFH topic, I much prefer in-person work, what with all the non-verbal material that only really becomes clear when we’re in 3D relationship.
My daughter’s been away at university since September, and after a rocky start (described previously, and with much gratitude to those who responded), she’s considerably happier now, as am I, and I love that she’s getting into Transcendental Meditation.
I wish good health to all AWers, thank you for making this the only thing resembling social media that I pay any heed to, and I love you all.
Well…
I’ve seen more of the inside of the NHS this year than I have for the previous 20, and they’ve been remarkable in all cases. Some just wonderful people.
I’ll spare the gore, but after a rotator cuff injury that crept up on me and took weeks of physio to shift (but is now fine) Crohn’s was diagnosed (unusual in one’s 50s, I was told?), then treated, which resulted in 5 days in hospital with treatment-drug-caused pancreatitis (about a <1% side effect, apparently). I would classify this experience as "unpleasant". The arm full of morphine was the best bit. The early effects of this spoiled one of my "holidays", and one (world class whale watching in Indonesia) was put off for 2 years. My June 22 trip to the Galapagos is looking decidedly shaky just now, too. The last two are somewhat first world problems, I grant you.
Work's been a slog, but I can never really complain about that. Lately I've seen the worse end (for me) of the things I'm in line to do now and again (i.e. not spreadsheets) and that takes the wind out of my sails a bit, but, in the words of Marc Riley "mustn't grumble".
I'm currently waiting on a PCR test result, so that might scupper my trip to Breedon Hill in the morning to see my dad, and his parents. Mind you, if there's a more shall we say "airy" place in the UK that isn't classed as a mountain, I'd like to see it.
On the plus side, all the people I love are still around, and they mostly seem to feel roughly the same way about me. Bless them. I'm a fortunate man, no mistake.
My grandson has been wonderful to be around this last few days. My grandaughter appears to be recovering well from an eye abscess that required emergency surgery.
And after 7 years of suspicions, they've finally told me I almost certainly don't have the prostate cancer they suspected I did. It took a general anaesthetic, 51 needle, biopsy though. (See "unpleasant" above. (lol emoji thing)) See also I'm a fortunate man, no mistake, above.
The good people of the Afterword have kept me smiling and thinking all year, thanks to you all for your bounteous wit and wisdom. May your God go with you all.
So, Merry Christmas, deep breath, count your blessings every day, tell the people you love how you feel, and I'm looking forward to a slightly "quieter" 2022.
Thanks for getting this far.
As another long-term Crohn’s-er (although not diagnosed until my early 40s) you have my sympathies. If you have any questions/concerns, PM me. I think I’ve had all the treatments and procedures there are to choose from…
Thanks Steve. Its all very new to me. Your support is much appreciated, I may take you up on that.
Have a good one.
And the PCR was positive, thanks Santa.
I preferred my Motocourse book and Hotel Chocolat marzipan, for the record.
Still, much admin to do, and I can’t drown my sorrows if I’m not allowed in the same room as the fridge, can I?
I think everyone has heard enough about my year already – so I’ll just use this opportunity to thank everyone for their support throughout the year, to wish everyone all the best for 2022, and once again to extol the virtues of this site and all its contributors. It’s an odd internet site which allows genuine friendships to form, over a lengthy period of years – and I appreciate it more each year.
And, having noticed the time – Merry Christmas to all; and to all, a good night.
If you ever need a CPD discussion to remain registered I would be happy to oblige.
GPhC reviewing a pharmaceutical prog discussion would be fun!
My mind is literally blown at that thought…
Reading through everyone’s posts above I feel, like @chiz, disgustingly OK. My health is good, I count myself strangely fortunate that I had a heart attack 13 years ago at the tender young age of 54 which was the proverbial “wake-up call” to take care of diet and exercise etc which in general I do.
Work wise the TV job I have was postponed a few times but picked up in November and I’m booked for more in Feb so kind of back to normal. All the other musicians of my experience and vintage have had it really hard, teaching via Zoom is hopelessly inadequate, and losing gigs and tours that have often been cancelled and rebooked several times drives everyone crazy not to mention broke.
We welcomed grandchild No 2 in September which was just delightful. Our son is booked to come back to Australia for a holiday after 2 years in Berlin where he’s happy and creating some great electronic music, but we just long to have him around in person.
And Mrs M just got approved for a year’s extension to her PhD which we hope will include her scholarship
All in all it’s kind of the best it could be. I did go a bit stir crazy at the end of the lockdown here. I’m one of those non-social introvert types but found myself missing hanging out at gigs and going for coffee and the odd beer.
All the best for 2022 everyone!
I have this dreadful feeling that if I post ” I’m ancient and my knees hurt like buggery and I drink far too much but I live in The Languedoc with The Love of My Life and apart from today (it’s Christmas Day you fuckers, so why is it grey and raining?) life is pretty amazing” someone is going to break into my house and put Flopsy in a pan of boiling water ..
and just to add – thank you all on here for everything… Bless you
Apropos the OP: has anyone heard from Hannah, whether she’s safe and well?
I think she’s just busy these days. The last I saw of her on Facebook was a few days ago, when she re-posted a picture of same elaborately wrapped presents from years ago when, she says, she had a lot more pare time.
Ups and downs but mostly ups.
Family all okay, so blessed in that respect. My son has started playing bass guitar, so it’s great to see him get into music and find an instrument he likes.
Work: I have an office job, working for an insurance company. In 2020 I hated working from home and missed the socialising and the bustle of the city. In 2021 I turned a corner into full time misanthropy and actually enjoy working from home now. To the extent I was secretly pleased we had to cancel our Christmas night out due to increase in covid rates. Probably not a healthy state of mind, is it?
Otherwise, work has been bearable. In 2021 I turned a corner and realised I was probably now of an age where it was daft to try and ‘improve’ and ‘develop’ and ‘further my career’ so mentally I have given up. Which actually feels immensely liberating. I probably haven’t ever reached my potential in the world of work (I’m pretty clever and talented, but just never found a niche) but this has never bothered me less than now.
(And yes I mean ‘pretty clever’ and ‘pretty talented’, not ‘pretty, clever and talented’…)
Health: A paradox. Having lived a healthy life and never really had any major concerns (I basically have been to the doctors about three times in about thirty years for absolutely minor ailments), I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the start of the year. I still feel like I have imposter syndrome with it, and I don’t really feel I fit in with the online forums and all that. It’s been a blessing in a way, because it has forced me to watch my diet (basically cut down on carbs and sugar) and I’ve been astonished to see the weight fly off me. I’m now the slimmest I’ve been since my late 20s. So that’s the paradox.
As a corollary I have always kinda liked walking, and walking reduces my blood sugar (= good for diabetics), so this year I’ve been walking tonnes and really enjoying it. First thing I crave in the morning now is a big hike through a muddy forest with the dog.
Creativity and personal goals: A great year. I read (for me) lots this year, to the extent I want to actually cut down this year and read less so I don’t forget everything I read. (Audible has been my discovery of the year and I absolutely do count audiobooks as ‘reading’: I listen as I walk (see above) and get through about three or four audiobooks a month doing that).
Did an open University course, just a mini thing (introduction to Arts) but felt great to challenge myself and was something different to throw myself into.
I cemented a love for classical music (well, a little corner of the genre anyway) that had been building up for a couple of years. Favourite two composers are Vaughan Williams and Bax, and totally immersed myself in their symphonic cycles this year.
I got my finger out and finished a music project I’ve been brewing for years (https://open.spotify.com/album/0u3cv7jU62nvfJ0jEF6Hna?si=88VWnMfXS7mhe7RD3Xr4yg&utm_source=copy-link), which has unlocked my creative juices and sent me on the path of my next one which I’ll finish in the next few months.
Social life: Like many peoples during covid, social life has been a bit of a car crash, in that it has almost dried up completely. I don’t feel I miss it, which is maybe not entirely healthy. The people I have seen have been mainly family (I have a pretty big extended family) and my wife’s friends (she is more sociable than me: not that her friends aren’t also my friends, but you know what I mean). I’ve realised my own circle of friends has diminished over the years and I really now have just a group of three I consider my inner circle. We go to gigs and ocassionally jam together like teenagers (we all used to play in bands) : or at least we did before covid. Currently it’s almost entirely a WhatsApp relationship, but we’ll get there again.
Your first and second paragraphs are me, too, Arthur. The reason I started my current office job 11 years ago was I spent the previous 9 months WFH (following the fallout from the late 2008 crash) and missed having colleagues to talk to.
I hated WFH at the time, but I had two young kids in the house and awful technology (a modem, couldn’t use the landline at the same time, etc). Nowadays I have 100 Mb internet, video calls (I’m living in the future!), and I have no desire to return to spending an hour a day commuting to and from an office on a grotty industrial estate next to a motorway.
I recently had to go into the office for a couple of hours a week for compulsory training. I hated it.
Good luck with your health. I had a lifestyle-changing diagnosis (Crohn’s) about 10 years ago, it takes a while to adjust, but it can be done and is worth sticking with. I’m healthier at 52 than I was at 22.
Yes, I remember you mentioning your Crohn’s on here previously. Funny how a life-changing “illness” can actually be a liberating thing. You get stronger because you work within the limitations of what you CAN do, rather than indulge in the excesses of being able to do (or rather, eat) anything you want.
Obviously, I mean no offence to anyone who truly has a debilitating illness. I can’t imagine what that must be like.
Video calls. Yes, the future. I remember seeing that guy call his daughter on a video phone in 2001 A Space Odyssey and it seemed even more amazing than a moon-base.
Hi @Arthur-Cowslip – getting your Type 1 diagnosis this late in the game, I assume that you have what I got diagnosed with a couple of years ago: LADA?
For me, I was misdiagnosed with Type 2 for 10 years before they understood that something was wrong. In my case I worked hard for a year to lose a lot of weight (19 Kg) in a final attempt to be able to stop taking meds for Type 2, but after that year, leaner and healthier than ever, my levels spiked. I think that if I hadn’t lost weight they would have blamed the stats on me being a fat bastard who probably ate lots of candy in secret…it’s been quite shocking to discover the difference in attitudes and treatment by healthcare workers before and after weightloss!
Anyway, I’ve always felt a bit like an imposter too (even with Type 2 diagnosis – when I sort of was, as it turned out), as I’ve always felt really healthy and haven’t ever felt any difference since getting the diagnosis. Only in the last year I’ve on a small number of times noticed being a bit too low and needing to quickly get my blood sugar levels up, but most of the time I feel just fine whatever I do, and I tend to only check my levels morning and night (can’t be arsed bringing my glucose meter with me daily).
I had more problems getting used to the meter (as I never had a meter during the “Type 2” years) than to the insulin injections!
Another thing that makes me feel a bit like an imposter is that I’m not very interested in finding out a lot of facts about it…people ask me stuff about diabetes and look confused when I say that I don’t know – where most people would google or wiki the hell out of a diagnosis, I’m fine with just knowing the basics. I don’t want to be all-consumed by my diagnosis, it is what it is and I prefer to ignore it as much as possible. 🙂
I hope you keep feeling fine and the adjustments in your life as pain-free as they seems to have been so far!
“I don’t want to be all-consumed by my diagnosis, it is what it is and I prefer to ignore it as much as possible.” – Yes! That’s how I feel EXACTLY.
I sometimes feel I should ask more questions, and the NHS have been great with regular appointments with a Diabetes Nurse, but it comes to my appointments and I can’t think of anything to ask. “LADA” for example: no, I’ve never heard of that. Googled it now though: and, no, that was never mentioned. They seemed to know it was Type 1 from the start and my blood sugar was sky high (42!) when they tested it after I first sought medical help. The doctor has mentioned that late onset Type 1 is getting more common these days.
I personally love the meter: it’s the Libre one I have, the little circle thing that sticks to your arm. (Not sure how many different types there are). It’s become second nature now, scanning my arm every half hour or so and trying to stay between 4 and 10 (like some weird little computer game in my pocket). What problems are you having with the meter? Is it the finger prick thing you are using?
I haven’t really experienced a serious hypo yet. This was the big thing I was warned about at the start, so for months I was just waiting for the moment I would suddenly collapse. But it’s never happened, probably because I am checking my levels so often and then just snacking when I start to drop.
Anyway, glad to hear your Diabetes experience is also relatively pain free. It’s great to talk to a fellow “sufferer”!
Yeah, pricking a finger (Accu-Chek brand), and the main reason I don’t do it as much is that on days when I work (not WFH) I’m very regular with eating-times and I always cook and bring healthy lunchbox meals so the levels are roughly exactly the same every day, and very stable, so feel no need to check anymore.
I do check more on my days off, because I have no set schedule then, and will eat when I feel like it or have the time, and also slightly differently if it’s a weekend. Not unhealthy, but sometimes I’ll have meat on a Saturday, and I tend to only cook vegetarian for my work meals, or sometimes fish as well.
The times when I’ve had a scare haven’t been too bad, I can physically feel that I’m going too low when I reach 4 or slightly less, and I always carry glucose tablets in my bag, just in case the need arrives. It’s very distinct so I know immediately, and don’t need a meter to tell me so.
It’s happened a few times that I’ve woken up (without an alarm) from being at 3 and feeling it, so I try to avoid eating too healthy at night before going to bed! I tend to have a biscuit or a piece of chocolate with my tea before bed, if I don’t I can get too low during the night.
And at a couple of instances I’ve had a sudden drop on a day off if I’ve been out and about, walking around all day long, forgetting to eat properly – suddenly I feel the legs go all wobbly and the hands go shaky, and that’s the cue for a quick intake of sugar in some form. But honestly, it’s happened perhaps five times in a year, so not exactly a huge problem for me. And I’ve never gotten below 3.
I never expected to get Diabetes, but having been very healthy during the first half of my life, I guess I was due some health problem!
Big change for me this year (stretching into 2022). I’ve sold my flat after living here for 20 years. I’ve finally decided I want a house, but will be lodging with my partner’s family until we find somewhere suitable. Due to move out in January – just waiting for the date to be confirmed.
Family, health and job all fine, thank goodness.
Another strange year for everyone I’m guessing but personally fairly straightforward with only a few speed humps of life to negotiate.
Family wise, my Mum is still with us and we did manage to see her a couple of times when restrictions allowed. She doesn’t know who we are anymore but we’ve come to terms with that. Unfortunately my MIL is starting on the same journey but we do know what to expect this time. My OH had a bit of a health scare this year and she made a few lifestyle changes. And to cut a long story short we had some very good news on that front on Xmas Eve. Me? I’m fine, after years and years of health problems I’ve been fine since 2014. Even lost a bit more weight, 3 stone in 2 and a bit years, try the Royal Mail exercise plan is my advice.
Workwise it has been an incredibly hard year. Lots of absence in my office which has meant lots of last minute round changes, days off moving and late finishes. 3 new people started this year, one lasted 5 days, one 4 months. It’s a hard life in the Royal Mail. But in spite of that I’ve (mostly) enjoyed, its kept me on my toes. Mrs IP is still working from home which she loves and probably will never go back to the office full time.
A few lovely holidays in our usual Lincolnshire bolthole which recharged the batteries and three more booked for next year already. We aren’t a very sociable couple so any restrictions didn’t affect us to much. We do have Stewart Lee booked for February, 50/50 probably.
I don’t post as much on here as I once did, it’s been a busy time. Hopefully I’ll be around a bit more in 2022.
Dear all,
Greetings at the end of a second COVID year, to those who have kindly taken the time to post above, and you others reading, but not posting. It’s coming up to 10 years (next summer) when I dipped my toe into an already-thriving community, such that I still feel like quite the newcomer/arriviste. There’s such a wealth of life shared, (not just in this thread) lightly tied to the tagline of ‘byways of popular culture’, that it’s a privilege to host (this time) this annual community of expression.
I won’t know a third of the interconnections between you good folk, your lives shared, but I have appreciated the chance to read your carefully thought-through recollections of your year gone by. I marvel as much at the way serious health and life problems are confronted and addressed, as at the intriguing details of complex and varied lives well-lived. There’s a beauty, a resonance and a resilience in the life stories of those with a few decades under the belt, that I, childish fool, late developer and delayed parent am only beginning to appreciate and relish.
Thanks, y’all!
As for me, I’m another of your introverts who thrives on time alone, so 2021 partly fed that need (except for slack parental responsibilities for 2 daughters, growing and flowering under their mother’s influence).
In my job, working remotely with a small team meant we could draw on the skills (and support the career development of) interns who didn’t need to leave their home to work with us. Silly office memes and weekly team meetings, focused as much on what we did in down time as work time, kept up morale, and built a culture of support across countries, continents and time zones that reflected the global nature of our work, and made our small part of COP26 functional and productive. And now I’ve been promoted for the first time in 13 years to a role where I can do even more of this capacity-building, I’m looking forward to what 2022 can bring.
It’s been a strange old year with a couple of major changes.
We spent the first few months looking for a new house, made the decision and expected to move in at the end of August but the covid/brexit dividend meant that the date just kept slipping so we finally moved in the second half of November. It felt like we spent most of the year packing and preparing.
The second major event was that in April my mum died. As the nominated visitor, unlike the rest of my family, I’d managed to organise a visit to the (brilliant) care home to see her less than a week before. Fortunately we’d sorted out the house move a few weeks earlier so ‘all’ I had to do was to do learn about probate, do all the maths and fill in the 7 inheritance tax forms! At least it kept me busy and was content in the knowledge that none of my mum’s money went to a solicitor.
Working from home has continued and I like it much more than I expected to. It’s now officially hybrid working, so as long as I stay in good health, I still don’t need to be retiring any time soon – it’s always been the commute that I’ve expected to be the tipping point and that’s now hugely reduced… and I’m still a few years away from state pension age.
The first half of the year seems with it’s (seemingly) neverending restrictions seems such a long way away now.
All in all, however mundane life gets (or already is) I can’t see that 2022 will be in any way similar to 2021.
Please accept my condolences.
Excerpt from “I’m Still Here”
I’ve run the gamut, A to Z
Three cheers and dammit, c’est la vie
I got through all of last year, and I’m here
Lord knows, at least I was there, and I’m here
Look who’s here, I’m still here
By Sondheim (who sadly, isn’t) from Follies
That about sums it up. The latest treatment has kept me stable all year but the last blood test showed a concerning leap in tumour markers so am off to hospital in early Jan for more tests. However I’ve been more exhausted and pain levels higher than last year which explains my lack of presence here. Icepacks been my constant companion! I have had to prioritise my energy into doing other things I really felt I had to achieve. Sorting out my craft stuff with my helper in Feb then turned into months of Huge Cupboards Declutter. This involved decades of files, paperwork, cassette tapes of myself, family and friends’ recordings I made and books, which have been gradually building up since my twenties and then stashed away. I read all the letters and heard all the tapes and slowly went through it all and binned, donated, gave as gifts or kept – an epic task! Am getting the tapes digitized.
Been working with an Etsy Handwriting Artist to copy loved ones handwriting into frameable art and also a couple of special poems I wrote for people using my own handwriting.
I also made 200 Xmas cards for charity, compiled 2 special ipods for my sister and a friend together with a CD I created for them where I talked about the music I’d put on the ipods from my own Spotify Playlists, over an hour of me wittering on!. I’ve been listening to music through the year but mostly old stuff as not had the ability to keep up with the new.
What I’ve found very frustrating is not being able to be as in touch with friends as I would like. Typing emails is often out of the question for me as are doing voice messages which I used to do, Some friends have adopted sending me voice messages and it is lovely to hear their voices, though I have to try and take notes to remember what they said!. Audiobooks, Radio 4 and music are my listening solace, as always. They seem to have employed some cracking new writers on The Archers as it has been unexpectedly sharply witty recently. Late to the party (or should I say “business meeting”) I have only just discovered the Fortunately with Fi and Jane podcast which gives me a lot of joy and laughter,
A revolutionary discovery also are perpendicular glasses holders lined with fur that you slide your specs vertically into. Available on Amazon, they have saved me endless scrabbling for different glasses on my heaped kitchen table and I hope they will keep my specs in better nick as when I had to have them altered 2 frames were badly bent. After that Handy Household Hint, I will sign off and wish everyone on the AW all the best for 2022 xxx
Lovely to hear from you, Carolina. I’ve always admired your patience, perseverance and artistic bent. You find creative solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. I follow your Spotify playlists and they are always exquisite.
Here’s hoping your scans are okay. Best wishes to you for 2022.
Many thanks for your kind words Tigger, greatly appreciated.
Blimey, for someone who claims she didn’t do much all year, I’m worn out just reading all that!
Just thinking the same thing…
I know, I felt the same thing typing it!! My helper did a lot of the heavy lifting sorting the cupboards to be fair. I find it helps me to have a “project” to aim for, the problem is I seem to amass loads of them as I go along and never get to the end of them. It was good to have actually achieved a few of them. I don’t aim on making as many Xmas cards this year. Was kind of living out the song “I wish it could be Christmas every day” too literally!
Like one or two others, I feel bad posting broad positivity when many of us have had troubles to bear – not least Carolina, directly above. I do feel pretty worn down and weary, in a general way, of the whole Covid era – but then who doesn’t by now? That aside, I can’t really complain. 2021 has been a year of much activity on the fronts from which I make a living – academic proofreading and vintage music curating for record labels (the latter sphere being particularly busy, including a very large project I can’t yet mention) – plus I drifted towards a music project of my own in the middle of the year.
From an enquiry about hiring her for vocals on an EP of songs, I’m now midway through an ambitious full-band album with Breige Devlin – a fantastically positive woman from mid-Ulster whom I didn’t know before August. We had two studio sessions in December and ‘the big one’ approaching on January 5 – five or six songs in one day, including a duet on ‘Baby Don’t You Do It’ (Marvin Gaye via the Who) with a legendary Irish rock & soul man. I only have four songs and an instrumental piece (in two parts) on the album – I can feel my creativity in this area slipping away – but I’m approaching the rest of it like a producer, selecting a couple of songs to showcase Breige from her own live cabaret repertoire, plus a couple of Americana things I thought would work (they did), plus something to feature certain musicians/heroes she and/or I wanted to work with, and so on. Breige has selected a couple of songs herself, and the collaborative energy between us and the musical pals we’ve involved in the journey has been fantastic so far. Fingers crossed it continues on Jan 5!
I’m still only part-way through the book I’ve been working on (on/off) for maybe 4 years. Hopefully, I can finish it in 2022. Like the album above, it feels like my last. Maybe it’s largely a product of the past couple of years, though it’s certainly also influenced by the sense of impending doom around the climate/state of the world, but there’s a general low-level malaise or melancholy that I find hard to keep at bay. It’s okay when I’m busy and ‘in the moment’ and don’t have to think too much. Beyond that, I’m stunned that anyone at this point would, for instance, choose to have children.
Two Januarys back I interviewed three Northern Ireland bandleaders (in jazz, punk and folk) for the AW to explore how their year had been and the general challenges of being a pro or semi-pro musician in a part of the UK cut off by sea. NI is still just about part of the UK (I have no axe to grind on this matter either way, but I believe that position will change in my lifetime) but of course Covid has wreaked havoc on the musical world – its effects arguably more devastating than on many other sectors. I wanted to regroup the same three next week for a catch-up on the past two years – an anthropological exercise – but one has been too devastated by the intervening period, so I will regroup two and add a new voice from the ‘missing’ genre.
Comment about “choosing to have children”, also seen elsewhere. It’s kind of the natural way of things, you meet someone, fall in love and it’s what happens. It is more biological than a “choice”, good job otherwise none of us would be here today. Of course some couples don’t have children and there are many different reasons for that. If you are stunned that people are still having children, the alternative would be no human existence in about 100 years, could happen anyway I suppose, but I hope not.
“I’m stunned that anyone at this point would, for instance, choose to have children” – do you know how (most) children are made? Thinking about what life is going to be like in 50 years time doesn’t tend to (ahem) enter into it….
Almost everyone (in the Northern Hemisphere and certain parts of the South, at any rate) uses contraception these days, so stopping doing that and having children does seem to be mostly by choice.
Sometimes, not mostly.
It’s been a good year, thanks for asking. Mrs. Paws finally passed her course (and has now got herself a steady job). I had to go back to my nursing days and help out when the local CMHT all went off work with the alpha variant. Despite training to give vaccines I didn’t get to stick a COVID into someone’s arm until October, but I’ve helped out since then (and I feel I’m doing my bit). The only ‘gig’ we got to go to was watching Mini Paws at the Royal Albert Hall- not a bad gig to go to, all things considered.
A pretty shit year which followed a less shit but still unpleasant 2020.
In 2021 my younger brother Martin died in September, just days before my nephew’s long-delayed wedding.
Spent most of the year alone trying not to get Covid (and succeeding – a positive). A boring, rather depressing year.
Might as well have been in suspended animation, as far as my social life was concerned, until June when I finaly got to a (socially-distanced) gig at The Jazz Cafe in Camden with a friend. A few other scattered gigs, muchly appreciated, but mostly life was mundane stuff like grocery shopping, car MOTs and services, bills to pay, Covid vaccines and twice-weekly Lateral Flow Tests etc.
Apart from my nephew Martin and his long-term partner Trish getting married after being together 17 years. A suitably major event, involving two families and loads of friends at a very nice venue in Surrey. A joyous occasion with no hitches once you remembered it had been postponed twice due to Covid.
Then my brother’s funeral in October and getting his stuff sorted for house clearance.
I changed internet provider, upgraded my Spotify account, took out a trial subscription to Tidal.
Exciting stuff, eh?
Hope to fuck 2022 will be better than that.