I’ve left this until the last minute, but like last year on this day, I wanted to share my favourite things of 2025 before we cross that imaginary line that takes us into “next year”.
Music
I really should start with music as this is supposedly a music blog, although it definitely veers into other territory most of the time. This is the first year that I’ve not shared my thoughts about the Brit Awards that took place back in March. This is when I find out about all those artists that may have slipped under my radar, and if I have heard of them, it means I can put a face to the name.
Charlie XCX and Sabrina Carpenter
As usual there were some stunning performances on the night, although not from this year’s big winner, Charli XCX, as she apparently wanted to enjoy the show rather than feel the pressure of having to perform. Personally I just don’t get her kind of music but I don’t think she’s really targeting my demographic. An artist who did perform on the night, Sabrina Carpenter, seems to target young girls which I find quite frightening. She looks like an ’80s Page 3 girl, always seeming to dress in her underwear, and her poppy hits are instantly forgettable. I did enjoy American, Teddy Swims, who sounded a bit like Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and also Ezra Collective who performed a collaboration with Jorja Smith. There’s always a party going on when Ezra are on stage and they won the award for Best British Group of the year. They certainly justified their win with their performance at Glastonbury, later in the year.
When it came to the award for Best International Artist, that statuette went to Chappell Roan, who was my favourite new discovery of the year. I’ve not yet done a deep dive into her material but this song, although heavily played on the radio, stuck with me. Pink Pony Club is a story song that was written in 2019 but became a hit in 2024-2025. Roan’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released in 2023, was met with widespread acclaim and praised by music critics for its “bold and emotionally charged nature”. I think she’ll be around for some time.
Film
Right at the start of this year I wrote about the Robbie Williams biopic and said it could well turn out to be my favourite film of the year. 12 months on it turns out I was right. I’m not generally a fan of biopics as we usually know the star’s life story already and why watch an actor sing and dance their way through the film when we can still watch plenty of footage of them via other means. Also, it’s often a highly edited version of the star’s life and only from the age of adulthood. All that was turned on its head in Better Man as Robbie was played by a CGI chimp. It sounds ridiculous but you get used to it incredibly quickly and the 8-year-old Robbie/chimp is very, very cute. The story takes us up to Robbie’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall around the time of his Swing While Your Winning album and despite the fact he has had to face his many demons along the way (the messy side of addition is not shied away from), at this point in his career he has made peace with himself and those closest to him. If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
My other favourite films of this year are as follows:
A Complete Unknown (the Bob Dylan biopic – written about here)
Conclave (life imitates art – a BAFTA winner about the machinations that surround the choosing of a new Pope)
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (the third film in the murder/mystery series – currently on Netflix)
Books
Since instigating “Reading Hour” in our house at the start of 2024, I’ve read more books than I usually would in a year (I would thoroughly recommend it if you can find that elusive hour). My favourites of 2025 are as follows:
Butter – Asako Yuzuki (set in Tokyo, you learn a lot about Japanese culture)
The Writing On The Wall – Jenny Eclair (a 16-year-old girl of today magically finds herself in her own bedroom, in her own house, but in 1976 – I was 16 in 1976 so I loved the descriptions of the differences between girls then and now)
Here One Moment – Liane Moriarty (set in Australia it flips back and forth in time telling the story of the protagonist’s life, solving a puzzle as we go)
Cher: The Memoir Part 1 – Cher and others (I got this one free on my Kindle and although at first it felt like a lot of Cher anecdotes rolled into one, I became fascinated by her life story – we’ve only got to 1980 when she returned to acting, so I eagerly await Part 2)
Television
As ever, especially since Covid, a lot of telly-watching has been done in the living room of WIAA Towers this year. We have our favourite sofa spots to watch telly and I fear the day will come when we morph into Maris Pipers. My Top 10 dramas of the year are as follows (Top 5 in bold):
SAS Rogue Heroes; Miss Austen; Toxic Town; Adolescence; This City Is Ours; The Bombing Of Pan Am 103; Blue Lights; Riot Women; Trigger Point; Shetland.
I am fully aware there have been other exceptional dramas on streaming channels we don’t subscribe to, but hey, we can’t have them all. We’ll catch them at some point no doubt. The drama that caused the biggest furore this year was Adolescence which was a remarkable piece of television where each of its episodes was shot in one continuous take. The story centres on 13-year-old schoolboy, Jamie Miller played by Owen Cooper, who is arrested after the murder of a girl in his school. Investigations at Jamie’s school and interviews by a forensic psychologist uncover Jamie’s views towards women associated with the “manosphere”, and the mockery he has received via social media. His poor family have to cope with the backlash from the community and work together to cope with the situation. It certainly was an eye-opener into the world of contemporary teens and I ended up watching it three times.
A shout out too for Shetland which until recently, I thought only went out in Scotland. It’s been going for a long time now, and has had a change of personnel, but I still think it’s one of the best crime dramas on telly. The last series finished recently and release was limited to one episode per week (like the old days). I was kind of excited all day ahead of the final episode airing and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
I’ve never been to Shetland but my friend’s husband covers the Northern Isles as part of his job, so she’s gone up with him twice recently on the ferry from Aberdeen to visit all the locations featured in the show. The Police Station is apparently a Council building but Jimmy Perez’s old house (in the water) is easily identifiable.
Sport
A new category for the review, but there were some fantastic sporting achievements this year, which if you’re a fan, would have given you a real high.
I’ll work backwards, but if you watched the Scotland v Denmark football match that took us through to next year’s World Cup in North America, it would have had you jumping in the air with joy. It’s 28 years since we’ve been at the World Cup finals and a generation of young men and women will experience it for the first time. It was tense for a long time when the match could have gone either way, but with two goals scored right at the end in injury time, the win was decisive and the Tartan Army will be looking out their kilts in readiness. No Scotland, No Party!
Earlier in the year, the England Women’s Football Team won the Euros after a nail-biting penalty shoot-out. And, the England Women’s Rugby Team won the World Cup. They’re definitely both showing the boys how things should be done.
Finally in this section, I’ll have to mention that back in April, Rory McIlroy won the Masters golf tournament in Atlanta. We were actually having a reunion that weekend with my two ex-flatmates and their husbands, who both play golf, so after our dinner we had to retreat to the bar at the back of our hotel in Pitlochry to watch the final round live. Mr WIAA definitely doesn’t play golf, not do I, but of course we did know of Rory’s prowess on the fairway so enjoyed watching the drama unfold. Rory did win after a play-off, which really was a big deal, as it means he is: one of only six players to have won all four big tournaments; the only European; and the first person to do so since since Tiger Woods in 2000.
Theatre/Concerts
I wrote recently about my trip to London to see ABBA Voyage (link here) so I won’t go there again. I’ve not actually been to our local theatre that often this year which is unusual for me but I did really enjoy the NTL showing of Dr Strangelove starring Steve Coogan. I don’t know quite how he did it but he managed to play four characters. The play is based on the 1964 film of the same name by Stanley Kubrick, adapted for the stage by Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley. Well worth a watch.
So there we have it, my review of the year in terms of what I’ve watched, read and listened to. Hopefully I’ve given you some recommendations.
At the end of last year I wrote that I was sad to see it end, as it had been such a good one. To be honest, I kind of feel that way again which is a bit of a worry as I don’t know how long my luck will hold out. We have a new puppy in the family who is a joy, I still love volunteering at the charity shop, I’ve had lots of reunions with friends and family, and my garden has looked spectacular (my top hobby this last summer). We have lost my mum, but as anyone who has had a relative with Alzheimer’s knows, it can become a blessing when they pass. A horrible, horrible disease.
I’ve just managed to get this one finished before I have my Hogmanay drink. A cocktail made by Mr WIAA. Happy New Year when it comes!
Until next time…
Pink Pony Club Lyrics
(Song by Daniel Nigro/Kayleigh Rose Amstutz)
I know you wanted me to stay
But I can’t ignore the crazy visions of me in LA
And I heard that there’s a special place
Where boys and girls can all be queens every single day
I’m having wicked dreams of leaving Tennessee
Hear Santa Monica, I swear it’s calling me
Won’t make my mama proud, it’s gonna cause a scene
She sees her baby girl, I know she’s gonna scream
God, what have you done?
You’re a pink pony girl
And you dance at the club
Oh mama, I’m just having fun
On the stage in my heels
It’s where I belong down at the
Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing down in
West Hollywood
I’m gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club
I’m up and jaws are on the floor
Lovers in the bathroom and a line outside the door
Blacklights and a mirrored disco ball
Every night’s another reason why I left it all
I thank my wicked dreams a year from Tennessee
Oh, Santa Monica, you’ve been too good to me
Won’t make my mama proud, it’s gonna cause a scene
She sees her baby girl, I know she’s gonna scream
God, what have you done?
You’re a pink pony girl
And you dance at the club
Oh mama, I’m just having fun
On the stage in my heels
It’s where I belong down at the
Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing down in
West Hollywood
I’m gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club
Don’t think I’ve left you all behind
Still love you and Tennessee
You’re always on my mind
And mama, every Saturday
I can hear your southern drawl a thousand miles away, saying
God, what have you done?
You’re a pink pony girl
And you dance at the club
Oh mama, I’m just having fun
On the stage in my heels
It’s where I belong down at the
Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing down in
West Hollywood
I’m gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club
I’m gonna keep on dancing
I’m gonna keep on dancing
What's It All About? 