Happy New Year everyone! Ben and I hope that you’ve all had a great start to the year, and that 2026 is shaping up to be an even better year for you all than 2025.
Sadly for us, 2025 didn’t go so well, and it wasn’t just one thing, it was lots of things, and honestly, it made even doing the bare minimum stupidly hard. This is why we’ve been so low key here, and it’s thanks to you guys that we’ve managed to keep going – I mean, even our review articles read like flippin press releases, as it’s been all that we could do to keep our heads above water…
And to top it all off, we had not one but TWO earthquakes here in December, the first of which was 3.3 on the Richter scale, which sounded and felt like a lorry had crashed into the house, and caused our porch to separate from the main building. Eeek!
Don’t worry though – it wasn’t ALL bad, and we even managed to start 2026 with a bang! Check out our New Year Party:
Here’s a big shout out to @acidyo @tarazkp @galenkp @cmplxty @steevc @heroldius @livinguktaiwan – and many more – that have read our content and watched our reviews. You guys rock. Stay tuned, as I’m writing a brief rundown on the ups and downs we’ve faced over the last year.
In the meantime, here’s Ben reviewing a pair of Blundstone work boots. We were sent a pair last year, and he’s taken some time to test them in a variety of terrains and a number of situations, from reviewing on location, to building our new ramp after our garage fell down, and even some heavy duty gardening.
All in all, it’s taken Ben six months to film this content, as he knew what he wanted to showcase: certain weather conditions, different types of vehicles that suited the work boot, and of course, the construction of our ramp. Huzzah!
Let us know what you think.
Before I leave you to it, Ben and I are wondering who would be up for a 2026 North West UK Hive Meet Up? We planned to have one last year, but with things going the way they did, we had to abandon the idea. Good thing is, we have ample parking space now, as we have this kick-ass reviewing space, forecourt and ramp – check it out:
When life gives you lemons (and by that I mean storm damage making our garage collapse)
you make lemonade (and by that I mean this awesome ramp)
I will pop up a separate post about the meet up, and if you can make it, drop me a comment.
Thank you all, and enjoy!
Annabelle 😊
P.S. The Universe responded to our joyous and positive start to 2026 by sending these little bundles of floof:
Yes, the Cat Distribution System saw fit to reward us...Huzzah!
More to come...
Hi there guys!
Crikey! A falling porch and collapsed garage! What a year. Hope the rebuild is going well in both
You're near the Lake District, right? Yes, I'd be up for a meet up if the time is right as I'd like to visit the Lake District again. It's been ages since I've been.
Huzzah! Come back with a time that works for you and we will around the meet up around that. If you need any help with logistics etc. just let me know.
Annabelle
Maybe June? Before the school holidays starts? I try to avoid going away during the summer as it gets too busy and expensive 😅. But I'm open to others' schedule
Fab - sounds like a plan @livinguktaiwan I will start organising.
Annabelle
Nice boots.
We do need more meetups around the country. You are just a long way from me. @c0ff33a has had some events in Halifax that I did not get to, but others did. We need to build up the UK community to make it more viable.
!BEER
That's a very good point @steevc - it would be good for some of us to put our heads together and see what we can come up with. @shanibeer and @c0ff33a - Ben and I are hoping to host a Northern Hive meet up this year, hope you're up for it?
Annabelle
Would be lovely! Have you got a date in mind?
Huzzah! What I will do is write a more detailed plan with as much advance notice as I can (months rather than weeks) and I will give you a heads up as soon as I have more of the plan worked out.
Looking forward to this :)
Annabelle
June is good ... just sayin' 😂
Ooo, good choice @shanibeer - I'm thinking June might just be perfect...will keep you posted
Annabelle
2025 doesn't seem to have been easy for you. 2026 will be even better, especially with those two adorable kittens.
And I see those boots have come in very handy with the work and car testing.
Have a great week, always a pleasure to read your car reviews.
!PIZZA
Thank you, @heroldius - it's so good to hear your kind words.
Hope your 2026 has started well?
Annabelle
Yes, 2026 is off to a good start... if I don't pay too much attention to the news coming from our neighbor to the south 😅
Glad to hear it, @heroldius!
I'm always up for coming to a hive meet, depending on distance, time and all the usual stuff though.
That's great to hear, @itsshmoogle - it looks likely to be sometime in June. I shall keep you posted.
Annabelle
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@heroldius(2/10) tipped @planetauto
Join us in Discord!
Another successful distribution from the cat system, it is working well! :D
Cheers Annabelle and Ben, happy new year! I'm glad that we were able to help keep you awesome people with a bit of sanity, in an insane world and time.
Life will for sure throw you lemons, and it might take some time to figure out how to make lemonade.. but we can for sure make lemonade! Looks like you guys are doing that, and I hope you continue to do so!
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