2023 in facts and figures

Google provide a map of where I’ve been in 2023. It’s been a rather more expansive year with no limitations on travel.

Internationally I went to Jordan in January and then we went to Piemonte in May and Rhodes in September. The former was rather wet, the latter gloriously sunny.

Coincidentally my car goes in for its MOT in December and in the 12 months from 8 Dec 22 to 1 Dec 23 I drove just 4948 miles. That’s down on last year and reflects fewer domestic trips with just a few visits to National Trust properties.

I’ve had lots of exercise, counting a total of 150 occasions during the year, that’s up on 2021 (147). It includes 74 visits to the gym, just 5 runs adding up to 21.5km, 38 on-line cardio classes and 33 face to face classes.

Fitbit tells me I did 4,040,016 steps in the year, which is well over 10,000 per day and just about the same as last year (4,074,537), and that my average weight was again steady in the mid 64s but is presently closer to 65.

Healthwise my heart seems to have had a good year although my blood pressure ended the year at 126/64 (last year 119/61) and a resting heart rate of 54 (52) (all reported as a 30 day moving average). I had a full blood check in September and all my lipid measures are well within the ‘healthy’ range. My teeth have largely behaved themselves although the crown fell off one but was easily glued back within days.

Brainwise my phone tells me I’ve now played Wordle 634 times with a 99% win rate. I ran up a streak of 330 but that came to an end one day when I changed my routine and simply forgot to play. I’m now at 15 with my sights on a new record in 2024.

Workwise I issued 21 invoices during the year and this has meant that I have delayed taking any money out of my main pension pots for yet another 12 months.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time taking photographs and improving what I do. Lightroom tells me I’ve saved 4281 (1066 with my phone) photographs during the year and rated 71 as 5 star. That means interesting and pretty good quality. These compare with 3811 and 94 in 2021.

Prospects for 2024 are generally OK at a personal level but neither the UK nor the world are in a good place. We will probably have an election which the Tories should lose but before they do they will make all sorts of promises which are simply about retaining power and not addressing the deep seated problems of the country. And Russia and Israel are doing their best to destabilise the world. Fingers crossed China is smart enough not to join them