Blog A Day - Day 20: My 2025 Year In Review (Pt. 1)

Prologue I’m sat here in Santorini, upon the Castle Of Oia.

I’m at peace - and yet the likelihood of me being here are next to none.

I would insert a joke here about how “That wasn’t on my bingo card for 2025” - but that just doesn’t do this place, nor the journey getting here justice.

This is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.

For context - last year, I was absolutely blown away by the fact I was sat, writing my year in review in a Stevenage Tesco Café, a new job and recently begun renting.

(8th July) "I beamed in pride as I began to my write my annual year in review from the cafe atop Stevenage Tesco."

I had it all - the new job, the newly rented house - after sofa surfing for 4 months, I genuinely think I peaked…

I wasn’t thinking about the future, I was enjoying the present, enjoying a little bit of calm in this wild, wild world.

Come 2025, I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d have taken a golden bat and scored a metaphorical home run -

three track-days, two holidays and setting my sights on completing my ARDS (Association of Racing Driver Schools) test at the end of this year.

This afternoon/evening, I have booked myself a 5-hour sunset tour of Santorini (BBQ onboard) - I would say I’ve made it, but with what 2026 has in store, I’m not saying anything.

If 2025 has taught me anything, it’s that “nothing is off the cards”.

I thought I had peaked with a job and a rental property- but here, I’m sat on a Santorini Castle - my breathtaken, and my speech...less, and words...unwritten.

It’s honestly a much-needed contrast of what 2025 has been thus far - chaos and a filled calendar.

Even in Mid-November (2024), my weekends for the next 4 months were completely booked up - the next available weekend popping up in late March.

I just didn’t quite expect the year to take the turn it did!

By March, the calendar was packed until June!

Chapter 1: January “Quick Off The Marks”

The first month of 2025 was absolutely non-stop.

After spending New Year's (Eve & Day) with family, I headed back to the mainland. Heading into January, I was looking at competing in the Caterham Academy in 5 years (a total of £50,000), fortunately this would change very quickly. This would be thanks to Richard Bernard, a team principal of RABSport Racing, whom I had a pre-arranged phone call with on my way home from the Isle Of Wight

SLASHING the Caterham’s £50K season fee, down to just £12K for a season racing in Citroen C1’s - and better yet in endurance racing too!

After the phone-call, I passed this Old Speckled Hen lorry - if that's not a message, I don't know what is! The C1 Endurance Series was the way to go!

On the first weekend of the year, I met up with my family, unknowingly for the last time in 2025. Later on in the year, RABSport would pass me on SCR (RABSport focussing on Ginetta Juniors) - and SCR said they could get me racing for £200 a week* (*pay a deposit, and then pay £200 - £300 up until race-day)

After a £145 deposit, This would total to about £1,450 all inclusive. I probably couldn’t even get a Caterham branded flask in the Caterham Academy for that price.

Not a few weeks later, I'd also pay for my first ever track-day in a Ford Focus Cup race car.

As mentioned, this would be my first trackday and the first time driving a race-car in over 10 years - I hadn’t been karting for at least 7 either.

To finish In late January, I uploaded my last life-update blog to my site - thereafter only race reports from the iRacing Nurburgring Endurance Championship.

Chapter 2: An Action-Packed February

After a relatively mellow start to the year, February picked up the anarchy we all know and love and saw the next 6 months booked up within about 24 hours - prompting me to upgrade from the traditional pen and paper diary to a Google Docs document which exploded from 11 pages to 76 pages by the end of the year.

Kicking the month off, I saw a friend for the first time in over 2 months and pre-booked my concerts for the year (though, spoiler, I'd only end up seeing one) - and the artist I had been wanting to see for the past 4 years!

After work on the 12th February, I spied a third - and new - double decker in my company’s depot.

What ensued was a wild goose hunt on the morning of the Thursday 13th - starting at about 2:30am - hunting down the mysterious third double decker!

GOTCHA!

Mid-February: The Demise Of Timon.

The Demise Of Timon At the time, Timon was my daily car - a beige, automatic Skoda Octavia Estate (MK2).

In Mid-February, I had a service and the mechanic noticed I had damage to the Flywheel Flexplate.

The following week, I asked for a quote on the repairs, and they estimated that the repairs alone would cost £2,024 - before factoring in buying parts.

Even if I had bitten the bullet, that would only fix the flywheel, that wasn’t even beginning to address the other gremlins the car had.

Given the flywheel noise began in November, (intermittent whilst idling) the car had a good run - especially having lasted me an entire year longer than my first car (Kia).

I now had a choice - £3,000 on a new motor - or £3,000 just to tackle the flywheel? The choice was simple.

Since Timon had been pretty much faultless since purchase (bar this), I thought “why not go for another Mk 2 Octavia?” So I went for a manual.

Sadly, Timon's story doesn't end here.

In June (4 months on), the flywheel went once again (after the car was sold and repaired), whilst it was a smart decision from me, ultimately, it was a tragic end to a really solid car. The devastating thing was, I had a faultless run with Timon, with no major mechanical issues to report (bar usual wear and tear), and after selling T, the flywheel and gearbox met their end and come August, all evidence of Timon was lost, and just memories remained.

Whilst I do love my new Octavia - with all my heart, there's nothing quite like your first car - the car that started it all - before Timon, my only judgement of a "good car to own" was my mum's hand-me-down Kia. There's a beige Octavia Mk 2 in Braintree - and on my bus routes, when I pass it, I do get flashbacks of Old Ti.

But without Timon ultimately meeting his end, I would have never got to meet Blu, Timon's VERY worthy successor. But onto happier things.

Fly high, Ti. 🕊️ ~

My highlight of February was when I nipped down to London to see the F1 Exhibition before heading back up to work in the afternoon.

The F1 Exhibition in London finished on March 2nd 2025.

By that point, I had two weeks left to experience it - With work the first week, and no availability during the morning of the second (to go before work), in the eleventh hour, I decided I had no other option but to visit the F1 Exhibition in London the following morning (Monday 17th Feb) - with work in the afternoon.

It was another brutally early morning start - but it was absolutely worth it.

Sure, it was very technical (wiring, electrics, technology etc.), and most of it went over my head, I still found enjoyment out of it.

My two highlights were first walking in and to be in “awe and blown away” whilst standing next to a 1960’s Formula One car - the very car that Enzo Ferrari - the Italian maestro, icon and Legend drove himself.

Aside from this, seeing Grosjean’s car from Bahrain 2020 was an experience like no other.

Seeing “the actual car” was yeah - a pretty special experience.

It truly was the F1-Week as the very next day (18th) it was the “F1-Live” event in London which I watched on my computer - with comedian Jack Whitehall hosting, I quite enjoyed it.

Later that day, I was lucky enough to drive one of the brand-spanking new ‘74-plated buses that our company had acquired (produced: Sept ‘24 - Feb ‘25)

After a long weekend (working both days to "earn" Monday off,) on Monday 24th, I headed down to TCC (The Car Clinic) to get my shock (absorbers) and MOT done

Timon's last MOT - which he passed albeit with some advisories.