This is my last blog of the year.

Blogging has always been something I’ve done for enjoyment. It is an outlet. I am not driven by making money (the blog makes none) or by social media followers. I do it for me. But with the negativity flying about the world, I think it is time to stop. To enjoy Christmas.

2020 has been filled with good and bad both football and professionally.

The football year has seen us struggle on the pitch yet still win 2 trophies. The hardest part has not being able to go games with mates.

Going pub before and after the game, celebrating success and commiserating defeats together is perhaps more important than the 90 minutes. With COVID19 that has been taken away from us.

I still managed to have 12 or so people round mine for the cup final. A great memory in the garden, with close friends, watching us win. We made the best of a bad job.

But we finish the year in an awful position. One I don’t have the energy to go into.

Personally it has been a year of ups and downs as well.

As I’ve said, I blog for enjoyment. But 2020 has seen some right weirdos attempt to ruin my life. All because of the opinion I share.

I had 2 people write to my work claiming I had racially abused them, demanding my work to be sacked. I had two stalkers and I had someone distributing my name, address, place of work and pictures of me on social media.

The first person to accuse me of racism was wary in the year. The girl in question, let’s call her Jazz, provided a Tweet I wrote 4 years ago as proof that I was “always racist on twitter”. She also claimed I was sexist, homophobic, etc, etc. My work saw through her BS and stuck with me. They asked her for more evidence. None came. Clearly some issues there

The second person to claim racism wrote a letter to my work saying that they were my “neighbour” and that I had racially abused them in the street. They said that they did not know my full name, but knew who I worked for and had tracked me down on my company website.

On my company website, it has my full name…

They threatened that if my work did not sack me, they would go to the police. Surely if someone has racially abused you, your first thought is go to the police, not their place of work?

My work advised them to go to the police. I still have not had a knock on my door. It was clear and obvious that they were not a neighbour, and just some weird little kid who had managed to get my street name, first name, picture of me and my place of work. A few people from a certain fan TV channel we’re distributing these details online.

Then we have the stalkers.

Let’s call the first Johnny. He spent a few days calling up my office, abusing me down the phone then hanging up.

Johnny apparently has a reputation for this and I am not his first victim.

The second, let’s call him Tony, has sent me over 100 message through the blog for 4 years. He is a 50 year old man with a family, sitting their weekly stalking someone on line.

This year I had enough of him so publicly shamed him in the hope it stopped. I made it clear that I knew who he was, the names of his daughters, where he lived, without releasing personal details. Overnight his stalking stopped.

These four people have made me wonder whether it is worthwhile still blogging. But then I realise that I blog for me. And they will not stop me.

The issues are clearly with them and I am probably not the only person they have tried to get sacked or stalk. I hope in 2021 they all received the help they need.

But the year is ending on a high. Work is going great and the side hustle I started during lockdown is making good profits. I am in a good place. Hopefully in 2021 I will be able to get abroad again. I have missed that in 2020.

2019 I went Antigua, Morocco, Liege and Lisbon. The first two on my own, the later two with great mates. Trips abroad for cricket, football, culture and beer have been missed this year.

I also wrote a book in 2020, helped host online quizzes and spoke to my family more than I had done in any previous year.

So I go into 2021 in a strong position than I started 2020. The nut jobs that attached themselves to me this year seem to have slithered back under the rock. I am buzzing for next year.

Enjoy Christmas.

See you in the New Year.

Keenos