Its always fun to begin this blog entry, 13 years I have been doing this now. I start in January and throw ‘meaningful’ things on to a word document then when I get to the last quarter of the year I try to turn it into something that in the future I will go back and read, so here goes, episode 13.
All those years looking back and enjoying the memory of the year. I haven’t slowed down this year it seems, so an apology at the beginning, its not a short read.
First my own history lesson, once blog this was a ‘mix tape’ of my favourite songs, it then became the work stuff that had happened with the music on the end, then one year it became a diary of stuff as well as the books, films even one year the restaurants. Now its just a reflection of the year. I love doing this for myself and some people like to have a read, I think to get some restaurant recommendations and sometimes just to see what the music I have had on repeat is, I enjoy writing it so here is 2025 in ‘long form’.
January was cold and wet and a bit miserable in London which had quickly become my three day a week home. It had been a good transition from one job to the next but being in London was a bit lonely sometimes and I was still trying to hang on to my old connections and friendships so a visit to The Speedboat Bar in London for some lovely Thai food in what I can only describe as authentic in atmosphere. The food was amazing the company lovely too and meant that I had someone to still bounce ideas off as I started to rev up to making a difference in my new job.
My resolution was to go to a few things in London that didn’t just revolve around food and work, the first on my list was Radiohead at the Jazz Café. Not THE actual Radiohead but a somewhat avant-guard jazz ensemble doing Kid A from start to finish and then a few career highlights. It was a magical experience and for someone who loves Radiohead was a highlight, at this point though we had no idea they would be touring later in the year. I do have one slight ‘gripe’ with the Jazz café though, you can only book a table to eat if you are 2 or more people, I can’t begin to articulate how wrong I think this is!
A new restaurant in seven dials was Cellar Story, part of the Restaurant Story team which I had the joy of going to the year before, this place was amazing sitting at the bar with an old colleague and ordering some lovely food and reflecting on 2024 was lovely, I so enjoy the company of people in a similar area as me, being able to bounce off ideas for the future and describe where we want to get to really helps me keep my feet on the ground whilst allowing the top of my head to still breathe in a few clouds!
Even though I was only a couple of weeks into the new job I was invited to an event at Google to be on a panel and describe what I thought the future of the Built Environment could be, I was up there with government officials from HMCLG, Start Up founders and long-time experienced leaders in the field, getting up on my stool I felt a fraud but once in the flow it was really enjoyable to be part of.
We are lucky enough to have friends all over the country and visiting them can be such a big part of the year, being able to go to Amble in Northumberland and stay at a friends lodge with our family and my parents and our tribe of four legged friends was lovely. Cooking with my mum, being on a cold and windy beach and just generally having a weekend away was a great refresh.
And before we knew it February arrived. As a management team at work we had booked two days out to plan the year ahead and get to know each other a little more. One of the activities that was part of this was a visit to the National Portrait Gallery to reflect, with the help of one of the curators, on three specific paintings and consider how these reflections could help with our Team Dynamics, it was such a different thing to do, I loved it, very effective and something I would definitely try again, but, I love all that stuff so maybe I am an easy target.
The cultural high point for me in February was seeing Oedipus at The Old Vic which is my second favourite theatre in London. The very beautiful Indira Varma as Jocasta and Rami Malek and Oedipus himself. It was a brilliant experience to have so much language flow over you from some wonderfully talented actors.
The end of February was a birthday celebration for me with dinner at the Ox Club in Leeds and then a trip to one of our favourite night spots Domino. I have loved the Ox Club for many special occasions over the years and yet for some reason it didn’t quite stand up to its highs of the past which was sad, Domino however was an absolute blast shared with some lovely friends.
Spring and March started to arrive. We managed to book a weekend in London with the small ones and two of our friends. Squeezing in the Friends Experience with the smallest one and the F1 experience with the taller one was awesome and made even better by being in Borough Market on the morning too, its always great to see London things through the eyes of somebody visiting it for the first time, the excitement at every stall and taste was fun. We toped off the day with a visit to China Tang at The Dorchester which as restaurant experiences go I would describe as remarkable. The ‘lazy Susan’ in the middle of the table was a hit with the kids but did mean the things they thought were the tastiest went the quickest.
Work was going to see me travel in Europe a little bit more than I was used to, first up in 2025 was a Warsaw visit. Seeing one of our digital partners and then meeting the team from work and seeing the amazing things they are doing as well as starting to understand better what it is they need from us to make their day the easiest it needs to be. I loved the level of customer concentration the team has in Poland and the directness to how they need me and mine to help them. Warsaw itself, the very small amount I saw of it felt like a city that is on the verge of becoming what it wants to be, very vibrant.
Two restaurants saw my inaugural visit too; The Devonshire in Soho and The Prince Arthur in Belgravia. These two I can’t recommend enough, The Devonshire for three reasons. It has the simplest and yet amazing food, it has an amazing atmosphere no matter which floor you sit on and its Guinness may well be the best outside Ireland. The Prince Arthur is perhaps slightly more expensive and a bit further out for me to get to but the Basque food it serves is remarkable and again it has a lovely atmosphere. I would find myself back at both venues a few times as the year went on, with The Devonshire becoming harder and harder to get into as the year went on.
Two visits as the year went on stand out in my memory more because the people I was with. Being there with one of my oldest friends and collaborators over the years John Rockley was a wonderful experience even though it was the day he had the sad news his organisation was going to close. The other was an evening spent questioning how we communicate Digital in different organisations and the merits of being on the front foot or reactive with the ever awesome Gill Stephenson-Russell who I think is one of the most talented communications and engagement people I have ever had the delight to work with.
A day trip to Dusseldorf also happened with a colleagues, flying in, seeing the way we work, our new buildings and the design of these was inspirational and filled me even more with energy for what we are here to do. In and out like that gave me chance to catch up some music too, as I mentioned in the intro, this blog used to be on CD! It used to be the songs of the year shared with a group of people who did the same, its now just a small part of it but it is a part of it. Give it a listen here…
2025 – Songs of the year by Rich Corbridge – Apple Music
March also brought the moment one of the small ones really started to be a grown up, a 16th birthday. A house full of people and lots of fun followed by a trip to Gaucho in Leeds for steak, his favourite food. I love being part of what is known as a ‘blended family’ now-a-days and experiencing this young man grow, mature and become not a child with dependencies but a friend, it has been a joy that I hold dear.
One of the restaurants that I keep returning to is Trullo in Islington, for a short period in 2025 it had a version of itself at Harvey Nichols, a few of us went after a brilliant day with IBM in their York Road offices. Great food and great company reflecting on how the workshop had gone and the ‘germs’ of a new partnership starting to evolve. I love it when you can share a way forward with what in the past we would have called venders and now in a far more mature world we call partners. 2025 saw the start of this with a few different organisations which was a brilliant change in our thinking and hopefully will bring quite significant reward to us in 2026.
Back in Leeds we were lucky enough to book a string quintet playing the music of Bridgeton in Leeds town hall by candlelight, it felt very grown up as an event and was gorgeous and made me think I have missed out on the TV programme, although I have yet to squeeze in time to start it. Which is a nice link to my list of TV and film for 2025:
Prime Target, Zero Day, Adolescence, Paradise, Your Friends and Neighbours, This City Is Ours, Brian and Maggie, Echo Valley, Endo S2, A Complete Unknown, Mob Land, The Gorge, We Were Liars, Mayfair Witches S2, September 5, White Lotus S3, Aliens:Earth, The Visitor, Girlfriend, Guiness, Lost Bus, Highest to Lowest, Frankenstein, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Housemaid, Stranger Things final season.
Earlier in the year I had seen an advert for an immersive Cuban experience. Paradise Under The Stars put on different themed nights over the year and we took our flight to Havana of the 1950s. Music, dancing, beautiful people, meeting new people and enjoying the world so much was the order of the night. It cemented still further the idea of visiting Cuba later in 2025. I am on the look out for what the Paradise team put on in 2026 that’s for sure.
The month of the fools day arrived and I had booked to see a play called the Apex Predator out at the Hampstead Theatre in Swiss Cottage. Laura Whitmore in the vampire role was brilliant and whilst it was so rammed full of themes and ideas it felt like your head was going to explode at times it was a great evening with a giggle here and there, definitely a couple of shocking moments and it left you thinking about so many themes.
This years Record Store Day was going to be a family affair, me up early to the ever-present Wah-Wah records in Wakefield then once the smallest one and her friend were awake back to see what they could get, then into Leeds to all the record shops across the city and a lovely lunch. We all got a few of those magical pieces of black plastic, for me Air, Chicane, Holly Johnson, Wu Tang Clan and The Who to list a couple of the highlights.
A return adventure to Portugal was squeezed in with the best of friends and the small ones in tow this time. Having laughed so hard the previous year over a long weekend my funny bone was excited to be there. I love going back to places with new eyes and having fun with different generations, we did go back to some of the restaurants that we had hit the previous year, Il Borgo was delightful again but some of the magic of finding this new place the year before was perhaps missing. I know I am a creature of habit and when I find somewhere I like I like to return, in this case I wish we had left it a while longer to go back. Throughout 2025 we had two friends that were a constant in our lives (and by our I mean all four of us). They made average moments amazing, they made us laugh, they helped make decisions about life and were simply there for us morning noon and night, the family Duffy are just remarkable people who I am proud we shared this trip (and others) in 2025 with and more importantly describe them as the best of friends.
We were trying to keep our promise to each other and whenever we could make it work we were trying to get to things in London together. The Great Gatsby show at the Coliseum was next up. Now I love the Jay Gatsby story having ‘done’ it for A Level literature so was super excited for this show and it did not disappoint, brilliant from start to finish.
Another old and dear friend Grant Ecker was in London for the inaugural Chief Architect Network meeting outside of London. I got to be part of two days of absolute gold dust conversations with global chief architects of our digital future, made even better by the fact that my other half was in the room too so we could share our learnings and thoughts over the days after wards.
Kruder and Dorfmeister are a band that had such an impact on my listening experience back in the late 90s. Being able to see them with a band was just unforgettable, upstairs at the Albert Hall in Manchester, oddly a summer heat streaming though the windows was quite the experience, another bucket list gig for me in 2025. If I were to say what my opt five gigs of the year were this one would be number two I think! More on the top gig later.
In May our organisational leadership team were off to Cambridge for two days. I had put my hand up to curate some of the visit so the Cambridge University Super Computer Centre and the research centre for connected buildings were on the list. I love trying to explain the art of digital to people who are not in the same industry, at times this was a challenge on these two days but we got there in the end.
A new restaurant in Leeds popped up, Emba taking the place of The Owl was somewhere we really wanted to visit with the small ones as we had decided to invest a small amount in them as they moved from being The Owl to Emba. What a delight that first visit was, gorgeous food, fun with the small ones who on nights like this were becoming more and more our mini adult friends, an absolute delight.
Another of my solo cultural experiences was Hadestown at The Lyric Theatre, I booked entirely because I liked the advertisement and felt that another Greek tragedy in my experiences repertoire for 2025 was entirely necessary. It was a superb experience more akin to Hamilton than February’s visit to Oedipus. It seems to still be getting rave reviews now with some famous names taking a stint in some of the roles so worth looking gup if you are in the market for a show.
The Chelsea Flower Show had been on my other half’s bucket list for some time so when we had the invite to go one evening in May we jumped at the chance, what an evening, a tour of the gardens and then a beautiful dinner under the stars, we felt so lucky. To extend our time together in London I had booked breakfast for the next day before heading back to work. Fallow on Haymarket do one of the best (and different) breakfasts I have ever tasted, we sat at the counter with gorgeous food whilst watching the lunch time chefs start to get ready for their next meal. I love watching the forward planning that goes into cooking, its something that attracts me so much to cooking.
Just like last year June was the Leeds Digital Ball made a bit different this year as we hosted some of our colleagues and partners at the event so rather than just being at a table I was a host. Three years now I have loved the Digital Ball and I hope 2026 sees it grow again as it is a highlight of the social calendar for so many people.
Another solo gig booked to some degree off the poster and the critics comments was Retrograde at Apollo Theatre unwittingly I had booked its last night after a long run so it did feel like a celebration of the play, the cast and even the theatre itself. The play left you reflecting both on how times have changed and yet how we run the risk of turning back the clock on themes of racism and inclusion, scary really.
Is a weekend in London now a busman’s holiday for me I wonder? We had booked a fun packed weekend for the two of us, the immersive experience of Sabrage followed the next day by a wander around Kew Gardens and one of the best Pizza’s I have ever eaten in the main square of Kew. Then on to Brixton food village for drinks and snacks before the mighty LCD Soundsystem. Sabrage was such a thrill to see, cheeky, funny, immersive and decadent in its feel you definitely left laughing. We were so lucky with the weather for our Kew visit, stunning and being able to experience nature like that was awesome and a good way to do something different before hitting Brixton.
Live LCD were simply exquisite, one of my favourite bands ever and yet I had seen them only once before, they suited the Brixton Academy environment entirely rather than some huge enormo-dome type venue and it felt super special to share this with my other half, particularly when All My Friends came on, I was crying like a baby.
Talking of gigs I also managed to get to see Atuso the Pineapple Donkey at the Jazz café. Now this was a bet to some degree having seen just Instagram clips of this guy I had booked a table for two learning from past mistakes and invited my old colleague Simon King along to share the experience. Having dinner at the Jazz Café made the world of difference as we got to catch up on all things AI in our respective businesses before Atuso took to the stage. Whilst his music is very electronic it felt like the antithesis to an AI conversation, raw and built by a human not AI well worth looking him up. I love sharing with Simon, he is a true innovator but not ‘just’ with technology at a people level in how we think too.
Who knew how big a work visit to Sardinia would be by the end of 2025? HotTopics an events and network team who I have loved knowing over the years put on a three day event on Sardinia designed to connect people in roles like mine not just on the subject of working together but also on how we look after ourselves as leaders, colleagues and simply as human beings. The HotTopics team had no idea that what they had created was a group of people that would spend the rest of 2025 looking after each other, looking out for each other and building a team and a force for good for the whole of digital across Europe. One of the best work events I have ever been to and one I hope I can repeat in 2026.
And then we rounded of the year with the first of our Piece Hall visits in Halifax with the Teskey Brothers playing and supported by a new find The Heavy Heavy who were rather good too and became part of my play list all year.
A big surprise opened July, as a team we had entered a few projects and colleagues into the Technology and Digital Leaders awards so we took a table got dressed up and off we went, I had everything crossed for a couple of awards and kind of didn’t want to win one of them, the personal recognition award for Chief Digital Officer of the year. Of course what happened is kind of what always happens I guess, you win the one you didn’t want to. Don’t get me wrong I was so thankful and full of gratitude to the judges but perhaps more embarrassed than at one of these things than ever before. Being at this with one of my oldest colleagues was a treat, I have worked with Maria in a handful of different roles now, we are friends first, collaborators second and confidants on the subject of the world too, its been brilliant to reconnect over 2025 and I am super excited for what 2026 will bring.
Seeing Simple Minds back at the Piece Hall with family was a lot of fun too. They played an amazing set, hit after hit and in reality showed how it is possible to grow old with grace and talent and still put on an amazing show, loved the nostalgia of the whole thing.
I mentioned earlier my second favourite theatre was The Old Vic and this is why it is only my second! Much Ado About Nothing was my inaugural experience at The Bridge Theatre. So much to say about this place, firstly they serve wine and food from St. John which is a delight. Its location is lovely right ‘under’ Tower Bridge the other side of the river. Most importantly though the settings. For Much Ado it was in the round, we had fairies on trapeze, a four-poster bed suspended from the ceiling, a bubble bath on a raiser moving around the theatre and so much more. I was mesmerised; I was so full of joy by the end I couldn’t stop talking about it. I am not sure if it’s the done thing to book shows based on the theatre, I did and have though for the rest of 2025 and into 2026!
British Summer Time (BST), it had been in the calendar since December of the previous year we were going to see Stevie Wonder in the park, we were taking the smallest one and her friend, the sun was out and we were in for a treat. As is our tradition for BST we went to Mercato in Mayfair for lunch with the small ones in awe of the choices yet again spoilt for choice. Supporting Stevie amongst others were Thee Sacred Souls and the Ezra Collective two bands I absolutely love. Stevie himself played as if he was 30 years younger, just when you thought there were no more Stevie songs he played another you had ‘forgotten’ about, just brilliant and as we go into 2026 our BST experience is booked again!
The next day though I had to get the gang to somewhere nice for breakfast and head to the airport for I as off for a visit to Sofia in Bulgaria. Meeting our off shore team and seeing the art of the possible they could bring was really awesome, we got a bit of a tour of Sofia as well and were able to see how as a country and a city it has evolved, clearly a technology hub for Europe is growing and it was a joy to see it in its earliest of forms.
It was a very proud moment to be invited to my other half’s graduation. She had worked so hard to achieve such a wonderful result whilst at the same time being the most amazing mum, an ever present friend to so many people the most loving wife a man could want and a super successful career. As I sat there and watched her go up and collect her degree I couldn’t help but be inspired by her, she is amazing.
Our ‘last’ gig in Halifax was the lovely Leon Bridges, his cowboy soul working so well in that setting and sharing it with a couple of the best of friends too made it even more special.
A highlight for so many people last year will have been saying Oasis at Wembley, I wasn’t sure if they could pull it off I had seen them in the past and thought they were average live, not on this day, absolutely spectacular along with the Cast and Richard Ashcroft too, so very good and a brilliant day out for me with one of my best friends ever.
As we got to August a much anticipated vinyl box set was set for release, the Nick Drake Five Leaves Left Box Set was there for me to pick up, I had set aside some time so I could immerse myself in it that weekend. Firstly the design of the box and covers was beautiful and once the needle dropped on some of the outtakes and building of the songs I was blown away. I love it when so much care is taken over a release and this was special.
Another play booked off the back of its advertising and promise was Stereophonic, effectively the Fleetwood Mac story without ever saying that’s what it was. The staging of this was awesome, the whole show set in the recording studio as a band try to get on and make a follow up record as relationships flex and later. Really great to see, it seems to have been awarder a great deal top ten shows in end of year lists which it doesn’t do for me but it was still enjoyable.
Probably a good time to pause for the books list, my deal with myself to read 12 books a year was ‘just’ achieved this year with the first half of the year whizzing by and the later far less so;
Orbital by Samantha Harvey, Kid A by Marvin Lin, A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry , 1974: Scenes from a year of crisis by Nick Rennison, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Pines by Blake Couch, Blue Lines by Ian Bourland, Precipice by Robert Harris , Wayward by Blake Crouch ,The Girlfriend by Michelle Francis, Our Man In Havanah by Graham Greene, The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Same deal next year though, less screen time and more pages time for me as I got a lot out of these books, more entertainment than learning but I enjoyed them a lot.
The BIG holiday was upon us. Sixteen people descending on Croatia for a week, three venues and lots of fun planned. We had the most amazing week sharing so much and really relaxing too, by the pool, by our friends pool and just generally in the company of others. Its amazing how a bunch of people with just friendship in common really can immediately get on with each other so much, incredible really. Dinner cooking for all 16 of us, an amazing boat trip, a visit to Split and lunch out, climbing up the mountain just me and my other half all up there in the experiences of the year. What an amazing bunch of people we are lucky to call our friends.
The day of GCSE results came, nerves were everywhere in our house the one that had been threw the pain had a quite confidence and boy did he deserve it when he opened that envelope, he smashed it out of the park and I was so proud of what he had achieved. What was most remarkable was how he did it, he listened, he realised what his goal was and then he just went for it. This wasn’t someone who loved the experience this someone who got why he had to achieve and then just went for it, a different outlook on life and one that I admire so much, what a wonderful day it was.
We had managed to find time to both be in London and booked The Devil Wears Prada after pre-theatre dinner at The Ivy we took our seats and had some cheesy photos taken outside, a great show and having never watched the film it was a neat story for me, I think the songs could have been a bit more. I don’t know, memorable maybe but it was fun to go to together.
One morning I had booked a couple of hours off work to visit what was being touted as the House of Kong. Ahead of The Gorillaz playing four dates they had built a fully immersive experience around the venue they would be playing the following week. Not sure what I expected but the whole experience was awesome, visiting different parts of the Gorillaz world with the characters as a voice over and some amazing surprises as the tour went on, got me in the mood for the following week.
But before we could get to the other worldly show by the Gorillaz we had the mighty Coldplay at Wembley. I have seen Coldplay a few times over the years, from The Cavern in Exeter way back at the beginning through to the Emirates and Wembley before so we knew what to expect to some degree. A show filled with joy, colour and emotion and it was all those things. The British weather decided it didn’t want to play with the orchestra as support and rained super heavy but some of the Coldplay hits banished the rubbish weather and we had a great time.
Those a for mentioned HotTopics folks were at it again with a trip to Cambridge United Football Club for the TechGirl Festival. I sit on the advisory board of this movement, a group of digital leaders from across the UK hell bent on trying to equalise (maybe even optimise) the opportunities girls have for getting into technology. I got to share this experience with my colleague Stephanie Omenai who had been alongside me all year helping me try to make the difference we wanted to make. Now our team didn’t win the festival but it really wasn’t about the winning it was entirely about the inspiration. To be working with 16 to 18 year old girls who want a role in technology and yet the ‘system’ is set against them was hard, and yet we could see what we could do to help.
For a few weeks a lot of work had been geared to a whole day with our most senior leaders to work on what digital means for our organisation and industry over the next couple of years. I have always loved these set piece meetings where you get to prepare and get to take people on the journey with you. We would be talking about the outcomes from the 1st of September for the rest of the year and would build our plan with adjustments as we captured more views all the way through to the end of December of this day, I loved the outcome and the joint effort that went into creating it, a work highlight forever not just for 2025.
We go to the actual Gorillaz live date too after the fun of House of Kong, I had a ticket for album two which I was super happy with and the first half of the gig was amazing with hit after hit and guest after guest. For me it seemed to loose its way about halfway through though and got a bit confused, it was worth it all for the first half but I didn’t leave as I thought I would super upbeat but more in wonder of how they did what they did.
We got to our annual trip to Ibiza in early September, the kids had all gone back to school and in theory Ibiza could be a bit quieter. We were in our favourite hotel in Santa Eulalia which means that you can land, check in and go to the fabulous Nikki Beach for your first lunch. We had some of things we always do on our list but also some new experiences too. Heading to Cotton Beach Club a find from our friends that we went with was awesome, such a beautiful place and amazing food, we managed to squeeze in Pikes too and sun set on the strip but the highlight was always going to be Craig David at Ibiza Rocks. I’m not a huge fan ahead of this show but I have to say he was amazing and somehow doing so much himself proving to me he was a bit of a genius actually!
Our first visit to the Leeds legend that is Empire Café was great for a let evening trip, date night as it turned out. A very clever idea for food, your choice of flavour to a rotisserie chicken and sides, some nice wine and a boogie(ish) at the bar above House of Fu made for a lovely end to September.
October was going to be fun with some culture stuff scheduled and a planning day in Dublin that whilst it would be a fly in and out day it was going to set the scene for a couple of days later in the year.
First though a Leeds gig, my chance to see billy woods perform his, I really don’t know what to call it, off kilter HipHop maybe? The support act was a warning to just how odd this was going to be, up there with one of the strangest but for me when billy hit the stage I was engrossed, his phrasing, the beats he pulls out and the set list were awesome I thought, sadly the friend I took a long really didn’t enjoy it at all, always feel bad when that happens, I need to try to set the scene better for the future when I drag people along to these things.
The Lady From The Sea was back at my favourite The Bridge Theatre which yet again blew us away with how it set itself up, in the round again, for the second half a full size swimming pool that Andrew Lincoln swam in for a few of the scenes! Alicia Vikander was quite stunning in her role and yet again I walked back from this theatre buzzing with the art of theatre.
Some more nostalgia this time at the London Palladium with the Fine Young Cannibals taking centre stage. Roland can still sing but a support act that was so bad I would describe him as offensive kind of put a bad taste on the evening, we got the hits, in fact I think we got every song they recorded and it was good but its time for bands to have more say in who comes on with them because this guy was awful.
I was excited for Born With Teeth, my other half had encouraged me to go after reading a review and it was amazing, both in staging and content. I do love how a play set back in the time of Shakespeare can still answer (and ask) questions of our culture today. Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel were amazing in what was effectively two people talking to each other for over 90 minutes.
I shared a dinner at Trishna for Diwali with two lovely people, the restaurant is one I have been to a few times over 2025 and is a wonderful Indian experience well worth looking up and giving a go, the festival dinner was amazing and huge!
We met two lovely people who we had known separately for a while at the Digital Ball and they announced they had got engaged, we were so happy for them and arranged to go out a few times in 2025 one of the best was a new one on me, Stuzzi in Leeds with its spectacular Italian food and the amazing company of Will and Belma who simply set out to achieve so much every single day, inspiring for sure.
I had a single ticket to see Jalen Ngando at the Apollo in Hammersmith, I was excited to him again but also intrigued to be in the old venue and see what it looked like. It lived up to my hopes, beautifully ornate and full of history, the wood was almost singing along with memories of past artists to Jalen’s powerful soul songs.
A Friday night loomed in Sheffield, we had done it last year for a gig and had a whale of a time, this year it was Terrence Trent D’arby we were off to see, obviously he has changed his name and has some new songs too but the old stuff, the first three albums, when he played those he was amazing, he ‘still had it’ whatever it is for him!
My much loved local record store Wah Wah Records held their first gig on the first floor as November started, the UK HipHop innovator Cappo took to the stage to launch his new album Ito, awesome samples and thoughtful lines about the world today, being a man in the UK ‘of a certain age’ and living with the way people believe what they believe. It was an amazing performance and if you like a bit of HipHop I would recommend giving him ago, gorgeous record label team too!
Being so close to the Royal Academy means that with just an hour spare offers us the opportunity to walk down and take a breath whilst taking in a bit of artistic back drops. I went down to see the Kerry James Marshall: The Histories exhibition and it was brilliant, beautiful moments captured in time with the colours of what could be seen and the politics appropriately captured, worth while doing for me as it is a place where your brain really can reset.
I was asked to go to the Milan office to chat to the team about the opportunity of AI to them in Italy and how they could use the tools we have created to full effect and help them in their customer facing roles. We have had some wonderful responses from customers this year but the time with the Milan team is probably the best. Their enthusiasm for access to tools and what we can do was brilliant to see and made me feel like what we really do is adding value. We were then lucky enough to travel on to Maranello the home of Ferrari. Seeing how they have protected their brand and yet modernised and grown was fascinating, the full tour of the factory, the history in the museum and then chance to be taken around the track in an F50 was unique to say the least, simply amazing.
Three gigs on the bounce over a few days were all to be very different, first Tom McRae, a singer song writer from the late 90s and early 00s when my music taste was almost entirely resolved around white men playing an acoustic guitar earnestly. This was really a lesson in nostalgia and made me ache inside for how good his voice was. I followed that one up with a Sunday trip to Manchester to see Loyle Carner at the Warehouse Projects. We went along with our friends and their eldest as well as our smallest and for the first time let them go together where they wanted to go. I was full of anxiety whilst they were away but they loved every moment of the gig and made me quietly proud of the width of taste we are seeing grow up in our children, the tribalism of my team loving the afore mentioned Tom McRae is no longer there, you can and should like anything now a days!
The synergy of coming to the end of the year with a Radiohead gig was not lost on me, starting at the Jazz Café with a covers band and finishing at the Dome with the real Radiohead in the round. Not sure how I had been lucky enough to get one ticket, so many people had failed but I had watched the set lists come in from the tour with much anticipation and as I arrived at the Done I genuinely had butterflies. The set list, the stage, the way Thom danced and sang and the audience reaction to them was reaffirming for the nature of humans right now! Such celebration for songs once thought of as miserable and now anthems for a new generation, these were not 50 year old men trying to eek out a back catalogue, these were still innovators and makes of the future of music, I so hope they decide to do more but having seen them here it felt something like a pinnacle if I am honest.
Dublin beckoned for my management team, two days away developing how we work together, how we build a strategy for the future and a bit of reflection on what we need to do to be the best at what we want to be. I loved showing what I still think of as ‘my’ town to my newest colleagues, Pichet and Hang Di both amazing restaurants, spending time with the Guinness team and the Irish rock museum as a place to reflect on what we are and how we do it went down really well, but most importantly simply spending time together was a really great way of building the team. How do we avoid the distractions that working brings so that we can be the best team was a question I came away with.
The last month of the year was going to be a month when we needed to squeeze in a lot as we were out of the country for a week on an adventure, more on that later.
I went to see Othello on my own with David Harewood, Toby Jones and Caitlin FitzGerald taking the key parts. Toby Jones was simply exceptional in his role full of evil inspired by jealousy inspired in turn by not being on the receiving end of the right kind of treatment. Yet again the staging was impressive almost constantly changing but only slightly to support the story telling, loved it.
Then my other half made it to London for The Playboy of the Western World booked on a whim much earlier in the year and we had no idea what to expect really other than not one but two Derry Girls offering up their interpretation of Ireland in times gone by. At times the accents were hard to understand but the visuals of the setting, the comedic value of the ridiculousness of some of the situations and the way the music interplayed with the play itself made for a great story. It was lovely to be at an event again together and to share the story afterwards as we worked to understand what it was we had just seen.
A promise to the small ones when we booked our somewhat selfish adventure for December was a weekend in London. A revisit to Dim Sum by China Tang in Harrods and then a lovely wander around the store we brilliant. A trip to Covent Garden to se ethe Christmas decorations was magical but so busy it was almost too hard to cope sadly, it made me realise how daunting London can be at times like this, we did carve out some lovely time together though before heading to our show, MJ the Musical. We had splurged and had a box for the four of us and we all loved it, perhaps wishing for a few more songs from Bad and Off The Wall but it was stunning to see.
We started the next day with another London tradition for me and the taller one, a perfect hair cut at Ted Baker Barbers which is an awesome experience that I thoroughly recommend. Straight in to Selfridges for some final Christmas shopping in the madness of pre Christmas in the big yellow shop and then to the roof for lunch at Alto by San Carlos. Sadly the gang didn’t get to see Selfridges at its best and in comparison, to the previous day in Harrods, they were very much in the Harrods camp but we had a great time and the food in Alto is always of a fine standard.
I have written a whole separate reflection on a week in Cuban which you can read HERE
We had an adventure like none ever before and experienced things that were unique, impactful and taught us a lot, we were however ready to be home with our family and do the final things that have to be done for Christmas.
And then the end of the year was upon us, Christmas, being ready for it and preparing is a major ‘programme’ in our house and because of our holiday even more so this year. Much quieter than previous years, relaxing and setting us up for 2026 in a lovely way.
So there it ends, a year full of things to keep us excited for the future. It doesn’t feel like we are ready to really slow down yet that’s for sure and the future of work in 2026 may well be the most exciting I have ever had it. I do want to try to be more present in 2026, it is easy for being away and the working week to become all encompassing, my other half has a very exciting new job and that’s going to be amazing to see what it brings for her. I want to give back a bit more in 2026, getting people to be part of this crazy world we call digital is a bit of a goal for me. Lastly I want to get back on here more often, I love writing and I am gong to really try harder this year to put more on here, maybe stretching away from some of the usual topics and getting into more of our life.
My thank you messages for the year; my family have made the year so special. The smallest one for all her love, the tallest one for all his giggles and my other half because she is just that, half of me! My colleagues at work this year have been amazing, we have run at the whole year to try our hardest to make a difference and hopefully we have. The people that have touched my heart though remain the constants, The Thomas family, the Croatia team, W&B our new lovely couple to know, the afore mentioned Duffy’s, the Something Story Collective, my new friend in SJ, my old friend LG and the Sunday Dinner crowd be it ‘on content’ or bringing a bottle it never matters.
Next year, promises to be amazing, I guess I go in with the idea that if you are going to do ‘IT’ then now is the time to do ‘IT’ not when you get chance…
Happy new year folks…