Five Years of Ramblings...

No need for that! 
It's just a little refresh,
that's all.

As foreshadowed a few weeks ago, change is a-coming. Writer's Ramblings, in this format at least, will be bowing out and calling it a day. But never fear! All is not lost! Stop typing those angry emails demanding something be done! Writer's Ramblings will still be here, just looking a little different. 

The timing of this is not accidental. Last Wednesday it was five years since I started this blog; this online space where one moment I'm venting my spleen over the behaviour of a Government SpAd, the next I'm phoning it in with a three-ingredient recipe involving gnocchi. The lack of consistency has been... well, consistent. So in a couple of weeks, once Assembling the Wingpeople is published, I'll be back but looking slightly rejuvenated. As if I've had a restful holiday. Or a faceful of botox. Come and check me/it/us out. 

If you're asking this
blog, then yes!

Five years though. It's a really long time, innit. At least the last five years have felt like that. The five years between 2002-2007 for example, felt uneventful and routine. They passed in the blink of an eye. I changed jobs a couple of times and moved house, but those were smaller, personal changes. Nothing too seismic was happening in the wider world. At least not in my blinkered corner of it. (It's all subjective, of course. I can only speak for myself.)  Not every five year period, however, is quite as bland. Cue the financial crash, austerity measures, the lurch towards right wing, populist politics, Brexit, T***p, the pandemic, and now the grim realities of Brexit shortages. In hindsight, it's been a long, hard slog. 

Let's keep it upbeat and cheery!

But I'm trying to forget all that now. I want to be upbeat and positive. I want to draw a veil on this blogging period with satisfying closure. Let's forget the bad stuff and seek out the joyous, life-affirming events that took place from 2016 to now. They might not have made the headlines as often, but they happened, they weren't terrible, and may even have been a force for good. Read the list and see what you think. Do it!

Fabulous Marvellousness September 2016 - September 2021

• The UK got polymer banknotes for the first time. Take that, Washing Machine!

• The first Women's March took place, uniting women all over the world in solidarity against abuses in power.

• England women's cricket team won the 2017 World Cup. Woohoo!

• The UK banned the sale of ivory. Hurrah for the elephants!

• Ireland repealed the 8th Amendment, allowing women to make their own reproductive choices.

• Gareth Southgate's England team exceeded expectation at the 2018 World Cup.

• Ross Edgely became the first person to swim the entire coast of Great Britain. Go Ross!

• Greggs launched a meat-free sausage roll. We are truly blessed!

• Inspired by Greta Thunburg, school children all over the world striked/struck (potato/potarto) to raise awareness of climate change.

• Baby D, my youngest niece, rocked up and joined the family. Welcome!

• Black Lives Matter protests united people on both sides of the Atlantic, whilst in Bristol some real-time history happened as Edward Colston's statue was pushed into the sea. Appropriate!

• Baby S, my youngest nephew, arrived amidst the craziness of lockdown. Hello!

• Marcus Rashford forced the Government to U-turn and ensured children accessing Free School Meals continued to be fed as lockdown continued.

• Professor Sarah Gilbert and Dr. Catherine Green developed the vaccine they had been working on and lo, AstraZeneca was born. Nice one!

• Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Grand National on Minella Times. Another glass ceiling in smithereens!

• Gareth Southgate's England team exceeded expectation AGAIN at the Euros in 2021 (even though it was the 2020 Euros because no one wanted to remake all the merch.)

• The UK census asked about gender identity and sexual orientation for the first time, so data could be collected and services developed to benefit everyone. Yay!

• Pandas stopped being endangered. Cute!

• Emma Radacanu passed her A Levels AND won the Women's Open. Whoop!

Not exhaustive, only a snapshot, but full of positive things. I can't lie, though. Trawling back through five years of news has been FULL ON. There's only so many sexual assaults, murders, doom-laden economic forecasts, and headlines about the stupidity of politicians that one person can stomach. That hour or so of research I've just completed can get in the sea. Like Edward Colston. 

But look, there were good things along the way, weren't there? People found their protest voices. Sporting achievements continued to impress. Huge strides in science took place - vaccines were created to combat a global pandemic whilst vegan sausage rolls tasted delicious. And amidst all that, babies were born and the world kept turning. 

Perhaps the next five years will be dull and routine again. It could happen. Or maybe there be more fresh hell along the way. Who knows? But we keep going. We keep enjoying the sport, the science, the sausage rolls, and the babies. Thanks for reading my nonsense so far. Next week, there'll be some shameless promoting ahead of publication day, then the week later, it'll be New Look Ramblings. In the meantime...

...have a lovely week, folks.