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2023 Retrospective

‘So what,’ asks my son-in-law, Simon, ‘is the first thing you’re going to do in 2024?’ After spending a perfect Christmas, firstly with Lily, Russ and the girls in Cardiff then with Rose, Simon and the children in Keynsham, I’m moaning away again because our house is still on the market and no one who’s viewed it appears to have read the particulars. ‘Make selling the house the second thing on your list,’ Simon continues. ‘Let it run in the background while you get on with something else or it’s going to dominate your life. Think about what you’re going to do first.’

Simon’s got a great knack of coming up with the right advice at the right time and it turns out that his comment does make me think, but more about that later. ‘Well, we’ll carrying on enjoying where we live and continue doing what we always do,’ Tom replies. And, as I look back over 2023, it hasn’t all been dominated by a fruitless attempt to move house. 

Strava tells me I’ve been active for 251 days of the year. Our ebay bargain swimming pool - now into its third year - has been a source of utter joy; those precious moments of peace at the beginning of the day is the most brilliant way to appreciate the changing seasons.


I’ve rediscovered my running mojo - after a period of feeling a bit slow and a bit old - and zipped round the Aberystwyth 10k coming in at 58:40 and my parkrun pace is back where it was. And, of course, there are the many hours of running, chatting and laughing with my dear friend and running buddy Helen.


I hated sewing at school but somehow I found myself making myself some long-sleeve T-shirts and enjoying the process. Well done Tilly and the Buttons for your patterns with easy-to-follow instructions!

This is the year I took on temporary care of my neighbour’s inscrutable tortoise, Storming Norman, and Squidge, a very elderly cat. They both survived! We also acquired grandguinea pigs and a grandkitten.

For personal reasons, I’ve never been interested in tracing my family tree, but when my brother-in-law, an aspiring Viking, turned out not to have a drop of Viking blood, I decided to take a closer look at my DNA… and yes, you guessed, not only 17% Scandinavian but also 35% Welsh.


Yes, there have been some rubbish moments in 2023 - Tom and I could both have done without losing the first week of December to a vomiting bug so severe I actually thought my number was up. And ten days later, Ma could certainly have done without our 5 hour wait in A&E to have a rib injury checked (lots of muscle damage, no broken bones).
Above all, however, Tom and I have made lots of happy memories with our family. We want to move to be physically closer to them, but when I look back through my photos and see so many smiling faces and celebrations, I realise how lucky we already are.

And as for the first thing I’m going to do in 2024? Ah, well, there’s a book I’ve been trying not to write because writing a book is hard work, but the idea won’t go away so it looks as if that’ll keep me busy.

Thank you for reading this blog. I wish you and yours and happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.


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