Blog A Day - Day 23: My 2025 Year In Review (Pt. 4)

From late August - the year went from 0 - 100mph in a matter of weeks. In late August, I saw a post advertising a room to let - not just locally - but in my very hamlet.

Having no hot water nor working oven at my (then) current place, this came at the perfect time.

This turned out to be the house (house share) just opposite my own - the one I said “It must be nice to live there” back in 2024. The end of August was absolutely anarchy, having one holiday, returning to work for one day, before embarking on a second back-to-back holiday. It's pretty safe to say, everything had to run like clockwork or I'd have a big mess to sort out... As Sod's Law (or Murphy's Law) always says "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" And it was an incredibly testing time.

After seeing a theatre production in London, I headed back to Surrey as I needed to sort luggage/packing for the second of the two holidays. Naturally, my car decided that this would be the perfect time to spring a mechanical issue - especially as I had a flight to the following day and work later in the week. Overnight, I organised re-arrangements, so me and my friend could still both go on holiday the following day.

Over the course of the (at the time) 5-day holiday, I desperately tried to arrange getting my car repaired at VERY late notice.

Whilst this meant flying home a day early, this also meant, I had a drivable car. Long story short: 30th August --> Caught train from Essex to London,

--> Saw Theatre Production --> Returned to Essex Via Train

--> Drove to Surrey 31st August --> Arranged to meet friend in Woking --> Caught coach from Woking to Heathrow --> Our flight was last flight of the day out of Southend --> Missed said flight due to faffing about --> Re-booked flights to fly out of Gatwick ---> Trainline to Gatwick not running ---> Much faff later, missed check-in, but was in time to do it manually < Holiday to Disneyland Paris - whole holiday I was on phone arranging my car to get repaired the following week, I flew home a day early, friend wanted to join me on flight > Returned home, repairs done, drove home, drove BACK to Surrey, had second holiday with other friend. And breathe.

I had a lovely two week holiday in Greece, blessed by lovely weather.

September For the majority of September, I was on holiday with a friend in Greece, landing on the 21st September. Upon landing, one of the first cars I saw was a new Chinese 'LEAPMOTOR' electric car - I had only been gone for two weeks! Unbeknownst to me, Upon landing on Saturday 20th September, I was about to have some of the rockiest 3 months I had ever experienced.

Lukke Stafford 1995 - 2025

On writing this year in review, it’s just dawned on me, that as my plane landed and I was leaving the airport, a very close friend of mine was living his very last hours, and I was none the wiser.

I was none the wiser for the next 5 days.

It truly was heart-breaking - not only losing a close avid F1 fan like myself, but also someone that shared the same birthdate as me - albeit being born a few years earlier.

It was all rather surreal having bantered about F1 Qualifying results less than a month before.

The last time I saw him in person, was in May when we both went to see the BTCC (British Touring Car Challenge) at Brands Hatch.

My highlight of the day was seeing ecstatic at the classic car series later on in the day.

He will be deeply missed - and as my second friend to pass - in 6 years, has once again raised all the questions about mortality and “The Beyond.” ~ October Whilst I came to terms with my loss, the year got no easier - and financially, I was scraping my knee along the concrete for the final 3 and a half months of the year. It was a rather stressful weekend, having arriving back home at about midnight - with a completely unknown to me route to drive on Monday.

One day after landing, I would give my landlord my "one month's notice" letter to move out.

Back in August, I found out the house opposite mine had a room for rent.

As I had no hot water nor working oven in my current place, it was good timing. Between the 21st September and 21st October, I'd start the arduous process of moving out.

For the most part, it was fairly easy going, not having a lot to move.

The toughest part was getting rid of my mattress that nobody wanted. I tried one charity shop, they wouldn't collect only a mattress, I tried another, they found a small stain, I loaded it in my car, then spilled some liquid on it whilst transporting it... it was all getting rather much... And then there was a saving grace... "Serenity Waves" I was pretty stressed out in late October - I needed to remove a mattress, I had lots of payments that needed to be paid, at the time I had two project cars (waiting for one to be scrapped), an upcoming funeral (31st October) - my mind was all over the place. But Serenity waves, booked in October for December was just what I needed. Serenity Waves was a "Sound Bath" - but in a pool - you lay on a mattress in a pool, with a weighted eye-mask and blanket, and just listened - to the water, to the music, to the soft gongs they played - I completely lost myself, and entered another world. I thought I'd have to venture to far away lands to escape - but it turns out, I'd only need to visit my local college swimming pool in December.

Very quickly costs add up, and approaching Christmas, I was attempting to split these different costs up - and approaching Christmas, you can begin to see how vital Serenity Waves was. Now in January 2026, I just have race entry fees (deposits) to cover, plus my race gear, (race-suit, boots, gloves, helmet and HANS) but with the first race in April, I'm not rushing as I have plenty of priorites to attend to first!

Financial Headache.

Financially, the end of the year was...tough to say the least payday would roll around - and by the end of the day it would be gone.

With: - Two lots of rent per month, (£650 + £700) - Car payments to pay off (Pre-MOT & MOT, insurance, tax, breakdown cover...mechanical work (to fix these issues and maintain car)

- My personal goal of getting my race licence by the end of the year - this requiring a £115 "Go Racing Pack" - not to mention, getting all the race gear, work out funding race entries... - Small payment issues here and there

It was a lot. And yes, I know, priorities - and I know I didn't help matters either by buying a project car through in the middle of it all. November The end of October, was just as wild as the end of August, 31st Oct. - Funeral 2nd Nov. - Hired my first car (Volkswagen Golf!) to see Brands Hatch Fireworks 4th Nov. - Managed to get rid of the mattress nobody wanted 9th Nov. - Saw Bastille live in concert. Absolutely unforgettable. 10th Nov. - Took first coach home before work. 19th Nov. - Ivy is collected 🕊️❤️ In mid-November, finances eased up slightly, and I was able to put a little money towards my racing, including putting down a deposit for a track-day in March. December: A Flat-Out End To The Year On the 3rd December, I had work done on my car, so it was ready for its MOT. On the 5th December, I bought a folding bike, so I could cycle to work...sometimes. On the 9th December, I made my iRacing return for the first time in 4 months. Between the 9th - 16th December, it was Week 13 on iRacing.

On the 12th December, I had the tracking done on my car. On the 19th December, my car had it's MOT, which it passed with no advisories.

On the 20th, the day after this, I had my "Serenity Waves" sound bath, I felt like a new man leaving the college after the session. The days after I had some pretty early starts:

22nd Dec: 05:15am (03:45am start) 24th Dec: 0:30am (iRacing Ringmeister & F3 @ Nordschliefe) Between the 24th and 26th, I then went home to the Isle Of Wight to see my parents, and saw a friend along the way. Whilst fairly quiet, I had everything I needed for Christmas, family, traditions and plenty to eat - it was the way Christmas was meant to be. On the 27th December, I returned to the mainland and visited F1 Arcade with a friend, before returning to work on the 28th. New Year's Eve Unfortunately, I couldn't get New Year's Eve off, but a special duty on New Year's Eve allowed me time to call my parents - timing it to absolute perfection, managing to call my mum in the final minute (45 seconds) of 2025, and see in the new-year on call to her. I'd finish off the graveyard shift (yes, I know, I had been working non-stop for 2 years, it's unbelievable!), and head home at 6am. I'd have the 1st January off work - which was much-needed as I had a mountain of blogs that "needed" uploading. It was more about processing the end of the year and putting 2025 behind me, and remembering all the good times I had. And now. Onto a new year!

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