Born on 1 January 2016

Back in 2016, life felt like it was shifting gears, though we didn't quite know it yet. It was the year of the "liminal space"—that strange, humid summer where everyone was glued to their tiny iPhone SE screens, flicking Pokéballs at a virtual Bulbasaur in the local park. I remember sitting in a beer garden with a lukewarm glass of Aperol Spritz—which felt very posh at the time—listening to Drake’s *One Dance* on a loop until it practically became the national anthem.

We were all obsessed with *The Great British Bake Off* moving to Channel 4, mourning Mel and Sue like they were family members, and debating whether a Jaffa Cake was actually a biscuit. Then there was that mad week when the entire country was obsessed with a research ship being named Boaty McBoatface. It wasn't all jokes, though; the rain seemed to never end that June, and the news was a constant whirlwind of referendum posters and Leicester City somehow defying the odds to win the league.

Kids were losing their minds over fidget spinners and JoJo bows, while we all flocked to the cinema to see *La La Land* or *Bridget Jones's Baby*, just looking for a bit of a laugh while the world changed outside. Fine times, really.