My favourite blogposts of 2023

I wrote the other day about my most popular blogposts of 2023, but what about my own favourites? I don’t blog as much as I used to, but I still write one post a week about some aspect of life – whether that is running, Hetty the cockapoo or facing my emptying nest. Some of these mean more to me than others and I’m pleased to say a few have struck a chord with readers too. For once, a couple of my favourites also appear in my most read posts of the year (that NEVER happens!).

So in no particular order, these are my favourite blogposts of 2023…

The power of Wordle – I was pretty late to the party with Wordle and only started playing this summer – about 18 months after everyone else. I discovered an unexpected benefit with it, as it is a great way to keep in touch with my son at university.

Athletics age groups explained – the age groups in athletics are a bit confusing, as they’re not the same as age groups for other sports. It took me a while to get used to them. So before the start of another athletics season, I wrote a post to explain them to other parents and young athletes. It has proved to be a very popular post.

A good enough dog – is a tribute to Hetty and everything which makes her special. She’s not the best behaved dog, but she is so full of love and joy. She definitely is a good enough dog.

I am 50 – I turned 50 in September this year. It wasn’t something that worried me. I was excited about it and positive for the future.

But on the flipside of that, I also wrote I am 50 and a bit miserable. This is keeping it real, because not everything about being 50 is amazing. This is about how I feel tired and overwhelmed every afternoon, which is no doubt a menopause thing.

I wrote Dog friendly restaurant and coffee shop chains for myself as much as everyone else. Learning where you can take a dog when you’re hungry or thirsty is very useful to know. You probably know the places in your local town or village, but when you’re out and about elsewhere it’s good to know where your dog will be welcome.

Reasons to get a cockapoo puppy (and reasons not to) – this is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but it is all about the good things (and the not so good things) of having a cockapoo, based on my own experience and talking to others. Most people will tell you cockapoos stay like puppies forever and will only behave when they want to. And we wouldn’t have them any other way!

Spotify and surviving the first year of university is about my emptying nest and how Spotify really helped me through my son’s first year at university. He’s in his second year now and I still miss him, but I’m pleased to say it’s nowhere near as bad for me as it was.

Half marathon history: Times change – this is a look back on all my half marathon times right from my first half marathon in 1995 to the half marathons I ran this year. I’ve got quicker, then slightly slower and then faster again! I write a lot about running on my blog now and this year I also wrote about lots of races, half marathons and 10ks, and lots of parkrun tourism around the country.

Driving to Cornwall in an electric car – I thought this would be a useful post for people who are thinking of getting an electric car or who have just got one. How easy it to drive the approximately 200 miles from Gloucestershire to Padstow in an electric car? How many chargers are there on the way and how long do you have to wait for them?

So that’s my favourite blogposts of 2023 from my blog. If you read my blog regularly, which are your favourites?