There is no denying that this  year has been challenging. It started with the Australian bush fires, locusts swarming across east Africa, Covid, with many countries in lockdown, murder hornets in USA, countless events cancelled all over the world and even more lives were lost.

Instead of reflecting on all the bad things that have happened this year I would like to look back on the good.

So, what good has come out of 2020.

I, like so many others, started a new hobby, some have been crafting, painting, cooking- I have been cross stitching, and I am very much in love with my new hobby and it is something that I will continue to do for years to come. As a bookworm I have also found that I have had more time to read, I like to read to escape and I have been doing so a lot this year and as a result I have been enjoying books that I otherwise would not have had the chance to read.

With the UK going into lockdown in March parents were asked to become teachers, extremely stressful as it is not a role for which I’m  qualified, but with schools offering immense support it was something that we soon got used to. I even came to enjoy it, I enjoy reading books with my children and like to hear what they have been up to at school, so we had great fun finding new ways to learn maths, and phonics. I spent a lot more quality time with my children, and it is something that I will cherish.

I started doing something that I have not done for the best part of 20 years, writing letters. I found an online group for international pen pals. I really enjoy send and receiving letters from many different countries, making new friends, learning about different cultures, celebrations and recipes for traditional dishes.

With the lockdown I found myself missing my parents and sibling immensely, we all live within a 5-mile radius of each other, yet we have gone months without seeing each other, so we started a weekly virtual quiz, we would start a group video call and have so much fun, it was something that I would start to look forward to, we did become slightly competitive what with a certain family member who continued to win despite everyone else’s best efforts. It was something that we have never done before, and I feel that it has bought us closer together as a family whilst we were forced to be apart.

So, I implore you not to look back on 2020 with a sinking heart but as a year that forced us to change our way of life. Even the simple task of popping out for some milk and bread has changed: mask check, hand sanitiser check, 2 meters apart well I try. Neighbours looked after neighbours, strangers became friends, families reconnected. We learnt to adapt and grow during a time where it would have been too easy to moan and focus on one’s self.

So, let us see what 2021 has in store for us with positivity and courage.

SUSANNA

For me, there was no question as to which would be my Book of the Year. The Ferryman’s Daughter by Juliet Greenwood is an outstanding novel that will appeal to historical fiction buffs and saga lovers alike. I was utterly caught up in this enthralling tale set in rural and coastal Cornwall in the early part of the 20^th century. In Hester, Juliet Greenwood has created an exceptionally strong and appealing heroine and I loved and admired her as she fought to follow her dream in spite of numerous setbacks that occurred thanks to the conventions and expectations of the day. This is a thoroughly engrossing and satisfying book, packed with drama and emotion and enhanced by a strong sense of time and place, all served up by a gifted writer. More, please!

KITTY

Hamnet is a remarkable book. It is rare that I am moved to tears by reading and is testament to O’Farrell’s writing prowess that I was here, especially as readers come to the book knowing Hamnet’s fate. The way she weaves the story of this boy and his family is spellbinding, her writing evocative and a reminder to all of the beauty of prose. I loved every page.

Maggie O’Farrell creates scenes that are vivid and captivating, making you feel you are there in that moment, whether it be in woodland in the English countryside, a bedroom in the Shakespeare’s family home or aboard a ship from Italy as a plague carrying flea. She describes emotions with such beauty, such depth that I felt them myself – hence the tears and I can only bow down to this Queen of storytelling. I want to read it again and again and again. I cannot recommend it enough, it truly is a thing of beauty.

KIRSTEN

I am rather late to the party with Hamnet – but, just, WOW! Staggering beautiful and heartbreakingly poignant, this exploration of love and loss deserves every accolade and award.

JANE

The most incredible thing about Joe Heap’s When The Music Stops is the way it mixes the ordinary with the extraordinary.

The clever structure gives the book rhythm. It’s very much tied to the music, so rhythm seems like the right word. It makes for very long chapters (sections, really) but that’s fine, because I didn’t want to put it down. At first you wonder what’s happening in the present day but then it begins to make sense and you expect each section to have a certain chain of events. You even know what will happen in the end. But that’s comforting when the boundaries of your imagination are being stretched in other ways.

The love story running through the book is compelling too and each decade incredibly well researched so you feel each period, rather than words being wasted describing it. Ella and Robert meet as children in pre-war Glasgow and have so many near misses you wonder if they will ever get together. I would have enjoyed it on its own, and have appreciated the quality of the writing, but adding the extra dimension makes this a standout book.

CASS

Jane Cable’s Another You is a moving saga of modern-day family life. Despite touching on the horrors of combat, past and present, it’s a heart-warming tale of one woman’s fight to reclaim her identity and discover what really matters to her.

Another You was a brilliant read, and Jane is a proficient storyteller. Her characters are entirely relatable, their faults as much at play as their strengths. Although touching upon the lingering effects of PTSD and the invisible scars left by all wars, Jane manages to blend in romance, mystery, family relationships and an unforeseen twist towards the end.

The book stayed with me long after I’d finished.

Jeremy Glyn, the renowned coach and therapist’s latest book Achieving Happiness has just been launched and should be useful to  anyone wanting to use more of their potential and be happier, or more fulfilled.

Significantly it will also introduce coaches to his ground breaking ‘Mindset Priming’ approach that enables clients to achieve aspirations that have lain unrecognised in their subconscious.

Glyn tells Frost Magazine: “In this book I share the concepts and techniques that helped me to overcome my own self-imposed limitations, and I introduce my ‘Mindset Priming’ approach that coaches, clients, and sports stars, find so fascinating and recommend so highly”.

‘Mindset Priming’ combines both psychology and kinesiological concepts and can equip people of any age to develop an effective mindset and put themselves on track for greater success and happiness.  Glyn says that this is not simply intended to be a self-help book, but the concepts will help the reader help many others. This makes it an invaluable resource for coaches, parents, and employers.

The book sets out the author’s ABC model, which was designed to help Glyn’s clients look at the interactions between their Aspirations, their current Behaviour, their Conditioning and their Description of themselves. At a simple level, this model helps people understand the underlying reasons behind why they are ‘stuck’ in their current level of performance.

“My aim is to inspire the reader to help themselves, and those they care about, to look forward to happier, more fulfilling, and more rewarding lives.”

As we approach the start of a new year, and begin the trawl out of the restraints and worry of a pandemic Achieving Happiness should be near the top of the ‘ones to read in 2021’ list.

Achieving Happiness is available at Amazon and Waterstones.

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I have long held the view that Christmas is a time for adults as well as children, and this year, I am more of this view than ever. At the risk of sounding like Ebenezer Scrooge, why should the kids have all the fun?

So, imagine my delight to learn of Christmas Crackers designed specifically for adults.

I was particularly pleased to hear of this, as my wife and I have our annual festive argument about the value of Christmas Crackers and how it is a lot of money for inevitable disappointment.

Well, no longer, because The Sexton Single Malt Whiskey have answered my prayers, by producing a limited range of the Night Before Christmas Crackers.

I would advise that you do your utmost to get hold of these, if not in time for Christmas Eve then New Year’s Eve, or to put in a drawer until the day that we can get together and celebrate.

Designed to be pulled on Christmas Eve, (remember what I said above), each cracker contains a delicious ready to drink Whiskey ‘Noctail,’ created from ingredients that thrive in the night-time eg forced rhubarb, a dark twist on the traditional cracker joke written by an award -winning comedian, and a chance to win a year’s supply of The Sexton Whiskey, plus the obligatory Christmas Hat.

Ideal for the discerning whiskey drinkers in your life, expect the aroma of nuts, marzipan and dark chocolate with a pinch of spice encapsulated in a ready-to-drink delicious dark twist on the Old Fashioned, all sealed in a delicate amber screw-top bottle – ready to enjoy upon opening!

’The Night Before Christmas’ crackers are available for £20 (4 x crackers per pack), with all proceeds from sales donated to The Comedy Trust to support live comedy throughout the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey

After what, by anyone’s standards, has been a challenging year, we must seek our pleasures where we can, and as the festive season gets underway, Aldi seem to have taken on board the need for some Christmas cheer, with their impressive range of digestifs. A digestif is an alcoholic drink that aids digestion, at least that is what I tell my wife when I reach for a glass. ‘Think of it as medicinal’ I say, to the sound of raised eyebrows.

This comprehensive range of digestifs would be perfect to round off a heavy meal, or an extensive evening of fun, including as it does, award-winning whiskies, rich rums, beautiful brandies, classic cognacs, scrumptious sherries and passionate ports; after dinner digestif for the big day, and indeed beyond.

I would equally welcome any of these in my Christmas stocking, or as a gift to welcome the much longed for New Year.

Whilst it is undoubtedly true, that one could leave a glass of one of these for Santa, if I am perfectly honest, they are so good, they bring out my inner Scrooge, and Father Christmas may have to make do with a glass of milk this year.

I tried three from the Aldi Digestif range, and if the others are even half as good, they will be snapped up by those wishing to get into the Christmas spirit or indeed any spirit.

First, I tried the Specially Selected 5-Year-Old XO Brandy, £13.99 (NEW) A popular scented and elegant brandy, with beautiful woody notes from being aged in oak casks for 5 years. This infusion results in a rich and complex flavour, complemented by hints of vanilla and nuts, creating a palate with an exceptionally smooth finish.

Next up was the Highland Black 8 Scotch Whisky, £12.99 which is great value for money, having secured gold medals in the past two years, coming in at a fraction of the cost of some of their more famous rivals. The tipple is created using a range of the finest Speyside and Highland Malt whiskies, blended expertly together with the Grain whisky from Girvan in the Lowlands of Scotland. Each oak cask used in creating Highland Black is matured for the very minimum of 8 years.

Finally, I enjoyed the Organic Prosecco £7.49 an eco-friendly fizz, sourced from 150-hectare estate, 30km north-east of Venice. Grown with no pesticides or herbicides, the grapes are predominately hand-picked and gently pressed to ensure only the highest quality of juice is used. This is an extra dry sparkling wine with scents of apples and pears which could be served before, or after a meal, to make it an occasion.

We are living in unprecedented times and this is not the time to stick to convention, be it Christmas, New Year or when we can all be together again to celebrate, this is the time to raise a glass, strictly for medicinal purposes, obviously.

www.aldi.co.uk