Happy new year to you all!
On the radio the other day, they were discussing the newly released NOW 122, and it reminded me how old I am – I remember getting NOW 14 – and also that I’d not posted on this old site for ages, despite keeping a draft in my notes to add to, whenever my own greatest hits (to add to the quarterly compilations I compose) have occurred. It’s been even more difficult these few months because my 300+ day Duolingo streak has mysteriously turned my keyboard Italian. Still, don’t worry: 2026 will bring more of the same: “the old endless chain of love, tolerance, indifference, aversion and disgust”
Anyway, we go back to October half term – last year, before 6/7 took over the world – and the lovely River of Light festival in Liverpool. We actually spent the day doing a mystery tour of town, a type of treasure hunt, and it highlighted the amazing hidden gems the city has to offer. These puzzles are really enjoyable and I’d recommend them to anyone looking for a solo tour or a family day out to get to know a place.
The next day was Halloween, and rather than go out trick or treating, the youngest wanted to go swimming. We had the pool to ourselves, a rather surreal way to spend the spookiest night of the year, though quite apt in a way, given some of the scary films in which a character has been whisked away whilst nightswimming (and I was humming the REM song throughout the whole experience) which introduced nicely the viewing for the next few days: the entire Purge collection, and IT: Welcome to Derry, another sign that the eldest is growing up (too) fast. I then settled for more exciting and nostalgic viewing, The Fantastic Four, as I recovered from another bout of RFA that sadly seems not to have worked.
All life long, the same questions, the same answers.
Whilst lying on the sofa those few days, the new John Lewis advert dropped, and once again their sentimental seasonal offering made me cry as it connoted the halcyon days of youth – think Mrs Johnstone longingly singing in Blood Brothers, “we’d go dancing” but with a middle aged man in the leading role reminiscing myriad Indie Nights and Bugged Out! – but also the changing relationship with my son, which was reflected in my contribution to Stephen Graham’s excellent, heartfelt project entitled ‘Letters To Our Sons’ and even if my letter doesn’t make the book, I’m still very proud to have been involved. You can find out more about this brilliant project here.
To cheer us all up, a new series of Alan Partridge also dropped, with some seminal and hilarious scenes; I read the excellent The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton and revisited Bourdain for the umpteenth time; we enjoyed the upturn of fortunes for Marine, and a great win for the Blues away at Man Utd, then another great live dramatic production with WW at Lucilla in Crosby – and, this time with B – the excellent Wicked: For Good, which I enjoyed but was most excited about a poster I saw for the new Timothee Chalamet film, especially when he was on Graham Norton that evening dressed as a younger me:
You’ll probably have already noticed this piece is more about the on screen or stage creative arts, but there is some visual stuff coming up later, I assure you!
Talking of viewing, we finally gave into the urge of getting a Ring doorbell fitted (thankfully, the day after Halloween) and much fun was had testing it out, not so much getting notifications whenever anyone walked past the house because the catchment area settings were awry. Still, we were delighted to watch the Channel 5 ‘Play for Today’ Special Measures as it was directed by a very talented ex pupil of ours who admitted the story was partly inspired by his experiences whilst under our tutelage. Then, of course, the other TV event of the year and the return of Stranger Things with a real wow moment coming at the end of the first set of episodes to be released. This coincided nicely with another trip to Comic Con Liverpool and seeing several stars, the highlight of which was probably Elisabeth Shue.
Advent continued apace, nice experiences came and went, and before we knew it, the big day arrived, bringing with it a PS5 and an egg chair. To say the kids were elated is an understatement, but then to be fair they had made it onto the Good List this year, and the meal went went followed by parlour games and the obligatory turkey sandwich / Negroni combo I annually savour on Christmas night. Boxing Day, then, brought more ST (a slightly disappointing third instalment, truth be told) and then endless days featuring lots of lie-ins, chocolate biscuits and reflecting on some of the seismic shifts which had occurred over the year that was soon to end.
I can’t go on. I’ll go on.
Again, to keep it light – I enjoyed classic viewing of yesteryear (Rear Window, Hercules and Me) and a hugely enjoyable pantomime in New Brighton (the 6/7 jokes still make me smile) as well as an incredibly well made documentary by David Attenborough on Wild London (those foxes, amazing) which pre-cursed the arrival on our street of the beautiful ring-necked parakeets… and then, talking of escapees (if you believe their origin stories) ever-intriguing annual Netflix Harlan Coben series Run Away, making me reflect even more on being a father to a daughter, and the beautifully written and almost mesmeric Normal People (I know we’re years late to this beautifully romantic party, but hey) before the year was out.
We made it to Southport one day, too, and finally some art! Three wonderful little exhibitions at the ever dependable Atkinson, the first brought an aesthetically overpowering Salon style display of a plethora of paintings from the museum’s first show. Next was a celebration of twenty years of the Iron Men – the ones just down the road from us, the ones who I once spent a summer trying to draw all hundred (I gave up three quarters of the way up the coast) and who have seen our romance blossom and the kids grow up – as photographed by Crosby’s very own brilliant photographer Ron Davies (and whose wife was B’s midwife all those years ago!)
The final exhibition was probably my favourite, not necessarily for the artwork on show – glasswork and jewellery – but its inspiration and the sweets made in local factories, as well as the community projects, curated and co-ordinated by the artist Linny Venables. A particular plus point to these rooms were the wall designs accompanying the displays, especially the Chewits design above…
Last year was one of change, both at home and at the homes of EFC, and stressful situations at times, so it felt strange reminiscing how different things had looked twelve months previous. The real standout moment of the year was the cathartic sunshine of May and saying Goodbye to Goodison amidst the blue skies and smoke from the flares, the tears and the cheers and memories, and mixed fortunes on the pitch (and some people’s experiences off it) had made things a little muddled in whether the field was one of dreams or occasional nightmares. the second highlight was the very talented Lewis Guy taking the above photo which will soon be featured on the fan photo montage under the West Stand.
Even recently, it’s gone from the sublime to the ridiculous regularly, with moans about the logistics of travel and service following disappointments followed by hope and excitement with the next surprising victory. Even amidst the poor performances we have enjoyed encounters with several ex players, a talented poet / DJ and a renowned BBC journalist (who even very kindly gave E a programme!) and, whichever outcome has occurred, we stay to the end – getting photographed at long distance to highlight the emptiness all around – then, when we finally get home, to soften the often-arriving blows, we really enjoy the football of the Championship or even the Scottish Premiership. Downtime over the holidays afforded several entertaining games from the lower and alternative leagues, and the highlight of them all was probably the scenes after the thrilling Edinburgh derby.
Still, the sun was about to set on the bundle of contradictions that was 2025 and despite thoughts being with many others, we looked forward…
The end is in the beginning and yet you go on.
New year, new me, then… and doing Dry January offered the opportunity to save some money, improve sleep and hopefully make a positive start to 2026. So far it’s going swimmingly. I admit it was a little testing, having those three home games in a week which should have been enjoyable and celebratory but instead both frustrating and exciting in equal measure, though ultimately disappointing, especially for the little guy experiencing the highs and lows of seeing his favourite player score at last then witnessing (and losing) his first ‘live’ penalty shoot out.
I think you’ll find it’s actually we who see things they’ll never see.
Fail again, fail better.
Oh, and my other new year’s resolution is to read more Samuel Beckett.
