2015 Year in Review

It's the beginning of February and I am only just finding the time to reflect on the past year now. I can tell you that when I wrote this same entry last year, I had no idea I would be writing some of what follows below.

The good news is that 2015 was a vast improvement on the year beforehand in many ways.

Work-wise, I was kept so busy heading up the Sony team I had very little time for the job hunt I had intended. The work I was doing was satisfying at least as I grew the account from eCRM to digital, and then on to become the global lead digital agency bringing an extra €500,000 to the agency. A career highlight for me. Hopefully that will be properly recognised this year with a promotion!

In February Ollie and I got back together. We started dating and got back into the swing of life together pretty quickly. In December we moved into a lovely flat together in Finsbury Park. We unpacked quickly and have settled nicely into our new home and the area. I lived in Balham for 7 years - the longest home I've lived anywhere since Ole Street, Toowoomba - and as much as I loved Balham and having my friends close by, I was really looking forward to a change of scenery.

London life continues at full pelt. I came up a bit short culturally in the second half of the year, I still saw some wonderful theatre and exhibitions. From the full edit, the highlights were the Daniel Kitson play called Tree, and the best exhibition was the amazingly curated fashion exhibition for Alexander McQueen. We've seen lots of films this year making the most of our membership at the Picturehouse Cinema.

Summer was lots of fun with several picnics, outdoor concerts, and even the cricket! My birthday day out at Chapel Down vineyard (and later featured on The Guardian website in a photo for 'top 10 worst ghost photos'). I went on a ramble with Stu, Kris & Mailie. I celebrated Jaimee's baby shower; had an amazing night out with Dave & Piero in Peckham Rye; and a long lunch with Dunja & Marcus.

In April, I had the chance to go home for a month which was brilliant. Toowoomba. Brisbane. Noosa. Sydney. Having quality time, and such a long break from work was completely revitalising. I wish I could do that every year.

In the UK I visited Arundel, Harrogate to welcome Laura and Barry back home, and the Lake District for Ollie's 30th birthday. Ollie and I had a staycation over a long weekend renting an AirBnb in the East London area of Haggerston. We explored an entirely new part of town and loved it. I went to Glastonbury with the gang - Mailie, Stu & Kris and a few others - again for another week of music, relaxation and all-round fun (I'm going again this year!).

Just before Glastonbury I went to Provence to stay with Lisa and the kids for a few days over their annual summer holiday in France. It was wonderful to be in the sunshine and outdoors staying at the farm house.

Ollie and I went further abroad too with a long weekend in Tallinn with Jaimee and Damian, and week-long summer holiday on the Greek island of Kefalonia.

In September came one of the highlights of the year, my trip to Sri Lanka with Kristy that we had planned in January and looked forward to all year long. It was a fantastic two weeks of ancient sites, tea plantations and beaches in the rain and sunshine, and my first long haul holiday (excluding Australia) in some time. Not to forget, a wonderful chance to travel with Kristy.

L'Enclume in Cartmel was possibly the best dining experience of the year with the 17 tasting course menu. Hibiscus, Pollen Street Social and the Hinds Head brought some shining Michelin stars to my palette. The Chicken Shop deserves a mention as the place I've frequented the most for dinner, and Soho Grind as my go-to flat white every morning on the way to work. Brunches and roasts featured heavily on the weekends - I've eaten more than my fair share of eggs, avocado and sweet corn fritters over this year - thank you Bill Granger.

Scoring myself using some of the categories in the Walne* objectives, it's a bit of a mixed bag...
Home - 10/10
Love, Family & Friends - 8/10
Leisure - 8/10
Travel - 7/10
Career - 7/10
Finance - 5/10
Health & Well Being - 3/10
Learning & Development - 3/10

Back into weekly pilates sessions and starting up a morning running routine is on the cards for 2016!

2016 is well and truly underway with lots of holiday plans coming together, starting on the culture circuit and exploring our new area. Here's to a great year ahead.


*My friend Damian Walne's system for setting annual life objectives.