Hello 2025

It's hard to believe that we're almost a week into 2025 already. Where does it go? I wasn’t feeling very in the New Year mood this year. There’s something about New Year that it always ends up being a bit of an anti-climax. There’s so much hype, that all of a sudden when the clock strikes midnight on 31st December, it will hard reset the whole world and we’ll all wake up on 1st January thinner, richer and without any of the trials and tribulations of the previous year. I couldn’t be bothered with it.

Much of New Year’s Eve, like much of the rest of the Christmas break was spent quietly pottering around the house. Me and little Miss decided to make a start on the sequin art that her god-parents bought her for Christmas.

I have to say, it’s quite addictive, the repetitive prodding of sequins into the picture, and I think it’s going to be quite lovely once it’s done. 

We didn’t have a dinner as such, more a collection of snacks and nibbles. One of my Christmas gifts from Mum was a Madhur Jaffrey cookery book, and I was dying to try out cooking the onion bhajias. I’ve never tried anything like this before, and truth be told, despite being a pretty good cook (if I do say so myself) my curry’s always fall short, so I’m really keen to learn this year, hence the book. 

I digress. I followed the recipe to the letter, and what I ended up with were the most delicious onion bhajias. My final achievement of 2025. We spent a quiet evening watching old films, and comforting Thelma from the fireworks going off, only turning back to the TV to see Big Ben chime in 2025. Then it was off to bed. 

New Year’s Day, the sun was shining and it was clear blue skies. Me and little miss started the day with more sequin art, but I knew I couldn’t let such a pleasant day pass me by. We got ready and took Thelma for a walk on the beach, and it looked like lots of other people had the same idea. It was almost as bustling as a summer’s day. We walked along the sand, and breathed in the sea air and felt the sun on our faces. It was a fabulous start to the year. 

Struggling to find somewhere we could get into for a coffee, we ended up in the cocktail bar, Geo’s. It’s a lovely place, and was just as bustling with New Year revellers as everywhere else, but we managed to find a quiet corner. While I was ordering our coffees, I spotted the most beautiful looking cocktail being mixed up further along the bar, and asked what it was. A Black Forest gateau. I decided to get one, and shared it with Mum as our New Year treat, and it was indeed delicious. 

After grabbing some chips, and letting little Miss have a play in the arcades. It was time to head back for the car. The weather was changing, it felt like a storm was drawing in and the sea was starting to get wild. A good time to return to the warmth of home. 

The following day, I was dragged from my slumber at 7am by my alarm. It was my first day back at work. 20 years of being a cog in the corporate machine has conditioned me for early mornings, but I still find them difficult. I know some people bounce out of bed at 6.30am, but that’s definitely not me. Maybe I should hit snooze less, or go to bed earlier! 

It wasn’t too bad a return to work, since a lot of people were still on leave. Friday, I decided to pay a visit to the office. I was up for an early train with my coffee and my book (another winning Christmas gift from Mum), and actually, I quite enjoyed my peaceful journey and catching glimpses of the sun rising over the frost fields whenever I raised my head from my book. 

The streets of York were very quiet, far quieter than I’ve ever seen them, which was really lovely. The light was beautiful, and it’s so rare to see the beauty of York without crowds of people lining the streets.

After work I met up with the chap. For Christmas, our friends had bought us a generous voucher for ASK Italian, and a Friday night date night seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it. I’d booked us a table.

I’ve never been to ASK in York before, but it’s beautiful. Such a grand building which was once a guildhall. It was fairly busy, but not too bad, and because it’s such a spacious venue there’s plenty of room. 

We enjoyed a delicious feast of pasta, and decadent desserts and had an altogether lovely first date of the year. After dinner, we walked up the ‘The Dubliner’ a new Irish bar on route back to the train station. I’d been keen to check it out ever since reading about it opening shortly before Christmas. They had live music on, and there was a great vibe. 

We spent a bit of time there soaking up the atmosphere before the chap walked me back to the station for my train. All in all, it’s been quite a nice start to 2025.