2024
🎉 I’m going to need a mid-afternoon nap if I plan to survive this evening’s NYE party. Thankfully, we’re not hosting this year. But I still need to remain awake until midnight.
After that, all bets are off.
✈️ With the help of Flighty, I’ve summarised my year in travel.
Here’s to an even better 2025: new cities, new adventures (and returns to some old favourites).
✈️ Well, we’re definitely not leaving on time. That said, at least I’m on the plane. And in even better news, I got a free upgrade to Businesss Class at the gate. 🥂
✈️ Flying back to London from Edinburgh shortly. Hoping for a smoother flight than the wind outside is indicating. 😳 At least the flight is (currently) going on time.
✈️ Feeling very grateful to have arrived safely in Edinburgh yesterday afternoon, given all the travel disruption, delays and cancellations today.
✈️ Next stop: Edinburgh
✈️ I’m flying up to Scotland in a few hours, to spend the weekend with my mum. So I’ll be grappling with both British Airways and Scotrail in order to get there. Thoughts and prayers etc.
🍒 Cherry chocolate liqueurs - I may have had one or two of these bad boys this Christmas.
Which all led to a lot of moving things in and out of the oven, lots of muttering ‘fuck me’, much sweating, and not much sitting down at all. Honestly, if you’d seen me, you’d think I was cooking for an army.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 →
🍗 Making my Christmas dinner checklist and plan in Apple Notes and finding myself unable to do basic maths re timing of what goes in the oven when.
Either I need more coffee or I was the victim of yet another overnight alien abduction and experimentation session. 👽
Who can say…?
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 →
🎄 Awake far too early for Christmas morning, but here we are. I’m in bed, sipping a coffee, catching up on the news. Soon, it’ll be exchanging presents and then, I’ll somehow find myself singing Christmas music while peeling (too many) potatoes.
Happy Christmas!
On the sofa, watching nonsense on Netflix, sipping prosecco and enjoying some cherry chocolate liqueurs. Winning at Christmas.
The inside of our fridge is like a cross between a game of jenga and a tomb puzzle from an Indiana Jones movie. I’m both afraid to move anything but desperate to get my hands on the goods.
🎄 More classy Chrimbo decorations chez nous…
Just did a ‘lightning raid’ on M&S and managed to get everything that Sainsbury’s didn’t bring us. In and out in 15mins. The mood was febrile and tempers were beginning to fray among shoppers.
Thoughts and prayers with everyone working in retail today!
In what I hope isn’t a sign of things to come, our Sainsbury’s food delivery is missing some key items for tomorrow’s big Christmas meal. I’ll have to dash out today to buy replacements. Especially as their suggested replacements included tartare sauce instead of cranberry sauce.
Monsters…
“Greenland again tells Trump it is not for sale”
The fact that this has to be even said in the year 2024 is madness. And we’ve got four years of this bullshit ahead. Fuck Trump and every pinhead that voted for him.
An early start, some reflections…
Uninterrupted thinking time is priceless. And I’m really enjoying formulating my reflections into something actionable, whether that’s goals for the year ahead or just some small ‘course corrections’ I’d like to make in my routines.
🎄 Keeping our Christmas tree very much on brand this year…
🥂🍾 Last night’s damage…
☕️ The morning after… on the couch with a coffee. Feeling surprisingly okay! And enjoying this very welcome sunshine.
🥂 The first of our guests at tonight’s ’open house’ Christmas drinks should be here in the next hour. For now, I’m enjoying the silence, lying on the sofa. Because, if previous years are anything to go by, it’s going to be a late night…
📸 Yes. It feels just as cold as it looks.
Marking the shortest day of the year this evening, celebrating with the ‘council of the gays’. Braced for a long evening of conversation, music and cocktails.
Waiting on a phone call from my doctor (he’s late, of course) and now my whole afternoon is on pause because they’ll inevitably call as soon as I decide to go out, be in a lift, or go to the toilet. Or any of the other countless places I don’t want to take a call from my GP.
📆 It’s my last full working day of the year and I’m very, very ready for it. A webinar and two coaching sessions, and then I’m done.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 →
🍺 Had a lovely working lunch with a friend/colleague, giving us the chance to sneak in some delicious Paulaner to our meeting. Perfect.
In Manchester overnight for a work trip. For once, I’m pleasantly surprised with the hotel room I’ve secured.
Really feeling like the countdown to Christmas has started. Only four full days of work left before I shut the office and take a break until January 6th.