And so, the end of another year has arrived, this one certainly seemed to fly past a lot quicker than previous ones! This year has brought many interesting events, so sit back and relax with a cuppa and a biscuit or 2 as we take back over the year.

The year began in the usual way with Big Ben chiming his bongs, A display of 12,000 fireworks accompanied by 420 lights and hundreds of drones filled the sky above the river Thames, as crowds of 100,000 gathered on the banks to watch the 11-minute extravaganza. Those of us at home, watched these fireworks sandwiched between the New Year’s concert this year hosted by Sophie Ellis Bextor.

Of course, the fireworks in London followed those that had already occurred in the time zones to the east, for example at L ’Arc de Triomphe, France, and before that in Marina Bay, Dubai, and even earlier at the Sydney Opera House.

January

We start the review of the year as always in January, where the 1^st of the month saw Liechtenstein become 37^th country to legalise same sex marriage. This monumental event followed on from a near unanimous vote in May 2024 for the country to legalise Same-sex marriage. It was the last German speaking country to adopt marriage equality after recognising same sex relationships in 2011.

The first death of the year for us to discuss is that of Wayne Osmond, the second eldest of the original Osmonds singers, but the 4^th eldest of the family. He died at the age of 73. Wayne played guitar and sometimes the drums in the band. He co-wrote some of their biggest hits including Crazy Horses and Let Me In.

We turn to the world of Sport where Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler won the PDC World Darts Championship on the 3^rd. This was the first time that Luke had won the title and in doing so became the youngest person to win the title at 17 years and 347 days old.

On the same day Drag Queen The Vivienne, real name James Lee Williams died at the age of 32. The Vivienne shot to fame in 2019 when they won Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

On the 15^th Yoon Suk Yeol President of South Korea was successfully arrested in a second attempt to arrest him, following his impeachment in December 2024.

On the same day over in the Gaza conflict, a peace agreement was made, the deal included the handover of prisoners and hostages in 8 rounds, as well as allowing international aid into Gaza. The agreement stood until a surprise attack by Isreal on the 18^th March 2025.

It was also on the 15^th that the music and entertainment world said goodbye to Linda Nolan, of The Nolans fame. She with her sisters are most well remembered for I’m in the Mood for Dancing. Linda died at the age of 65.

We turn our attention to the world of sport where on the 17^th footballer Dennis Law died at the age of 84. The Scottish forward played for several clubs during his career including both Manchester clubs. While representing his country he scored 30 goals in 55 appearances.

Down at Alexandra Palace on the 19^th the second of the Triple Crown series of Snooker tournaments ended with Shaun Murphy winning the Masters for the second time. In 2025 he beat Kyren Wilson 10 frames to 7 to lift the Paul Hunter trophy.

On the 20^th fans of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang mourned the death of guitarist and singer John Sykes at the age of 65.

Over in America, it was the day of the second inauguration of Donald Trump, officially making him the 45^th and 47^th President of the United States of America. Due to the freezing temperatures and high winds, the ceremony took place inside the US Capitol Rotunda as opposed to the traditional setting outside. This marked 8 years exactly since his first inauguration which occurred on the 20^{th of} January 2017 and is only the second re-inauguration for a former US President following in the steps of Grover Cleveland in 1893.

Following on from the re-Inauguration of Donald Trump, it was the turn of Taoiseach Micheál Martin to return to power on the 23^rd, in Ireland as he was re-elected previously holding the post from 2020 to 2022.

It was Thailand’s turn in the spotlight on the 23^rd as they become the 1^st country in Southeast Asia, and the 38^th country in the world to legalise same sex marriages. The historic move follows years of activism and parliamentary approval.

As is usual January sporting month ends with the Australian Open in Tennis. This year the winners were Madison Keys of the USA and in the Men’s competition Italy’s Jannik Sinner was triumphant.

To complete our review of January we return to the United States of America which saw a highly destructive wildfire spread across large areas of Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu having started in the Santa Monica Mountains. The fire killed 12 people, destroyed 6,817 structures spreading across 36.638 square miles. The shear devastation makes the fire the 10^th-deadliest and 3^rd most-destructive California wildfire on record.

February

On the 2^nd of February Brian Murphy of Last of the Summer Wine fame where he played Alvin Smedley along with many other TV roles over the years died at the age of 92. Brian starred in many iconic TV shows over the years including The Bill where he played Danny the Elf, and The Catherine Tate Show where he was Neville. Brian’s most famous role was that of George Roper in Man About the House, George, and Mildred.

On the same day, Tony Martin died at the age of 80. Tony was famous as the English farmer who shot at 2 burglars in his home on 20^th August 1999. One of the burglars died, the other escaped injury. He served 3 years in prison having been convicted of murder – reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

On the 4^th US President Donald Trump announced a surprise plan that the US would take control of the Gaza strip in a press conference with the Israeli President. President Trump did not rule out American troops being sent in to make it happen.

The world of the Carry On films were in mourning on the 16^th as regular cast member Julian Holloway died at the age of 80. He played many roles in the Carry on franchise of films as well as many other films and shows including appearances in The Bill, Minder, and Z Cars.

Following a 4-hour summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the 18^th Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the restoration of normal functioning of diplomatic missions between Russia and the US.

3 days and 3 deaths in the world of entertainment, the first of these was Roberta Flack at the age of 88 years old. The first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in consecutive years. She is most famous for her songs The First Time Ever I saw Your Face, Killing Me Softly with His Song and Feel Like Making Love. With these tunes her legacy really will live on.

The following day on the 25^th Henry Kelly died at the age 78. He will always be remembered for his Quiz show Going for Gold which was shown at lunchtimes in the late 80s and early 90s.

The last of the 3 deaths in 3-days that we are focusing on brought a shock to the Buffyverse, as 39-year-old Michelle Trachtenberg died following complications with Diabetes. Michelle had starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Dawn – Buffy’s sister – since the start of season 5. She had many other roles during her career including as Harriet in Harriet the Spy in 1996 and Casey Carlyle in Disney’s Ice Princess.

In a highly unprecedented public confrontation between President Donald Trump and President Zelensky in a Press conference at the White House on the 28^th Trump and Vice President Vance repeatedly criticised Zelensky, at times drowning out the voice of the Ukrainian President. Nearly all allies of the US voiced support for Zelensky, with Putin praising the outcome of the meeting. In the aftermath of the meeting Trump suspended the provision of intelligence and military aid for Ukraine for a week. The aid was resumed after Zelensky agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire with Russia – who rejected the proposal – therefore no ceasefire took place.

March

We start March out of this world as Firefly Aerospace became the first commercial company to land on the Moon with no technological issues with their Blue Ghost Mission 1. The soft Landing occurred on the 2^nd March at 08:34 UTC. The mission had begun on the 15^th January. Communication was finally lost with the lander on the 16^th of March.

On the 4^th research was announced by Colossal Biosciences who had created ‘woolly mice’ in 2024. While many of the experimental embryos did not develop into viable pups, all successful birthed individuals were still alive. The animals exhibited woolly coats with elongated hair about 5cms in length showing a golden-brown colour. The announcement stated the intention to produce the first genetically modified elephant calf with Woolly Mammoth characteristics by 2028. – Watch this space!

In the early hours of the 16^th a fire broke out in a nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia. The fire started when sparks from indoor fireworks hit the ceiling and set it alight, quickly engulfing the venue in thick and toxic smoke. Sadly, the fire killed 59 people and injured 155. It transpires that the nightclub broke numerous safety standards and was unlicenced. Among other issues the nightclub lacked sprinklers had insufficient emergency exits and only had a single fire extinguisher.

On the same day Keith Rowley resigned as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago after 9 years in power. He was replaced by Stuart Young.

As we discussed in January, the Gaza ceasefire ended on the 18^th with a surprise widespread aerial bombardment and attacks on the Gaza strip by Isreal. The bombardment killed 591 including children.

On the 20^th The International Olympic Committee elected their 10^th, President. The newly elected President was Kirsty Coventry, and in being elected she became the first female and African president of the IOC. She assumed the office on the 23^rd June 2025.

Racing fans all over the world were saddened to hear the news of the death of Eddie Jordan on the 20^th at the age of 76. Eddie Jordan was an Irish motorsport executive, broadcaster, racing driver and businessman. His most famous role in the world of motorsport was that as founder and Team Principal of Jordan GP in Formula 1 from 1991 until 2005. Under his name and leadership, the team won 4 Grand Prix.

There was unprecedented disruption in the world of travel on the 21^st as a fire broke out at an electrical substation in Hayes, London. This led to the full closure of Heathrow – the first time in 15 years. The fire cut electricity supply to the airport which was unable to operate back-up systems. The outage lasted 16 hours and lead to more than 1,000 flights being cancelled and caused disruption for over 200,00 passengers.

Also, on the 21^st American professional boxer George Foreman died at the age of 76. Famous for his exploits in the ring, including wining the World Heavyweight title in 1973 with a surprising second round knockout of the then undefeated Joe Frazier. He successfully defended the belt twice before he suffered his first professional loss and the belt to Muhammed Ali in The Rumble in the Jungle. He retired from boxing in 1977. By 2011 he had sold more than 100 million of his George Foreman Grills worldwide.

The nation lost another of the great generation that did so much for this country during World War II, on the 31^st as Charlotte Elizabeth Vine-Stephens (better known as Betty Webb MBE) died at the age of 101. Betty was a Code Breaker who worked at Bletchley Park from the age of 18. She said of joining the top-secret mission ‘I wanted to do something more for the war effort than bake sausage rolls.’ Thank you, Betty, for your service to our country.

April

For the second month in a row in this review we start out of this world! On the 1^st Fram2 launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission studied the Earth’s poles and their space environment. The mission became the first crewed flight to enter a polar retrograde orbit. The mission landed back on Earth on the 4^th.

Batman himself died on the 1^st, as 1995 Batman (Bruce Wayne), Val Kilmer died. The 1995 Batman movie was Batman Forever. Val also reprised his role of Admiral Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in Top Gun in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022. These are two of a vast array of roles that Val has portrayed on our screens over the years. Val died at the age of 65.

On the 2nd April President Trump signed an Executive order his Tariffs on countries around the world, which would start at a flat rate of 10%, with all foreign automobiles subject to 25% tariff. Trump also announced that the 60 worst offenders worldwide would have their rates varied. These bigger rates were due to come into effect on the 9^th April, but were paused for 90 days.

We return to a story that we first touched on in the 2024 review and earlier on in this year review, which is the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol. On the 4^th the Constitutional court unanimously upheld the impeachment by the National Assembly, and in doing so officially terminating his presidency.

The 177^th running of the Grand National took place on the 5^th which saw Nick Rockett ridden by Patrick Mullins and trained by Willie Mullins win the race. Sadly, Celebre d’Allen who was pulled after the final fence died 2 days after the race.

News broke on the 17^th that scientists have found new but tentative evidence that a faraway planet orbiting a different star may be home to life. The atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b has been observed to have signs of molecules which on Earth are only produced by life. The planet is located 124 light-years away and contains large quantities of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide.

For the second season in a row our Swindon Wildcats made it to the Final Four weekend in Coventry at the Skydome. Unfortunately, the journey ended once again at the Semi-Final stage as they lost to the Peterborough Phantoms 4 goals to 2.

On the 21^st news broke that Pope Francis had died in the Vatican City. Pope Francis had been Pope since the 13^th March 2013 succeeding Pope Benedict XVI. He was born in Argentina to a family of Italian origin, with the birth name Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope. It was Pope John Paul II that made Benedict a cardinal in 2001.

On the 26^th the Pontiff was laid to rest with a congregation made up of representation from 164 countries, including 82 leaders from around the world. 250,000 members of the public attended his funeral.

There were two sport events on the 27^th the first being the London Marathon which became a World record for the largest number of finishers in a marathon with 56,640 finishers. The elite races were won by:

Men’s Race: Sabastian Sawe (Kenya) 2:02:25
Women’s Race: Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia) 2:15:50
Wheelchair Men’s Race: Marcel Hug (Switzerland) 1:25:25
Wheelchair Women’s race: Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) 1:34:15.

The 27^th was also the day the Premier League Champions were confirmed as Liverpool FC, whilst there were still games to be played the team was no longer able to be caught in the table by those chasing.

On the 28^th the result of the Canadian Federal Election was announced with the Prime Minister being former Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney. The election was the first to use the 343-seat electoral map based on the 2021 census. Mark Carney’s party won with a 25-seat majority.

May

Our review of May begins in the sport world as the 2025 World Snooker Championship ended on the 5^th after a 2-day final. This year’s winner was China’s Zhao Xintong who beat Mark Williams 18 frames to 12 at the iconic Crucible in Sheffield. Zhao was the first Chinese man to win the title.

On the 7^th over in the Vatican City the conclave to elect the new Pope began. 133 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel to make their decision as to the next Pope. The public outside and around the world waited for the all-important smoke signal, would it be black or white? Finally on the 8^th the black signal went up, and a new Pope was elected. The new pope was Robert Francis Provost who chose the Papal name Leo XIV. Pope Leo was the first pope to be elected from North America and the first to have Peruvian or US citizenship as well as the first Pope from the order of Saint Augustine.

It was the annual celebration of music on the 17^th as the 69^th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Basel. After the final evening and the votes had been added up from the public and the judges of the countries the victor was Austria represented by JJ and the song Wasted Love. As for the United Kingdom entry Remember Monday with What the Hell Just Happened? Who came in 19^th with a total of 88 points.

May is always the end of the football season, and this year it was no different. The first big competition in Europe to find a champion was the Women’s Champion League which was won by Arsenal who beat Barcelona 1 zero in the final held in Lisbon on the 24^th.

On the same day as the Arsenal win, Alan Yentob former controller of BBC 1 and BBC 2 died at the age of 78.

On the 25^th the 109^th running of the Indianapolis (Indy) 500 took place Álex Palou won the race in his Chip Ganassi Racing Car his first win at Indy and on an oval racetrack. The race saw an average speed of 168.883mph.

The day after on the 26^th, half a million football fans converged on Liverpool to celebrate Liverpool FC’s Premier League win, with an open top bus parade. After what was a joyous event for those attending, and those fans watching on from around the world, the mood turned into horror. At 6pm that evening a man now known to be Paul Doyle drove his Ford Galaxy into a crowd of people. This event saw over 130 people taken to hospital with injuries; this includes children. It would be December 16^th when he was convicted and sentenced to 21.5 years in prison.

Continuing with sport as we celebrate with Bai Yulu on the 27^th as she won the Women’s World Snooker. The tournament was held in Dongguan and saw Bai Yulu beat Mink Nutcharut of Thailand by 6 frames to 4. This was Bai’s second victory in the tournament.

The last day of May belonged to Paris Saint Germain as they won the UEFA Champions League in Munich. PSG beat Inter Milan 5 goals to zero to win the trophy.

June

We start June by re-visiting the South Korea Presidential story. On the 3^rd the results of the South Korean Presidential elections were announced with the Leader of the Opposition Lee Jae Myung winning the presidency beating the then ruling party Leader Kim Moon-Soo by 2,891,874 votes.

Over in America President Trump had started to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. On the 6^th a period of protests began in Los Angeles against the Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE) agents. In response to the riots beginning President Trump federalized the California National Guard and called for 2,000 guard members to deploy to the city. The protests ended in July on the 15^th.

Staying in June on the 7^th former English football referee Uriah Rennie died at the age of 65. Uriah was the first black referee in the Premier taking control of his first game on August 13^th 1997 between Derby County and Wimbledon. He officiated over 300 games in the premier league.

It was a sad day in the music world on the 11^th as Brian Wilson co-founder of the Beach boys died at the age of 82. He was a music producer, singer, songwriter, and musician. Brian had been described as one of the most innovative and significant musical figures of the 20^th Century. Together with the Beach Boys he had hits with I Get Around, Good Vibrations and God Only Knows. His legacy will life on with these tunes.

Over in India, on the 12^th Air India Flight 171 bound for London crashed into a building in Ahmedabad 32 seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport. On board were 229 passengers and 12 crew members, all of these died in the crash bar 1 passenger who survived. The crash also claimed the lives of 19 people on the ground on ground. This was the first fatal crash of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

We return to sport as the 93^rd 24 Hours of Le Mans race took place over the 14^th and 15^th. The race took place over 387 laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe. The winners of the different classes were:

Hypercar

Car Number: 83
Team: AF Corse
Drivers:
Phil Hanson (UK)
Robert Kubica (Poland)
Yifei Ye (China)

LMP2

Car Number: 43
Team: Inter Europol
Drivers:
Nick Yelloly (UK)
Jakub Śmiechowski (Poland)
Tom Dillmann (France)

LMP2 Pro-Am

Car Number: 199
Team: Autumn Oaks Racing
Drivers:
Dane Cameron (USA)
Louis Delétraz (Switzerland)
J. Hyett (USA)

LMGT3

Car Number: 92
Team: Manthey 1^st Phorm
Drivers:
Ryan Hardwicke (USA)
Richard Lietz (Austria)
Riccardo Pera (Italy).

Over the 2^nd and 23^rd we saw airstrikes take place. The first was by the USA as their B-52 bombers carried out attacks on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow Natanz and Isfahan. It was the following day that the Iranians retaliated on US bases in Qatar and Iraq.

As we end June, we once again leave this Earth as on the 25^th Axiom mission 4 a private crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) launched from Kennedy Space centre. Onboard the flight were 4 astronauts including the first Pole (Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski) and Indian (Shubhanshu Shukla) since end of Cold War. The crew enjoyed an 18-day stay on the ISS.

July

Our review of July begins on the 3^rd with the shock news of the death of Diogo José Teixeira da Silva, known as Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a single-car collision in the Province of Zamora. 11 days prior to his death Diogo had married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso with whom he had 3 children. Diogo Jota was a football player in the English Premier League making 234 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool FC scoring 80 goals. Over his entire career he made 302 appearances and scored 102 club goals. He represented his country 49 times and scored 14. Diogo died at the age of 28. His brother André played football in his native Portugal making 96 club appearances scoring 15.

On the 7^th the death of former politician Norman Tebbit at the age of 94 was announced. Norman served in the cabinet under the leadership of Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher. He was a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1992 and then he entered the Lords.

2 sporting events ended on the 13^th and the winners were all decided. The first of these was Wimbledon, the annual Tennis event held at SW19. This year the winners were:

Men’s singles: Jannik Sinner (Italy)
Women’s singles: Iga Świątek (Poland)
Men’s doubles: Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool (United Kingdom)
Women’s doubles: Veronika Kudermetova (Neutral Flag) and Elise Mertens (Belgium)
Mixed doubles: Sem Verbeek (Netherlands) and Kateřina Siniaková (Czech Republic)

Wheelchair men’s singles: Tokito Oda (Japan)
Wheelchair women’s singles: Wang Ziying (China)
Wheelchair men’s doubles: Martín de la Puente (Spain) and Ruben Spaargaren (Netherlands)
Wheelchair women’s doubles: Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying (China)

The second sporting event to end on the 13^th was the first running of the new format of the FIFA Club World Cup, which was held in the USA. The victorious club was Chelsea who beat Paris Saint Germain 3 goals to zero at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

On the 22^nd the rock world was saddened to hear the news of the death of Ozzy Osbourne at the age of 76. Ozzy is most well known as being a member of Black Sabbath, as well as appearing in the reality series The Osbournes. During his Rock music days, he had been known as the Prince of Darkness. Controversially on January 20^th 1982 Ozzy bit the head off a bat while performing, he believed the bat to be rubber. Rolling Stone magazine have been quoted as saying that the bat was alive at the time. The 17-year-old who threw it on stage has stated that the bat was brought to the show dead. Speaking of the incident in one of his album booklets he stated that the bat was not alive, but managed to bite him, resulting in him having to be vaccinated against rabies. This story as well as his music will ensure that Ozzy will live on the memory for many years to come.

Hulk Hogan born Terry Gene Bollea died on the 24^th at the age of 71. Hulk Hogan was an American wrestler and media personality. He has been regarded as one of the best of all time. During his career he won multiple championships most notable being a 6-time WWF Champion.

July saw the UEFA European Women’s Championships ended with a final held at St. Jakob Park, Basel which saw defending Champions England take on World Champions Spain. The final went all the way to penalties and saw England successfully defend their title. It was the first time since 2013 that a country had defended their title and the first time it had been won on penalties since its inaugural tournament in 1984.

Staying with sport the Tour de France took place throughout July and ended at the Champs-Élysées, Paris. The tour had taken place over 2,052 miles in a time of 76 hours and 32 seconds. The winner of this year’s tour was Slovakian Tadej Pogačar.

It was on the 29^th that all children books lovers were saddened by the death of Alan Ahlberg. Alan had authored many books with his first wife Janet including Funnybones, The Jolly Postman and Each Peach Pear Plum. He had continued to author books after his wife’s death and as of 2017 he had written more than 150 published books, which includes 2 that were illustrated by his daughter Jessica. Although he died at the age of 87, his legacy lives on in the books that we all share with children.

August

August was a quiet month this year in our review, it was on the 15^th that President Trump Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage Alaska to discuss plan to resolve Ukraine conflict. The meeting between the pair had been billed as a vital step towards peace in Ukraine, however in reality it left more questions than answers. The meeting ended with no ceasefire and an invite to Moscow for Trump.

On the 16^th Ann McManus died at the age of 67. We are aware that Ann’s name may not be that familiar, but we are confident that you will be familiar with some of her work. Ann had a stint as a writer on Coronation Street, one of her storylines was making Hayley Cropper the first trans character in a British soap. Ann is also the creator of Waterloo Road. She has also written on shows such as bad Girls and Take the high road. Her work will live on through these repeats.

We end August with the sad news that famine was confirmed in Gaza City. The U.N described this as a ‘failure of humanity’ The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated more than half a million people across Gaza were facing catastrophic conditions. The report was labelled by Isreal as an Outright lie.

October

On the 1^st Israeli forces boarded and took control of the Marinette. This was the final vessel headed towards Gaza as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla. This was one of the largest aid missions that attempt to break the blockade by Isreal. The Flotilla was made up of 44 civilian boats carrying 500 activists. By noon, the Israeli military stated that all but 1 had been secured.

On the 3^rd Sitcom fans around the country were saddened to hear that Mrs Bucket (it’s Bouquet) herself, Dame Patricia Routledge DBE had died at the age of 96. For her role as Hyacinth, Patricia had been nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance twice. Patricia was born Katherine Patricia Routledge. There were many roles in her career on both stage and TV, but she will always be remembered as the excruciating Hyacinth, as well as Private Investigator Hetty in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

Over in Luxembourg, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, abdicated the throne in favour of his son Guillaume. Henri had held the role since 2000 until he abdicated the throne for his son to become Guillaume V – although Guillaume had been regent since October 2024.

The 106^th Archbishop of Canterbury was named on the 3^rd as Dame Sarah Mullally, who became the first female to hold the role which is expected to assume in January 2026. Until she assumes office she is known as Archbishop-elect of Canterbury.

On the 5^th it was confirmed with races left to go in the season that this year’s Formula 1 Constructors Champions would be Mclaren. This is the 10^th year that the team have won the title and was a defence of the title they won in 2024.

A ceasefire (Peace Plan) came into effect on the 9^th for the people of Gaza. During this first phase Israel and Hamas agreed to handover prisoners and hostages to the respective parties. The ceasefire began almost 2 years since the conflict began. Under the plan aid lorries were allowed into the Strip delivering much needed aid to the Gazan population.

On the same day Dame Jilly Cooper DBE died at the age of 88. Jilly as an author who had authored many books and is most well-known for her Rutshire Chronicles series starting with the 1985 novel Riders through 10 volumes ending with the 2023 instalment Tackle! During her career she has also written the Little Mabel series of Children’s books. Dame Jilly died in Gloucester.

On the 13^th Tony Caunter died at the age of 88. Although he had many roles on TV through his career, he best-known as Roy Evans in Eastenders from 1994 until the character’s death in 2003. During that time, he married Pat Butcher. He had a career in acting that spanned 65 years and died a week after his wife.

Following the peace plan that came into effect on the 9^th, the 13^th saw Hamas release the final 20 living hostages in Gaza after they were kidnapped during the October 7^th attacks of 2023. In exchange, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners and more than 1,700 detainees.

On the 19^th an audacious robbery took place at the Louvre in Paris. Disguised as construction workers thieves stole 8 pieces of the French Crown Jewels with a combined valuation of €88 Million from the Galerie d’Apollon. In total the robbery took just 8 minutes, with the thieves spending just 4 minutes in the gallery. The heist took place during normal opening hours! Within a week 2 men had been arrested in connection with the heist with a further 9 men having been investigated although 6 have been released. At time of writing – December 2025- the location of the jewels is still unknown.

On the 24^th elections were held in Ireland for the next Irish President. The Incumbent Michael D Higgins was term-limited having sent the last 14 years in the role over 2 terms. The new President won in a landslide of 489,156 votes and was Independent Candidate Catherine Connolly. Her inauguration took place on the 11^th November and in doing so became the 3^rd female President of Ireland.

Prunella Margaret Rumney West professionally known as Prunella Scales died at the age of 93 on the 27^th. Prunella’s most famous role was long-suffering wife of Basil Fawlty, Sybil in Fawlty Towers. Whilst she had many other roles and appeared in documentaries with her husband Timothy West it will be Sybil that Prunella will be remembered for, and Fawlty Towers is one of those sitcoms that is repeated on TV.

November

November starts with the news of the death of the 46^th Vice-President of the United States Richard (Dick) Bruce Cheney on the 3^rd. Dick served under the Presidency of President George W. Bush. He was Vice President at the time of the 2001 terror attacks on the United States, and as such was kept physically apart from the President. Cheney was also Acting President for a small window on the morning of 29^th June 2002, from 7:09AM until 9:24Am under the terms of the 25^th Amendment to the Constitution while the President underwent a colonoscopy.

Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson died on the 8^th at the age of 68. Quentin is well-known for Top Gear and Fifth Gear as well as Britain’s Worst Driver. However, he was also a producer, motoring journalist, author, and car dealer. He also the son of Professor Bernard Wilson who was the first code breaker at Bletchley Park to decode the Italian Navy Hagelin C-36 code machine.

On the 24^th Jack Shepherd died at the age of 85. He was best-known for his role as Detective Superintendent Wycliffe from 1993 to 1998. He has held a plethora of other roles over the years, but this is his best-known work.

On the 25^th The United Nations released a report that showed that Indonesian capital Jakarta had surpassed the Japanese capital Tokyo as the world’s largest city with a population of 42 million people.

December

We start December with 2 sporting events – both on the 7^th! Firstly, Lando Norris became the UK’s 11^th Formula 1 Grand Prix World Champion, making it a double for his team, McLaren who had won the constructors earlier in the season. Lando wont the title by a 2-point gap to title rival and 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen. Lando won 7 races with 7 poles across the season and amassed a points total of 423.

Later that evening, the Jester from Leicester, Mark Selby clinched the Snooker UK Championship, one of the Snooker Triple Crown events. This was the third time Mark had lifted the prestigious trophy. He beat the current number 1 Judd Trump by 10 frames to 8.

On the 10^th the literary world lost the first of 2 novelists in 2 days, the first was Madeleine Sophie Wickham who was better known by her pen name Sophie Kinsella. Sophie is best known for her Shopaholic series of novels. She had also had novels published in her name, Madeleine Wickham. Sophie died at the age of 55 a day before her birthday.

On the 11^th another novelist passed away in the form of Joanna Trollope. Joanna had written a variety of novels mostly in the romantic world but has authored some historical novels too. During her career Joanna also wrote under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Joanna was a local author having been born in Minchinhampton in 1943 and died at the age of 82 in Oxfordshire.

We return to the world of Snooker as the annual Snooker Shootout took place with the final on the 13^th. This is the shortest format of snooker, being 1 frame over 10 minutes. This year’s champion was Amateur (in name only) Alfie Burden. In fact, Alfie was not due to compete in this tournament but was given a call up on the morning of the first day. Having made the journey up to Blackpool, he made it all the way through the tournament to lift the trophy. Alfie beat Stuart Bingham by 63 points to 8. In winning the title Alfie became the oldest first-time ranking event winner at 48 and 364 days.

Also. On the 13^th The music world once again came alive with the sound of music as The Junior Eurovision Song Contest was held in Tbilisi, Georgia. The winner was the French artist Lou Deleuze with the song Ce monde. The UK did not enter this year.

On the 14^th we were saddened to hear of events that were happening at Bondi Beach, Australia. During Hannukah celebrations on the beach that was attended by 1,000 people 2 gunmen attacked in a terror incident. They killed 15 people, including a child and injured 40. New South Wales Police force shot and killed 1 of the attackers and injured the other.

On the 18^th as is tradition before Christmas the sport world came together to celebrate the year of sport and to remember those sport stars who have gone this year. This event was BBC Sports Personality of the Year. This year’s winners were:

Helen Rollason Award:

This award went to 2 of the fathers of the girls who were killed in the Southport attack last year, Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe, (7), and Bebe King (6). The award went to Sergio Aguiar and David Stancombe who ran the London Marathon in April, with Sergio having since ran in Berlin, Chicago, and New York, aiming to complete the 6 World Majors to raise money for a foundation set up in Alice’s name.

Young Sports Personality of the Year – Michelle Agyemang her appearances in the Euros earlier in the summer helped to keep England in the tournament, before they went on to retain the trophy.

Lifetime Achievement Award went to Thierry Henry.

World Sport Star was once again Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis who also took the title last year. This year he has set 4 World records in the pole vault at 6 metres 30. He has set an amazing 14 World records through his career.

Coach of the Year went to England Women Head Coach Serina Weigman. Serina is another multiple winner of this trophy having won her first in 2022. She led her England side to back-to-back Euro titles.

Team of the Year went to the triumphant Ryder Cup team, who went to American soiled and brought the trophy home, the first time that a team had won on away soil since 2012.

BBC Sport Personality of the Year went to Rory McIlroy who completed the Career Grand Slam of golf titles in 2025 when he won the Masters. He beat England Red Rose Ellie Kildunne into second and Lando Norris in third thanks to the public vote.

On the 22^nd the news broke that Chris Rea had died. Chris is famous for ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ his Christmas hit that has been in the charts since 1986 at Christmas. This song alone will mean that Chris will live on through his music. He had other hits through his career including Fool (If You think It’s Over). Chris died at the age of 74.

As is traditional on Christmas Day, the King’s Speech was shown at 3pm. 25^th The King Speech. During this year’s message King Charles III spoke of unity, reconciliation, spontaneous bravery, and the importance of community cohesion in an increasingly divided world. In addition, he highlighted the virtues of compassion and resilience in the face of adversity. Did you miss this year’s message? You can catch it here:

Also, on Christmas Day the yearly wait for another Julia Donaldson and Magic Light Studios collaboration was over as this year’s was shown. 2025’s instalment was The Scarecrows Wedding. A heart-warming tale of 2 scarecrows who fell in love on the field and planned they wedding, with all the fun that entails. The TV version includes a slight amendment from the book, but we won’t ruin that for those that haven’t seen or read the book.

Jersey celebrated Christmas Day with a White Christmas this year. It was the first time the island had a white Christmas in 55 years!

On the 28^th Brigitte Bardot died at the age of 91. Brigitte was a singer, actress, model and animal rights activist. She starred in 47 films, performed in several musicals and recorded more than 60 songs. In 1985 she was awarded the Legion of Honour, France’s Highest and most prestigious order of merit. Her many achievements and recordings will keep her memory alive.

On the 29^th 2 people are killed and boxer Anthony Joshua is injured in a car accident in Nigeria. With the incident being so close to publication, the details are still coming out, however it is believed that Anthony Joshua’s car crashed into a stationary lorry while overtaking at speed. At the time of writing, Anthony was remaining in Nigeria for observation.

Also on the 29^th the New Years Honours list was announced with some very well known names being awarded, the list includes:

Roy Clarke OBE has been awarded the Knights Batchelor and will become Sir Roy Clarke, for his service to writing.

Christopher Dean OBE also gets the Knights Batchelor and will become Sir Christopher Dean. His Skating partner jane Torvill has been awarded a Damehood. Also knighted is actor Idris Elba with an honorary Damehood going to England Women’s Head Coach Serina Weigman. Leah Williamson (Captain) gets the CBE, while teammates Ella Toone, Keira Walsh, Alex Greenwood and Georgia Stanway get the MBE. That’s not all for England stars as Rugby World Cup winners Zoe Aldcroft, Marlie Packer and head coach John Mitchell are all made OBEs with Megan Jones, Sadia Kabeya and Ellie Kildunne appointed MBEs.

On the list this year there are 1,157 recipients of awards, the oldest person on the list is 102-year-old John Hearn, who receives a BEM for services to judo and to the community in north-east England, while the youngest recipient is Olympic gold medal-winning sports climber Toby Roberts, 20, who receives an MBE.

The full list is available to be viewed:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/694929f072075a1d4a5089cd/NY26_Gov.uk_List__Final__18_12_25.pdf.

Nobel Prizes

This years Nobel Prizes were awarded to:

And finally….

As 2025 draws to a close, we hope that you have enjoyed our review of the year, and look forward to helping you stay safe as we go into another new year. However, you are celebrating the new year tonight, stay safe and look after those around you.

Chemistry

Susumu Kitagawa
Omar M. Yaghi
Richard Robson
For the development of metal-organic frameworks

Literature

László Krasznahorkai
for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art

Economic Sciences

Philippe Aghion
Peter Howitt
For the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction

Joel Mokyr
For having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress

Peace

Maria Corina Machado
For her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy

Physics

John Clarke
Michel H. Devoret
John M. Martinis
For the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.

Physiology or Medicine

Mary E. Brunkow
Fred Ramsdell
Shimon Sakaguchi
For their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance