2024 -wtf was all that about?

As 2024 winds to a close, it's New Year's Eve and I'm enjoying my neighbour's firework display from the warmth and comfort of my own living room, I'm feeling a little pensive and incredulous at the same time. So, what better than to take stock of the bizarre year I've just experienced.

It's been a whole year since I wrote and published my last book 'Gas Street', and I fully intended to take a break from writing over the Christmas of 2023 and then start again in the New Year, but life got in the way of my best laid plans. Time now for you to get out your microscopic violins and hear a little of my woes.

At the beginning of this year I was merrily working away from home for BT, after reaching my 35th year with the company, when I was told that my admin role had come to an end and I would be going back as an engineer again. OK, not great, but just about doable, but then I was given a month's notice and made redundant along with 150 other engineers.

It was a massive seismic shift, having to retrain and find another job in a completely different industry at the age of 54, and I spent the next three-months unemployed and on Job Seeker's Allowance, before eventually finding employment job back in August. It's working in an office in Croydon, not bad, and the guys I work with are great, but it's a big shock to the system. Having to get used to different routines, IT systems, a new work culture, plus it's not the most stimulating but it pays the bills.

What with being made redundant and job hunting, my eldest son had a knee operation back in July, and I spent three-months living in a building site whilst my house was being renovated. None of this put me in the mood to write, as I'd lost motivation and the ability to stay focused on any subject apart from applying for thousands of jobs and going to numerous unsuccessful interviews.

I'm hoping 2025 will be a better year for me and I can get back to writing again. I wish everyone a great New Year, but I can't raise a glass of anything -only a cup of tea- as I'm back on the wagon again after Christmas.

Cheers and all the best everyone, and remember, keep reading, and writing!