I know it has been a week since we said goodbye to 2021 but it’s only now that I’ve had time to reflect back and share my review of the last 12 months.
As you may know, 2021 has mostly been a sad and sorrowful year with the loss of friends – Lucy Hale, Lottie Rapson, Chris Cusack, Sasha the dog and my Mum’s best friend Brandy.
However, rather than dwelling on the sad times, I want to share a few positive moments of 2021 with work achievements, fun activities and social events.
Paralympic Games coverage for Disability Horizons
It has been another incredible year working at Disability Horizons. I’ve published and edited almost a hundred more articles, interviewed some amazing people and, in some cases, took sole charge of content some months.
My highlight of 2021 was taking charge of content for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
I was lucky enough to interview 15 incredible athletes, some via Zoom live from Tokyo, write a couple of news articles and join in with Disability Horizons Twitter takeovers throughout the games.
I think my favourite moments of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games was watching Hannah Cockroft win double gold in the T34 100m and 800m, the mixed relay event with different impairment and Team GB winning gold in wheelchair rugby.
Read our 15 interviews with British Paralympic athletes on Disability Horizons.
Also check out my additional articles 10 Paralympic athletes from Team GB to watch out for at Tokyo 2020 & Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Team GB highlights.
Commissioned article on PosAbility Magazine
In April 2021, I finally managed to pitch a story to a publication and get it commissioned and published.
Friday 16th April was Audio Description Awareness Day and as you may know, I’ve been campaigning for AD on all pre-recorded content.
I decided to do research on how much audio description each UK TV network and streaming service provide and the reasons why not all content have AD. I also asked some well-known blind people their experiences of accessing AD.
After three weeks of gathering quotes, statements and statistics, I wrote up a pitch and sent simultaneous submissions to TV and disability publications.
Within a few hours of submitting my pitch, PosAbility Magazine accepted my pitch and my article – Report: audio description missing from three-quarters of Netflix content – was published on Friday 16th April.
Due to my workload at Disability Horizons, I’ve not had time to pitch more content. However, I hope to pitch more later on in 2022.
Guest on Beernuts Productions podcast
Back in January 2021, I interviewed Australian blind filmmaker gough for Disability Horizons. Following the interview, he asked if I would be interested in featuring on his podcast, Beernuts Productions.
I accepted his offer and in October, we recorded the podcast via Zoom.
He asked me questions about my disability, what it was like studying my degree in journalism and becoming a freelance journalist and blogger.
Listen to my interview on the Beernuts Productions podcast now.
Biffy Clyro live in Southampton
After 637 days, I finally returned to live music and my first gig was a banger, Scottish trio Biffy Clyro at the O2 Guildhall in Southampton.
What an incredible feeling it was to return to live music after so long. The music, lights and atmosphere were all electrifying.
Without live music, my life is not worth living. Sadly, my next gig isn’t until April 2022 to see Jake Bugg, but I may find a last-minute show between now and then.
Read my full review of Biffy Clyro live in Southampton.
Reuniting with friends
With so many lockdowns and many of my friends shielding, it was finally nice to meet up with people again after so long.
I managed to have three trips to Steph, one of which was her birthday party where Lottie and Ryan joined us. It is heartbraking to say this was the last time we were all together.
I had two additional trips to Lottie’s with the last being 8 weeks before she passed away.
I also got to meet up with Pluggy twice in Fareham after 18 months of her stranded in strict Welsh restrictions.
In addition, I got a rare visit from Kristy who migrated to London two years ago, which was lovely.
With her busy schedule as a childminder and looking after her own two “brats” (her words, not mine), we don’t get as much time together. I was hoping her kids would be in boarding school by now but hey ho – I’ll keep dreaming!
After facing the loss of so many friends this year, I want 2022 to be the year I get to spend as much time as possible with those still with me (as long as I have people accompanying me). It just goes to show life really is too short.
My summary of 2021
In case you missed any of my blog posts this year, here is a recap of the monthly roundups:
- January 2021 summary: Not the start of the year I had in mind
- February 2021 summary: Lacking motivation month
- March 2021 summary: Fitness with a difference
- April 2021 summary: The only way is up
- May 2021 summary: May the freedom be upon us
- June 2021 summary: Experiencing some normality
- July 2021 summary: Sport spectator turned sport journalist
- August 2021 summary: Building up to the start line
- September 2021 summary: Re-connecting, relaxation and reflection
- October 2021 summary: Friends reunited
- November 2021 summary: Return to live music
- December 2021 summary: It’s the most heart-breaking time of the year
