I wrote that 2024 was great personally, and less good globally. 2025 has been less totally amazing, personally – by no means a bad year, but it’s hard to top a honeymoon and a new kitchen – and has managed to feel worse, globally. But it’s not been without it’s bright spots.

I sort of made cooking a focus of my year, looking to generally improve. I can confidently say that I cooked over 100 dishes that I’d never cooked before. And yes, started fat-washing booze to make cocktails with fromt time to time. In February, I went on a blacksmithing course, and made a chef’s knife. It’s not going to replace the proper ones made by more skilled people that I actually use in the kitchen, but it was interesting to learn about the process. On the eating out front, well represented here, March, birthday month for Miranda and I both, saw us eating at one of London’s hottest spots, The Devonshire. It was excellent, if very crowded. (My actual pick for restaurant experience of the year is not recorded in these picks, a specific meal at Ibai.)

Saw a reasonable amount of theatre, represented here by the stage for Othello in November, and in fact, closed the year with the best thing I saw: Kenrex – a one-performer (plus live musical accompaniment) true crime show in rural Missouri in the seventies.

On the gaming front, May’s picture shows the heap of destroyed materials from out game of Betrayal at the House on the Hill, Legacy edition. Genuinely great fun – as has all the other gaming of the year – City of Mists, Root, Vaesen and others.

Been a bit short of holiday trips, other than Norn Irn as usual, but we did manage a lovely long weekend in York for a wedding.

I should also note that while I have no pics, Miranda started doing stand up this year, and made it to the final of a contest before she’d done ten shows. (Her tenth show was the final.). So looking ahead, if nothing else, it’s looking like a trip to Edinburgh is on the cards in August this coming year. Not the full festival, or anything mad like that, but a few days visiting so Miranda can perform in a showcase – something I’m incredibly proud of, and cannot wait to see her do more with this.

So that was 2025. While no-one ever really has an unmixed year, I hope you can look back on at least as many bright spots in yours as I can, and that we all can look forward to even more in 2026.