Dominic’s Medium-Sized Review of 2024

Annual Roundup

For us, 2024 was very much shaped around the UK general election. Randi worked from Scotland a lot during the first half of the year, and I always enjoyed my own visits there – especially when Catherine and AJ joined us to canvass! That said, Rishi’s surprise early election was a real gift to us as a couple: not only did we get to enjoy an unexpected summer together, but the election itself took place in daylight rather than the dark.

The latter half of the year came with some tough news for people close to us. My love this year goes especially to Cormac. At the tail end of 2024, Randi also got the news that her uncle Jeff had died. He was a wonderful man and always incredibly kind to me. I’m so glad he got a chance to visit our flat for our wedding a few years back, and we enjoy the artworks he gifted us every day on our kitchen wall. One nice thing for me during these times has been the flurry of voice note activity in the Self Siblings WhatsApp chat, even if 2024 was also the year our emoji was ruined (still mad about that). I’m hoping for some happy voice notes there in 2025.

Travels

Lisbon & Porto (January) – Such a great trip, combining Lisbon with Mike and Melissa (highlight: the Moorish Castle at Sintra) with a work visit to Porto to meet team members Vitor and Paulo and finally try a Francesinha for lunch. My only regret is that I didn’t have longer to see more of Porto.
Edinburgh & Midlothian (So often I lose count…) – So many visits, including The One With Catherine & AJ, The One With Rosslyn Chapel, The Election One, The One With The Wild Swimming and The Christmas Hanukkah One. Thank you to everyone who opened the door to my door knocking!

Riding the cable car after a Bergen hike

Bergen (March-April) – Aside from some sickness, this was a perfect little Easter getaway combining beautiful hikes, delicious fish and the 24/7 Robot Wars channel.
Norfolk (July) – We stopped here on the way home from the election for Cat and Brian’s beautiful wedding.
Paris (August & October) – First a crazily long “school trip” day to see the Olympics, then later a work trip for a focus group and Moulin Rouge.

From Randi's early morning Haarlem run — From Randi’s early morning Haarlem run

Exmouth (May & August) – A tale of two bank holidays to see my mum: once for her birthday, the second with Randi for a lovely walking and cycling minibreak!
Bosworth (September) – On a weekend trip to see Andrew and Mark, we were taken on a tour around the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field.
Amsterdam & Haarlem (October) – Randi tagged on to the end of my work trip to Amsterdam for a glorious weekend in Haarlem. Helmets please, we’re British.

Bath (November) – Inspired by meeting the owner of a café at Matt and Rachel’s wedding, this unscheduled trip included a riotous evening with Will and Zoë and an educational trip to the Roman baths.

Gdańsk (December) – Our emergency Christmas Market weekend, and a much-needed food-filled boost to the festive season, including the simple but delicious pork cutlet and mash at Bar Turystyczny when we were both craving a simple Polish sit-down meal.
Vegas & California (December) – Not what we originally planned due to the sad death of Randi’s uncle Jeff just before our visit, but a very good place to close out the year all the same.

Live!

A Mirror (February) – Courtesy of Alix and Adam, we gladly accepted our ‘wedding invitation’ for this dystopian thriller along with David and Ginger.
Macbeth (March) – Fiery modern production, in a literal sense. Saw this with Kira who reckoned Lady Macbeth was nothing compared to Soviet wives.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (March) – Also with Kira, this was Sarah Snook’s incredible one-woman take on Oscar Wilde’s only novel.
West Ham v Liverpool (April) – The action on the pitch was nothing compared to the gruff emoting from the two guys behind us. But a 2-2 draw, for the record.
Eurovision (May) – With Katie and James! My name is Windows, Windows95man, and I only live by one rule, and the rule is… no rules!
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) (June) – As noted by the two insufferably smug AI-generated hosts on my Spotify Wrapped podcast, yes, the sudden change in my listening habits in June did happen right after I saw this wonderfully uplifting musical with mum and Tash.
Water Polo at Paris 2024 Olympics (August) – “Wait a second… where’s the net?” “Dom, have you confused water polo with water volleyball…?”
My Father’s Fable (July) – Another excellent play at the Bush, with lots of semi-successful speculation during the interval about the big reveal. And then when it came, the audience made their feelings known!
The Murdér Express (August) – Randi’s very fun birthday gift to me. Immersive theatre over dinner, featuring dodgy accents, bawdy jokes and a gregarious couple from Florida seated opposite.
Hadestown (September) – Way down Hadestown, way down under the ground… we enjoyed this West End musical with Mike and Melissa on their trip to London, prefaced by some themed cocktails at the bar beforehand.
The Red Queens (October) – Randi’s colleague Terrie performing with her band at Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden on a Sunday night. Very nostalgic.
The Real Ones (October) – One of my favourites from the Bush, about the waxing and waning of a friendship forged in teenage struggles.
Statues (November) – Staged in the Bush’s smaller studio space, a funny but intimate show about a grieving man discovering audio tapes of his father Mustafa, and best friend Omar, from their teenage years.
Wolves on Road (November) – The final show from our Bush Theatre trio this autumn. Some mixed performances, but a fun story about the rise and (predictable) fall of two crypto bros from east London.
The Berberines (December) – Another of Randi’s colleagues, Dan, in a band who sing delightfully chilled and folksy songs. The unorthodox venue on Saulsbury Road promoted great nostalgia in my family WhatsApp chat. The drinks came courtesy of the pub opposite.

On Screen

One problem with this format is that it makes it seem like I’m a big movie buff, and then the actual list turns out to be incredibly disappointing. In fact – sad to say – I made it to a grand total of 0 films in the cinema this year. I’d like to do better in 2025, although the truth is that podcasts are a much bigger part of my life. Still, as ever, here is an incomplete extract from the ‘not-live’ list:

The Bear – I can’t believe we only started The Bear this year! Three seasons later, we’re all caught up and very committed to this show about a Chicago restaurant (and so much more). Getting into this was a slower burn for me than for Randi, but all the characters (apart from Claire) are so human and complex – a perfect meld of writing and performing – that over time Carmy, Sydney, Richie, Tina and Marcus all feel like people that I know somehow. I think for many people it’s also the food which draws them in. That’s not true for me, but instead it’s Chicago itself: all of those beautiful shots of L trains snaking through the city. Highly recommended.
Timecrimes – Katie recommends a lot of “films to watch while Randi’s away”, and here’s the first of 2024. A Spanish sci-fi thriller about an idiot named Héctor who makes one of the bigger cockups of time travel. Enraging but enjoyable.
Anatomy of a Fall – Easily my favourite film of the year, and probably for a lot longer than that too. It won an Oscar, after all. Also very much appreciated watching it with my mum so we could pause and discuss at will.
What We Left Behind – Wonderful documentary about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which holds incredibly fond memories for me as something I watched with my dad growing up.
Science Fair – The perfect Katie recommendation to watch with Catherine and AJ during their trip the UK. A lovely documentary from 2018 about various Science Fair kids. Simultaneously very American and international at the same time, but I still feel bad for the Brazilian students whose Zika virus research seemed strangely underappreciated. We also all enjoyed a good bout of LinkedIn stalking afterwards.
Doctor Who – I was absolutely spoilt with Doctor Who this year, most obviously with Ncuti Gatwa’s first full series. After a bumpy opener (no, we didn’t like Space Babies) this turned into an incredible run of hits and a thrilling finale. I was so excited to have an excuse to rewatch the series with Randi after the election was over, plus catch up on her beloved Doctor Who: Unleashed. Finally, as always, Katie and I made our way through more classic episodes from the original run.
Murder in a Small Town – Two-part Channel 5 documentary from 2021 about the murder of teenager Jodi Jones in Dalkeith. We were forced to watch this.
The Outfit – A stupid film about an English tailor in Chicago which my mum and I loved to hate on. “I’m not a tailor; I’m a cutter” – no one cares, mate.
The King of Kong – Documentary about one nice man, who’s just innocently trying to set a world record at Donkey Kong, being continually thwarted by utterly awful people.
Murder is Easy – The Agatha Christie adaption from last Christmas which I waited all the way until the summer to watch with Randi and absolutely was not worth it.
Nyad – Somewhat misleading biopic about long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. Still very much enjoyable, but do check her Wikipedia page afterwards.
Mean Girls – So 2024 turns out to be the year I can finally, finally, finally stop saying “I’ve never seen Mean Girls”, just in time for there to be a 2024 reboot which I haven’t seen instead. But I enjoyed the original!
Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters – Documentary about a group of people who have all watched The King of Kong and now want to be in a documentary themselves, but have more self-awareness than the original cast.
Coherence – Ah, this was another really great Katie recommendation. Probably my second favourite film of the year, even though it creeped me out when watching it alone at night. I do think I’ve discovered a logical flaw in the alternate reality hopping plot, though.
Inside Out 2 – Wasn’t sure what to expect, but I actually really enjoyed this clever sequel to Pixar’s 2015 original in which Riley enters puberty and is suddenly beset by the unhelpful new emotions of Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui. I watched this on the plane to Vegas and especially chuckled at the “sar-chasm” pun.

That Moment When…

...I spend hours and hours trying to recover this corrupted photo of a nice tree which Randi took — …I spend hours and hours trying to recover this corrupted photo of a nice tree which Randi took

…after the vodka comes out, the conversation with my aunt and uncle turns to the one-worlders vs. the two-worlders, and it’s stayed with me ever since.
…I read the following question aloud to Randi one night from her official ‘Life in the UK’ practice test book: “In which country was the composer George Frederick Handel born?” and the options are: (A) Iceland, (B) Russia, (C) Japan, (D) Germany.
…I get into a Wikipedia edit war with a teenager while hiding in a hotel bathroom.

...we dance to my AI election banger, Knocking on Every Door — …we dance to my AI election banger, Knocking on Every Door

…we suddenly spot a young child wandering alone in the middle of a main road, and a group of strangers are suddenly bonded together for a short but intense period before he’s safely reunited with his family.
…I meet Randi after work for dinner, and we deliberately avoid sitting next to the BBC’s Chris Mason.
…Randi totally blows up our street’s WhatsApp group while struggling to open four jars of salsa verde.