Born in 2021

Back in 2021, life felt like we were all waking up from a long, strange dream, blinking into the light of a world that was tentatively starting to spin again. If you were there, you’ll remember the sheer, giddy relief of that first proper draught pint in a pub garden, even if you had to wear a thick parka because the April weather was absolutely brass monkeys. We spent our nights gripped by the mystery of *Line of Duty*—honestly, the whole country was obsessed with finding out who ‘H’ was—and when the summer finally rolled around, we were all convinced "it" was finally coming home during the Euros, only to have our hearts collectively broken in the most British way possible.

The radio wouldn't stop playing Olivia Rodrigo’s *Drivers License*, and somehow, we all became experts on the shipping lanes of the Suez Canal because a big boat got stuck. We were masking up for the cinema just to see Bond finally finish his mission in *No Time to Die*, and kids everywhere were obsessed with those little silicone Pop-it fidget toys. It was a year of garden reunions, slightly awkward elbow-bumps, and the simple, quiet magic of a world slowly finding its feet again.