What did I get up to in 2025?

I have not done this in a while (and this is mostly for my own gratification) and there isn't anything extraordinary in this list of personal markers. It hasn't been the best of years for any number of reasons but then again this time last year I was counting four people I know who had died within the previous two months. So like Mr. O'Reilly said to Basil, "there's always someone worse off than yourself". To which Basil replies, "I'd like to meet him, I could do with a laugh".

By my count I've read 22 books (so far) this year.  I'll probably finish 2 more by the end of the month and this number is a normal total for me. I continue to use Librarything to catalog my books which is where the image of all the covers comes from.

Highlights:

• The Wide Wide Sea - About Capt James Cook's final voyage in the Pacific was a fascinating and very engaging read
• The Finest Hotel in Kabul - Almost a social history of Kabul between 1969 and 2010 centered around the Hotel Intercontinental Kabul where my family and I had stayed in the early 1970s. Written by a journalist who spent months there this also was an excellent read.
• A Northern Wind: This is a social history of England (and is part of a series by this author) and covers the early 1960s. An incredibly exciting period in England when The Beatles were launched on the scene, the conservative government was running out of steam and there was a promise of change.

 

 

 

 

 

I travel a lot for work which can be tiring and is not the glamorous life some think but if you plan your itinerary closely you can take advantage of these travels to visit places you wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to see. 

Mrs PND and I were able to take vacation in Australia, New Zealand and Costa Rica this year and feel lucky to be able to do that. She had not visited NZ and I had not been there since we lived there in the early 1970s. It wasn't without mishap: We almost were unable to leave the US because I wasn't able to get my visa approved. A frantic effort at Newark airport which involved my second passport and we were allowed to get on the flight. Then on day two, MRS PND had her phone stolen (we got to visit with the NZ police) but was then returned to us by a kind stranger two days later. 

• 8 international visits: Australia, New Zealand, England, Germany, Costa Rica, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong

• 6 state visits: Minnesota, Pennsylvania (2), Washington DC (4), Colorado, Maryland, New York 

One of the benefits of all the travel I do is that I try to fit in "culture" as much as I can. In 2025 I was able to visit 18 Museums and/or Art Institutes during the year many of which I had never been to. That number does not include any in NYC so I should take care of that over Christmas.

Highlights:

• Philips Collection (Washington DC)
• Auckland Art Gallery
• Christies London 
• Clark Institute (Williamstown)
• Clyfford Still Museum (Denver) 

I had not realized until I went back through my diary that we saw ten stage productions this year. Dorian Gray was almost overwhelming - full on multimedia assault, made all the more impressive since Sarah Snook played 26 roles in the production.

Highlights:

• Picture of Dorian Gray - incredible fusion of multimedia
• Operation Mincemeat - which I didn't think I'd like but it was excellent

Ten productions is unusual and would normally be less than five. Happily, there were no disappointments.  

Other stats: 

• 1600 photos uploaded to LightRoom (and always impossible to pick the best one)
• Complete TV series including Severance, Down Cemetery Road (see books), Slow Horses (see books), Shrinking, The Studio, Your Friends and Neighbors, Silo, Stick, Platonic, Black Doves, Decameron, Dept Q, Handmaid's Tale, The Last of Us, White Lotus, Say Nothing.
• Approx 1700 miles exercise
• Only one music concert (where a heavy rain storm cut the show in half)
• Thankfully, no travel mishaps this year (not like 2024). 

Apple+ counted the following as my music choices in 2025:

1. Rolling Stones - (not really surprising - listened to Hackney Diamonds on the running machine)
2. Neil Young
3. John Hiatt
4. The Black Keys
5. The Beatles
6. Tom Waits
7. Modest Mouse
8. REM
9. Crowded House
10. Led Zeppelin

Note - I think Lily Allen's album West End Girl is one of the best I've heard in quite a while.