'Should auld acquaintance be forgot...' blares out as I metaphorically cross arms and link with strangers around me. Yes, let that mental imagery flood your brain as we embark on the first blog of 2026. Happy New Year, baby!
Resolutions, schmezolutions. That's what I say! No thanks to the idea of unattainable goals that'll get forgotten in a week and are only designed to make me feel like a failure. Instead, as in recent years, I'm going to ponder some gentle aims. Ones that can bubble along in the background while I crack on with life. For ease, I'll use the usual update headings just to keep things tidy. Ready? Excellent. Let's dive in.
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| The third in the series is incoming. |
This year, barring severe injury or worse, my next Leeza McAuliffe book will be published. Woooohooo! The date is still to be confirmed but it'll be the first half of the year. (Hopefully sooner.) Once again, the process is mind-blowing to me. The fact that eighteen months ago, that very book hadn't been dreamt of, is too much to fathom. How does it get here? How can it be? If I think about it too long, I'm overwhelmed and have to lie down. As for the rest of 2026, that'll be spent thinking up and beginning the next book. At the moment, that feels fantastical so I won't dwell. My brain tells me that I've done it before so it'll be more than manageable when the time comes, but my gut thinks that's crazy. Hey ho.
Culture
As I type, I've got several TV series that I'm waiting to devour. The new fiver-parter, Amadeus on Sky, Cemetery Road on Apple, and Red Eye series two - all waiting for me. But then the new Traitors has started. That's going to fill all my brain space for weeks. Plus, the Masked Singer's going to enliven my Saturday nights for the foreseeable. So much excellent telly and I look forward to filling the year with it.
In 2025, I read thirteen books. That's way less than I averaged in the years before social media, but a sensible amount considering I was writing my own words most of the time. In 2026 I want to read more. I got two books for Christmas - Georgie Mullen's What To Cook and When to Cook It, and Ella Risbridger's In Love With Love. Despite their non-fiction status, I look forward to curling up with them. More please. More excellent books that take me away from all this.
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| The first meal of 2026 - Kedgeree. Technically still quite beige but the chilli sauce helped. |
It's always the same in January but I'm ready for change. It makes sense after the festive season - there's been a lot of beige. Lovely beige to be fair, but the fridge has seen cheese, crackers, cheese and crackers, party food, crisps, and bread. Now I want spice! I want veg! Spicy veg and veggie spice! I look forward to diversifying my repertoire, or at the very least, not settling for a crisp butty for a while.
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| The first fresh air of 2026. Blundellsands, Crosby. It was blowy! |
2024 was the year I walked. Five days a week, rain or shine, and with an unbroken streak on my walking app. 2025 was the year all that went to shit. It wasn't my fault. Not really. This week last year, our sewage treatment plant started to be installed, and thus began months of back garden digging and renovating. The need to be around early doors to brew up and unlock the shed meant my morning walks went to pot. This year, I'm giving it another go. I'm not planning to be as regimented as I was two years ago. That ship's sailed. Instead, I'll simply try to move every day; whether that's an intentional walk, a supermarket shop, or by being a busy bee at home. No minimum step counts, no app streaks to maintain, just a vague plan and good intentions.
I'll repeat myself: resolutions, schmezolutions! Don't go setting yourself up for failure by trying to change things beyond your control. Instead, 'gentle aims', 'vague plans', and 'nice things to think about' are a much more sensible way to go about things. In related news, I'm keeping my white fairy lights on until the end of the month. In these grim times for the world, I deserve some twinkly lights in my life. We have to look after ourselves. That's as good a 'vague aim' as I can think of. Happy 2026 everybody.
Have a lovely week, folks.
