All years have their highs and lows, but 2025 seems to have had more than its fair share of both.

We started the year with a feeling of anticipation…. We had decided to sell our house, downsize and move back to our roots in the North West. We were excited about the prospect of this. Although we have lived in this house for a quarter of a century and had many happy times here it is now really too big for us and the time is right to downsize and move closer to my mother. So in January we talked to various estate agents, agreed an asking price and started to pull together the marketing material and information for potential buyers. The house went on the market in February and despite lowering the price and changing estate agents we ended the year with it still unsold! Throughout the year there has been very little interest in it. We are not in a rush to move but our minds are now looking forward to finding our next (and probably last) home.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/166419494#/?channel=RES_BUY

So as far as the house was concerned we finished the year disappointed. We need a plan of action!

That feeling of anticipation at the start of the year was also because of the football. Liverpool were leading the Premier League and still in all competitions. The future looked full of promise. And when we won the Premier League for the 20th time we had an amazing weekend of celebrations in Liverpool

Although we got knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League, we did get two trips to Wembley which is always fun. Unfortunately we lost on both occasions- in the Carabao Cup final and later in the Community Shield.

Following on from our success in the league we then had what was widely perceived to be a great transfer window, so we were looking forward to the season ahead. But of course we then had the awful news of the death of Diogo Jota and his brother.

Football suddenly became unimportant.

The new season got underway but after a good start things deteriorated rapidly. We are doing a bit better now but, as with the house sale, we have finished the year with a sense of disappointment and uncertainty about the coming football season.

We both turned 70 this year and instead of a party we had a great holiday in Japan with Anna. We visited some great cities and Anna and I hiked the Kimono Kodo trail

We also had our usual month in Naxos, with visits from the two Annas and Paul and Louise. It was great to share one of our favourite places with them all.

Over the last year we have made new friends. This is James and Henry …. Anna found James at a European game in Eindhoven and he and his brother became part of our football family

Next month we will welcome yet another new member to our football family as our friend Clive joins us on his first European away trip

We also welcomed a new member to the wider family. This is Dougie, a second grandchild for Paul and a second great grandchild for my mum.

I had a weekend with my group of school friends. Only half a century + since we were at school together so rather amazing that we still meet up and share our life stories

Of course we have lost some of our school friends over the years and this year we lost another, Anne Davies, who had been a wise and thoughtful friend.

Sadly we lost some other good friends too, notably Peter Skuse who was instrumental in us moving to Huddersfield and is responsible for most of the wine in our cellar.

We managed to get the whole Murphy family together just before Christmas, which was special, and helped us remember the importance of family and friends.

And so we move into 2026. I feel less optimistic than usual about most things. We have friends facing some significant health issues, and we ourselves are starting to feel the effects of getting older.

On the other hand my mum turned 94 this year so we expect to celebrate her 95th birthday at the end of April.

We still have a month in Greece planned and probably an extended road trip in Spain as part of our trip there for Reece and El’s wedding in September. And no doubt there’ll be more football trips. If we don’t make the Champions League the trips will be to more interesting and unusual places!

Hopefully 2026 will exceed my expectations and I’ll be writing a more positive update from my new home this time next year.

I’ve just finished the last jigsaw of the year so here’s the annual recap. I’ve been busy. Luckily Santa came good last year and I had loads to go at …

The first puzzle was done on the cruise in January. They’re always done in a public area so it’s sort of jigsaw by committee. So this was not all my own work

Back home then ….

This ZODIAC puzzle, 3000 pieces, was unusual in that I didn’t start with the straight edges but did it from the inside out. Finished March 10th. With no help from the cats who at one point decided to have a fight on it, scattering the pieces around the dining room. Luckily no pieces got lost.

This next puzzle was from a manufacturer new to me. The quality was good and the colours were lovely

Back onto more normal puzzles , and my little helper

Amsterdam Cafe from Thomas Kinkade Studios. GIBSONS 1000 pieces

I got a little help with this next puzzle when my friend Lyn came to stay.

And she left me with this one which was one of the hardest I’ve ever done, despite only being 1000 pieces.

July brought another cruise and between me and several 100 passengers we finished this one.

This one was a Swedish manufacturer, thanks to my friend Catrina

Back to the big ones …

And a lovely Cloudberry one

In August I went to a local charity jigsaw festival which was interesting, and well run. Obviously I bought a couple of puzzles

This was another hard one – very detailed and a new producer and an irregular cut.

This next was another joint enterprise, done at a week away with a group of friends

We also tried speed puzzling while we were away. This was one of the ones we tried. We weren’t very successful unfortunately so I doubt we’ll be entering the world championships.

Back home ..

And that’s it for this year. Let’s hope Santa replenishes my stock next week!

We checked out of the Airbnb at 10.00. Paul and Jamie weren’t flying home until later so they headed off to do some more sightseeing. My flight was much earlier so I went straight to the airport, Linate. This airport is much closer to Milan than either Malpensa or Bergamo (which in any case would be full of sad Chelsea supporters today) and you can get there very easily on the metro

Although I was checked in I needed to collect my boarding cards at the airport. So that was the first job.

Everything went well and I was through security very quickly. Time for a last pizza and a glass of red wine before the flight. There was more of the artwork I’d seen at Malpensa Airport when I arrived.

It turns out that Italy are hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2026 with Milan and Cortina being their main centres.

I was flying KLM. The flight was busy but I was tired and dozed on and off throughout the journey. I did feel a bit sorry for the young lady sitting next to me who had to cope with my intermittent snoring and occasional slip into her personal space, not to mention possible drooling!

I had to change at Schipol and then fly to Manchester. Although the flight from Milan landed a few minutes late I thought there was plenty of time for me to get to the gate to board my next flight but Schipol airport is huge so I only got there with a few minutes to spare.

As I was arriving back in Manchester about 16.30 I decided to get the train home rather than subject Denis to the horrors of Manchester and the M62 in the rush hour. We actually landed a few minutes early and although I was tired I was quite pleased with the overall journey.

But once back in the UK things deteriorated! First we had a delay getting off the plane as (apparently) all the heavy people were sat at the back and as people disembarked from the front there was the grave danger that the plane would tip up backwards.

Like this …

So there was a delay partway through disembarkation while they redistributed the weight – moved some of the fat people forward I suppose.

Then everyone was interrogated by Border Force Special Police as we exited the walkway from the plane. Where had we been? Where before that? Why? Etc. I don’t know whether they’d had some sort of tip off about drugs given the flight came from Amsterdam. Or possibly they were simply all Man Utd fans who wanted to give the returning Liverpool fans some hassle. There were a lot of fans who had made the same journey as me (which may explain the weight problems 😂)

And there was still passport control to negotiate.

Denis had worked out possible trains for me but of course the one I wanted – which I had made a big effort to catch despite the delays on the plane – was cancelled so I had to wait half an hour for the next one.

But eventually I got home. It’s been a great trip and nice to come back with 3 points. I’m fairly confident we will progress though now.

Next up is Marseille away which will also include a short stay with friends who live near Nice.

But that’s for January …

What a leisurely start to the day. We didn’t have to get up too early which was a nice change for these trips. Denis cooked me a full English breakfast and ran me to Manchester Airport. Security was easy and I was through in about 10 minutes and then had a 20 minute walk along various corridors to get to the Ryanair departure lounge. Once there I had time to relax and have the traditional airport drink which signals you really are off on a jolly. For once it was actually a sensible time to be drinking

Milan is served by three airports only one of which, Linate, is actually near Milan. EasyJet often fly to Bergamo Airport which (unsurprisingly) is in Bergamo, 52 miles from Milan. Ryanair fly to Malpensa, so that’s where my flight went to. It is 42 miles from Milan but there is a regular train shuttle service to the city centre.

The flight left on time and arrived early. There were a fair few LFC supporters on the plane – taking advantage of the cheap tickets you get coming a day earlier than the masses. Milan Malpensa is a decent sized airport and the station is a little walk but the staff there were very friendly and helpful. I soon had my ticket into Milan and validated it on the platform while waiting for the train – they are fairly frequent.

The train to Milan took nearly an hour, as expected. The Airbnb host had been very helpful with instructions for how to get to the apartment so I found the Metro and was soon there. I’m not sure I walked the most direct route but it was interesting. This is the area we are staying in. It’s known as Navigli.

And here’s some photos of the Airbnb. It’s a bit old fashioned but clean and has probably got everything we are likely to need

The hosts had also left this in the fridge, which was very welcome

Although Paul and Jamie weren’t arriving until Monday , Jamie VS came later Sunday. His route was flight to Verona and bus and train so we were a bit unsure what time he would arrive. I went to the supermarket for a few things – including wine and pizza in case he was VERY late and the local bars and restaurants had shut.

Then I went out for a walk. In particular I wanted to get my bearings for tomorrow. That done, and James still not nearly here, I got a take away pizza and went back to the Airbnb. The pizza was good, the red wine was good and the strange wafer biscuits I’d bought were also very good.

Eventually James arrived. I met him at the Metro station and we walked home via the Irish Bar where we expect the Liverpool fans to be congregating over the next couple of days. Once back James had a beer and finished off my pizza.

Paul and Jamie should be with us by lunchtime tomorrow and we gave the whole day to amuse ourselves and get some sightseeing done. I have a treasure trail for us to do.

It took a bit longer than usual to get going today but eventually I was up and out for a (late) breakfast. Our hotel is quite basic but in a reasonable location and is comfortable and clean, which is all we need really.

It’s only a few minutes walk away from Frankfurt Town Hall Square, known as The Romer. As that’s where we’ve been advised to gather today I started there. It’s a lovely square with some typical German architecture

The area we were in last night is called Sachsenhausen. It is another part of the old town, across the river from The Romer. Unfortunately we have been advised not to congregate there today as that is where the home fans gather

I’ve bought a treasure trail to help explore the area. It’s from a company called Questo which I’ve not tried before so it’ll be interesting to see how it compares to others I’ve done before

Safe to say that we were spectacularly bad at it for the first couple of clues but after that we improved. Overall the quest gave us a nice walk around parts of the old town and the river banks and provided some interesting background information.

After our sightseeing we met up with friends new and old, and had some food then made our way to the ground.

The stadium is modern and good looking , albeit accessed through a forest.

After losing our last four games I think it’s safe to say our confidence wasn’t high and things only got worse when Frankfurt scored. Luckily we came good and scored five goals in reply for an emphatic win. Everyone was relieved and happy which was just as well as we had a long walk back through the forest in the rain and a jam packed train journey back into town.

There was still time to have a few drinks and celebrate before I headed off, leaving the young chaps to continue their celebrations.

So we head home tomorrow, having had a fun filled couple of days.