Ffa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. Betcha didn't know that song was originally Welsh.

I saw an online post recently describing a number of things that British people just can't believe: that isn't already Christmas, how cold/hot it is for this time of year, the price of a Freddo (which to my mind is the only metric of inflation that really tells the whole story). I've certainly let the end of this year creep up on me, as is likely evidenced by my lack of activity on this site as of late. Even so, I hope you won't take that as a reflection of my feelings towards you, whom I still hold in the highest regard and for whom I hope the festive season was as merry as it can be! I do so enjoy seeing your artwork and photographs, reading your stories, and perusing your journals to see what you're getting up to in the hope that you're well and happy.

So, as I sit typing and watching the last light of 2024 fade below the horizon, this seems as good a time as any to reflect on the past year, as I have done for the past 10 years as part of this amazing, caring, and loving community. As in previous years, I'll start with looking back on my previous end-of-year journal, at the series of hopes and aspirations I had for the coming year, and concluding with the same for what I hope for when 2025 dawns.

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Conventions: Did I say five? How about six... eep.

Starting off with Anthro New England right at the start of this year; it's always a delight being back in Boston, especially so when volunteering at the city's resident furry convention. Two weeks later, and it was up to Scotiacon in Glasgow with a few furry friends; as goes 'Scotland the Brave', wild were the winds to meet us, and staunch were the friends to greet us. The month after that, I was back across the Atlantic on my annual pilgrimage to Furnal Equinox; a delight as always to be back, and bringing my GoH liaison skills from Boston to Toronto. Regrettably, my furry fun was put on hold for a bit after that until the back end of May, when I made a second trip to Confuzzled; I always say that cons are always better the second time around, and this year was no exception. Then, only a month or so ago, a friend and I made our debut at Furcation at its new location at a caravan park in Dorset; the storm that hit the UK over that weekend did little to dampen our spirits. :)

In my last journal, I advised you to keep watching this space about another convention I was planning to attend. Well, I did a bit more than attend. In fact, following a recent meeting, I can disclose that I am, in fact, the chair of Wales' latest furry convention - Aberacon. We held our inaugural event as a free-to-attend day-long event over the August bank holiday. We brought 70 people together at a nice little hotel by the beachfront in Aberavon (do you see where we got the name? :D), which surpassed our best expectations and all but assures that Aberacon will run again next year. Stay tuned for more! ^__^


Travel: After a whirlwind trip with my dad and sister over the summer of 2023, I was pretty sure that I'd be staying put for a while, perhaps having a nice caravan holiday in the south of England to appreciate this wet, misty isles I call home.

My gosh, my golly, how I could take those words and munch on them. As you'll have seen from my gallery, in addition to my convention travels, I found myself heading abroad on two other occasions over the spring - for a hen party to Malta, and a stag party to Poland (same couple). I had that caravan holiday as well, mind you, and these wet and misty isles did not disappoint in terms of the weather. In general, the weather has been pretty bleugh this year, which will become significant later later in this journal.

One bright spot in the weather just so happily happened to coincide with the visit of a certain  ursusarctos to the UK, for which I'm very grateful to rain gods. It was a delight to welcome him to my little corner of Wales, and gave me greater confidence using my little Maison de Chien as a place for comfortably hosting friends, and as abase for exploring the wider area even without having a car.


Flying: "This time... definitely", he said, confidently. That's a second helping of word meal coming my way, I think.

As I mentioned before, the weather this year has been pretty awful, and even if I had sat my licence revalidation, this year would likely have been a wash-out for private flying anyway. Adding to that the number of conventions and trips I've been taking, I don't think I could have been able to afford more than a couple of hours of flight this year. It is a great shame, as I do miss that call of the sky and the joy of being in the cockpit, but such are how the cards were stacked.


Cycling: Having initially planned to go west in my cycling ventures, I instead found myself going east again. In fact, on another adventure to London in September, I found myself more or less following the exact same route as I took before.

Why, you ask? Why, for charity, of course! When an old school friend got in touch with me t ask if I'd be willing to help him train for a ride from Neath to London to raise money for the community theatre he works for, I offered to do one better and join with him on the journey. Unfortunately, he had reached his limit on the second day, and I ended up completing the ride alone, through torrential downpours, knee-deep puddles, and unfavourable winds. Had I been doing the journey for myself, as I did the first time around, I'd probably have thrown in the towel myself. But when one is doing things for charity, it isn't quite that simple. As it is, we raised about £600, so I'm feeling quite good about that. Definitely a highlight of the year. ^__^


House renovations: I mentioned last year that getting my flight sim room was top of the list of things to complete around the house. I'm delighted to disclose that, as of two weeks ago, that box has been well and truly ticked!

I'm sitting here typing out this journal on the first desktop computer I've ever owned. Built by a good friend, I saved up for all the parts for months, which he then put together with a specific aim to build one beefy enough to handle the latest Flight Simulator game. I've used it once, and it's superb, so here's looking forward to many hours of virtual flying in the near future! ^__^


FurAffinity usage: "Biweekly posts, and monthly journals, just like old times!"

'Don't make a promise if you can't keep it' is a pretty solid philosophy to follow. While I think things started well, events that demanded my attention throughout the year meant that time and time again, I would come back to a high number of notifications, tell myself I would make time for going through them, and then that just didn't happen. Even so, I want to make it absolutely clear that I'm so hugely grateful to you, for all of your comments, faves, journals, and notes. They always make my day and I appreciate them greatly, and my recent inactive should in no way be considered a loss of interest in you or your work. You all mean the world to me!


Creativity: It's a good thing I didn't really commit to anything at the end of last year, as another year has passed without much to show for utilising my creative side. Certainly, I've been happily taking photographs, but just haven't been able to get my muse moving. For drawing, I've been doodling here and there, but nothing I would consider posting here. Even so, I take that as a sign that my creative sign is merely dormant, but able to be awakened under the right circumstances.

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Phew, quite a busy year, all things considered! Adding onto that, my work continues with some additional responsibilities, and my spare room remains occupied by a Ukrainian fellow, still hoping that his homeland will see the end of war in the not-too-distant future. I'm sure we could all agree, and in that sprit of looking forward hopefully, let's see what next year has in store, shall we? ^^

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Conventions: Outside of existing commitments, I'm having to scale back my convention attendance, for the simple reason that I need to start saving money, for things like flying and getting my home exactly how I want it. That being said, I will be at Scotiacon, Furnal Equinox, Confuzzled, and Aberacon next year. It's likely that will be it, excepting a circumstance in which I can get to another con at a very reasonable price.


Travel: Sticking with a general theme of trying to save money, I'll be quite a bit more hesitant about jumping on opportunities to travel, both at home and abroad, in the short-to-medium term. Much as I love the thrill of adventuring, seeing as much of this lovely planet as I can, and meeting with as many of you lovely folk as I can, I need to make sure that I'm prepared to cover any unexpected costs - having had my watch, bike, phone, laptop, and glasses break in the first part of 2024, I'm taking no chances. :P


Flying: Should the weather get better this year, and should the bank balance improve, this is my top priority for next year. It's been much too long since I've been in the air, to the extent that my procedural knowledge is beginning to suffer. As even, my hope is that with a spring of revision and self-study - made easier with a my simulator setup - I'll be in a good position to revalidate my licence come early summer, and have the rest of the year to build up my hours, and make good on some promises of flights to a few local friends.


Cycling: As it seems unlikely that I'll be headed back to London for the foreseeable - and, in fact, encouraged that my first time getting there wasn't a fluke - I'm still eager to make a try for Dublin, involving a ride across west Wales, and up the eastern coast of Ireland. A lot of that will, of course, depend on my continued good health (both physical and in the bank), but that's my long-distance goal for 2025. :)


FA and Creativity: Having tried and failed to get back into a regular routine of posting on FA for a couple of years now, I think I need to be more realistic about my ability to constantly monitor this site given my current workload and volunteering responsibilities. As such, I will make posting regular monthly journals a priority for this site, and with some free time at the start of the new year, I hope to put some effort into developing a log of photo posts. I know that works well for some of you, so I'm going to give it a try and see what comes of it. They say that the third time's the charm, so I'm hoping to share more of my content with you in the not-too-distant future. The same goes for my writing, for which I hope a less bus start to the year will do some good, and enable me to sit and have a think about what I enjoy writing, and then getting on and doing it.

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Well, with the light having faded here, we shall be ringing in the new year in just a few short hours. Already I can hear fireworks - whether they are from drunk/silly folk setting them off prematurely, or reasonable folk getting them off before the worst of the strong wind hits, I can't say. What I can say, and will say every time I write one of these journals, is that my 10 years of being in this fandom have been immensely positive for me, and that is entirely because of you. When I think back on that first end-of-year journal I posted from my childhood bedroom, I could never have imagined the wonderfully enriching effect you would have on my life, how many of you I would get to meet and of whom I would enjoy your company, and how many fond memories I would carry in my heart whenever I think of this curious little community. Wherever you may be, with whomever you may be sharing this last night of 2024, know that from this little slice of the world, you are valued, you are cared for, and you are loved. :)

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
Flt/Lt Dai, out.