Taking stock

So here we are almost at the end of the year. I can’t believe we’re ploughing through the 2020s so fast.

When I publish this, it will be the Friday 1 December, the first day of advent (although the Christmas lights in Salisbury were lit on 17 November, which I think is a tad early…)

It’s one of my favourite times of year. Unlike the darkness of November, which is sudden after the clocks going back, the darkness of December is filled with light, time for feasting and festivities, friends and family. It’s also a great time to take stock of the year that’s been and to look ahead to a new year of challenges and adventures in home and work life.

So how has the year been? Obviously, news-wise, it just keeps getting more and more depressing, with a ropey UK government many of us are desperate to replace, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the planet alternately burning, drowning or being blown away before our very eyes.

My year has been a succession of fixed-term contracts, delivering internal and external communications for ITN, Channel 4 News, The HALO Trust and The Cheltenham Trust. I’ve loved the variety and the experience I’ve gained and now I’m available for communications and PR work from January onwards, if you or someone you know needs some support.

I had a fantastic catch-up lunch last week with some colleagues from the late 1990s and early 2000s when we all worked for Broadcast magazine or, in the case of Paul Leather, our social secretary, running the Channel 5 press office. Much chatter was had.

Elsewhere, I’ve been witness to two really interesting conversations this month. One about how we make diversity a reality at the top levels of companies. It’s depressingly easy to fall into the trap of featuring only white, often male, people when highlighting executives at the top of many organisations.

And the second conversation was about how the news from the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Hamas is grinding so many of us down. A couple of friends admit to limiting their exposure to the news. Colleagues at ITN don’t have that option, of course, as they’re literally making the news. Organisations are looking at how they can support people, as the doom cycle grinds on.

In other news

Lucozade bottles were the most commonly found discarded litter, or plastic pollution, in a series of surveys by the Trash Free Trails campaigning group, according to this story in the Guardian last month. Not great for the brand, which may be being discarded by trail runners who really should know better.

What do we make of Guardian food writer Grace Dent saying her “heart is broken” at leaving the jungle early? I’m no fan of I’m A Celebrity and some of us gathered last week wondered why she, of all people, had agreed to go into the jungle in the first place.

Regular readers will know I’ve been following Elon Musk’s tenure at X (formerly Twitter). Well, in reality, I’ve been following The Guardian following Elon Musk’s tenure at X. This week he was blurting expletives at companies who are boycotting X after Musk responded to an anti-Semitic tweet, damaging X’s revenue and future prospects.

That’s all for this month – and for this year! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks for reading and see you in 2024.