Wow - What a whirlwind of a year. What is it they say? “Change is the only constant in life” (and when I say they, I mean the Greek philosopher Heraclitus apparently) and it certainly feels like change is going at the speed of light.
For 2026, it seems like its an evolve or die situation and if nothing else, its going to be fascinating.
Reflecting on this year, a few notable changes spring to mind. Other than the mind-blowing words added to the Oxford English dictionary, which include “Trad wife” “delulu” and “skibidi”
I’d say there are no words but clearly there is!
My 10 year old delights trying to decode which dupes come from which original brand in the makeup section of any store. And even I clocked Aldi doing a hand cream that looked suspiciously like L’Occitane. Now I know that this has been going a while but it seems like a turning point has been reached this year and dupes are mainstream. I’m going to guess the cost of living has sky rocketed the dupe market, but now its here, it’s here to stay. It feels everyone is questioning value (and not just monetary) and where that really lies. Can anyone really tell the difference between a dupe and the real thing? And does anyone care?
I don’t think we have yet understood the huge and wide-ranging implications of this remarkable breakthrough drug. Having had 1st hand experience of using these, I’m not sure we have grasped the extent of change to come. From what we buy in the supermarket to how we eat out need immediate research to keep up with changing attitudes. But further than that, how do we keep up with attitudes to supplements and even the way we buy clothes?
My own changes have been radically changing what I buy at the supermarket - crisp brands you should be scared! Only really eating out at Wagamama’s if I can help it (oh I love Waga’s could write a whole piece on why they are wonderful) as well as buying supplements like Collagen and Creatine for the 1st time. And my new passion…Vinted! I find the things I have that I love in a smaller size and then sell my bigger ones-MAGIC!
Sorry I have to mention it. Don’t worry, not going to tell you I’ve got it down and I now sip margarita’s in the sun having outsourced my brain to AI. Although I would quite happily, if I knew how! And that is what this section is about, getting a clue about AI. Going back to my fascinating chat about new words, Dictionary.com chose “agentic” as their word of the year for 2025. Apparently, it refers to AI! But my resolution for 2026 is to get to grips with AI and really make an effort to understand its uses and capabilities. Its very clear there is huge scope for efficiencies and speed of turn around so where do I start…….I start by admitting I am pretty in the dark and get people who are not in to help and guide me. Hint: no AI was used in the writing of this piece.
As we get to the festive period (not something I relish sorry) a couple of things have stood out to me (other than me becoming more Grinch like each year)
I won’t rant but they are awful. I genuinely do not understand why they are permanently heaving. My friend was recently telling me (quite happily I might add) that she queued for 30 mins for a bubble tea! My mind was blown. Apparently it’s the best bubble tea and I clearly didn’t get it. She was right -I DO NOT get it! I was reflecting on this later, having had the misfortune of seeing the queues for food stalls for myself and I think it is a metaphor for the current climate we live in. Short term relatively low-cost fixes to try and feel better.
Almost a complete set of awfulness. Waitrose was the only exception for me (but not going to start shopping there sadly) Is the whole concept now outdated, or were they just not very well considered? Again, this is a whole thing on its own but if I were a few of the major retailers. I’d be having a really hard think for next year.
Particularly bad ads (only in my view this isn’t rage bait) were Tesco and Sainsbury. Why Tesco insisted on pointing out all the stuff people don’t like about xmas is beyond me. And why Sainsbury use Stephen Fry to voice over “good food for all of us” doesn’t make any sense to me. I really didn’t like Sainsbury using the WW2 xmas day football match to sell a few satsumas but that now looks like genius in the current onslaught of rubbish. Even Aldi let me down. Discuss.
Hope you have your seat belts on ready for the ride that is 2026. It is going to be an evolve or die year. Let’s not be scared though - embrace the chaos and let creativity reign.
And I will be trying to keep in mind the wonderful Charles Mackinsey’s quote from The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse: “One of our greatest freedoms is how we react to things.”
