So here we are, the end of Blogmas 2017, and nearly the end of the year. Throughout this year I’ve put my heart and soul into this blog. I’ve written about things I’ve struggled with and you’ve been there to listen to the bad times and celebrate with me over the successes. So all I can say is thank you. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to click on to the links on social media or visit the blog page directly. When I started the blog it didn’t really strike me th

This year has been amazing. I’m an extremely lucky man and I can probably count 2017 as the best year of my life. I know that’s often a phrase that is thrown around easily but I have been truly blessed, and a lot of people reading this will have contributed in some way. Rather than go through month by month like so many other reviews of the year I just want to talk to you about a few of my highlights. I couldn’t start anywhere else but J and I’s wedding day. The most perfect

Sitting at home right now I can’t help but feel lucky. I have a home, a car and a large and loving family as well as a beautiful wife. However, it’s at this time that you have to spare a thought for the less fortunate. Milton Keynes has one of the highest homeless populations in the UK and just a short walk through the shopping centre, under the underpasses reveals exactly that. You see so many tents, sleeping bags and mattresses and with the weather as bad as it has been you

What’s your favourite Christmas film? J asked me this yesterday and it’s such a difficult question because you could pick so many for a number of different reasons. There’s the sheer stupidity of Home Alones 1 and 2 – I mean who forgets a whole child. No matter how late you are who doesn’t turn round for a brief second and say ‘Oh you know that youngest child we have, is he here?’ How does a child get on to a plane on his own as well (the 2nd one.) I struggled getting a bag o

Why do we say sorry so much? It’s a very British thing and I’ve noticed we apologise all the time. I don’t mean for the stuff we actually need to say sorry for like farting in bed – you definitely need to excuse yourself for that. I mean when you walk into someone round a corner, or drop a penny when you’re accepting change. Basically something that you don’t need to apologise for. I tried not to do it for a whole day. I thought ‘I’m not going to say sorry for anything like t

Don’t diet at Christmas. The hardcore out there will no doubt be reading that and thinking that I’m wrong and that dieting is an all year round activity. However, that would mean using something I really don’t have – willpower. Literally as soon as my birthday hits in mid-November I will get presents that involve something calorific, and delicious. From there it’s a sea of chocolates, takeaways and people bringing in treats to the office.  I should say no, and my ever-growing

Christmas shopping used to be something I really loved. I weirdly love the crowds, despite hating how slow people walk at any other time of the year and I love all of the decorations. The best part of it is I just love buying presents for people. The problem is it’s just so easy to shop online now as opposed to visiting the high street. What with the rise of companies who can deliver the next day, or Argos, who can deliver the same day – in a matter of hours. When I was growi

I suffer with FOMO, but what exactly is it? Fear of Missing Out isn’t some kind of modern, made up bullshit, it’s actually a thing. It’s that fear that if you don’t watch a certain programme or get involved in a particular conversation that you’ll be unhappy and miss out on something spectacular. Most of the time it’s never the case. When I was younger, and single, it manifested itself in the need to go out every weekend. You maybe didn’t want to but it was always that crippl

I love Christmas. It really is the most wonderful time of the year and I love seeing how happy people get in the build up to the 25th. For me, my birthday is mid-November so I tend to not get too carried away with it until December hits. But as soon as the 1st is here I definitely go a little bit crazy.  The jumpers come out, (I’ve now got 7) so do the hats (I’ve got 7 of those too) and the Christmas tunes go on. There’s just something about it that I can’t explain. Now I’m o