11. Ushering in 1.1.25

Now the dust has settled on Xmas/NY, I felt it was probably about time that I should publish some sort of customary retrospective and drown you all in the saccharine insights I’ve gleaned through examining the last 12 months.

The truth is, I’m an (increasingly) grumpy git and I’m also increasingly unmoved by arguments of a ‘great;’ year or a ‘bad year’. It is what it is. There isn’t really an objective criteria for a great year, in the great scheme of things, and your perspective on events is what matters. As the saying goes, you don’t learn anything from winning. And, if we’re honest, you may one day look back on the ‘awful’ year through the rosy spectacles of perspective and acknowledge that annus horribilis was actually the fundamental petri dish of strife that was instructive or instrumental to your development (and subsequent happiness?). Perspective. Choose a positive one.

In truth, though, it has felt a more arduous year than many. Amputations were first suggested in January, and it has been a long 12 months arguing with some consultants who did not support the surgery while also managing my own feelings on voluntarily chopping my legs off. I also had Cochlear Implant surgery in late Spring which has fundamentally altered how I perceive the world, and myself (previous blogs may prove interesting to you, on this topic).

Such big changes have inevitably had a knock-on effect on very many aspects of my life but also my ability (or motivation) to sustain it through paid employment. It has been a deathly quiet year, work-wise. The quietest on record. This is significantly due to my reticence. I didn’t want to take on work, or new clients, because I didn’t want to make commitments which I might find later I cannot fulfil- due to surgeries, recovery, etc.

I’m unsure now if that was the best approach, to be honest. Perhaps I should have sacrificed some sense of professional duty in exchange for the easy money. Having browsed the accounts I see that my actual takings for this year have been about £7k, leaving us almost completely reliant on Alice’s income as a relief dairy milker, which isn’t astronomical. But here we are. Roof over our heads. General health. So could be worse. I am tremendously grateful for Alice. She’s definitely the better half.

Despite the concern over paid work, I have been able to work otherwise. I received some very good advice once upon a time: when you’re unsure what work direction to take, work on yourself. It’s an investment which always pays. So this has been a year of treading water, consolidation, expanding qualifications, reading. As is often the case, it’s only when you sit down and actually list these things you see you’ve been more productive than you thought.

So, here is my list. Largely for my benefit, as it’s nice to have a public record to keep me honest, but you might also like to see. Maybe it will even go some way to encouraging you to reach out in future for your next work project. I’ve taken the ‘year’ to be November-November just because little happens through the chaos of December - particularly for marketing projects running by the calendar year.

November 2023 - November 2024

• Soft-launched Excélan Consulting LLP with partners

• Submitted qualifying evidence to Chartered Institute of Marketing, securing another year as a Chartered Marketer

• Delivered 2 semesters of Branding and Brand Design module seminars to MSc and BSc Marketing students at the University of Exeter Business School

• Completed Modules 1-5 of the Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (LTHE) Programme at University of Exeter

• Started coursework for Fellow of the Higher Education Authority qualification

• Completed Bibliotherapy Skills course at Exeter College

• Became an Exeter UNESCO City of Literature trustee

• Joined the Advisory Board of UCL’s Centre for Inclusive Education

• Became Honorary Treasurer of the Devon and Exeter Institution

• Delivered numerous panels and speaking engagements

• Successfully appealed for elective bilateral transtibial amputations, pencilled for Spring/Summer 2025.

• Undergone Cochlear Implant surgery, relearnt how to hear again. Other ear deteriorates to the point of being functionally deaf.

• Set various weight-lifting lifetime PBs (not so difficult, as this is mostly a new hobby to be honest), including 100lb bench press.

• Completed WSET Level 3 award in Wines course, results due this month.

• Started a blog about this curious journey, which you are currently reading

And so that’s the annual round-up. Keeping busy, even if it’s not what I would ideally like to be working on. My overriding feeling is that, while this year has been especially heavy on the treading-water element, it’s what I’ve essentially been doing for the last decade. I’m still trying to find my ‘vocation’. I’m trying lots of different things and expanding on experiences and competencies, all in the hope of stumbling or developing what feels like a ‘thing’. A place. A calling. And I’m still searching for a mentor to help with that. They say ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.’ and I’m wondering at what point I might prove to be ready. Your thoughts are welcome.

For the immediate future, though, top priority is the double amputation. This plan is at last progressing. Appointment late January to discuss waiting lists and timescales. I’m hoping for early Summer surgery but we’ll see. Then the ops, recovery, learning how to walk again, and (hopefully) learning how to cycle again. It will be a busy, optimistic, bewildering 2025. Enjoy yourselves.