The smell that filled the entire train was just AMAZING and you could tell that everybody on the train was now envious of this highly unhealthy but mouth-wateringly delicious food.

Skip forward 24 hours and it’s a Saturday morning in January. It is a clear and sunny but very cold day. What are we going to do today?

My mind wandered back to the man with the chips. The thought of chips led my imagination to thoughts of sitting at the end of the pier eating chips from a newspaper because chips (and fish) always taste better at the seaside. Indeed the very smell conjures up images of beaches, amusement arcades and so on.

We’re going to the seaside!

Right now!

An hour later and we are in the wonderful English seaside town that is Skegness. Most of the arcades are closed for the winter but the important thing is that the fish and chip shops are open.

So here’s Sam tucking into a tray of chips in Skegness

For my American friends, what you see here are deep fried potato chips covered in something called curry sauce and in Sams case, accompanied by a fish cake. You then sprinkle with liberal amounts of salt and then splash lots of malt vinegar all over the top.

Unless you have been to the UK and tried this for yourself, just like mushy peas, you have no idea what you are missing.

We would have eaten them on the pier except Skegness pier is currently closed

So a quick stroll along the sea front (remember it is January thus whilst the sun is out, it is still cold enough to make your eyes water)

And like most people we weren’t brave enough to roll up our trousers and go for a paddle in the sea

So back in the nice warm car and back home, full of chips eaten beside the seaside, beside the sea.

So now we are into 2012 and it’s time to look ahead and set some goals.

Travel

We did a lot of this in 2011 and want to carry this on as much as possible. Exploring a new city with a different culture as a family has been fun for all of us.

So far this year we have a trip to Budapest in Hungary booked and our summer holiday is going to take us into Europe once again although this year it might not be France.

In addition I am looking to get away with my camera for a couple of days although haven’t quite worked out where yet and we should be able to sneak a couple of weekends away.

As for business travel, it’s all a bit early and there isn’t anything in my diary but I am sure something will come along

Work

To be honest, work is frustrating me at the moment so 2012 is the year I have to fix it. I have been in my current role for the last 11 years and had thought I had seen it all but over the last 24 months, things have really turned for the worse.

The good news is that we have a new CEO (fresh blood) with a new vision. We get to find out what that is in February.

In the meantime I am looking at some of the companies out there that are way ahead of us both with vision and strategy and wondering if this is the time to move. Certainly this is not something I intend to rush into and I have to be mindful that 11 years service is significant but I have to look to the future for both me and my family so watch this space.

Either I am able to fix some of the things that are frustrating me where I am or I need to move which in turn (I hope) will address that whole work/life balance thing that has eluded me over the last few years.

Health & Lifestyle

2011 wasn’t good health wise. At times I wondered what was going to stop working or start hurting next and due to all the medication I was on, I always felt tired.

So the doctor has now halved the medication that was making me tired and I am already feeling a lot more alive and better about myself. In addition the diet I started last year is working. I gave it a rest over Christmas but am now fully committed again. Over the next few weeks, I will be picking up the exercise piece as well.

Finally I am trying to change from being a night time person to a morning person. Easier said than done and I am well on the way but those early Friday mornings still hurt.

Fun

Last year Sam and I had some great days out including the Reliant Robin and Caravan racing (yes really) at the Norfolk Arena and also the BTCC at Silverstone. We also had a number of days out and trips abroad so as a family I think we managed to do a lot more fun things with less trips to Ikea.

This year I already have the 2012 motorsport calendar on my desk so hopefully I will get to have some fun with Sam again and with some decent trips lined up and plenty of ideas for days out, I think we are looking good for 2012.

Changes

I have spent a lot of my adult life worrying about how my actions impact those of others and trying to put other peoples feelings in front of my own.

Nowhere is this more apparent that with our summer family holidays over the lest 3 years.

On 3 separate occasions, I have planned and booked our family break to accommodate friends and family and on 2 of those 3, we have been dumped upon from a great height causing upset and expense and on at least one of those occasions putting me and my family in a very serious danger.

Those people are no longer part of my life but it has taught me to start thinking about me and my family more and getting my priorities right. If you want to join in, you fit in with us not the other way around.

Wish me luck

So 2011 was great. I am looking to 2012 to be even better.

I will keep you posted throughout the year but in the meantime wish me luck.

So just like last year, I am sharing these with you too.

Enjoy

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,700 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

I wanted to travel more

I said as a family but also just on my own. I think it is fair to say this was a resounding success.

In April as a family we had Four amazing days in Prague

In May work took me to a convention centre in Madrid

In July I was able to grab a few days in Amsterdam

Then in August we took off for 2 weeks in France as a family again

In October we managed a family night away in Bruges

And then to end the year, at the end of November, I headed off to Vienna for a few days again on business

So I think it is fair to say we got away quite a bit this year. To be fair, some of these trips were brief to say the least with Vienna being done in under 30 minutes but none the less, we had some really great trips.

I wanted to use my camera more

And I did. As you can see from the photos above and from other posts here on my blog, I have been snapping my way around Europe like there was no tomorrow.

Indeed my photos taken in Amsterdam even got me a WordPress Freshly Pressed recognition. That really blew me away so thank you.

Something else that I did in both Bruges and Vienna was that I left my DSLR camera at home and relied on my mobile phone camera instead. I think it is fair to say that cameras on phones are now getting seriously good and whilst not a DSLR replacement are easily a substitute for carrying a small point & shoot camera.

I needed to get more active

Didn’t do so well on this due to a combination of things but 12 months on, whilst I weigh in at less than where I started, my health isn’t great with more things going wrong or falling off.

So I need to double down and fix this otherwise I may not be following this post up in 12 months time.

I would work less

Hmmm.

I am not sure on that one. The year started off well with less travel and certainly less nights away from home however as we have moved towards the end of the year I have seen the travel start to increase again and my workload is now as high as it has ever been.

The good news is that my company has just imposed what amounts to a travel ban in order to cut costs so at least for the next quarter, the work life balance may be redressed.

I will have more fun

I think we are heading in the right direction here.

What with the travel as a family already mentioned together with a number of other days out and weekends away (including the British Touring Car Championships at Silverstone), I think we are doing better as a family than before

I think we can do better but we are spending less time in shopping centres and Ikea so we are doing OK.

Well?

So looking back on what I said I wanted to do in January and what I have actually done, I think 2011 has been a pretty good year.

For 2012 my goals are pretty much the same but I will post about them early in the new year once I have set my mind on what I want to be doing.

True it wasn’t all fun with some dear friendships coming to an end and the odd mishap but on the flip side we have made new friends and as they say, as one door closes, another one opens.

So Happy New Year to all of you and see you in 2012