Goodbye 2023 - Part 2

Welcome to a dull grey old South Manchester. Winter is here, the days are short and the weather is poor. But at least it isn’t raining.

Christmas is over for another year and New Year is just around the corner. Before the big day, here is Part Two of a summary of 2023, questions as usual from Sunday Stealing.

1. What did you do this year that you had not done before? 

I was called up for jury service. I thought that I would get away with it but in early December, a letter appeared through my letterbox telling me that I would have to turn up at court for the last two weeks of December. I had no choice unless my company objected to it or I had a valid reason for not attending (for example being on holiday – that kind of thing). 

In the end, because it was so close to Christmas I ended up only doing a week and I was on a small trial. It was all very interesting and formal and I actually quite enjoyed the experience. I think I am now safe from ever doing it again but I think I would approach it positively in the unlikely event that I ever get called again. 

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions/goals for the year and will you make/set more for next year?  What are they? What are your new ones?

I did keep my resolutions and I am in the process of deciding what to do next year. 

I’ve carried on with learning Spanish and playing the piano and although progress is slow on both I am improving. I have also started writing a novel which is also progressing very slowly but I have a story and an ending. I also have a better plan for a memoir of sorts based on my experiences of travelling. I may start that next year but it is still at  the planning stage. 

I am still writing a daily “journal” of sorts, which is more like “freewriting” where you basically write any old crap daily. It doesn’t have to be good or grammatically correct; you just have to write. 

Next year I plan to take some of the stuff out of that (the nuggets in the pile of rubbish if you like) and turn them into blog posts. I have been doing Sunday Stealing for a while now with little else but I want to return to the type of blog posts I used to write up until a couple of years ago. Expect to see more blog posts in 2024. I shall almost certainly continue with Sunday Stealing because it’s fun.

My other goals won’t change that much – just more of the same. 

We also plan to travel again this year although we have pushed Malaysia back to the start of 2025. We will probably go to Spain, France and Morocco in 2024. It would be nice to add another new country to the list – that may happen. 

3. Did anyone you know give birth? Or get pregnant? 

No, I don’t think so.

4. Did anyone you know die? Or have a serious illness? 

Not this year, thank goodness.

5. What places did you visit? 

We travelled to Spain (Tenerife), Morocco, Italy (Sicily), Croatia and I went to the Netherlands for a university reunion. 

I had never been to Morocco before; it was a great experience and we are thinking of going again next year. We spent a long weekend exploring Marrakesh. We had a lot of fun. 

Bahia Palace Marrakesh

Marrakesh Sunset

In Croatia we went to Dubrovnik for a week and I would thoroughly recommend it. It is a beautiful city. We also visited a couple of other places that aren’t too far away. 

Dubrovnik Old Town from above

Dubrovnik Old Town 

Sicily was wonderful. We spent a week in Taormina, which is a beautiful little town in vicinity of Mount Etna, a still active volcano. Thankfully it didn’t erupt while we were there. 

Mount Etna (from a distance)

Taormina from above

In the Netherlands, I met three of my old university friends in Amsterdam, a city I know very well. In our weekend there I acted a tour guide because I have worked there so many times I know the place almost as well as I know the back of my hand. 

Four Reprobates in Front of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (I'm the one in front)

6. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year (doesn't have to be a physical thing)? 

Nothing really. I’m not a fan of having our house disrupted and that happened this year with the redecoration of the back room, stairs and landing as well as the loft. So I would like less disruption at home – and I know that I am going to get it because we have no plans for anything like that in 2024.

7. What date from this year will remain etched in your memory and why? 

No dates stand out this year. I guess Mrs PMs birthday stands out a little because we went down to London to see the Abba Voyage show, which was surprisingly good. 

Talking of gigs, I saw three of my favourite bands/artists this year: Devin Townsend, Riverside and Porcupine Tree. They stand out because they were amazing. 

8. What was your biggest achievement this year? 

No one thing stands out but I have managed to maintain my daily habits so that counts. I have probably walked further this year than I have walked in previous years (the total mileage will be around 1565 miles if I stick to my step plan for the remaining couple of days of the year).

9. Did you get sick or injured? Anyone you know? 

Apart from a couple of minor colds, I was fine this year. A couple of friends and work colleagues came down with Covid-19 but were fine now it seems to be far less nasty than it has been in the past. 

10. What was the best thing you bought? 

It’s sad to say this but the furniture for our back room is probably the best thing; two new teal sofas, a new desk for me to work on, a new light, new flooring and a new mirror. Also the basic loft conversion we had to allow us to store more stuff up there. 

11. Where did most of your disposable income go (money left over after you pay for food, transportation and shelter)? 

Holidays and home improvements. I love holidays so they were well worth it. Home improvements? I hate them but it does look good so it was worth it. 

12. What song will always remind you of this year? 

On Spotify, this is my most played song of 2023. As you can imagine I love it. I present “Friend or Foe” by Riverside.

13. What do you wish you would have done more of? 

We were planning to go to Sweden (another new country) this year but home improvements proved to be more important (sadly). So I would like to perhaps do a couple more city breaks (starting with Stockholm) in 2024 – whether it happens or not I don’t know but I hope so.

14. What do you wish you would have done less of? 

Working. That may change in 2024.

15. What was your favourite new TV program? Movie? Album/Songs? Or if you didn't pick up any new ones, what are you still watching/listening to?

Favourite New TV Programme: The Last Kingdom:

Favourite Movie: Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One:

Favourite Album: “ID.Entity” by Riverside – here’s “I’m Done With You”:

Another Favourite Song: “Impossible Tightrope” by Steven Wilson:

Happy New Year everybody. I hope 2024 is an amazing year for you all.

Goodbye 2023

Welcome to South Manchester on a dull, grey, windy day with light rain that somehow manages to get into every nook and cranny during a daily walk. It’s quite mild for the time of year though.

I’ve finished work for the year now (yesterday was my last day) and I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks off before returning. Pity the weather isn’t better.

We’re off to Blackpool for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day to visit Mrs PM’s folks before returning and relaxing until New Year. It should be fun.

The questions from Sunday Stealing this week seem to relate to New Year and I usually provide a summary anyway, so this is likely to be the first of a two or three parter. Shall we dive in?

1. Who did you spend time with this year?

The same people I spent time with in 2022 largely. We are now expected to go into the office twice a week now so I probably spent more time with work friends and colleagues over the year. It’s a bit of a pain going into the office because Covid is still around and there have been a couple of scares. For example we had a huge meeting with about thirty people crammed into an office and two days later discovering that one person actually had Covid. I didn’t catch it this year thankfully. It does seem to be doing the rounds again though, thankfully, it is a much milder illness now. 

2. Anything change with the pets in your life?

Not at all. The still rule us with a rod of iron. Star in particular is fascinated by the cursor on my screen and sits in front of the monitor watching it as I move it around. To anybody watching this, it would appear that she is supervising me and making sure that my work reaches her highest standards. It’s funny too; when I move the cursor off the edge of the screen she looks behind to try to find it. 

3. What was your job like this year? What do you do? Did any roles or assignments change? If you aren’t employed, base this question on your work at home or volunteering.

As I said above, we are now expected to go into the office for two days a week. I am actually much more productive at home. The management use words like “collaboration” and similar bullshit terms to justify this but the truth is that companies are spending money on offices and want them used. They never say this though – they think we are stupid. 

Work wise my job was the same – frustrating, sometimes tedious, occasionally interesting. To be honest, now I don’t let it get to me at all, and while I have had a reputation for comedy ranting, I don’t even do that anymore. I do like the majority of my workmates, I have to say.

I don’t have that long left before I retire so there’s no point ranting anymore.

4. What was the best book you read this year?  How many did you read?

I’ve read quite a few books this year, mostly science fiction but a trilogy of horror stories set in 19th century England which were a minor diversion from the norm. I think the one I enjoyed most was a time travel novel by A.G.Riddle called Lost in Time.

5. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? Did you feel differently? 

I am now 61 years old and I went to one of my favourite local restaurants on my birthday with Mrs PM. I haven’t felt different for the past twenty years to be honest. I have calmed down a little bit and I am more sensible but if I met my 40 year old self I think we would have a fun time together. 

6. What political or social issue stirred you the most? 

Where do I start? The Conservative government this year has been as ludicrous and incompetent as ever. Rishi Sunak is the latest in a list of useless Prime Ministers, though he is nowhere near as bad as Boris Johnson who wins two awards – the most incompetent Prime Minister we have ever had and the biggest liar in the office of Prime Minister. He’s also nowhere near as bad as Liz Truss who was Prime Minister for just 49 days and in that time crashed the economy. Nevertheless he is a weak useless fool who has made five pledges/promises and failed to achieve any of them.

There is an election next year thank goodness and I hope for the sake of my sanity that we turf these buggers out!

I might seriously consider leaving the UK if they win again.

7. Who was the most interesting new person you met?

I’ve met a couple of new people this year and they are all very interesting. I can’t single one of them out.

8. What changed in your home? 

We have had the back room of my house redecorated along with the hall stairs and landing. We have replaced almost all of the furniture and the stairs and landing carpet. We have also replaced the carpet in the back room with LVT because it looks better and is easier to clean (especially with cats). I have a new desk too and a set of new pictures scattered around as well as two lovely teal sofas that the cats love to sprawl on.

My man cave looks bright, clean and new.

We also had the filthy old loft converted into a proper store room with a membrane to keep it clean. There is lots of room up there now and it is full of my old knick-knacks and memorabilia that Mrs PM says that I “hoard”. I don’t – and there is tons of room up there for much more. 

9. What have you learned throughout the year? (Other than crafts)  Can be a new skill or a life lesson.

My piano playing has improved a lot and so has my Spanish. I haven’t taken on anything new apart from trying Italian after a trip to Sicily. I think I might give that up though because it is affecting my Spanish (the two languages are similar but different enough to make me use Italian words in Spanish by mistake).

10. What was your favourite outfit for warm weather? Cooler weather?  what do you wear when you dress up? Any new clothes or accessories you really love?

When the weather is warm you will find me in a T-shirt or polo shirt and shorts.

When the weather is cooler you will also find me in a T-shirt or polo shirt but it depends on the temperature. I may wear a jumper or a shirt. Today for example I am wearing a sweat shirt with a T-shirt underneath as I bum around the house. I also wear jeans.

When I dress up, it depends where I am going. For a meal, I will wear a shirt with jeans or chinos. For a wedding or something like that I will wear a shirt and tie and a suit (at least until the party starts when I will lose the tie and jacket).

11. Did you make or give up on any efforts to be healthier? Diet, water, exercise etc?

I have increased my step count from last year. Hot off the press – my average step count so far is this year is 8704 per day (4.29 miles per day). This is compared to 8218 per day in 2023 (4.12 miles per day). If I keep this up for the last few days of the year I will have walked 1566 miles this year.

My diet hasn’t changed that much. I eat lots of fruit, drink lots of water and eat a fairly balanced diet. I tend to let myself go a little at the weekend but overall I think I am okay.

I will also try to be healthier in January as usual. I don’t believe in abstinence so although my consumption of alcohol will go down, I will never attempt “Dry January”. 

12. Fave meals, snacks, desserts, restaurants etc? Eat out or eat in?

I love almost every cuisine in the world – I can’t single out a favourite.

My favourite snack is cheese on toast (which I haven’t actually had for a while). 

I like eating in and eating out.

A bit of a boring answer that one – sorry.

13. Did you learn any new crafts or techniques? What was your favourite thing you made? 

Nope. When it comes to crafts I am terrible.

14. What are your hopes and dreams for the new year?  (Some suggestions-family, travel, work, lifestyle, hobbies, pets, appearance)

I hope to improve on the piano and perhaps go to a proper class to improve my Spanish communication.

I will possibly look for a new hobby, perhaps related to music. 

It goes without saying that I will travel. We were going to go to Malaysia next year but I think this will be in January 2025 now because of the weather. It’s fair to say that we will be in Europe somewhere though.

15. What was the best new/new-to-you thing you a) bought b) made c) acquired in some other way?

Best thing I bought? I would say it was everything I mentioned in Question 8 to improve the house, which involved actually “making” stuff also (well – building a cupboard from IKEA).