Here's to 2018

With old age comes bad memory, unfortunately as I get older I tend to forget things too which is why every time I go out or see something interesting, I take a picture of it. Also in line with the blogging, there is a lot of pictures involved there too, so it's a good way to document my life as such and it comes in very handy on days like today, when I decided to a year in review post so I can scroll back in my photo feed and relive some of the most memorable parts of the year. 

2017 sure was an eventful year for the blog, in my personal life, it was pretty hectic as well seeing that apart from many, many, many friends of mine tying the knot, my own brother did so too. It also saw my fear of public speaking being put to bed for a bit after I had to deliver a speech at his wedding. This year also almost saw me move cities, I've never left Durban, only on holiday. The thought of leaving this city was a daunting but the prospect of a new beginning somewhere else did prove to be quite exciting but in the end it wasn't to be and I remained in Durban...not that I'm complaining. But anyway, back to the blog, I launched the blogs dedicated Instagram page, which I didn't realise at first how much hard work it would be but I enjoy the challenge, keeping people up to date on a daily basis on the ongoings of the world that represents the blog. It hasn't reached the following I expected it to, but I rather continue posting the things I do and generate an organic following instead of taking the buying follower option *side eye*.

This year saw an increase in the car reviews on the blog with some new manufacturers being introduced, one that might stand out from the rest is the Italian luxury sports car brand, infamous with their trident logo, Maserati. I drove the Maserati Ghibli in March this year, and I still struggle to find the words that would do this car justice. It was my first experience driving a supercar on my own, unsupervised, it's a terrifying but exhilrating at the same time. I was due to get another model from them but due to overlapping events, this was not possible but not to worry, we will do our best to get more of these beautiful beasts featured in 2018. Another new manufacturer introduced this year was Mazda, I've always been a big fan of this Japanese motor-manufacturer . From their new Kodo design philosophy to the great tech used in their engines. Having just tested two of their models, I cannot wait to get behind the wheel of otheres next year. 

Interms of car launches, I was fortunate enough to attend the new MINI Countryman launh as well as the new BMW 4 Series launch and most recently the new BMW X3 launch. Both fantastic vehicles and readers of the blog would have read my indepth thoughts on two o the new 4 Series variants that we had on test. I was also lucky enough to attend the launch of the all new Ford Kuga, with the unfortuante problems that faced the original model it was great to see Ford SA bounce back with an awesome product and one that offered more but was less in price that it's predesscor!

On the Tech side, we were introduced to a new cellphone manufacturer to the market, Hisense. While the brand isn't popular known for their mobile devices, we've come to learn a lot about their offerings. Huawei still remains one of the biggest growing brands in the world and we're glad we could continue bringing you the latest information on their new products, as well as attending the launch of the all new flagship smart phone device, the Mate10 Pro. The devices introduces a new era in cell phone technology with it being the first device of its kind to offer AI technology on its device, which does not require a network connection to operate! Next year we pre-empting the release of the P11 and the Mate11 so we're keen to see what new features that these have to offer.

Music whise, we didn't attend any of the noteworthy music festivals but thats not to say there were not any, just happened to be that I had weddings to attend when they were on...another *side eye*. 

Next year see's Ultra South Africa return for it's 5th year and we will be there to bring you all the happenings at the event. On the blog we've featured a great number of new songs and were introduced some great new talent in the process. A stand out for us had to be W&W aliais trance name, NWYR. After a mind blowing performance at Ultra Miami, the Dutch duo were back at Tomorrowland to wow crowds there with their great mixes and electronic beats. Most of their music is still unreleased and we hope to hear them soon. 

2017 also saw us attend a lot of events in the restaurant scene with many new places opening up in Durban. We will still be continuing this segment in the future with more awesome restaurant reviews coming up on the Bucket Scene. We haven't been reviewing much hotels of recent, due to other engagements but we hope to have the travel part up to speed next year with Tsogo Sun. On the Bucket Babe front, it had been an issue finding time to interview models with their busy schedules but we will try to improve on this in time to come. Overall, 2017 has been a rollercoaster ride for us here on the Bucket, and normally with posts like this, we tend to worry about the year that past instead of focusing on the future, hence the title of this post is "here's to 2018", as we look ahead to whatever is instore for us. A big THANK YOU to all our readers, from all over the globe, without  you guys, none of this would be possible. We look forward to your support in 2018.