For nine years now I’ve been tracking my year in numbers – curiously measuring the twelve months that have just passed according to all the things that are *actually* important to me (as opposed to all the things we’re told by the media and society to measure ourselves by). These metrics are the elements that I value the most in life: time spent in meaningful ways with family & friends; connecting with people; travel & new-to-me experiences; art & music & creativity; helping others; and personal challenges/growth.
I always find it fascinating to put this post together at the end of each December, even though it takes me a while to do. It’s an interesting process of reflection on the last 365 days and more often than not I’m happily surprised by what the numbers show, whilst simultaneously recognising that they don’t really mean anything at all because I know I’ve done my absolute best throughout the year and that is all that truly matters.
I’ve switched the categories up a little bit this year – letting go of some and adding a couple of new ones in, but the essence is the same.
Here it is: 2025 as it was for us in numbers…
TRAVEL
# Of (Big) Trips Taken: 1
SOLO: 0
There was no solo trip for me this year. There have been so many changes going on behind the scenes at home that it simply hasn’t been possible, either financially or logistically. And that’s ok – practically speaking, travel is a luxury (even though my head and heart tell me very insistently that it’s most definitely a necessity), and there were other, more important things that have needed my attention over the last twelve months. That being said, I’m very much hoping (and planning, and manifesting) to be able to make it happen next year – I have a couple of places in mind that I’m very keen to explore…
WITH THE GIRLS: 1
I did manage to organise a mini road trip to North Wales over the course of a long weekend in June for the girls and I. It was our only holiday this year and we all really enjoyed our time there (even with the ‘eventful’ final night which ended up with an unexpected trip to A&E in the early hours of the morning). All three girls have said that they’d like to go back to Wales again. I’ve written about what we got up to here and here, and you can watch my vlog from our trip below as well. It’s the longest drive I’ve done on my own for a long time – 210 miles in total (there and back), plus day trips whilst we were there. I know it probably doesn’t sound like much to some people, but I’m pretty proud of that and it’s given me the confidence to look at doing some more long weekends away with them in the future too.
In the car and ready to set off on our all-girls road trip to North Wales
We loved exploring this little stretch of the North Wales coast – this photo was taken in Llandudno overlooking the pier
Bonus trip: Lola also had a little solo adventure of her own in the form of a school trip to Paris with her French class in March. She absolutely loved it there and made so many memories with her friends. She’s desperate to go back again and talks about it constantly. I’m not entirely sure how much French she actually practiced while she was there, but it doesn’t matter – the experiences she had will stay with her for a lifetime and that, to me, is far more important. Her favourite part of the adventure was the day they got to go to Disneyland Paris.
Lola LOVED her school trip to Paris – the day at Disneyland was her favourite. Look how happy she is!
# Of (Mini/Day) Trips Taken: 29
SOLO: 12
Ten solo trips to London, one to Cardiff and one random one to Banbury of all places. Two live music gigs/concerts, four exhibitions, two theatre trips and one spoken word performance. Two work events and six meet-ups with various friends who I don’t get to see anywhere near often enough. Nine different venues, one fancy dinner, and a ridiculous amount of time spent travelling by train. Even so, I was surprised to find that I stayed home more this year than last year, not venturing anywhere in February, March, October or December.
I’ve seen some incredible examples of travel, wildlife and (interestingly) photobooth photography; immersed myself in the psychedelic fairytale world of Shakespeare via an astonishing performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and time travelled back to wartime Britain for the brilliantly funny Operation Mincemeat; experienced both an intimate music hall in London and attended an outdoor concert in a field in Wales along with 30,000 other people; watched a movie at an alternative cinema; listened to passionate contemporary poetry readings about diverse topics; and spent lots of time (though still never quite as much as I want to) with my wonderful Mum.
It’s been a challenging year in many, many ways, and yet it’s still been full of all the things that light me up inside. Choosing to go to these things isn’t easy because it involves me putting myself first, but it’s so very worth it. I’ve been inspired, learnt new things, had my heart expanded, reconnected with people, felt deeply moved by stories told through various different mediums and all of that makes me a better person. I very much hope that 2026 brings even more opportunities to explore creativity and have my eyes opened to all of the possibilities and opportunities that are out there.
Getting to see Alanis Morrisette perform live at Blackweir Fields in Cardiff was a dream come true
Lucas Jones performing his spoken word poetry at the Saatchi Gallery for the Chelsea Arts Festival in London
WITH THE GIRLS: 17
Eight trips to universities for five different open days for Mimi (York St John, Birmingham, Keele, Worcester and Derby), two offer-holder days for Ella (York and Birmingham) and one to actually move Ella into her uni accommodation once she accepted her place (York again!). Four trips to London, one up to Manchester, plus four other slightly more local day trips. Two theatre performances, one museum, two live music gigs/concerts and two historic houses… pretty good going, I think.
We met up in person with friends we’d previously only known online (it was so good to have real life hugs with someone I’ve been chatting with for years!), Ella and I made our annual visit to the flower fields, and we sang our hearts out to Wicked, Gracie Abrams and Alec Benjamin at various times throughout the year. We wandered the backstreets of London in search of wartime statues, learnt about Henry V111 and his wives (and saw Katherine Parr’s grave), and got to see Edward Bluemel and Ncuti Gatwa give incredible Shakespearean performances in the play ‘Born With Teeth’. I’m so grateful to be able to share experiences like this with the girls – to open their eyes to the arts, to history, and to different places. I hope that 2026 is just as full of adventures with them as 2025 has been.
Ella and I went for our annual trip to the flower fields
A day trip to Haddon Hall with Ella when she was home from uni during October half term
Exploring the gardens of York whilst on a weekend uni open day visit
# Of New Countries/Cities Visited: 2
2025 saw me visit one new country (twice in the space of a week, in fact, because why not?), and one new city (which happened to be in that new country). The new country was Wales, and it’s the first time I’ve ever been there on purpose (as opposed to accidentally, which happened well over a decade ago when I made a small mistake whilst putting the postcode of our destination into the satnav, which then proceeded to take us wildly off course and we ended up in Wales for five minutes before turning around to try and get to where we were actually meant to be going. The girls have never let me forget it, and probably never will!).
The double visit was for two very different reasons. The first: our little mini road trip to the Welsh North Coast (Rhos-on-Sea, Conwy and Llandudno) for a long weekend, and the second: heading to the south of the country as I was lucky enough to get to see Alanis Morrisette perform live at Blackweir Fields in Cardiff – the new city I’ve now ticked off my list.
We all loved the north coast and want to go back to explore some more, and I really enjoyed Cardiff too – it seemed like a very friendly, walkable, interesting place. It seems crazy that we’ve never been to Wales before considering it’s only a couple of hours drive from where we live. I definitely foresee more trips there in the not too distant future.
Conwy Castle
Cardiff Castle
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY
# Of Blog Posts Written: 24
This was a new category that I added into this round-up post last year and I like it, so it’s staying. Writing is such a huge part of who I am and I want to do much more of it going forwards. I’d set the goal of 25 blog posts in 2025, and fell one short, writing 24 in total (including this one!) – exactly the same as last year. I’ve continued to be consistent with my monthly posts (now called ‘Life Lately‘ instead of ‘Little Loves’, a switch I made in springtime as I felt it needed a little refresh) and my seasonal ‘Moments In Between’ blog posts as well, which will forever be a favourite. Plus seven other posts – all travel ones covering my solo trips to Lisbon and Barcelona, as well as our mini break in North Wales. I still haven’t managed to get my Substack off the ground yet – that’s a project for 2026.
# Of Photos Taken: 3,540
Almost 1,800 fewer images than last year – I guess doing significantly less travel and not having any photoshoots will have that effect. That being said, the images I did take are incredibly special to me – I haven’t felt like picking up my camera very much this year, so when I did it was with the pure intention to capture something I wanted to remember. Image numbers really fluctuated from month-to-month as well, which I found very interesting. I took the least number of shots in November (just 24!), and the most in May (592 total), closely followed by August (562 photos).
My most favourite photo of the girls from this year! At the time of taking it, Mimi was 17yo, Ella was 18yo and Lola was 15yo.
#Of Self Portraits: 41
This was also a new category added in last year and this one is also going to stay because the practice of stepping in front of the camera has been utterly transformative for me. I’ve come to realise that it’s not egotistical, or self-indulgent, or narcissistic, or weird. It’s my own personal form of therapy. It’s me showing up for myself. It’s me documenting where I am now so that in the future I can look back and remember who I was (and who I am). It’s me being able to look at myself and beginning to accept and maybe even quite like the me looking back at me. It matters.
I only took self portraits during six months of 2025: January; April; May (I always take a birthday self portrait now, it’s become a little ritual that I uphold because I want to see how I change as the years go by); June; July and October. The other six months of the year there is a notable absence – it has been a challenging year and I really haven’t wanted to be seen. I’m glad I made the effort, and showed up anyway, in the months that I did take images though – the temporary discomfort led to something I’m proud of, which I guess is a lesson in itself.
I was even brave enough to capture some images whilst I was in someone else’s house (my parent’s!). This is almost unheard of – I usually only ever take them when I’m at home on my own, or whilst I’m on a solo trip somewhere. Progress!
There has been a good mix of black & white images (I really love b&w self portraits) and colour ones. And the number would be higher if I included shadow photos or hands/feet/faceless images. I do actually really like playing with shadows, but this project is more about showing my face.
It’s getting easier. Slowly. I’m happy to have taken more than I did last year. Maybe in 2026 I’ll manage fifty self portraits – that would feel like a significant milestone to reach.
One of my favourite self portraits from 2025
# Of ‘Likes’ On Instagram Photos: 3,500
According to the ‘Top Nine’ app, I received 3.5k likes over 82 posts (an average of 43 likes per photo) on Instagram. Pretty similar to last year. Apparently this gives me a ‘Top Nine score’ of 94 (whatever that means!) and puts me in the top 1% of accounts who have up to 5k followers, because I get 11% more likes per post than average. Allegedly. My follower numbers have actually declined a little this year (haha!) which is a little bit frustrating – I can’t seem to get past the number I’m stuck at. However, whilst these stats are objectively interesting, I am fully aware and very mindful of the fact that they really, really, really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
I mostly just love how representative this little grid is – they aren’t necessarily my personal favourite images but there are photos of each of the girls, a couple of group shots, a (retrospective) travel carousel, plus some meaningful moments (Ella moving to university was my most popular photo, with 99 likes in total) & tiny joys such as sunrises and dog-sitting over the summer. Interestingly, there are no self portraits, no shots from the one trip we took this year (to Wales), no photos with our cats in the frame and no black & white images in the grid this year.
My ‘top nine’ photos from 2025
I’m already curious to see what next year’s grid will look like. If you aren’t yet following me on Instagram and would like to, you can find me here: https://www.instagram.com/picturetakermemorymaker
WORK
# Of Client Therapy And Supervision Sessions: 307
2025 has been a slightly quieter year work-wise (an average of three clients less each month compared to 2024), and there are many reasons for this, all of which I’m ok with. I’ve been working as a therapist for over eighteen years now and it never gets old. I’m so grateful to everyone who chooses to work with me – it’s such an honour to get to walk alongside them as they work through the things they’ve been struggling with. I honestly learn as much from them as they do from me and it’s a privilege to know each and every one of them. I’ve no idea who I’ll get to meet and have the joy of working with in 2026, but I’m already looking forward to it.
NATURE
# Of Sunrises And Sunsets Watched: 214
It seems like the skies have really put on a show for us this year. I’m up before dawn every morning, and go to bed long after the sun sinks below the horizon, so I do, for sure, have a very good chance of seeing the sunrise and sunset each day. It feels as though there have been a lot more to witness than usual though? I’m certainly not complaining – they are one of my favourite wonders of nature.
There were no international ones this year – all the sunrises and sunsets I watched were close to home. They are still just as spectacular though. Here are a couple, from very ordinary days, that took my breath away:
Summer sunrise
Winter sunset
THE ARTS
# Of Books Read: 29
My goal is always to read one book a month as an absolute minimum. Last year I aimed for two per month, ie: 24 books in 2024, and didn’t quite manage it, falling one short with 23. This year, I overshot and read 29 books in total! I’m really quite pleased with that.
Here’s the full list of all of the books I read in 2025:
- A Man Called Ove // Anxious People both by Fredrik Backman (translated)
- The Electricity Of Every Living Thing // Enchantment// Wintering all by Katherine May (memoir & non-fiction)
- Kokoro // The Way Of The Fearless Writer // Freedom Seeker all by Beth Kempton (memoir & non-fiction)
- Heart Bones // Confess both by Colleen Hoover
- A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber
- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
- The Wild Other by Clover Stroud (memoir)
- The Salt Path // The Wild Silence both by Raynor Winn (memoir)
- The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (memoir)
- The Unfinished Business Of Eadie Brown by Freya North
- Us by David Nicholls
- Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
- Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated)
- Lonely Planet Wales (travel)
- The Year Of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (memoir)
- Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management For Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (non fiction)
- The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
- The Story Collector by Evie Woods
- Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road by Neil Peart (memoir)
- The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
- Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
- You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry
It’s a somewhat diverse mix of genres, as usual: 15 fiction books (some bestsellers; some easy-to-read romance; a historical fiction which is not usually my thing but I ended up really loving; plus a few lesser-known titles and authors) set across England, Ireland, the USA, Japan and Australia. One singular travel book, 5 non-fiction books, and eight memoirs, which surprised me. Three were translated from the original languages they were written in (Swedish and Japanese) – I’ve never read any translated books before, so that was interesting. There were no poetry or ‘coffee table’ books this year. I quite like that I read an eclectic range of writing by unique authors, and I’d like to expand on that and read an even wider variety in 2026. I’ve still not read any of the classics, so perhaps they’ll be on my list of books read this time next year…
My top fiction books in 2025 were ‘A Man Called Ove’ (I sobbed! Mimi will testify – I was an absolute mess and she didn’t quite know what to do with me) and ‘Anxious People’, both by Fredrik Backman – I know it’s unusual, controversial and possibly a little bit boring to have two favourites by the same author, but I absolutely love the way this man writes and I can’t wait to read his newest novel ‘My Friends’ when I can get hold of it in paperback next year, as well as the rest of his back catalogue of published books. He comes across as being incredibly humble (and funny!) in his Instagram posts as well. I also need to watch the film adaptation of Ove (‘A Man Called Otto’, starring Tom Hanks) and the upcoming Netflix movie of ‘Anxious People’, which will star Angelina Jolie and Aimee Lou Wood among other big names. I think it’s going to be fantastic and I can’t wait to see it. I also, unexpectedly, really enjoyed the beautifully written ‘Hamnet’ – I’m still thinking about it and I have a feeling it’s going to stay in my mind for quite some time. I’m very keen to see the movie, which comes out in cinemas in the UK in early January.
I’ve set the goal of reading 26 books in 2026 and I’m already curious to find out what they might be.
27 of the 29 of the books I read in 2025 (I forgot to include the two I borrowed from Ella – ‘Hamnet’ and ‘You and Me on Vacation’. Oops!)
# Of Live Music Gigs: 4
Live music is a huge passion of mine – I love going to concerts and gigs of all kinds, from classical to modern music, from huge stadiums to tiny & intimate venues, and from big names to less well-known artists. I’ve been lucky enough to go to four different events in 2025 – the same number as last year.
In January I went to see Joshua Radin perform at a small venue in Camden, and it was ace being so close to the stage – it was a very different vibe to anything I’ve been to before. His voice was incredible and it’s an evening and an experience that I’m going to remember for a very, very long time. I’d love to see him again next time he’s in the UK.
March saw me escorting the girls to two very different gigs just a week apart from each other: Manchester with Ella to see Gracie Abrams at the vast Co-Op Live arena, and London with Mimi and Lola to see Alec Benjamin at the always-impressive Royal Albert Hall. We stayed overnight both times to turn it into a bit more of an event and I thoroughly enjoyed each concert for multiple different reasons. Mostly I love watching their faces more than the singer on stage – the way they light up and sing their hearts out to their favourite songs makes me so happy.
And finally in July I had a bit of a pinch-me moment when I was lucky enough to get to see Alanis Morrisette perform at Blackweir Fields festival in Cardiff. It was honestly a dream come true – I have loved her music, voice, lyrics and attitude since I was 12 years old and never in a million years did I think I’d ever get to hear her sing in real life. She was incredible – powerful, feisty, delicate, surprising and everything in between. There were some new-to-me songs that I fell in love with, and, of course, she played most of the songs from her Jagged Little Pill album, including the secret song from the very, very end of the album, which completely blew me away as it was so unexpected. Hand In My Pocket and Ironic were my favourites – core memory-making moments that I’ll never forget.
I’m very much hoping to be able to attend more live music events in 2026. I might need to open a savings account dedicated to putting away money to pay for gig tickets…
Ella and I went to see Gracie Abrams perform live at the Co-Op arena in Manchester
Mimi also had a good year for gigs! She went to see both Frank Turner and The K’s with her Dad, Finneas with her best friend, and Chase Atlantic with Ella.
# Of Theatre Shows: 4
This one is a brand new category for this year! I figured if books, music and cinema get their own space on this blog, then theatre should have a dedicated spot too.
January saw me take Lola for her very first West End musical theatre experience – we gave her tickets to see ‘Wicked’ for her fifteenth birthday present. She LOVED it. It was an absolutely incredible show – the entire performance, the acting, the singing, the sets, the costumes, all of it was spectacular. We made a day of it and had a little wander around London too. She most definitely had the musical theatre bug now so I have a feeling I’ll be taking her back to see more shows in the not-too-distant future…
I was lucky enough to get to see two plays with one of my best friends. She’s always loved performing arts, and even worked at the National Theatre when she was younger, so we try and see a play together at least once a year if we can. This year we returned to The Bridge to be swept away in an immersive performance of A Midsummers Night’s Dream. I’d only ever seen it once before, many, many years ago, at Regents Park Open Air Theatre when I was a teenager, and I couldn’t really remember the story that well. It didn’t matter – the performance was absolutely spellbinding from start to finish and I was easily able to follow along with what was happening and understand it all. It was incredibly funny, and the acrobatics were insane. A night I’ll remember for a very long time, especially the ten minute ‘afterparty’ where all the actors join the audience and dance together. This run has finished now and they are showcasing a different play in 2026, but if you haven’t been to The Bridge before I highly recommend you go – it’s a fantastic experience.
The other play we went to see was Operation Mincemeat. A bit of a wildcard for me as I’m not that into history, but my friend got really good seats in the ballot and invited me to go with her so of course I said yes. I ended up laughing so hard that my tummy muscles hurt for days afterwards – it was utterly brilliant. If you get the chance to see it, run, don’t walk. You won’t regret it.
Finally, Ella and I travelled down to London in August to see Born With Teeth – a play about the passionate rivalry and relationship between the playwrights Christopher Marlowe (played by Ncuti Gatwa of Sex Education and Doctor Who fame) and William Shakespeare (Edward Bluemel). Both were superb and Ella and I were totally drawn into their performance. It was only 90 minutes long and there was no interval, so it was quite an intense play and that really added to the atmosphere and story. Phenomenal.
Scenes from the afterparty at The Bridge theatre, following a phenomenal performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
# Of Cinema Trips: 7
More than double the amount of cinema visits than last year, which I’m very happy about. Most were at my local screen, though I did also get to go to an Everyman cinema (to see ‘The Ballad Of Wallis Island’, which was very heartwarming and funny – please watch it) for the first time ever, which was an altogether different cinematic experience and very fun. I also saw ‘The Penguin Lessons’ at my local stage theatre, which was also an interesting experience, especially as I was the youngest audience member there by about 20 years. I didn’t enjoy the film as much as I did the book (which I read in 2024) – I don’t particularly like Steve Coogan as an actor so it may have been that. Plus books are always better than film adaptations anyway.
The girls all loved seeing the new version of ‘How To Train Your Dragon’, which was a favourite of theirs when they were little. Other films I watched were ‘The Salt Path’ (excellent, despite the controversy around the truthfulness of the story, which I also read in book form this year), ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ (surreal and strange but enjoyable), and ‘Now You See Me’ (very clever, plus I love magic, plus it’s part of a trilogy so I had to see it as I’ve seen all the others so far).
My favourite film from the whole year though was, without question, ‘The Life Of Chuck’. It’s based on a Stephen King novel, and I’m not a fan of horror so I was slightly nervous, but it was more ever-so-slightly-supernatural than anything and it was so deeply life-affirming and moving that you forget all about that side of it anyway. I can’t even begin to describe or explain it, it’s something you just have to see for yourself to be able to understand how special a story/film it is. 10/10 recommend.
CHALLENGES
# Of New Experiences: 53
As I look back on 2025 I see it as a challenging year. There were so many changes: some were enormous; many were tiny; a few were planned for; others took me by surprise and were completely unexpected. And yet, as hard as it was, and despite the many times that I cried (in my car, at my desk, out walking, in bed at night…), it was also filled with so many moments of joy and so many new experiences that it’s impossible to categorise it as a ‘bad’ year. I’m reminded (again) that nothing is as binary as that, that we all contain multitudes, and that many things can exist in the same space at the same time.
In January, as previously mentioned, I took Lola to see ‘Wicked: The Musical’ in London for her birthday – it was the first time either of us had seen the show (1), her first time experiencing a West End musical theatre production (2) and the Apollo Victoria was a new-to-me theatre venue (3). I was lucky enough to head down to London again a week or so later to see the utterly brilliant ‘Operation Mincemeat’ (4) at the Fortune Theatre – also new-to-me (5) – with one of my best friends. Continuing the theme of stage shows, Lola performed in her school play (this year it was Sister Act) for the third year in a row and this time she had lines to say (6), which she delivered with enthusiasm and character. I snuck in one final trip to London right at the end of the month to see the incredible Joshua Radin perform live (7) at an intimate venue that I’d never been to before and would very much like to return to – the Camden Jazz Cafe (8). His music is so soulful, I’d love to see him again. Meanwhile, Sophie successfully passed her driving test (9)! We’re all so proud of her – it took her a few attempts and she didn’t ever give up. She’s now confidently driving all over the place, including on motorways. And I read my first ever translated book (10), ‘A Man Called Ove’ by Fredrik Backman, which was originally written in Swedish. If you haven’t read it, please do – it’s wonderful.
February saw me travelling to opposite ends of the country. Firstly up north to York with Ella for a university offer-holder visit day. We went out for dinner and wandered around the city after dark, getting to see an amazing light show at York Minster (11) that took our breath away. Then it was back down to London again, this time for a day trip with Mimi who needed to do some research for her A Level Art project. We visited the Imperial War Museum together – the first time I’ve ever been (12).
The first month of Spring was a busy one too. Lola went on a school trip abroad (13) at the beginning of March – the first of any of the girls to do so thanks to Covid restrictions getting in the way of Ella and Mimi being able to. It was the first time any of them have been to Paris and, indeed, France (14); a first ever visit to Disneyland Paris (15); and the first time any of them have travelled outside of the UK without us parents (16). She had an absolutely brilliant time, took hundreds of photos, made core memories with her friends and she still talks about it constantly. It was a good month for live music too – I took Ella to see Gracie Abrams (17) perform at the Co-Op Live (18) in Manchester. She was fantastic and the venue was vast – a very different (and fun!) vibe compared to other gigs we’ve been to. We stayed overnight at Staycity Aparthotel (19), which was excellent – I’d happily stay there again for sure. A week later I took Mimi and Lola to the Royal Albert Hall in London to see Alec Benjamin sing live – both firsts for them (20) and perhaps my most favourite venue ever.
The light show at York Minster was absolutely spectacular!
I took Mimi and Lola to see Alec Benjamin perform live at the Royal Albert Hall in London – one of my most favourite venues ever
In April, Neil moved out (21). We separated in early August 2024 but it took nine months for the house-buying process to go through. It’s not something I’ve spoken about at all publicly or online, and only my closest circle of family and friends knew what was happening. I’m not going to share any more here because it’s not just my story to tell – it obviously involves him and the girls too – but it didn’t feel right to simply ignore it and not acknowledge such a monumental shift in our family dynamics. Co-parenting (22) and solely owning my own house (23) were challenging. I escaped for a day with my Mum in London and we went to see an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery (24) together, which I’d never been to before. It’s a very cool space if you ever get the chance to go. Mimi had an exciting month – she went to a Finneas gig with her best friend and no parents (25) and started work experience (26) with an artist friend of mine.
May was very much a heads-down kind of a month – Ella was sitting her A Level exams (27) so we kept everything as quiet and steady as possible.
In contrast, the summer months were full of new experiences. In June I visited a town called Banbury for the first time ever (28), to go and see the Travel Photographer Of The Year exhibition (which is usually on display in London, I have no idea why it was moved to a different location this year!). Ella and I headed to Leek (on the edge of the Peak District) for an afternoon to meet up with Kirsty Larmour and her daughter – Kirsty and I have been friends online for years but had never actually met in person before (29)! Her daughter was going to the same university as Ella was hoping to be able to attend, so we thought it would be a good idea for the girls to meet too, so they each knew someone when they first arrived for their new adventure. We sat in a cafe for three hours just talking together, and it was wonderful. The end of the month saw the three girls and I heading off on our first ever mini road trip (30), just us, to Wales – our first time going there on purpose (31). The long weekend there also saw us having our first (and hopefully only) experience of visiting a Welsh A&E department (32).
A week later, at the start of July, I was back in Wales again, visiting Cardiff this time (33). I’ve been to gigs in other countries before, many, many moons ago, because the artist happened to be performing whilst I was there (I saw Counting Crows in Sydney in 2003 and Meatloaf in New Zealand in 2004, both of which were amazing), but this was my first time deliberately travelling to another country specifically to go to a gig (34). Seeing Alanis Morrisette perform live (35) was a dream come true. I had my first experience of watching a film at an Everyman Cinema (36), and I tried sea bass (37) for the first time ever too – it was delicious. Finally, on a less fun note, Lola’s school went into lockdown (38) on Sports Day, just a couple of days before the end of term and the start of the summer holidays. The communication from school wasn’t very clear so all I knew about it was the information I received via panicked WhatsApp messages from Lola. Eventually it transpired that there had been a medical emergency with one of the pupils and the site had to be closed so that the air ambulance could land. It was all very scary. Thankfully the boy is now ok.
August was full-on in a good way. I headed to London again, this time to see an immersive performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (39) at the Bridge Theatre, which was genuinely one of the best things I’ve ever seen. We spent an afternoon at Sudeley Castle (40), which was very cool and had an excellent adventure playground at the end (even teenagers aren’t too old for an adventure playground!). A Level results day for Ella (41) finally arrived and we are all so incredibly proud of her – all of her hard work paid off and she got accepted into the university of her choice. Continuing the theme of university – Mimi went to her first uni open day visit (42) to Keele University. She also got her first job (43) dog sitting for a friend of mine. I joined her on the walks most days and we both really enjoyed the experience (even though I am very much NOT a dog person) – Jasper had such a quirky personality and we were both kind of sad when the two weeks were finished and my friend returned from her holiday. Also on the subject of work, Lola had her first ever interview (44)! She prepared really well and although she was nervous she did brilliantly and came across as confident in her abilities to do the role. Finally, Ella and I had a day trip to London to see a play called Born With Teeth (45) at the Wyndham Theatre (46), which was fantastic, and unlike anything I’ve seen before.
Ella and I with Kirsty and her daughter – the first time we’d met in person after talking with each other online for years. Sometimes the internet can make good things happen 🙂
Rhos-on-Sea, the little town where we stayed when we visited North Wales
Exploring Sudeley Castle
Mimi and Jasper – her first ever paid job was dog-sitting him whilst his owner was away on holiday
September brought with it yet more big changes… Lola found out that she got the job she’d applied for (47)! Mimi decided to transition back to sixth form (48) to do the second half of her A Levels there instead, after being at college for a year. And we took Ella up to York to move her into her university accommodation – the first of our girls to leave home (49). It was a deeply emotional weekend for all of us. She’s settled in well, all things considered, and I’m happy that she’s happy there (though I do miss her a lot too). I tried to keep myself occupied, so went to see a film at my local theatre (not cinema!) as part of their Film Club (50). I also somewhat spontaneously headed back to London on a deliciously warm and sunny Autumn afternoon to attend a spoken word poetry performance (51), which I thoroughly enjoyed.
October and November were weirdly quiet – I think we all needed everything to stay familiar as we all adjusted to the changes that had happened throughout the year. December, too, was strange, with Ella still being up in York and celebrating her birthday without us for the first time ever (52). Christmas this year was just the girls and I (53) and although I’d been dreading it, it was actually ok and we had a good time.
Despite the challenges that 2025 presented, I want to look back on it positively. It taught me a lot and I want to make sure I carry those lessons forwards with me. We made memories, we laughed lots, I showed up and every single bit of it mattered.
Ella in her uni room on the day we moved her in
# Of House Projects Completed: 0
This is a brand new category that I’m adding in this year! Since we moved into this house in December 2019 it has been a very long, agonisingly slow process of making it into our home. In 2020, in between covid lockdowns, we managed to have a new fence installed around the garden (out of pure necessity – the old one fell down, rather dramatically, in a storm). In 2021 we had the lighting and electrics sorted out throughout the house, and during the time that the work was going on, our heating gave up the ghost during one of the worst episodes of snow I remember for a long time.
We had the entire house painted white inside in 2022 because I needed a blank canvas, and the dark purple & lime green walls we inherited from the previous owners were not doing it for me. In 2023 we had our kitchen roof fixed – another necessity after three years of it leaking so badly that it effectively rained as much inside the kitchen as it did outside whenever the weather took a turn for the worse. We also had brand new carpets put in throughout the whole house, which made me very happy. 2024 saw us having a new shower installed in the ensuite.
This year? Nothing! Unless you count having the roof re-repaired after it sprung a leak from a different place to the previous leak…?
I’m determined that 2026 will be a year of really putting all of my ideas into action and turning this house into a proper home.
# Of Items Ticked Off My ’50 Things Before I’m 50′ List: 2
In 2024 I managed to tick three things off of my ’50 Things Before I’m 50′ list: I got a new tattoo; I saw the Northern Lights; and I visited Barcelona. This meant that I started 2025 with 47 challenges still to work towards accomplishing.
I’m pleased to say that even with all the turmoil at home, I did manage to complete two more items…
TAKE THE GIRLS TO SEE A MUSICAL IN LONDON – completed January 2025, age 41 years old
My original intention was to take all three girls at the same time to the same show, but in the end it didn’t work out like that and we ended up doing three separate visits over the course of a couple of years – Ella and Mimi both saw Hamilton a year apart, and Lola saw Wicked this year. I don’t mind that it ended up being a different experience to how I originally planned and envisioned it, the main thing is that they’ve now finally all experienced the magic of a West End show.
Lola was so excited to go and see ‘Wicked’ at a West End theatre
VISIT WALES ON PURPOSE – completed (twice!) June & July 2025, age 42 years old
I know I’ve already mentioned this multiple times throughout this post but I am just so happy that I’ve finally managed to tick this one off my list and actually made it to Wales (deliberately). First a long weekend in North Wales with the girls, then an incredible gig in Cardiff – two very different experiences, at opposite ends of this beautiful country, that both meant a lot to me in so many ways that I can’t even begin to explain. They will each stay with me forever and it will always make me smile that after 42 years of having never visited, I ended up going twice in the space of a week!
Llandudno
Cardiff Bay / Mermaid Quay
Five items down, 45 still to go. I wonder which ones I’ll manage to complete in 2026…?
Looking Forwards To 2026
And that’s it – our 2025 in numbers. It has been a very tough year. And yet, we made it through – with equal parts aching hearts and happy memories, new life lessons and a resilience that none of us knew we had twelve months ago.
2026 is going to be a year full of yet more milestones and unknowns. There are many changes ahead and I’m going to do my absolute best to embrace them with an open heart. Navigating whatever the next twelve months holds will no doubt bring both challenges and accomplishments, chaos and calm, shadows and light, and I’m here for all of it. Life is so, so short and I truly believe that we are here to experience as much of it as possible, as fully as possible, whilst we can.
