Happy New Year!

It’s too late to write that now, isn’t it? Sorry.

I hope that you had a good one.

The Holidays

We had a lovely Christmas in Cyprus. Nothing ended up as planned, but that’s OK. We joined friends at our local coffee shop and ate and drank too much, which is at it should be. Hogmanay was similar. Low key. We’re getting old.

2026

What an opening week!

England batted for longer than a day in a Test Match, although, they did still spend wickets as a sailor spends beer tokens on shore leave.

Talking of beer tokens, I have once again signed the temperance pledge, this year promising to start with ninety days of abstinence. As I write, I’ve managed four whole days without a drink, but then I am out tonight, so watch this space.

I suppose I should write something about the USA’s new adventure “Orange Donnie goes to Venezuela”, but I shall limit myself to a phrase made famous (well, it was to us) by the Prague Barbarian Rugby Football Club while on tour: “What could possibly go wrong?”

The highlight of the year so far for me was Stranger Things 5. Talk about Making America Great Again. Put the Duffer brothers in charge and make Hopper the Secretary of Defence, sorry, Secretary of War.

It’s a great show. If you haven’t watched it, look it out. Big episodes, lots of them, and don’t worry, it all comes together. For fellow aficionados, I had no problem with the ending. Fitting, I thought.

In January, it’s a legal requirement for anyone writing a blog or newsletter to apologise for their inconsistency over the last twelve months and promise to do better in the months to come. My plan this year is write shorter posts, reserving longer ones for behind the paywall. What will I write about? A wide-gamut. Books, productivity, staying sane, getting fit, all the usual stuff.

Morning Routine “2.026”

Don’t get excited. This isn’t rocket science.

I’m first up in the house, so in winter, in charge of switching on the hot water and turning the thermostat up, so that Mrs L and the dogs awake to a warm house. Having discharged these onerous duties, I get the coffee machine on, put ear buds in and...

  1. Watch / Listen to the daily video from One Year No Beer (OYNB). I’ll write a post on this, but I find it useful to anchor my not drinking to a ritual, and this is it.
  2. Listen to the Daily Calm. I always knew that meditating wasn’t for me, and decided to prove that to myself for thirty days in a row before discarding the habit. That was 1,663 sessions ago. It’s ten minutes, and almost certainly the most important ten minutes of my day.
  3. Journal. I write a note on ONYB, a note on the meditation (in the app), my daily philosophy and then free form. The daily philosophy used to be around the Daily Stoic, but this year it’s the Daily Laws from Robert Greene. I always include some gratitude and some musing on the previous day. Inevitably, some thoughts about the day to come. I do this in an A5 book, usually with a pencil. I keep each book for a year or so after it’s finished before sending it to the recycling. My journal is for me, not posterity.
  4. Onto the terrace with a coffee (if I’m not already there), and enjoy the early morning sun on my face. Believe it or not, this ritual is the bedrock of getting a good night’s sleep. It’s true, honest. I’ll catch up with the news. I subscribe to the New York Times and the Guardian.
  5. Then, it’s time to feed the dogs and get out for a walk.

Right. That’ll do.

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