#7.
Custom: Pearly Kings and Queens Harvest Festival
About: Charitable cockney folk, dressed in black suits and hats covered in pearly buttons, welcome the changing of the seasons with an afternoon of morris dancing, maypole-ing, and ‘Maybe its because I’m a Londoner’-ing.

#6.
Custom: Doggett’s Coat and Badge Wager
About: The oldest rowing race in the world; up to six apprentice watermen compete along the Thames, racing between London Bridge and Chelsea. The winner’s prize is the traditional Company of Watermen red coat and badge.

#2.
Name: Gem lettuce, mint and spring onion
Chef: Ed Smith
Recipe: Separate lettuce leaves, leaving intact. Chop the inner core finely. Sprinkle with mint. Mix lemon juice, olive oil, spring onions and pepper together and dress the salad.

#3.
Name: Smoked Mackerel, Potato and Watercress Salad
Chef: Margot Henderson
Recipe: Break the mackerel into large pieces. Cook potatoes in a pan of salted water. Drain and leave to cool a little. Slice in half lengthways. Trim the watercress and wash the leaves. Mix in a bowl with a dijon vinaigrette, and serve.

#4.
Name: Grilled little gem, peas, pancetta and mint
Chef: Tim Siadatan
Recipe: Griddle little gem for 3-5 minutes. Fry the pancetta and mint stalks for 2 minutes, followed by the garlic for another 2. Add the stock, bring to the boil and add peas and little gem. Simmer for 10 minutes, before stirring in vinegar, butter and chopped mint leaves. Season and serve.

#1.
Name: Autum Celery Salad
Chef: Russell Norman
Recipe: Very finely slice four stalks of celery and roughly chop the leaves. Dry fry walnuts until brown and toasted. Core and slice two ripe comice pears. Finely slice two medium fennel bulbs. Mix with sea salt, olive oil and the juice of a lemon. Finish with finely grated parmesan.

#1.
Custom: The Election of the Mayor of Ock Street
About: The election of the mock-Mayor of Abingdon, now run by the local morris group. The day includes a marathon of morris dancing, followed by voting and the election ceremony.

#2.
Custom: The Knollys Rose Ceremony
About: A peppercorn-rent ceremony, organised by the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames. The rent of one rose is paid to the Lord Mayor, customary ever since Sir Robert Knolly’s wife built a footbridge across city land.

#3.
Custom: The Procession of the Worshipful Company of Vintners
About: A procession from Vitners Hall to a church across the road, where the Company’s new master is sworn in. The path is swept clear ahead of the procession.

#4.
Custom: The Cart Marking Ceremony
About: Vehicles are brought forward to the master of the company, who inspects them, before the keeper of the Guildhall brands them with a red hot iron. The city’s vehicles were once licensed this way, now the event is purely ceremonial.

#5.
Custom: Sandwich Bartlemas Bun Run
About: To celebrate St Bartholomew’s Day, children race around this quaint chapel in Sandwich. Upon completion, all the children are given a sweet currant bun for their efforts.

Last year was hard to get out and explore interesting things and places. But (thanks to having such a supportive/forgiving wife) I managed to complete the Works of Art challenge. This year I’m going to push my luck even further. I’ll see how I get on.

29 Folk Traditions and British Rituals
My grandad was a morris dancer. To the members of Lassington Oak, he was the accordionist, the foreman, and more often than not, the squire too. I knew him as Grampy. When I was much younger, we went to see him dance at solstices,  wassails, and other traditional festivals across the cotswolds. But when he died, we stopped. With this challenge, I’m going to attempt to revisit that world – and see 29 traditional folk festivals, rituals and customs across the UK.

29 Hot Sauces
I get through a lot of sriracha. Whenever a meal needs spicing up, I use it. And I put it on plenty of meals that don’t need it too. This year I want to change it up a bit. Try some new hot sauces. They won’t all be blistering heat – I’m not challenging myself to try the hottest sauce. But it’ll hopefully help me escape the repetition of the flying goose.

29 Salads
I was going to do another booze related challenge, because I enjoyed the 26 cocktails challenge so much. But I figure I’m probably going to have my fill of foaming jugs of ale at the folk festivals. So instead, I’m going to attempt something relatively healthy and make 29 salads (from various different chefs and recipe books).

Not a bumper year for these challenges, especially when compared to 2017. In fact, I only managed to complete one of them: 28 works of art. (Little wonder – we had a delightful little sprog in October, and it knocked us for six.) But it was a goodie. Herbs and Roald Dahl books will have to wait a little while. They’re still something I want to tick off.

Here are my top five from the works of art:

Like every year before, here are the 28 photos that best sum up the year.