2025
Bests
Inspired by Ana Kinsella (whose excellent novel ‘Frida Slattery as herself is published in spring 2026) I’m rounding up some year bests that by no means presents a whole and accurate picture of the year (I also lost my sunglasses, passport and my wallet in the space of a fortnight and earned less money than I have in some years, for example). Still, it’s nice to pick out some things that have bought me some joy, I hope you can populate a similarly scattergun list of your own.
Best professional decision- new studio
This year, aged 37, I moved to a solo work-space. It doesn’t look much here (though it does look tidy which is no small thing) but having somewhere to go where I can flit between writing and drawing and painting as I fancy is a really special and important thing to me.
Best honour from France- Angouleme Official Selection
The fact that Alison made it to the official selection at Angouleme Comics festivals this year was absolutely mad. It’s one of those things that I can’t/won’t think about too often but seeing this photo in my camera roll with that sticker on my book just gave a little jolt of pride and, just this once, I’ll allow it.
Best gig- Anna B Savage at Union Chapel
Should you ever have the opportunity to watch your friend play in London’s most lovely venue then you must take it. Have a little joyous weep and a sing-a-long and wrap up warm, cos it’s cold in there.
Best Sunset- Whitstable in March
We went to Whitstable to see, lovely pal, Matthew Swan’s solo exhibition there. It was freezing and nowhere would let our friend’s dog in so we had fish and chips at the pub on the beach despite it being, at a guess, five degrees in the evening. It wasn’t comfortable and, to be honest, the fish and chips weren’t quite up to par but the sunset was big and bold and managed to keep us in our seats despite the chill.
Best Exhibition- AIDS Memorial Quilt at Tate Modern
The AIDS memorial quilt doesn’t come out of storage very often so to see it lovingly laid out on the floor of the turbine hall for one weekend was quite special. Walking slowly around hearing older men and women point to sections of the quilt and claim some part of the sewing or the patchwork, stitched in honour of friends and lovers, was incredibly powerful. Equally seeing young people grappble with the scale of the crisis that, perhaps, had been only an abstract idea or a commemorative headline they heard once, demonstrated the importance of exhibits like this.
Best tourist activity for when you’ve lived somewhere for fourteen years-Serpentine Boating on a sunny day
My entire adult life I have been very fortunate to be one third of a trio of friends who have moved from first year student halls to shared flats to different corners of the city but still remain, a sturdy triangle. For the birthday of one of the three we went to the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park and hired a pedalo boat for an hour on a gloriously sunny afternoon. I maintain that my family’s Naval history meant I was a natural boater, the other two might imply I was a tyrannical captain. Mutiny narrowly avoided, we bobbed about for a happy hour and wondered why we’d never done this very silly thing before.
Best Big Group- Surrey Walk
We’d earmarked a day, weeks in advance, when a group of us might go for a big summer walk and, lo, it ended up being the hottest day of the summer. Not deterred eleven of us, in various levels of practical attire, sweated our way through Surrey Woodland and stood in big circles and sat in long lines and congratulated one another on a day well spent. Unbearably smug, really.
As we get older it feels harder and harder to gather, in groups big or small without a milestone event to justify it, so this arrangement of people (some of whom had never met, ) felt miraculous and refreshing and I will be trying my hardest to recreate it whenever possible. Yes the organisational admin is annoying but the payoff is absolutely worth it.
Best fruit- Plums from my sister’s garden
Best Bagel- Hutong Bagel Company, Plymouth
There are surely better bagels but this puffy, well-stuffed halloumi effort enjoyed by the water in my hometown is so reliably enjoyable that I crave it the minute I get off the train, as I did this summer when Owen and I went on holiday to my parent’s house whilst they were on an actual holiday.
Best addition to life that I had nothing to do with - Owen’s Pasta making
For some time Owen had been making noises about learning to make Pasta and finally, in the last two months of this year, it’s happened and now we have fresh pasta at least once a week. An absoulte coup, as far as I’m concerned. He’s learning fast (sped up by a Pasta-Maker for Christmas, I like to encourage delicious hobbies). The best so far was stuffed with Walnut pesto but, let’s face it, all fresh pasta is good.
Most memorable meal- Contramar, Mexico City
I don’t know if this was the best thing we ate this year (in fact Owen things the best meal we had in CDMX was at Los Loosers, a mushroom focused japanese/mexican place) but I felt totally delighted by Contramar. The attentive wait staff, the sea-blue bar we were seated at, the giant tray of desserts expertly carried on one shoulder through the crowded room, lovely, lovely, lovely. What a treat to be able to walk up to the door of a famous restaurant and get seated straight away, the kind of thing that feels a distant dream in London.
(We’re veggies but we eat fish on holidays.)
Best artefact- Shell Skull, National Museum of Anthropology, CDMX
Perfection.
Best time- Mexico City & a Wedding
Our friends got married outside Mexico City and after a bit of back and forth we decide to make the trip to be there and it was magic. Highlights included the best wedding dance floor I’ve experience in years (who knew a Mexican/Scottish fusion would work so well?), hummingbirds outside our apartment, Frida Kahlo’s house and the Anthropology museum.
Lowlights included- all of the year’s worst night’s sleep were during this trip.
Losing my passport the day we were due to leave.
A few days of digestive discomfort.
On balance, worth it.
Best coffee in Rome- Kisok in a park
The coffee was fine, maybe even not-great but is there anything better than being about to sit outside a kiosk in Rome in November, in warm sunshine? Owen had joined me after my Picture Book Retreat teaching was over and we’d walked a little too far already (though it wasn’t yet lunchtime) and the kiosk emerged at exactly the right moment. Unfussy and unremarkable but so well suited to our mood and needs that we went back a few days later and enjoyed it all over again.
Best upcoming publication written by me
APRIL 9th 2026. Pre-order now (if you like).
Happy New Year readers! I hope it’s good to you.
All the best,
Lizzy
The real star of your year in review was your hair! And getting to read The Wreck in proof was a mega highlight for me too
😭❤️