Seasons Greetings 2023

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Tamworth (Australia). I hope this message finds you in good health and having had a fun and rewarding 2023.

We have had a fun year as a family and enjoyed trips to Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. We started the started the year in Brisbane, where we brought in the New Year with Katherine’s family. We also went to watch the United Cup (team tennis event), where we saw Poland beat Italy in a deciding doubles rubber. We had great fun in Canberra celebrating the Chinese New Year with Katherine’s wider family. In our trip to Sydney at Easter, my highlight was going to Taronga Zoo. In our second trip to Brisbane we spent four great days at the Tangalooma Island Resort with Katherine's immediate family and enjoyed feeding the wild dolphins and whale watching. It is great place to take children and we could not get Frankie out of the sea!

Frankie had her first year at school and has really thrived. She is a keen learner and loves drawing and reading. She has been having a weekly ukulele lesson and great to see her enjoying playing music, something I regret not pursuing more when I was younger. Frankie has focused on tennis and swimming for her sports. She played her first competitive tennis matches recently and plays the game with a smile on her face, again something I could have done more in my junior tennis days!! Frankie also has had a fun year as a Joey Scout (even with me as one of her leaders!). We had great time at her first camp and had a memorable experience developing the program for our waffle making night (including me putting in 2 cups of sugar into the mixture instead of two tablespoons, certainly were sweet!!). 

Katherine has had a busy year work wise and started not one but two new jobs towards the end of the year. She has also made a family dream come to life by organising for us to have an electric car. Not something I thought we would be able to do in the short-term but is proving a fascinating adventure and a lot of fun to drive. We managed to sell our other car after a challenging couple of months of trying, so I am now back full time on my ‘pushy’ (Australian slang for bike!). 

I became an Australian Citizen in July. Had a ceremony in the town hall and great party to celebrate. I still will be supporting England in the Ashes though! I completed my Certificate III in Fitness in June and immediately started on my Certificate IV, which I am currently 75% through. It is proving quite a commitment but great to learn and understand the human body better. The tennis centre where I work is nearing the end of its redevelopment. I have been back coaching at the club for the last term of the year and enjoying playing and teaching on our new international standard hard courts. 

So all in all another great year and I will finish my blog with my three big learning influences of 2023:

1) Listening to a podcast called ‘Feel Better Live More’. I have only listened to the first 20 episodes as needed time to put new learnings into action! The biggest change has been using barefoot shoes and I have also being getting into Darryl Edward’s fitness ideas, circadian rhythms, micro fasting and the teachings of injury specialist Gary Ward. 

2) Attending a group called ‘The Men’s Circle’. Great to check in on a monthly basis with a group of like minded guys who are willing to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. This lead me to reading a book called ‘The Four Agreements’, which has really helped me make more sense of my personal values. It has also lead me to using steel clubs and maces in my both my personal fitness and my personal training work. It is a great way to build functional strength and mobility.

3) Listening to a podcast called ‘The Imperfects’. I find it gives me great insights into mental health and new ideas. It lead me to reading a book called ‘4000 Weeks’, which made me realise how short the time we have is.