Thought 2020 Was All Bad? Think Again!
Ok, so there's no doubt 2020 has been an unbelievably challenging year for pretty much most of the world.
Who am I kidding? It's been totally messed up.
In the UK, we started the year as a country bitterly divided over Brexit. You couldn't even say the B-word without a huge political debate ensuing, even with like-minded people. So heightened were our sensitivites, no matter which side of the water you sat, people started to avoid talking about it.
Who could ever have guessed it would be a global pandemic to bring us back together and make us re-assess our priorities. Who would have thought that being ordered to stay in our homes, taking away our pubs, limiting our contact with family and friends, would make us realise how vital we are to each other.
As someone who always tries to see the positivity around me, I wanted to share with you 20 amazing, brilliant, positive, and downright hilarious things that have happened this year to make us all see that 2020 still had its beautiful moments.
HE'S OUT!
It was touch and go for a while, and none of us wanted to get our hopes too high, but Donald Trump finally got his comeuppance when Joe Biden took the title of President-Elect in the 2020 US election. But of course, in true Trump style, he had to act like the giant inflated baby he is and try every underhand trick in the book to try and overturn the result.
But no-one was having it.
His supporters tried to "STOP THE COUNT" whilst also demanding "RECOUNT" but enough was enough, and Trump finally went to the Oval Office to cry over one victory he just couldn't claim.
Oh, and let's not forget the brilliant mistake of booking the Four Seasons Total Landscaping for his press conference rather than the swanky Four Seasons Hotel. You couldn't make it up.
DID SHE DO IT?
The whole world went Carole Baskin mad when Netflix premiered Tiger King back in March. It was perfect OG Lockdown viewing with its redneck settings, beautiful animals, and bat shit crazy star Joe Exotic, a private roadside zoo owner with a love of arranging murder, and who is currently in jail for that very thing, as well as killing five tiger cubs.
But even with all of Joe's disturbing and bizarre life stories, there was only one question that kept viewers hooked; did Carole Baskin murder her husband? Carole Baskin was Joe's rival. An animal activist who also ran her own animal sanctuary and was the intended victim for Joe's murderous plotting. Her husband, Don Lewis, disappeared in 1997 and never a trace of him has been found since. Joe Exotic accused Ms. Baskin of murdering her husband and feeding him to the tigers. So compelling was this whole argument, and series, that it left us all wondering...well, did she?
HULK HANDS!
I love The Rock, I make no apologies.
So you can imagine my sheer hilarious delight when, back in September, Dwayne Johnson and his family were trapped in their property when a storm (a storm in LA?!) cause a power outage meaning his front gates would not open to let his car out.
So what Dwayne do? Did he call the electrician? Did he hop over the wall instead?
Nope.
In true Rock style, he ripped the damn big, iron gate off the wall with his own bare hands!
Well, they say if you want a job done properly...
ARISE SIR TOM!
Never was the population more united than back in April when Captain Tom Moore took to walking laps in his garden to raise £1000 by his 100th birthday for the NHS. His story touched the hearts of us all and by that milestone birthday 24 days later, he had raised over £33million for the NHS and was knighted by the Queen in July for his heroic efforts.
Not only did he receive that honour, but he was also named BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, featured in a cover version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by Michael Ball which made it to the top of the charts, making Captain Sir Thomas Moore the oldest person to achieve a UK number one!
BABY BOOM!
The rarest Great Apes, the Cross River gorillas, are also of course the most endangered. So imagine the pure joy, when back in July, they were photographed in the mountains of Southern Nigeria with their infants!
This raised the hopes of the Wildlife Conversation Society who say that although these gorillas are at threat of extinction, with only 300 being known in existence, they are actually reproducing, giving some hope for their future existence,
Sigourney Weaver would be proud.
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...
...Parasite! In February, history was made when the Best Picture gong at the Academy Awards went to a foreign language film for the first time.
Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-Ho was a worthy winner with its dark comic undertone and brilliant, innovative storyline. I won't give any spoilers but needless to say, it's genius, not only winning Best Picture, but also Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. It also became South Korea's highest grossing film.
THE 7% SWITCH.
With everything grounded during lockdown, and travel being at an absolute minimum, the effect on our air quality spoke for itself with carbon emissions dropping by a whopping 7%. It may not sound much but that's the biggest drop on record!
2020 was also the first year since the Industrial Revolution (1760 - 1840) that saw more coal plants close than open, with the cheapest option now being solar and wind power. Go environment!
WE DO!
We could say about time, but let's still look at this as a huge positive! Pope Francis has endorsed same-sex civil unions. And let's call a spade a spade, why wouldn't you? Who has the right to tell someone they can't be with the person they love?
Pope Francis' exact words were:
"Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable over it. What we have to create is a Civil Union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that."
Anyone who thinks different, it's none of your business, doesn't affect your life, move on.
WHO'S ZOOMING WHO?
If you had told me a year ago that the biggest thing to happen to the internet this year would be Zoom, I would have bought shares! Had anyone even heard of Zoom before Covid?
If this year has taught us anything, it's that working from home is hugely productive, hugely manageable and hugely weight gaining! In the first couple of weeks of lockdown, I ate my bodyweight in Jaffa Cakes twice over. In fact, Jaffa Cakes no longer exist, because I ate them.
Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, all those online communication platforms have revolutionized the way we communicate, not only for work, but for social activity too. I've lost count of the number of online quizzes I've done, the meetings I've had, and just the general catch up with friends.