Chaos in the world economy. Nationwide strikes. Closer to home, all kinds of family upheavals and professional crossroads.
Still, 2011 wasn’t all bad. What better time to look back and reflect on what went right?
This year, I:
- Swam 300 miles
- Went to Australia – my first ever trip to the Southern Hemisphere. I visited Melbourne, Syndey and Adelaide; saw koala, emu and kangaroo in the wild; took a cruise on the mighty Yarra; swam in the ocean; ate frog cakes; and saw a ballet in the Opera House
- Flew in a helicopter for the first time
- Saw the Killing, the Danish TV drama. I liked it so much I went to Copenhagen, wore a woolly jumper and climbed the spire of the Town Hall
- Stayed in a centuries-old Abbey in the middle of Bedfordshire
- Competed in the finals of the Times National Crossword Championship
- Ate in two Michelin-starred restaurants (L’Autre Pied in Marylebone, and the Hand and Flowers in Marlow)
- Saw live performances by David Sedaris, Stewart Lee and Judith Kerr
- Gave away 50 books on the first ever World Book Night
- Won the local Fortune Green quiz, the “Jester Tester”
- Ran in the London 10k
- Visited some of the finest tourism hotspots England has to offer – Weston, Legoland and Chessington
- Took in Faustus at the Globe, War Horse in the West End, and Frankenstein in the Everyman
- And finally… did the “Dark Side of the Rainbow”: that is, watched the Wizard of Oz to the soundtrack of the Dark Side of the Moon while eating rainbow cake
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