[Shaun]

Obviously it's been one of the - if not THE - worst years of our lifetimes, but there may have been some highlights buried in all of the death, disease and destruction. Go for anything you're comfortable mentioning, whether it's personal or just stuff from the news and arts.

Oh and don't pick arguments about whether or not these were good things for you. Just ignore it and share your own, if you have anything positive to contribute.

I'll kick off...

1) Trump lost
Pretty self-explanatory. I went into this year under the safe assumption that Trump would get re-elected because the Democratic convention was a complete mess. Did the right candidate get picked? Absolutely not... but it restored a little sanity to the world seeing that despot kicked out of office

2) Black Lives Matter took centre stage
Did it actually achieve anything? Perhaps not in the short term. It's never really ideal to say that the US being on the verge of a civil war is a 'good thing' but prior to 2020 I'd never really felt like there was anything meaningful about the word 'change' when it came to racial politics (excuse the Obama shade)... it's a maelstrom of different desires under the umbrella "BLM" but the majority of them are fervent and necessary, and hopefully that snowballs over the coming years rather than fizzling out until the next police brutality.

3) Community spirit
More of a vague point but I'd become something of a hermit in my hometown and didn't really care about interacting with people before the virus took hold... but there was something genuinely uplifting about taking part in Thursday pots-and-pans-bangings and businesses both big and small giving freebies and rewards to essential workers. Similarly, local Facebook groups are usually full of moaning and bickering, but became a focal point for charity and communal help.

4) One of the best ever Taskmasters
Despite the lack of a studio audience to react to the comedy, these 5 really kept me entertained this autumn/winter

Youtube video

5) It's...nearly over
I'm struggling for ten, okay?

6) The return of good pop!
The tail-end of the 2010s were really a death for pop music. Trap seeped into everything I held dear, and turned burgeoning careers like Ariana Grande, Zara Larsson and Nicki Minaj into releasing the same **** under a different name. On the flipside, others like Sia, P!nk and Kelly Clarkson just gave up and put out limp, wet ballads for an eternity. Step forward 2020, and genuinely good pop releases from Gaga, Rina Sawayama, Jessie Ware, Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, Kiesza, Roisin Murphy, Kylie Minogue, Chloe x Halle and Miley Cyrus made the whole year more bearable and escapable.

7) Drag Race Season 12
It may have been overshadowed by the virus, the Sherry Pie scandal, and being immediately followed by All Stars, but what a bloody season In future years we should look back on this as one of the best (I'd definitely put it in my top five, along with 10, 4, 3, 6 and 2). That premiere episode was the best the show's ever had, and culminated in this jaw-dropping lipsync.

Youtube video

8) Parasite became the first foreign winner of Best Picture
Not hugely important, but showed signs that Hollywood is actually starting to become aware of other cultures. And other genres than "another bloody war film" and "comic book villain gets an angsty backstory".

9) Bill Bailey winning Strictly
The show had been something of a showcase for struggling young popstars, wealthy YouTubers and actors with a background in dance to show off against the poor older celebrities with an actual name value in recent years, so it was a breath of fresh air for one of the most famous names in this year's lineup, and one of the oldest participants, to turn out to be a fantastic dancer and a worthy winner

10) Career-wise
I was stuck in a job that I had zero passion for and when they unceremoniously let me go at the start of the pandemic because they didn't want to wait for furlough payments (and wanted to rush us back into unsafe working environments, whilst car-pooling with people we didn't live with, lol) it gave me a boost I needed to try out for something else. It's... not been fruitful yet, but I definitely felt like I was in a rut for the past five years and taking various courses and classes has opened my eyes a bit.