Best of luck today Leah! Come on England! #englandlionesses #england #englandfootball #euro2022 #leahwilliamson #euro2022final (at Wembley Stadium, London) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgrrAQfI-GY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Good luck to the #Lionesses in #EURO2022. A strong team pushing for diversity and inclusivity 💜🌈 I was fortunate to be asked to photograph @jillscottjs8 for @graziauk a few years ago. Wonderful woman to chat to while photographing. #PortraitPhotography @leicauk #LeicaQ https://www.instagram.com/p/CfyKokWMDsY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Like most folks, 2022 represented an up and down year for me.
On a personal level I lost someone very dear to me in January and had the joy of marrying my lovely partner of 13 years in October, it's not one I'll forget in a hurry.
In a sporting sense 2022 took me to the Women's Euro final at Wembley which was wonderful in so many ways, a full stadium cheering on the first England team to win a major tournament in 56 years, male or female.
To Sarina Wiegman and company, thank you for that heartwarming July day.
After 15 years of waiting I finally got to watch the Green Bay Packers play - twice! The first was a long-awaited game in London which ended in disaster with the Packers losing (after being ahead by 14) and Aaron Rodgers breaking his thumb.
Fast forward two months and I got to see them again in Chicago of all places! This time they saw victory after being behind by 13 - the duality of sports writ large.
In a professional sense I'll be blunt, not much has happened. The above really took over for me in the year gone by and there's no hiding places on this - the head hasn't been there for a fair chunk of 2022.
This also applies to cultural things and my own delving into creative bits. Grieving and the general mist of wedding planning just doesn't work well as a combo, and the numbness I've felt at times hasn't been nice.
My general feeling is that this time has passed and it's time to get the wheels spinning again, forcing myself to log things is part of that - I don't like being stuck and I'll endeavour to work through this inertia.
2022 took me to Chicago and New York, with trips to Dublin and the Lake District alongside a few visits to London - there'll be more written here on this front in the near future.
Best Gig: Foals at Castlefield Bowl
Best Album: Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C. (I Love You is a sensation)
Best day: 28 October
Best day that wasn't my Wedding Day: 31 July
To all the lovely folks (too countless to name) who've made the nice days nicer and the grey days that bit brighter, I thank you.
Here's to 2023 and more productive times, best book those driving lessons in...