Jonno

The Year that was 2021

Happy New Year

All I seem to hear from everyone today is that they can’t wait to see the back of 2021 and what a horrendous year it was. Without mentioning the ‘c’ word it has certainly been a tough year for so many and only a slight improvement on 2020 but let’s not dismiss it completely.

I hate the thought of just writing off a year of my life for any reason. Life is so short that we shouldn’t be forgetting a single moment let alone a whole year. I know we haven’t been able to travel as much as we would have liked, and that big social events have been few and far between, but life is precious and you should try and make the most of it.

JWalking in 2021

Our year hasn’t been plain sailing like so many others but we have had so many new experiences and visited so many new places in England. Only three housesits back in the summer;

But wrapped around those sits were a lot of Airbnb stays in different towns and counties plus lots of visits to friends and family making it a busy twelve months as usual. In fact we stayed in over 30 different places through the year making it a bit of a travelling year again so can’t be all that bad.

Happy New Year

Highlights of 2021

We were chatting the other day about what we had done and where we had been and it was only when we seriously thought about it that we realised how much happened. From living on the coast in Herne Bay and Birchington in Kent to more seaside living in St Leonards in Sussex. Emergency Ambulance trips to hospital with kidney stones and a subsequent op to sort that out. Exploring the under-rated Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire and buying our first car in over six years. Spending a fabulous summer on the south coast in Hove and of course Jo’s annual glamping trip and her visit to her Mum in France. Helping all three of our sons move house and of course moving down to Wiltshire for Autumn and Winter. Oh and not forgetting Escape to the Country.

So not a bad year at all. We managed to see so many friends and family and stay in a whole host of different interesting locations although we are still searching for our own place.

Sadly I lost my Mum at the beginning of 2021 but her place in my heart will never go and she lives on in our memories.

New Year Celebrations

What celebrations? A combination of restrictions and getting older meant we spent the evening quietly in our cosy cottage in front of the TV with a couple of drinks and some snacks. Not the crazy fancy-dress parties of our youth but we’ve done that and quiet contemplation looking back and forward is what it’s all about these days.

We did actually go out but it was a lunchtime trip with our hosts and good friends Richard and Dee. Popped into the newly refurbished Market Tavern in Melksham for a couple of drinks. What a fabulous bar, we will definitely be back. Very German feel to the bar which we loved.

Looking forward to 2022

We’re not really ones for New Year resolutions but I guess the number one aim this year is to find ourselves a home and somewhere to put down some roots. Nearly had somewhere recently but didn’t quite work out so we are back on the case. There is somewhere out there for us …… we just haven’t found it yet.

So we will keep on walking and trying to eat sensibly as usual. Try to see as many friends and family as possible and of course stay as healthy as we can in these difficult times.

Happy New Year everyone. Look after yourselves and your loved ones and have a safe and incredibly fabulous 2022.

01/01 – 31/12/2021

39 comments

  5. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride of a year! Losing someone is never easy and this year was made a wee bit more difficult with Covid restrictions. I can relate to your loss! Wishing you both a wonderful 2022 and all the best in house hunting! xo

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  8. Happy New Year to you both! I feel much the same – for us personally 2021 wasn’t a bad year at all. We spent time with our new little grandson, I joined Mr ET in retirement and we finished the year with a family wedding on NYE. It was a very casual affair with a barbecue dinner but the loveliest thing was all of our family were there. Both daughters, their partners, our grandson and my parents – can’t ask for more than that.

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  14. Happy new year guys. It certainly wasn’t all bad news but it’s too easy be consumed by the stream of bad news constantly served up by the media. Time for a bit of sagacious wisdom now! The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: So, if like you, we look back for only the positives of 2021 then there is happiness to be found.

    I’m hoping that 2022 returns us to the crazy days of 2019 when masks were mainly for Halloween!

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  16. That’s a nice positive view of 2021. I agree about writing off years, time is going to pass anyway so you might as well find the better of it! Good luck with the house hunting, we continue the search for ‘ the one’ with the added twist of ever shifting circumstances. My new mantra is ‘enjoy the process’. I’ve no idea what the outcome will be, so I might aswell!

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    • Thanks Helen. This house hunting can be tough and depressing at times but you are so right about trying to enjoy the process. Not easy sometimes. You been looking for a while?

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      • We started just before Covid ground things to a halt. We thought we’d be in Wiltshire for the rest of my husbands career then, but that’s all changed. Every time best laid plans fall apart I just tell myself it wasn’t to be!

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