Hurrah! The end of the year! We made it.
2023 was an arduous slog which seemed to have the longest summer of all time, making for a more frantic than usual November and December. Cozzie-Livs-Crisis and her over-priced groceries are over-staying their welcome. We’ve seen more horrendous war-torn countries and more natural disasters.
I’ve witnessed close friends of mine make it through some of the toughest times of their lives and personally, my year has had some huge highs and some rather large low-blows.
2023 was also the time of oedipal Prince Harry’s frost-bitten penis, GP switching her happy-clappy Goop Lab for a passive aggressive “I wish you well” in a ski slope trial, the pope going viral in an East-17 AI generated puffa coat and Elon Musk saying he would cage fight Mark Zuckerburg, after renaming Twitter, ‘X’. What a year.
(Everybody still calls it Twitter anyway.)
The 2023 SSOC Wrap-Up
I had hoped that betwixtmas would be something of a creative haven for me. I didn’t sit on the sofa and watch movies and eat cheese and chocolate — I even went for a couple of runs. I thought with my free time and escape from the office for the longest extended period I’ve had all year, I’d have the mental capacity to bloom and flourish in to the the writer I plan to be in 2024 and beyond. I was wrong.
Instead, I entered a bit of a dark hole, wallowed in it and then chose to turn my life around, quite literally, by deep cleaning and turning my bed to face the window. It took three days.
I have not yet finished sorting out all the various bags-for-life of miscellaneous items in need of a storage home. So, I write this post, looking out into the gloomy skies of a pressing 2024, surrounded by heavy-duty sacks of toiletries, one-time wear sunglasses and spare expensive buttons (just where, WHERE are you supposed to store them!? Does anybody ever actually find the correct one and subsequently sew it back on?)
That said, 2023 has been the real start of my writing journey: a creative writing course, the start planning and writing 2 novel ideas and I’ve become a cliché, carrying a moleskin in my Daunt Books tote wherever I go.
One of my biggest achievements this year was starting this Substack and sticking with it (albeit not as consistently as I would like).
I know I still have a long way to go but as the brilliant
put in The Dazzle’s most recent post:“I am done with having to use ‘achievements’ to validate my existence. This year the biggest thing I have accomplished is the realisation that I am just as lovely if I achieve fuck all as I am if I win an Oscar or the Nobel Peace Prize. I do not need to change the world to earn the right to exist in it peacefully.”
So, rather than try and try and ride on the coat tails of my own self-declared success, or focus too much on what I’ve achieved, I’ve decided to take a look back on what I’ve written, you’ve enjoyed — plus, some other things that made me feel, well, anything, in the past 12 months.
SSOC’s Top Hits
The articles you lot loved the most in 2023 (ranked by reader likes):
That Don’t Impress Me Much (The post I enjoyed writing the most this year)
Obsession
The things I’ve got so into that I wouldn’t stop talking about for weeks. Ranked in order.
Stormzy - Specifically, his This Is What I Mean album. It made me see the world in a whole new way back in February. I then saw him live at All Points East Festival, where the rain was biblical. It was church. He is a true icon.
The Effect at The National - As someone who studied the human brain at university, a play examining the psychological exploration of the impact of depression, dopamine, love, reward and their relative placebos set at a clinical drug trial completely appealed to me. Written by Lucy Prebble, this black-mirror-esque drama had me questioning my own behaviours for weeks afterwards.
Boy Parts at Soho Theatre - A dark thriller, based on Eliza Clark’s book, which flashed before my eyes in a mesmerising, energetic one woman performance. Aimée Kelly was stand out (whilst also visibly pregnant). Shocking, nuanced and absolutely enthralling.
Improv Comedy with The Free Association - I joined a funny old cult this year. It has changed my life for the better. I start again in January for the next round of lessons. Read about why I loved it so much here.
Ulster American at Riverside Studios - Brilliant writing from David Ireland. Seeing Woody Harrelson in the flesh felt like a once in a lifetime moment. Sharp, dark and comedically explored the ever-greying line between right and wrong alongside, reviewing the experience of females in creative industries. Worth every penny I paid for the ticket. (It was stupidly expensive, though).
Confession
Saltburn. I bloody loved it.
The Secret History meets The Talented Mr Ripley.
I don’t care what anybody says. I’ve seen a lot of anti-class-based-drama comments on my social media. There are a lot of articles explaining why this film was so problematic. I understand the comments, but I have to confess, I don’t care. I loved it.
Yes, Emerald Fennell may be privileged. It means she is able to write interesting characters that are. It also doesn’t mean she should only write privileged characters. I didn’t feel like she was trying to make a point about which class is better or their entitlement issues. She was writing an interesting thriller. We can create art for entertainment — it doesn’t always have to be expressing the writer or director’s personal opinion. I felt the film was a vessel to examine your own opinion of class. Or not. You might just want to be shocked by the plot line — and boy, was I.
All the characters are intriguingly complicated and flawed in their own ways. It’s about boredom, control, power and status. The film is wealthy in more ways than it’s setting. It is rich in performance; in the twists, turns and boldness of the Fennell’s writing.
Moreover, I now love Rosamund Pike even more than I previously did (something, I didn’t think humanly possible). Plus, Jacob Elordi is a nostalgic dream of every floppy haired man I fancied, aged 17. Worth it alone to see him lolling topless in fields to an MGMT soundtrack. Give it a watch.
Shook
I was surprisingly saddened by Matthew Perry’s death. I am not a Friends super-fan. I grew up in a house without additional channels and had to wait for reruns on T4 to watch it. Yet, his death felt really shocking for me. The melancholic combo of his comedy-cover up to his long-life of addiction rang true when listening to his autobiography; it’s tainted the way I’ll see sarcasm forever.
I loved Olivia Petter’s thoughts on this in Why does Matthew Perry’s death hurt so much? and I was so fascinated by the natural reaction of the public with his passing which led me to read Kelsey Miller’s, I’ll Be There For You, a deep dive into how Friends changed the state of sitcoms and became the start of the ‘authenticity celebrity’.
As an audience we love to see personal and professional lives interacting. With Friends, we began to frame our own choices such as clothing, our food and most famously, our haircuts, around the loveable members of that New York Apartment block. These 6 people were the original influencers. This book makes that case strongly. It’s a fascinating uncovering of how Friends marks the start of the huge paid partnerships; a time when where our idolisation of others began to be founded on relatability.
Cook
I got really into cocktails, or at least the idea of them.
My most bookmarked account on Instagram this year was Join Jules who was entirely responsible for my Margarita phase. Tequila is an upper and much, much nicer when not done as a shot. I’m going semi-sober until February, so I think I’ll have to replace this account with a cocker in 2024.
Aside from that, I went a bit wild for rice this year. I perfected home made poke bowls, rice noodles in broth were king and burrito bowls became a staple. It’s an underrated and under-served carb. It’ll never triumph over my life-blood of pasta but it’s given it a good run for a pretty penne this year.
Book
My top 10 reads in 2023:
Yellowface - Rebecca F. Kuang
Blue Sisters - Coco Mellors (not published until 2024, was lucky enough to get my hands on a proof. My big recommendation for next year)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin
I’m Sorry You Feel That Way - Rebecca Wait
Good Material - Dolly Alderton
Weyward - Emilia Hart
Seeing Other People - Diana Reid
Really Good, Actually - Monica Heisey
The Rachel Incident - Caroline O'Donoghue
I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jeanette McCurdy
Can’t Stop Scanning
Hats. I’ve decided I like them. I’ve decided I am a bonnet-laden lady who wears things on my head as a fashion statement.
It started in functional form when running with a navy baseball cap; this progressed to the pub; to additional colours en route to the office and then, sometimes, even, to a night out.
Now, my hat collection comes in all variants. I pledge to only buy sensible jeans, well-woven t-shirts and simply chic, structured jackets, but my ‘woo-woo’ will come in the hat form in 2024.
My most recently, this little leather beige bucket from Anthropologie has been rocking my world. Plus, it’s rainproof which is brilliant because I never remember an umbrella.
Forward Planning
I WILL post weekly in 2024. I actually have quite enjoyed this wrap-up structure, so I think a reduced version may serve as a weekly newsletter in 2024. Thoughts?
And, a reminder, I am hosting a writer meet up on 20th January in London. Sign up below.
Wishing you all a wonderful 2024. Thanks so much for reading!
Loved the wrap up 🤍