End of year review

Thanks to Prof. Dr. Molly Steenson for initiating this habit in 2005.

What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before?
I started quiet quitting some bad habits.

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I’ve given up on those I think.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
No
Did anyone close to you die?
A friend lost her mum.
What countries did you visit?
Ashamed to say my travelling did pick up this year.
By train: Locarno, Paris, Rotterdam, Amsterdam.
By airplane: New York City (for work), Nice & Venice.
What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023?
A bit more of that unbearable lightness of being I hear so much about.
What date from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory?
March 5^{^th}
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Helping Superflux build an exhibition for IKEA in Manhattan where I’d never worked before.
What was your biggest failure?
De-conditioning after years of an active lifestyle.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Lower back pain for the first time ever (possibly sciatica) and my voice changed (thankfully benign).
What was the best thing you bought?
A few bits from Joline Jolink in Rotterdam and too many earrings.
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Women in Iran.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Too many to name. Also don’t feed the trolls.
Where did most of your money go?
Probably 40 Maltby Street again although my patronage of Dauns is also getting out of control.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My first 10 day break in years.
What song/album will always remind you of 2023?
The new This Is The Kit
Compared to this time last year, are you:
More calm.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Cycling. I miss it.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying about things I can do nothing about.
How will you be spending Christmas?
Christmas Day lunch with J. who’s let me crash his family do for the second year in a row.
Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
J.
Did you fall in love in 2023?
I did, and I have the scars to prove it. It was an absolute disaster but I have no regrets. You can’t win if you don’t play.
What was your favourite TV programme?
Started watching very old tele recently (the first series of both Sex and the City and Friends).
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.
What was the best book(s) you read?
The Passenger and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow were very different but great.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
My Design Council colleagues and I still share a Spotify playlist and there’s been a lot of excellent pop in it.
What did you want and get?
A chance to hang out with my nieces and show them my town.
What did you want and not get?
A chance to share my holidays with someone special.
What were your favourite films of this year?
Tár.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
It’s this weekend and I’m having a posh brekkie with J. and going to the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Rooms in Tate Modern.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Better quality sleep.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023?
Menopause chic. Trying to rock some lipstick a little more often.
What kept you sane?
Conversations with J.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
No time for that. (same answer for the last 10 years)
What political issue stirred you the most?
The UK government’s handling of LGBTQ+ issues.
Who did you miss?
M. who died 2 years ago.
Dad who died 8 years ago.
Who was the best new person you met?
Have loved gossiping with R. and leaving M. voice notes.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023.
You don’t have to say yes to everything. Not everything you say yes to is a good idea.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

L’amour s’en va comme cette eau courante
L’amour s’en va
Comme la vie est lente
Et comme l’Espérance est violente

(Not quite lyrics but a part of a poem by Apollinaire)

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By designswarm