A Review of 2017

A Review of 2017

That’s another year done!

The traveller's notebook I made for my niece.
The traveller’s notebook I made for my niece.

I can safely say that 2017 was one heck of a lot better than 2016 (a.k.a “The Year to Forget”). I’ve done fun things, had new experiences, visited new places and met new friends. What more could someone want?

At the end of last year I promised myself I’d get back into crafts in 2017 and I did, not as much as I wanted to, but I certainly made a start. I’ve had a go at making my own leather traveller’s notebooks (a friend, Dad and my niece have all been gifted one each during the year) and I took part in a silver clay workshop to make my own silver pendant. I also tried writing with a spiral glass dip pen, made my own Christmas cards (Sorry, not everyone got one, I started a little late!) and even got around to making a few Christmas presents.

Type - ready for printing
Type – ready for printing

Back in April, I got “old skool” and had an introduction to letterpress. It was only a brief introduction, but when I’ve got a spare moment I plan on doing Mostly Flat’s Letterpress Workshop. The only problem is I’ll then want my own Adana press and I don’t think I’ve got anywhere to put one!

I bought myself some watercolour paints a couple of months back, but I’ve only got as far as sampling them so far. So that’ll be a challenge for 2018!

I took my letter writing to new levels in 2017 and took part in InCoWriMo. The aim of InCoWriMo (short for International Correspondence Writing Month) is to write a letter every day in the month of February. It doesn’t have to be a long letter, it can be a short note, postcard or greeting card, and it can be hand-delivered or popped in the mail. I really enjoyed taking part in InCoWriMo 2017 and I even made a few new penpals and introduced one or two friends to the joys of snail mail. I’ll definitely be taking part in InCoWriMo 2018. Will you?

Berrington Hall - Interior
Berrington Hall – Interior

Days out and trips away included fairly local places such as Berrington Hall, Wenlock Priory, Buildwas Abbey and Acton Burnell Castle, as well as longer journeys to Cardiff, Birmingham, London, Stonehenge, Salisbury and Southampton.

Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Speedway Passes
Speedway Guest Passes

The summer was a busy time with 3 concerts in one month (Take That, Robbie Williams and Kiefer Sutherland), but I also managed to find time to catch up with old friends, as well as make new ones.

In July I was lucky enough to be given a pair of guest passes to the 2017 British Speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff. We were given access to the pits on both Practice Day and Race Day to get up close to the bikes and riders. It was an amazing weekend and I can only hope that 2018 brings me similar experiences.

Swarovski stairs aboard MSC Preziosa
Swarovski stairs aboard MSC Preziosa

In October I got to spend a day onboard a cruise ship (which had stairs made from Swarovski crystals, costing up to 10,000 euros per step!) in Southampton. I’m still unsure as to if I’d want to spend a week or a fortnight on a cruise ship (as I like to explore), but at least I can now say I’ve been on one.

Book events included Tony Robinson (“Baldrick!”), Tom Hanks (Yes, I got to meet Tom Hanks and he’s so lovely and funny!) and a visit to the Terry Pratchett exhibition at Salisbury Museum.

Tom Hanks and Me
Tom Hanks and me!

After helping a friend out with family history research, I delved back into my own and discovered a wealth of newspaper articles relating to a direct ancestor of mine who seemed to like a drink or two! I’ve also dipped my toe into the world of DNA ancestry, discovering distant cousins and validating my paper trail research.

So that was 2017!

I’m looking forward to seeing what 2018 brings. Already planned are a trip to London in the new year and a Gary Barlow concert just after my birthday. I’m hoping to plan a trip to Scotland too.

Did you have a good 2017?

All the best for 2018!

Tagged , .

A forty-something year old blogger from the hills of Mid Wales.

14 comments

  1. Kelly says:

    You’ve definitely had a fun, busy, and creative year! The photo with Tom Hanks is great! I hope you’ll tell us more about that event. 🙂

    You have me tempted to participate in InCoWriMo. We shall see.

  2. Hi Nikki,

    Whilst 2017 hasn’t been too bad a year for me, except for my dad passing away back in February, there are going to have to be quite a few changes in 2018, although we haven’t finalised any tangible plans yet!

    We haven’t been out and about quite as much as usual, however, depending on whether or not we keep one of our hobbies / weekend work going, we might be very much out and about in 2018.

    Not long until New Year’s Eve to start nailing down some of those decisions!

    It looks as though you went through pretty much the same dilemma this time last year and for you 2017 has been a year of consolidation and it looks as though you had great fun.

    May 2018 offer even more opportunity and happiness 🙂

    Yvonne

  3. CherryPie says:

    I have yet to get around to my yearly review post.

    Your year sounds like a lot of fun 🙂 I had intended to attend the blogger meet on the cruise ship but celebration for friends wedding anniversary caused our autumn holiday to slip back and it clashed with the event.

    I have plans for 2018, I just have to get myself organised 🙂

    Happy New Year to you.

  4. Barbara says:

    Hi Nikki, you had a busy and exciting year, and I got to join in some of it with you through the wonderful world that is blogging. Thank you.
    I hope 2018 is just as good if not better.
    Happy New Year, Barbara

  5. Pauline says:

    Sounds like you had a great 2017 – thanks for writing this review! Glad that you took the opportunity to take part in InCoWriMo!

    I wish you the very best in 2018!

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