Goodbye 2014 – 31 December 2014
I’ve always said that my blog, tweets, and channel are entirely for my own benefit. If other people view them, great; and if other people actively follow them, wonderful. But, first and foremost, they are a record for my own benefit of my life.
Forgive me then, dear reader, for so indulging myself as to create yet another ‘review of the year’-type video. I’m grateful that both last year’s and 2011’s were publicly met with a warm response, but don’t doubt that there’ll be some who (albeit without saying so) did not enjoy them. They’ll say I’m too smug, perhaps: too eager to show off what I’ve been up to this year. My four-minute compilations are no better than the traditional round-robin letter, slotted unsolicitedly into Christmas cards to express a glossy view of a given family’s life.
To them – to you, that may even be – I say this: I’m sorry.
I’m sorry, because I’ve done it again. Why? Because one day I know this dream will end. My good luck will run out and I’ll have nothing left but memories of happier times. At least when that happens, though, I’ll be able to look back over 2014 and remember what a wonderful time it was for me.
Personal highlights from 2014, featured in the film
- Day at Alton Towers – 11 October 2014
- Climbing at Reading Climbing Centre – 10 April 2014
- Monkeying Around at GoApe Bracknell ‒ 18 October 2014
- Birthday Champagne Tea in London – 18 April 2014
- My Date at the Palace: Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Presentation – 17 November 2014
[2013 expedition film released after Awards Evening in Maidenhead in 2014] - My Proudest Achievement: Queen’s Scout Award – 27 April 2014
- Cookham Floods (with pictures) – 11 January 2014
- Church Weekend Away to the Isle of Wight [picture-special in Autumn 2014 InSpire magazine]
- My Broken Wrist: The Full Story – 28 May 2014
- The Last Day of Sparta: Leaving Furze Platt Senior School – 23 May 2014
- My Belated 18th Birthday Boat Party – 22 June 2014
- FPSS Year 13 Prom – 23 June 2014
- Our South-West US Road Trip – 17 July to 2 August 2014
- Family holiday to Edinburgh and the Highlands – 15 to 22 August 2014
- Term begins at Furze Platt Junior School – 4 September 2014
News events of 2014, featured in the film
- Occupy Oakland protests; December 2014. [Photo by Noah Berger / Reuters]
- Worst Ebola outbreak on record. [Photo by John Moore / Getty Images]
- Dawlish sea wall collapse; February 2014. [Photo by Smalljm / Wikimedia Commons]
- Protests in Ukraine; January 2014. [Photo by Efrem Lukatsky / AP Photo]
- Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls; April 2014. [Screengrab via unnamed source]
- Villagers with Bring Back Our Girls poster. [Photo by Afolabi Sotunde / Reuters]
- First Lady Michelle Obama with #BringBackOurGirls poster; May 2014. [Photo by @Flotus on Twitter / AP]
- Actress Salma Hayek with #BringBackOurGirls poster at 67th Cannes Film Festival; May 2014. [Photo by Benoit Tessier / Reuters]
- Neknominate craze; February 2014. [Video by Nek Nominate / YouTube]
- No Make-up Selfies; March 2014. [Screengrab of Guardian article by Press Association]
- Ice Bucket Challenge; summer 2014. [Video by Bill Gates / Thegatesnotes / YouTube]
- Rise of Islamic State; summer 2014.
- Beheading of David Haines; September 2014. [Screengrab via unnamed source]
- Beheading of James Foley; August 2014. [Screengrab via unnamed source]
- IS member waves a black flag in Raqqa. [Photo by Stringer / Reuters]
- IS militant fighters parade in northern Raqqa. [Photo by Reuters]
- Google unveils driverless car; May 2014. [Photo by Google]
- Apple reveals Watch smartwatch; September 2014. [Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo]
- VSS Enterprise crash; October 2014. [Photo by KNBC-TV / Reuters] [Photo by Alex Hovarth / Barcroft USA]
- Philae probe lands on comet 67P; November 2014. [Artist’s impression by European Space Agency / J Huart]
- Chinese students in Zhejiang pray for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370; March 2014. [Photo by ChinaFotoPress]
- Remains of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 found in east Ukraine; July 2014. [Photo by AFP]
- Relatives of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 react to TV news footage showing bodies and plane wreckage in the sea; December 2014. [Photo by Beawiharta / Reuters]
- Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon campaign for Scottish independence; September 2014. [Photo by EPA]
There is definitely a reporting/presenting career waiting for you.