No more fad diets, fitness splurges, or new year resolutions | Zella Compton

So that’s the first thing I’m not going to do this year, get completely wound up to a point of despair about Brexit and Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.

Things I am not going to do this year actually makes much more sense than making resolutions which are never going to happen.

Like loosing weight.

I’ve been trying to do this for years and years, to no avail.

I’ve tried eating less and doing more, and fad diets, cutting out fats, cutting out carbs, cutting out sugar.

But none of it sticks, so this year the vague plan, not a resolution you understand, is to think about reading a book about willpower and how to make it stronger.

As basically I have none.

Also on the agenda is not getting fitter.

Again, this is a regular item on the must-do list whether at the beginning of the year, mid-year, or mid-week.

And that’s always hit and miss, though I’ve had some lovely experiences trying out new sports, taking to them like a duck to water, totally loving them and then inexplicably giving up just when I feel like my body is getting stronger.

For this I’m going to add a book to the reading list about understanding it’s okay to be one’s best and not to fear positive change or some such psycho-babble because I’d hate to admit it was sheer laziness.

Expanding my mind is struck-off.

How can I ever think about resolving to do this when I have so little time in between not exercising and not cooking up delicious and yet amazingly calorie-free meals all day long?

So that’s scratched out and instead I’m focused on making more time for me.

And when I get that time?

That’s when I think about the resolutions that I might make at some other point next decade.

Flight debacle led to buffets galore for the Comptons

Sometimes life gives you lemons and you make ... a trip to a hotel.

We were flying to Ethiopia before Christmas and what was a fairly straightforward trip got interrupted by a security breach in Frankfurt.

A suspicious package was found on one of the ramps into our plane and we were stuck while the plane was searched.

After two hours the flight was cancelled. As a party of seven we couldn’t be rebooked that day, so it was an overnight hotel.

After the initial debacle of being shunted here, there and everywhere, Lufthansa came through with accommodation and buffets galore.

Definitely some sparkling bubbles in that particular lemon.

Finally, a table tennis kit that won’t rot in the garden

So what was the best Christmas gift this year? Surprisingly, inspiration came from a Facebook advert – one of the first that have got an idea totally spot-on.

Who knows what I had ‘liked’ to bring that particular promotion up, but it’s a table tennis net which fits any table, two bats, and a few balls.

I’ve always loved the game – not that I’m any good at it. I had a table when I was in my thirties which quietly rotted away in the garden when we moved to the south coast with all our damp, salty sea air.

What could be better for messing around than one which fits any table, that fits in a small rucksack and has no chance of rotting? Nothing.