Me 2 You – Review 2020
I know you know that the intense F1 season has meant I’ve not updated or written anything for this site in the last two months, next year if all goes to plan, I should have some more time when we go largely back into a regular rhythm in March.
Reflecting on covering this year, it has been a season like no other seventeen races in twenty-three weeks, the entire 2021 calendar is twenty-three weekends, Sir Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking ninety-five wins and record-equalling seventh title.
A recent highlight for me was George Russell’s race, standing in for Hamilton in Sakhir after he tested positive for coronavirus. It was heart-breaking for him, he should have won that race, we are human, but that doesn’t mean you can’t feel for Russell despite the need to be objective and I think that what makes a good storyteller.
The other highlights, Pierre Gasly’s unlikely win at Monza that mad race at Mugello and both Nürburgring and Portimao, where Hamilton equalled then surpassed Michael Schumacher’s wins.
Like everything it was affected by the pandemic, but I think it showed the good F1 does in applied technology, the teams diverted resources to manufacture ventilators, medical supplies and logistical support for the NHS and their respective counterparts across Europe.
The ‘two-month summer break’, wasn’t a break they just worked on the pandemic relief.
Away from F1.
This year has been one like no other, could be described as ‘Annus horribilis,’ as we all have been isolated and not seen our friends, family and colleagues because of Coronavirus. I started writing in mid-March dairy book thing, I reached two hundred pages in early December which I think is a huge achievement.
I started the year looking at freedom, little did we all know that many of our freedoms would be restricted because of the pandemic. I think reading it back a year on, we cannot let those in power keep these extraordinary restrictions once the pandemic has placed on all of our life’s this year.
- January – Meaning of freedom in 2020
This year, a series I enjoyed writing was for ‘pride month’ in June, this ties in with the Stonewall Riots, this is the journalism I both enjoy writing and reading. As of 26th December, this was the most-read story of the year.
This was one of the comments have had was this “I read it earlier this afternoon and have certainly found it thought-provoking. It brought back memories of a friend of my parents who took his own life in the late fifties because he found life as a gay man intolerable.”
The other thing which we were all gripped by in November was the US Election, one which was like no other. We waited days for a result, during the second lockdown I spent most of the following week glued to my TV watching the extraordinary election unfold
Looking ahead to 2021, I sure that if we go back to fortnightly races, I’ll be able to produce more content, I am thinking of ideas, but it takes time and research. I have no target for what I produce, my focus has always on enjoying this not working too hard deadlines.
This year I wrote on this site 20,308 words, before this post was published, I average about 923 words per post.
I wish you all a better 2021, filled in the second half I believe that things will slowly get back to normal. One-piece I’m hoping to write, should it go ahead, is about the Paralympic Games, this was ‘postponed’ as the games were postponed by a year. I don’t follow para-sport as closely as I focus on F1.
One of the memories I have is from school those days spent with people like Ben Rushgrove, a kind funny but down to earth person. Their stories are more powerful than able-bodied athletes, not to discredit the abled bodies, because they face additional challenges.
I wanted to end this year in review, reflecting on the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day ‘Light in the darkness,’ we are in dark times, but the light will return.
Thank you, for reading this year, and hopefully, 2021 will be better.