Welcome to a pleasant and sunny South Manchester on Christmas Eve. I know last week I said that I wouldn’t post anything before Christmas but I have a Couple of hours before we have to depart to Blackpool so here goes. 

We’re off to see the in-laws today and returning tomorrow to go to my eldest lads for Christmas lunch – the first in his new house. Both my sons will be there alongside me eldest lad’s girlfriend and her parents. 

It should be fun.

Here are some more end of year questions from Sunday Stealing. 

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

I Travelled to a new country, Denmark. We spent a couple of days in the capital, Copenhagen. The climate is similar to that of the UK and we went in October so it was quite autumnal. It was expensive but we had good fun there. 

I also dropped a day at work.

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?

Yes I did – largely. I continued learning Spanish and I got a chance to practice when we travelled to Estepona earlier this year. It helps that Mrs PM can speak a little Spanish too and we tried our best to chat to Spaniards in their own language – that is until they started speaking to quickly to us. 

I also started learning the piano and I can now play some very simple tunes. There is still a long long long long way to go. This is very beginning of a bigger project that will lead into retirement involving synthesisers and laptops in the future.

I have continued to write every day too – most of it is total and utter garbage but if you don’t do it, how can you expect to improve?

I aim to continue everything in 2023, travel to another new country (probably Morocco) and revisit Europe – Spain in particular. 

There will be a few other ones too - I am still thinking about them at the moment.

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

I read quite a few books this year. I enjoyed a couple of books by Matt Haig and Dean Koontz – they were probably my favourites.

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

Not this year, thankfully. 

5. What places have you visited? 

We travelled to Denmark, Belgium, Spain and Greece this year. It was brilliant because it is the first time I had travelled since the pandemic began. 

Next year I really want to make up for lost time and go travelling again. As I said above, we are planning to go to Morocco (a new country), Croatia, Spain and probably Italy. Also, we were planning a university reunion abroad earlier this year but that fell through. It is likely to happen next year and our planned destination is a city I know really well – Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

6. Any new pets? Lost a pet?

No – we still have our two hilarious cats, Ziggy and Star(dust). They are two years old and as I type they are chasing each other around the house like lunatics. They are really funny.

7. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year (doesn't have to be a physical thing i.e. love, job security, peace of mind...)? 

I just want 2023 to be a peaceful and pleasant year. 2022 was not one of my favourites years but things are improving again. 

8. What date from last year will remain etched in your memory and why? 

Probably 8th October because that’s the day I turned 60.

9. What was your biggest achievement last year?

Getting out of the country for the first time in three years was a bit of an achievement. Continuing hobbies and plans by making them habits, in order to avoid procrastination. And basically still smiling in the face of some adversity in the first couple of months of 2022.

One other thing: I think I will manage an average of over 8000 steps per day this year which is more than I did last year. I am pretty close to having walked 1500 miles this year, which I should complete by New Year’s Eve.

10. Did you get sick or injured?

I caught Covid-19 in July and it coincided with the hottest days ever recorded in the UK, which I guess was a bit of a blessing in disguise. To be honest, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I just felt very weak and had a splitting headache that thankfully was relieved by paracetamol. It lasted two days really and on day three I felt much better. The problem was that I tested positive for ten days which meant I was effectively locked down again – as was Mrs PM who also had it. Even so, I have had a flu and Covid-19 jab this winter too. I think I will be immune for a while hopefully. 

People are still getting it in the UK but thankfully it is nowhere near as bad as it was and barely makes the news these days. 

11. What was the best thing you bought? 

I bought a new tablet which is fantastic when travelling. 

I also bought an electric piano and I think that is my favourite gadget – okay it is a musical instrument but it is also a gadget in my view. 

I also now subscribe to Spotify and it is opening up all sorts of music that I have either ignored or never encountered. I am not just talking about new artists and new albums; there is lots of old stuff out there that has not crossed my radar. 

12. Where did most of your disposable income go (money leftover after you pay for food, medical care, basic clothing, transportation and shelter)? 

Most of it went on holidays, clothes and the gadgets I have mentioned above.

And finally ...

This really IS my last post before Christmas - so once again Merry Xmas one and all.