Interregnum

Not satisfied with making my Christmas merry, Ann also invited me to join her and her partner Shaun and his sister for lunch on New Year's Eve (Deane's at Queens) followed by a film at QFT – Saipan about the Irish football team's pre-2002 World Cup drama. It focused on the tense relationship between Captain Roy Keane and the team's manager and was an interesting study of clashing personalities, even if you aren't interested in football.

An early to bed, early to rise type, I slept through New Year's. On New Year's Day, after dog walk one, I went to Marian and Brian McLoughlin's for brunch with a group of neighbours. It was nice to sit and chat to people I generally see only in passing. After dog walk two, it was tea and sandwiches at Thea's with her interesting group of friends, only some of whom I've met before.

Jan. 4 was up at 4:30 am, taxi at 5:20 am, bus at 5:50 am, flight at 10:50 am (delayed by more than an hour), second flight at 7 pm (barely made it), pick up rental car at 10 pm, drive two hours to mom's to arrive at midnight UK time, 7 pm East Coast time. I could write pages of my travel-related distress but it is best forgotten before the return repeat trauma. Suffice to say, each time I do this trip, the price goes up and what I get for that escalating price goes down.

Before a game of who wore it best, I feel the need for a new wall calendar merits some reflection. When I look back on a year I remember the big trips (Andalusia in March, US in August, Tanzania in December). I am a privileged lady to see such sights (Islamic architecture in Andalusia left a lasting impression, as did the view from Kilimanjaro's base camp and the many animals we saw on safari).

The other big event was retiring on 31 July. I have been so busy ever since that I haven't really had the sense of being retired – my expectation was that time would shift into a different plane, became elastic and generous. I haven't felt that at all. Kili took up a lot of time and energy, then Christmas then off to the US. Maybe the rest of the winter will give me time to relax a bit more and get my head around this retirement thing.

Getting Daphne in February was a big change. She has brought so much joy into my life. More work, certainly, but every morning is Christmas for her and my days start with laughter at her ridiculous, joy-filled energy. Another high point is golf. I started the year nursing wounds from a Sept. 2024 bike accident so wasn't sure how golf would go in 2025. But I started the year at 28.7 and ended at 21.3, so golf went well, after two years of my handicap being stuck between 27-29. A final highlight was working with Michael McCavanagh, my personal trainer. He made me a lot stronger and more confident about my ability to get through my life without injury. I'm not ironclad or anything but less vulnerable to injury from something mundane like lifting a bag of dog food.

An underlying theme is friendship. While Michael strengthens my sinews and muscles, my friends fortify my mental health. We can be vulnerable in so many different ways; my friends help me stay mentally well in a very unhealthy world. Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan dominated the grim headlines in 2025, as well as the US's role in supporting mass murderers and unleashing ICE on Democratic districts. It is confusing to know what it means to be a moral person in an aggressively amoral world (thanks social media!).

For a change of tempo, we move on to the promised 'who wore it best?'

One last holiday photo of my dining room, flowers from Eddis to thank me for raising 2,000 pounds for the orphanage in Malawi. The scarf around the vase is from my neighbour Sarah, who brought it back from India.

First week of January