My highlights of 2024

Note: I've dealt with podcasts I'm enjoying, music I've discovered, and books I've read in three recent posts. I've also posted the Best of Thought Shrapnel 2024.

One of the things I've already decided about 2025 is that I'm going to be more positive in my outlook on life. So in keeping with this, I'm not going to dwell on the negative aspects of last year, but instead pick out some of my personal highlights and present them in no particular order.

Running

First off, I met my commitment to run 1,000km this year — and did so in a consistent way. The image below is taken from Strava, but I set all of my activities to private as I get too competitive and that's not always good for me.

I learned a few things doing this:

• Running 2.5km on the treadmill is a good warm-up for doing weights, and really chips into the total distance to run. (I went to the gym on average three times a week this year).
• Having turned 44 last week, I'm now at the age where my hip flexors need help to be able to keep functioning. So I did a lot more stretching this year via Recover Athletics and did at least one Pilates session per week.
• A thousand kilometres isn't actually that far, but any kind of arbitrary target is useful by way of motivation when I'm not feeling it.
• Rest days are important. I usually took Saturdays off from both running and weights which my body required, and which gave me the motivation to run further the next day.
• Running in the morning is the best in terms of setting myself up for the day.

Studying

Between October 2023 and October 2024, I completed the first two modules towards an MSc in Systems Thinking in Practice through The Open University. I moved house twice during that time, so I'm pleased that I managed to obtain a distinction in both modules.

I learned so much through my studies, and what was especially gratifying was that it built upon a lot of what I'd learned both through my previous academic work and my professional practice. I wrote extensively throughout the process, with those posts available in the MSc category of this blog.

Moving house

A decade ago, while I was working for the Mozilla Foundation, my family almost moved to Gozo, a small island off Malta. When it fell through at the last minute, we needed to find somewhere to rent, and moved from a four-bedroom detached house to a two-bedroom terrace. We thought this would be for a few months while we found somewhere to buy in Morpeth.

In the end, we bought the house we rented, staying there for nine years after converting the attic into a kind of penthouse suite for my wife and I. We probably would have moved to a bigger place earlier than we did, but a combination of my son's exams and the Covid pandemic meant we put it off a few times.

Due to how competitive the housing market is here, we knew we were going to have to sell and rent for six months before buying. It put a lot of pressure on us, but ultimately we were successful. We rented the Old Coach House in Morpeth, which dates from 1661, and which was a bit cold during the winter. The great thing was that it had a huge area in the basement to store our boxes, where the coaches would have originally gone.

We then moved at the end of April this year to a detached house on top of a hill. We're aiming to stay here for at least a decade, because I really can't face moving again in the near future — and we've got plans to extend this house.

University visits

Our son has applied via UCAS to attend university next academic year, and has already received four out of five offers from the institutions to which he's applied. In preparation for this, we went on six road trips for Open Days at the universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh, Loughborough, Sheffield (where we met up with my sister and nephew), and Lancaster. He also went to Northumbria with friends.

I had a great time accompanying him on various weekends between April and July, discovering what has changed and what remains the same in the 25 years since I was an undergraduate. He may also end up applying for a Degree Apprenticeship if he finds one that offers what he wants to do (Environmental Science or Physical Geography, ideally with Sports Science).

Holidays

Team Belshaw went on three fabulous holidays this year. In February we went to Faro in Portugal, in August we went to the Azores, and in October we went up to Scotland for a family wedding. I spend a lot of time researching where to stay when we go on holiday, and I'm pleased to say that the three places we rented this year were top-notch.

Not since Iceland in December 2019 have I had such a fantastic holiday as we had in the Azores. It was again prompted and facilitated by bargain flights via Jack's Flight Club, and I'm so glad that I found them! The Azores was the perfect location and time of year for an active family to visit. We walked, ate, drank and relaxed, and my son was inspired by the geological diversity and wonderful weirdness of the islands.

Events

In addition to celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary and my Dad's 75th birthday, I also made the effort to go to some IRL events this year. Although we didn't get to The Badge Summit in Colorado this year, I went to the Thinking Digital conference (Newcastle/Gateshead) in May, the Systems Innovation Network conference (London) in September, and ePIC 2024 (Paris) in November.

Watching sport

While I was in Paris for ePIC 2024, I managed to get a ticket to see the Champions League game between PSG and Atlético Madrid. It was absolutely incredible: PSG dominated the game, yet Atléti scored with the last kick of the game to win. The whole crowd was stunned.

In addition to that, I went to see Sunderland play at the Stadium of Light with my Dad, the England Lionesses play at St James Park, and some some exciting basketball games featuring Newcastle Eagles with my son, and also with my Dad. I've also watched a lot of football on TV this year.

The most enjoyable sport I've watched, though, has been played by our two children. My son and a few of his talented mates decided to all come and play for the local team, which they've greatly enjoyed. He also scored some magestic points for his basketball team. Meanwhile, my daughter's football team won every game last season against opposition a year older. They also won the League Cup, two local tournaments, and finished third at the Barcelona Girls Cup.

Getting outdoors

Due to moving house and my studies, I didn't get out into the wilds as much as usual this year. I did, however, go walking at various times with Aaron Hirtenstein, Bryan Mathers, and David Rogers.

My favourite camping trip was to Eskdale which involved going over the Hardknott Pass in my Polestar 2. It was glorious. I was a bit concerned when it was so wet that a toad took refuge in my tent, and I had to walk the long way around to cross a river, but it was a wonderful mobile phone signal-less experience!

Next year

I may write another post in which I look forward to 2025, but I wanted to finish this one to say that the process of looking back at the positive in the last twelve months has made me realise what I need to prioritise in life. Next year is going to be a very different year to this one: we won't move house, for a start! My son is likely to leave home for university which I'm already mentally preparing myself for, and I need to figure out what I want to do on the work front now I'm a bit more settled.

One of my neighbours died unexpectedly just after Christmas. Although he was 20 years older than me, he wasn't old. These kind of things help me put into perspective what's important in life. I'm not going to put off stuff that I said I'd do "one day" because the people and opportunities may not necessarily wait for me to be fully ready.

Image: a collage I made from images and text that I cut out from most of The Guardian Weekly issues published in 2024 (I lost a few while moving house)