My old friend Matt died on new years eve.  I’d only seen him a couple of months prior to help celebrate his 50th. Matt & I had been friends since the late 80s, I’d always assumed that we’d both make it into old age.  The shock and grief hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest, causing maintenance insomnia which plagued my sleep until April. 

Life goes on though. I’ve learnt that sometimes having a distraction can help during difficult times.  During 2022 I’d applied for planning permission to build a new garden room. Due to the drawn out process involved in getting the application granted, I wasn’t able to start building until Autumn. Unfortunately Autumn & Winter in the UK last year was particularly wet, which seriously impacted on the rate of progress for building.

Much of January involved just getting my head down and getting on with what needed to be done.  I was glad for the amount of mind space that this project took, given the recent sad events.