2025: Small Steps

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Happy New Year! 

I always have mixed feelings about this time of year. On the one hand, there is excitement and hope about possibilities and potential, yet on the other, an underlying fear of the unknown. This year, however, I’m feeling a lot better than usual. 

I particularly like the start of a new year because I indulge in a lot of planning and creating lists, and I get to set up my new Bullet Journal with new goals to work towards. As I’ve aged these goals have become smaller and more realistic – I still keep my ultimate bucket list of things to see and do (which include things like visiting the Grand Canyon and seeing certain musicians in concert) – but I spend most of my time focusing on the smaller, achievable targets and goals that will make the biggest impact just by using consistent small steps. This has proven to be very effective, and I have ended each year with a sense of accomplishment.

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2024: A Year in Review

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Over the last few years I have added a ‘Memories & Highlights’ double page into my Bullet Journal. This serves as a reminder at the end of the year of all the positive things that I’ve been lucky enough to experience over the last twelve months, and is extremely helpful during times when things are tough. 

Perhaps the most challenging part was at the start of the year when we moved house, and what followed was MONTHS of individual battles with various companies including SCS and So Energy (that went on for nine months until I lost my temper and started leaving negative reviews – amazing how a 1* review on Trust Pilot suddenly makes a company pay attention). We quickly realised that neither the landlord and the property management company weren’t interested in helping too, which hasn’t been great.

However, 2024 (despite all the challenges and annoyances we’ve faced this year), has in fact been pretty great for the most part. 

The Bloke and I have again been extremely lucky to watch numerous shows at the theatre. My favourites? Book of Mormon, &Juliet, Hamilton, I Should Be So Lucky, Here & Now and Dear Evan Hansen – many of which were on my bucket list. Additionally, I got the opportunity to meet STEPS at their press launch, and I don’t think I blogged about it at the time, but I met Pete Waterman TWICE. I won’t go into detail now as this post is already going to be a lengthy one, but I was so overwhelmed by meeting him that I cried when I got home. 

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A Cracking Christmas 

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I think 2024 was the first year since I started blogging over a decade ago that I didn’t post something before Christmas. 

Yes, I was busy – December is often one of the busiest points of the year as both my clients and I take some time off over the festive season, so essentially a month’s worth of work needs to be done, approved and scheduled in advance in less than three weeks. Additionally, regardless of how organised I try to be, there are ALWAYS extra things that appear – company Christmas parties and events (the week before Christmas I was in London for two days filming several events with a client), Christmas and New Year video messages from different teams etc. I genuinely enjoy it – this time of year is always perfect for creating lots of fun and joyful content, but it doesn’t necessarily allow for personal Christmas prep time, (despite my declarations in November that this year would be different).

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Press Review: The Book of Mormon at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A true modern classic of musical theatre!

The Book of Mormon, the smash-hit musical by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, has taken the West End by storm and is now embarking on a UK tour, arriving on stage at The Alexandra Theatre for the festive season. 

The story follows two young Mormon missionaries, Elder Price (Adam Bailey) and Elder Cunningham (Sam Glen), who are sent to a remote Ugandan village to spread their faith. What ensues is a hilariously exaggerated culture clash, as the naive missionaries attempt to reconcile their idealistic beliefs with the harsh realities faced by the local community. 

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Press Review: Here & Now – The Steps Musical at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A jubilant and nostalgic homage to one of Britain’s most beloved pop groups. Sensational!

Back in February I had the privilege of speaking with award-winning director Rachel Kavanaugh and writer Shaun Kitcherner about their new project: Here & Now, a brand new musical based on the songs of British pop band Steps. 

At the time, the casting process hadn’t yet started, but right from the beginning they were both passionate about roles being made available for “all types of ordinary people of all ages, young people, older people of all shapes and sizes, all heritages, all gender identities.”

And almost nine months later, after seeing snippets of cast rehearsals and interviews, ticket sales that were so poplar that extra nights were added and glowing initial reviews of early performances, I was eager to see whether it would deliver.

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Perspective: When the Bad Makes the Good Better

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The last week has been BRUTAL.

Not long ago, I was informed of a situation that would require me to be elsewhere for several weeks. This couldn’t have come at a worse time – I’m self-employed with nobody to cover me and it hit right at the start of prepping all the festive season posts for most of my social media clients. I wouldn’t be able to do much during the day and would physically be out of the house, so admin would have to be done extremely early in the morning, and then when I got home in the evening (as well as attempting to monitor a whole bunch of social media accounts if I had a few moments of free time during the day).

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I Hear Sleigh Bells

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Christmas. It may be early November, but the sleigh bells have started on the TV adverts, the stores are already heavily into their festive marketing strategy, and I’m getting messages from family asking what I would like as a gift.

For the last few years, Christmas has followed a similar pattern. I start the month of December with the concept that I want to make this year the best Christmas ever, and then I get slammed with work as everyone starts freaking out and needing ALL THE THINGS NOW NOW NOW as everyone, including myself, is taking a little bit of time off. Inevitably, by the time it gets to a few days before Christmas I’m fed up and exhausted, and I’m not in the mood.

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A Day Date in Camden

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The day after going to a Silent Disco at The Natural History Museum in London for my friend, Helen’s birthday, I found myself with a day off.

This wasn’t the intended plan when I booked tickets in March – I was going to travel down to London on the day of the disco, stay in a hotel overnight and then come home. As it transpired, work commitments that appeared later in the year meant that I would be in London not just on the day of the disco, but on the day before and for five days afterwards. I had to book a separate hotel reservation for the remaining period of time, and ended up with a room near Euston, which made travelling easier.

The Saturday after the disco was the only free day that I had, so The Bloke got on a train and joined me in London. We decided to have a day date and go to Camden – it was one tube stop away, the weather was glorious and neither of us had been there in years.

A day out in Camden - exploring Camden lock and camden market

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A Silent Disco at The Natural History Museum

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There are certain things that just seem too cool to be true, and the idea of a silent disco at The Natural History Museum was one of them. 

Until earlier this year, when my friend Helen mentioned it as something that she would like to do for her birthday. 

Amazing. 

A silent disco in the Great Hall at The Natural History Museum in London

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A Week in Johnshaven, Scotland

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Back in August The Bloke and I took a last-minute, much-needed holiday in Scotland. We were lucky to find a lovely little cottage (that is rarely available) had a vacancy at the time where The Bloke was on annual leave, and booked it immediately – as if the universe had stepped in at a point where we really needed it.

We decided to add an extra day, staying in Falkirk overnight before we were due to check in so that we could see The Kelpies and Blackness Castle, and then stopped in at Doune Castle on the drive up the next day.

It was definitely the right decision, as it meant that we could split the 10 hour drive over two days, and saw things that had been on my travel bucket list for a while.

We found the tiny, winding road down to Johnshaven easily. There have been some changes – since the last time we visited, a bunch of houses have been built on the edge of the village which was a bit disorienting at first, and there has been the addition of a cafe and a lobster shop.

But as soon as we pulled up to the cottage, it felt like home.

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