Reasons to be Cheerful 2021

 

1.     Emma Raducanu winning the US Open.

2.     Shamefully, I only listened to two albums from start to finish this year. I’m glad one of them was Bo Burnham’s Inside. His finest hour, a lockdown work-of-art.

3.     Help was a searing, vital piece of television.

4.     Jack Thorne is a national treasure: his Desert Island Discs was so moving, a real tribute to his mum and dad who gave their life to the care of others.

5.     The chemistry between Sharon Horgan and Aisling Bea in This Way Up.

6.     Stath Lets Flats grows more confident each series. Jamie Demetriou has created an iconic comedy character.

7.     Rose giving a platform to the deaf community on Strictly.

8.     Russell T Davis’ It’s A Sin had it all: comedy, tragedy, music – it was an education on a dark period in British history.

9.     The British public seem to be growing tired of Boris Johnson. Serious times requires a serious mind: the man is frequently found wanting.

10.  Tom Daley achieving gold.

11.  Watching Rhod Gilbert doing stand-up in October.

12.  Going back to Vicarage Road in August for the opening day. The atmosphere was electric.

13.  Getting tickets to see Watford’s favourite, Elton John.

14.  Next year, I’m down to see Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem and Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge.

15.  Seeing Hamilton on a Disney+ free trial. It isn’t hyperbolic to say it’s Shakespearean in scope, exuberance and artistry.

16.  My brother getting his flat how he wants it.

17.  We take Kit to a little gym class on a Saturday; seeing the care the staff have for the children is humbling. It’s easy to be kind to your own, but a sign of goodness if you’re kind to others.

18.  I know it shouldn’t matter but for the first time in a long time I had lovely cards from the Year 11s I teach. A thoughtfully written card is really worth more than a present – which coincidentally is what I said to my family at Christmas.

19.  Piers Morgan getting the old heave-ho. Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio.

20.  Watford getting promoted back to the Premier League.

21.  Claudio Ranieri coming in as Watford manager.

22.  My work buddy bought me so many lovely Watford gifts: calendar, mug and socks. Nice one!

23.  England getting to the final in the Euros.

24.  Gareth Southgate’s letter to England supporters explaining why his players would take the knee and how he was proud of them for doing so.

25.  Jurgen Klopp for just about everything he says: on vaccinations, public health, inclusivity in sport – he is the best of men.

26.  Bo Burnham’s White Woman on Instagram achieves the impossible in skewering vanity, yet empathetically understanding it. The song is a game of two halves: satirical, then heartfelt.

27.  I really enjoyed Sam Fender’s ‘Seventeen Going Under.’

28.  Seeing how much my students enjoyed listening to Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge.

29.  I do a job where I have to read new poems, plays and stories – it’s alright really.

30.  I was appointed to a new position in work.

31.  I work with very kind people.

32.  Donald Trump being voted out of office. Twitter is not the place for political discourse.

33.  My mum’s birthday is a happy sunlit memory.

34.  Kit turned one. This was the six in the garden rule. We had people coming in three-hour slots to celebrate his special day. We should have put ‘work meeting’ on the invitation to circumvent government directive.

35.  Leicester winning the FA Cup. (Two of my best mates are Leicester fans.)

36.  Re-learning how to ride a bike.

37.  I got the Theivamanoharan handshake for my carrot cake.

38.  Michelle, Clare, Ashleigh and Lauren having babies. Again not an easy year to go into hospital, so hats off to you.

39.  My mates getting new jobs.

40.  Playing ‘Beat That’ on my birthday.

41.  Cooking a full Sri Lankan meal for the family and seeing them enjoy it.

42.  Going for a walk and buying a coffee.

43.  The Xmas Radio Times coming through the letterbox.

44.  We had a work party in September. It was the first time since my wedding I’d danced in public. The public have been denied that for too long.

45.  Jon Ronson’s Things Fall Apart: a brilliant radio series.

46.  I do like the Radio 4 book of the week: some great ones on Robert Maxwell and Bessie Smith; also Sorrow and Bliss; The Fortnight in September and Harlem Shuffle were great listens.

47.  The Plot Thickens podcast captured the creative failure of The Bonfire of the Vanities in such a compelling way.

48.  The Shrink Next Door was stranger than fiction. It has now been adapted into a TV show that features Will Ferrell, who was once in a film called Stranger Than Fiction.

49.  I read my first graphic novel, Flake. A book about two ice cream men at war.

50.  Andy recommended a podcast On Writing. It’s a great interview series with authors about their craft.

51.  Rodham was the best book I read this year. A supersmart page-turner.

52.  The day I got my new role I bought a round of ice creams from the van that stops opposite our home. Is there any better way to celebrate than a Mr Whippy in one hand and a glass of fizz in the other?

53.  Spending a month learning about Sri Lankan history was enlightening – I appreciate it was only a month though.

54.  Harriet’s scrapbook.

55.  A Baileys at Christmas.

56.  Our bin men (and woman) wave at Kit every Wednesday. He waves at them first. They don’t just actively seek children out.

57.  Although I got rejected by a number of agents to repackage my blog, I’m pleased I gave it a go.

58.  Kieran, the boys and I finished our running challenge in memory of dad and others lost to Covid.

59.  Watford FC kindly let us finish the run there, so we all had a tour of the dressing room: pictures we’ll savour forever.

60.  Visiting Jim, Jen and Loveday in Cornwall.

61.  Despite not going to the Minack Theatre, it was lovely to get up close to it.

62.  Having our child meet our friends’ children.

63.  The Black Swan in Swanage remains our favourite pub.

64.  The first official day of the holidays when we went to the zoo, the sun was out and the summer felt infinite.

65.  Listening to Caitlin Moran on This Cultural Life. I could listen to her for hours.

66.  Season 2 of Louis Theroux’s interview series Grounded was great again.

67.  When Cadbury’s yoghurts are half-price in the supermarket.

68.  My favourite muesli was discontinued but the new muesli that’s replaced it is pretty good.

69.  David Sedaris’ near-the-knuckle humour on Adam Buxton’s podcast.

70.  Being part of a training video at work and leading training sessions. As hard as it, it’s good to take yourself out of your comfort zone.

71.  The sun was recalcitrant in the summer, refusing to leave its room and shows it face, but on the day we scattered dad’s ashes it daytripped to Dorset with us. It was the perfect weather for a perfect man.

72.  My dad’s memorial plot is very beautiful.

73.  The way Kit smiles on a swing.

74.  The way Kit holds my hand when I get in from work.

75.  The way Kit reverses into my lap when he wants a book read to him.

76.  The way Kit dances round the living room to a Spotify playlist.

77.  The way Kit asks for his massive elephant to sleep in his cot.

78.  The way Kit says ‘no’ with such a straight face when he doesn’t want to do something. (This will be less funny next year I’m sure.)

79.  The way Kit gets into bed with us on a Saturday morning to read a book.

80.  The way Kit kisses the picture of my dad every day.

81.  The way Kit is.

82.  I’ve got back into hot chocolate.

83.  Junk food Friday is always a treat: either pizza or burger after a working week.

84.  Meatball Saturday is always good. This isn’t a euphemism. We have meatballs on a Saturday. Again, not a euphemism.

85.  Every Friday we have dinner at my mum’s. Kieran is there too. It’s a lovely way to end the working week: great food and company.

86.  Harriet’s mum Allyson is a great cook.

87.  Harriet’s dad Rod bought me a drill. I like power tools. I might not know how to use them properly, but I do like the power of the thing.

88.  At the end of each half-term, we get takeaway from Spice Lounge. There’s nothing like a naan to see in the weekend. Sure Wayne Rooney feels the same way too. A retro joke there.

89.  Harriet is so creative with Kit. I’m lucky I married a primary school teacher. I’m lucky I married her.

90.  Knowing that Kit is in loving hands when he spends half of the working week with our folks.

91.  Through all the isolations and self-isolations, I’ve spent more time at home with my son. For me, there is some good that’s come out of this.

92.  Promising Young Woman was audacious, bold filmmaking.

93.  Alex Wheatle who inspired Steve McQueen’s Small Axe: Education episode gave a virtual talk to our students. He was truly inspirational.

94.  I read The Giver as part of a school challenge. It’s taught widely in America and Canada but little known here. It’s a great read for young people and one I recommend if you’re a fan of The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

95.  Dwight’s fire drill in the US Office was the funniest thing I saw on TV this year.

96.  Kit getting everyone up on the dance floor at Christmas.

97.  Having our families together this Christmas.

98.  Getting a gift you love whilst having no idea it existed: this year my brother got me a book which had a transcript of interviews between Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen.

99.  I got my booster today. To the scientists who developed it, the nurses who administer it and the volunteers who facilitate it: thank you.

100.                 I’m optimistic about next year. You have to be, don’t you. As the quote goes, ‘Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.’