I'm an only child, which means I know everything, right?
Absolutely not. During a pretty brisk 2012 I picked-up a few new things. Notable among them are:
1) Talking to a brain surgeon is intimidating. And that's before you get into the 3D pics of the inside of your fiancé’s head.
2) Watching sport is not the pleasure it was when I was a kid. Sadly, only 1 in 10 sports men and women are actually proper role models. If that.
3) Living in an Embassy with infrequent trips out onto the balcony is no life.
4) London 2012 medals are very heavy.
5) A 74-year-old man can stand on a new knee within 36hrs. Impressive stuff, Dad.
6) Sorting out a London crash pad is becoming a real issue and avoiding the subject is not a solution.
7) In an age where numerous methods of communication are amazing, actual communication is worse than ever.
8) Like everybody, I enjoy Instagram - it's cute. But, it's about as relevant to real photography as a microwave oven is to Michel Roux Jnr.
9) Women's mags are miles better than bloke's. Vogue makes GQ look limp.
10) Working hard is fine; thinking hard is far more profitable.
11) I still have no idea what 'fine art photography' means. And if I did, it's probably not a label for photographers to give themselves. It's for others to decide.
12) In recession there is more opportunity, not less.
13) Social media is useful in its own way. But careers are built on relationships, not 140 character blurts. How can anybody feel satisfaction when their 'friends' or 'followers' are largely a group of people they've never met? #suckers
14) iPads are brilliant, but laptops still rule.
15) Meat should be expensive and a treat. Cheap meat is bad for you. There's a reason KFC comes in a bucket...
16) When an oncologist says chemotherapy makes you tired, they’re lying. It actually means you can't do anything. Nothing at all. It's a bewildering fog.
16a) Chemo is hard. But it can give you your life back. Still don’t understand why a guy as savvy as Steve Jobs didn’t get that. Tragic.
17) Berlin is the breakfast capital of the world...
18) I seem to read more than ever, but only managed one novel this year. Biographies and magazine features dominate. No idea why the pattern has changed.
19) It's the greatest pleasure to buy boat-loads of Green & Blacks in the knowledge the (85%) stuff is good for you. In moderation.
20) No news means, well, no news! But I remain the eternal optimist.
20a) ... I'm the luckiest person in the world.