Reflecting on 2015

.

I did a navel gazing reflection of 2015 the other day, I know.  One that was very much about how I was looking back over the year by looking forward to next year.   Looking forward to what it might bring and hoping that some of the challenges we have faced in 2015 might stay in the past.   Then I saw thing on instagram and was emailed a thing by WordPress and thought they would be fun to document.  In a slightly less navel gazing kinda way.

First up my best nine pics on Instagram, according to a completely random website.  Judged by the number of likes on a picture they have deemed the photos above to be my finest.   And actually they are a fairly good reflection of the year.   Though it seems a pity that Harry Potter features more than once and I would have liked there to be the odd one of #FatCat or a shiny gadget or two included but hey, you can’t have it all.

Across the top it is clearly two shots from Harry Potter when I went with Ellie earlier in the year.  The middle one was me meeting Noel Edmonds behind the scenes of Deal or No Deal down in Bristol.   He clearly thought I was a lunatic but it was wearing my crocheted beard seemed like a good idea at the time.   Obviously the internet agreed as it got more likes than most other photos this year.

The second line is the photography shoot that Aimee, from Twigg Studios did whilst we were in Devon.  I can still taste that cake.  And the photos I took on my camera are some of my favourites and really reignited my desire to take better pictures next year.  Or at least learn how to edit them.   The middle one is a biggest pile of sweets you can imagine, taken at the BlogOn Conference when Annie did her photography session.  In the car park.  Behind the bins.   Proof that you never really get the whole picture with an instagram shot.   The last picture in that row wasn’t taken by me, but by Penny during our trip to Kenya when we met the ladies making power porridge.   Such a gorgeous shot that I am grateful for Penny taking and sharing with me.  It summed up the trip beautifully.

The first one on the last line is me and Gillian Anderson sharing a cheese toastie made on our Sage Appliances waffle maker. I would like to pretend this is in our living room and a typical Friday night.  Alas it clearly isn’t but was during the 27 hour comedy gig we went to in February.   The same gig where Adam Hills paid £1000 to Comic Relief for anybody mad enough to get a tattoo of a Red Nose.  Oh including me.  On my arse.

The final pic still makes me smile.  My birthday cake made by Ellie and then candles added by teens.   We didn’t have a number six so they add them all together, 40 and then a two 2s and two 1s.    Genius.

As for the blog, well this was my viewed post this year, in fact ever:  Keeping teens safe online.   The opening few paragraphs still make my blood run cold when I think about it again.   A post that was shared so much on Twitter it came to the attention of cricketing legend Kevin Peterson and once he had shared it my twitter feed almost melted.

There were 283 posts this year, taking my all time total to 1357 so by the end of this year I might be pushing 1600.

And 50.   Which means there are other changes afoot.  More of which in the coming months, you will just have to watch this space as they say!

Once again though, thank you for reading, thank you for liking my pics on instagram, or sharing things on Twitter.  It does mean an awful lot to me.