Reasons to be Cheerful 2022

1.     Jude’s infectious smile.

2.     Jude’s babbling.

3.     The birth of Jude.

4.     The happiness a new baby brings to the whole family.

5.     Kit adapting well to his brother: we’ll take general indifference over raging jealousy.

6.     Kit’s speech coming on.

7.     Going with my mum to see Les Mis: she’d always wanted to go.

8.     The students in my debate team holding their own against selective schools.

9.     Kit saying, “He came,” when he opened his present from Santa.

10.  Kit’s mischievous giggle.

11.  How much Kit loves going to the library.

12.  The way Kit points at me and says, “You’re my daddy.” He seems surprisingly ok with the idea.

13.  Playing a new game at Christmas: we got Tension this year.

14.  My mum came through and got me a book this Christmas.

15.  Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers was my favourite book this year.

16.  Closely followed by the comic writer, Georgia Pritchet’s memoir, My Mess Is A Bit Of A Life.

17.  The women brought football home.

18.  England winning the Euros was great for the nation, but I was really pleased for my brother who has followed the women’s game for fifteen years.

19.  Watford keeping hold of Joao Pedro.

20.  Jude Bellingham showing wisdom beyond his years. A great first name too.

21.  Southgate staying on.

22.  The flight to and from Australia wasn’t the expected disaster: the boys slept pretty well.

23.  Sitting in Harriet’s aunt and uncle’s hot tub in Australia.

24.  Going to Fremantle: coffee bars, record shops and breweries. What a great place!

25.  Talking to Carl about classic British comedies.

26.  The pizza I had in that brewery in Mandurah was the best I’ve ever had.

27.  I saw an actual dolphin in the water.

28.  Carl and Linda made a great Chilli con carne on our first night in Australia.

29.  We saw kangaroos in the wild.

30.  Harriet’s cousin Emma finding out her art had sold whilst we were there.

31.  Clea getting her first acting jobs following her graduation from WAAPA.

32.  Baptising Jude’s feet in Swanage waters.

33.  The Good Friday episode of Derry Girls.

34.  Jack and Danny’s friendship in Big Boys.

35.  Jimmy and Kim sharing a cigarette.

36.  Ben Whishaw’s acting in This Is Going To Hurt.

37.  PJ Harvey’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who By Fire’ on Bad Sisters.

38.  Loved the recent series of Taskmaster.

39.  I get things wrong at work, but I’m still grafting. My dad believed in graft and so do I.

40.  The Conservatives disproving the notion that they know how to govern.

41.  Boris Johnson being cast off into the wilderness. He said, “I’ll be back.” Unfortunately, I wouldn’t bet against him.

42.  My mum renewed my Radio Times subscription.

43.  My brother bought me an Audible subscription for my birthday and it’s allowed me to listen to classics I wouldn’t have had the time to read: Jane Eyre and Tess of the D’Urbervilles.

44.  BorrowBox is a great App. This year I’ve listened to Where The Crawdads Sing, Shuggie Bain, Adam Kay: Undoctored and Elton John: Me. All you need is a library card and you get all audio downloads for free.

45.  Our local library is wonderful. It is more than a book borrowing service. They provide free computers and internet for people that otherwise couldn’t access them. They provide daily craft activities and weekly play sessions for babies and toddlers. It is a children’s centre, social service and cultural hub. The library is very special.

46.  Having a cup of tea whilst doing my writing.

47.  I’ve really got into peanut butter and banana on toast because of Kit. It wouldn’t have been a combination I would have contemplated if Harriet didn’t do it for Kit. Now, I love it.

48.  The run-up to Christmas.

49.  We’re a mid-terrace and are bordered by very kind neighbours.

50.  Seeing Kit’s face when he jumps in a muddy puddle.

51.  Harriet’s mum and dad kindly treated us to a trip to Centre Parcs in November – Kit still talks about it.

52.  Laughing at one another’s incorrect answers when we play a game at Christmas.

53.  The homespun charm of Ted Lasso.

54.  Kit plays football on a Sunday. He is all over the place. A maverick without the mercurial talent. The coaches there are so kind with him though. Despite his incompetence, they enjoy his company. Seeing other people smile at him makes me feel unbiased about his qualities. I think he’s got the potential to be a very lovely boy and man.

55.  Finding the time to read.

56.  I did do a 10k in October, which although stupid, given I got up early to train for it, did give me a feeling of satisfaction.

57.  Belfast was the only film I saw in the cinema this year. Given it was the only one, it was a pretty good one to see.

58.  I listened to Sweet Bobby at the start of the year and was utterly gripped by it.

59.  My brother didn’t have a drill when he moved in, so I hung his memorabilia up for him. They’re still hanging. This shouldn’t be something I’m proud of, but power tools and me go together like oil and water.

60.  Getting to see Mark Rylance as Johnny Rooster in Jerusalem.

61.  Watching Mackenzie Crook on stage. Detectorists is my favourite sitcom of the last ten years, so to see him in person was great.

62.  I work with incredibly dedicated people.

63.  At the end of the school year, a student’s parent got me a crate of beer to say ‘thank you’. I’m not someone who gets given gifts by students and parents, despite my letter writing campaigns in the run-up to holidays; this therefore was a real treat.

64.  Kieran and Zoe.

65.  Taking myself out of my comfort zone and trying to do crafts with Kit.

66.  Watching my boys play in the water.

67.  Seeing Emma’s print in an art exhibition.

68.  Jill Scott winning I’m A Celebrity.

69.  Hamza and Helen getting to the final in Strictly made Harriet happy.

70.  An Allyson Woodhouse buffet.

71.  Harriet’s dad putting up with my limited practical skills.

72.  I saw Alan Partridge this year.

73.  Maxine Peake being interviewed on Desert Island Discs.

74.  Richard E Grant on Adam Buxton’s Podcast.

75.  Kermode and Mayo seamlessly made the transition from the BBC to Sony.

76.  Simon Mayo is a great interviewer.

77.  James Joyce’s Ulysses on Radio 4. I tried to read it at uni and failed. This was an abridged dramatisation and I loved it. Admittedly, the Dedalus parts weren’t to my liking, but the Bloom bits were great. I haven’t got the patience for the text; however, I think I’ll give the audiobook a go one day.

78.  The BBC turned 100. It is so important to me. It is where I get my education from. Whether it be a play on Radio 3, a book on Radio 4, TV reviews on 5 Live or a live set on 6 Music; I need it. And that’s just the radio.

79.  The England men and women’s football teams are fantastic role models.

80.  Rashford and Saka’s poetic dribbling was a rejoinder to the racist graffiti of online trolls.

81.  Ian Hislop challenging Gary Neville on Have I Got News For You.

82.  Joe Lycett taking ‘national hero’ David Beckham to task.

83.  Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These chronicles true heroism in crystalline prose.

84.  Having dinner with my mum, Kieran, Harriet and the boys on Fridays.

85.  Teaching has made me more confident at dealing with tricky situations. I recently had a standoff in a mobile phone repair shop. I don’t like confrontation, but I didn’t blink. I gave them the full Eastwood; they gave me a full refund.

86.  My brother always gets me some nice ales on my birthday.

87.  Dec and I saw a bill at The Comedy Store. Troy Hawke headlined it. We had no idea who he was at the time. He’s now massive with his Greeter’s Guild character. It’s great when you see people before they become huge. It makes you feel smug. “I saw them before you heard of them,” you think, but don’t say.

88.  I made some cakes to thank mentors for their hard work this year. The cakes weren’t disastrous.

89.  One of the senior leaders in her assembly week has each student write a thank you note to a teacher of their choice. She then puts these messages in staff’s pigeonholes. I wasn’t inundated with notes (I didn’t have to apply to the site team for an extension for my pigeonhole), but the few I received were a fillip, a feeling that the effort is worth it.

90.  I just heard Grayson Perry got made a Sir. Personally, I would turn down an Honour, given my republicanism (unlikely I’ll ever have to have that difficult conversation with a Royal emissary; I don’t think they reward Services to Radio Times reading) but I’m pleased Grayson got recognised.

91.  A sell-out crowd at Wembley to watch The Lionesses roar.

92.  The time I’ve been able to spend with Jude. He’s coming up to five months. Through school holidays and paternity leave I’ve been at home nearly half of that time.

93.  Having a second child is less scary than having a first child. It’s busier, but less daunting.

94.  I think Kit has got a sense of humour. My dream of turning out one comedian need not be a pipe dream. I just need to be like Richard Williams and train him relentlessly to hit joke winners. And if my hunch is wrong and Kit is humourless, then his younger brother might have some jokes in him. I’ve doubled my chances now.

95.  Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup.

96.  My cousins who got married this year.

97.  My cousins in Sri Lanka and Canada who conformed to the stereotype of Sri Lankans being hardworking. Well done on your excellent qualifications.

98.  Matt and Sarah are doing so well in their respective professions.

99.  Allyson’s operation appears to have go well.

100.                 I have the most amazing partner in my life. Harriet is a wonderful mum, wife, teacher and friend. I have two beautiful children. I may ask myself, “How did I get here?”