Reasons to be cheerful: Why 2018 wasn’t all doom and gloom despite Brexit and Trump

Featuring David Schwimmer, noble dogs, extraordinary recoveries and moving acts of generosity

As 2018 staggers battered and bloodied to the finish line, it’s all too tempting to reflect on the past year in a spirit of doom and gloom.

Another annus horribilis, as Jacob Rees-Mogg might say, dominated by no-deal Brexit chaos and a White House not above cynically politicising the starving refugees of the migrant caravan to score votes at the mid-terms.

But, by the standards of 2016, the last 12 months have been a total breeze. Here are some reasons to be cheerful courtesy of the 2018 news cycle.

Sport

The FIFA World Cup in Russia was one of the year’s bright spots, with an unfancied England team actually winning a shoot-out, advancing to the semi-finals and coming agonisingly close to ending 52 years of hurt.

The tournament brought the nation together unlike any event since Euro 96, made unlikely heroes out of Jordan Pickford and Kieran Trippier and saw ironic sales of M&S waistcoats soar in tribute to manager Gareth Southgate, whose personal redemption after missing the fatal penalty against Germany 22 years earlier was about as moving as it gets.

It was also notable as the first truly great World Cup for memes, with Harry Maguire going viral for “mansplaining” the Three Lions’ success to his girlfriend in the stands. A campaign to get a shot of him riding a unicorn in a swimming pool onto the £50 note was narrowly defeated.

A mock-up of Harry Maguire on a £50 note (Jonny Sharples/Change.org) (Jonny Sharples / Change.org)

In the end, football didn’t quite come home, but it certainly toyed with the idea.

Geraint Thomas meanwhile became the first Welshman and only the third ever Briton to win the Tour de France, a superb achievement.

Politics

Brexit provided a steady trickle of bad news and bleak prospects from January onwards, building up to a pantomime season of failed coups, mace-grabbing and braying in the Commons.

But there were some highlights. Or rather, one. Theresa May’s appallingly stiff and robotic dancing, first in Cape Town in August and then at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham in October. Resembling a malfunctioning threshing machine tearing slowly through a wheat field, the PM made an entire country cringe as one.

Donald Trump’s arrival in Britain to be greeted by an inflatable Baby Trump balloon floating over London was a nicely surreal bit of political theatre but overall the US president’s affairs remain bleak, with FBI special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into his administration’s ties to Russia seeing several former associates brought to justice.

His defeated opponent, Hillary Clinton, did provide one of the year’s most charming stories, however, when she wrote a letter of encouragement to eight-year-old Martha Kennedy Morales of Maryland after she narrowly missed out on class president by a handful of votes.

Environment

Although climate change leaves plenty to be pessimistic about, the European Parliament made positive steps forward this year in banning bee-harming pesticides and single-use plastics while the UK’s renewable energy usage broke records, with solar and wind overtaking nuclear for the first time and Britain pledging to go coal-free by 2025.

Populations of endangered species like whales and gorillas meanwhile made a comeback.

The California wildfires, thought to have been exacerbated by global warming, provided some terrifyingly apocalyptic scenes but also gave us stories of generosity and self-sacrifice amid the ruin. The tale of Madison, an Anatolian shepherd dog reluctantly left behind by his owners who guarded his old house for over a month until they returned, was especially heartwarming.

Benny the beluga whale, who arrived in the Thames estuary in September, provided a welcome novelty and drew huge crowds to Gravesend in the hope of catching a glimpse.

Gay penguins Sphen and Magic at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium (Reuters)

Perhaps the year’s most touching animal story though was that of Magic and Sphen, two male penguins fostering an egg together at Sydney’s Sea Life Aquarium.

The reintroduction of Eurasian beavers to the Forest of Dean after 400 years was another cheering development.

Technology

While there was plenty of concern about data breaches, cryptocurrency price crashes and the prospect of killer robots taking over this year, the tech sector also provided plenty of reasons for rational optimism.

Harnessing hydroelectric power from Norway’s fjords and waterfalls was proposed as an answer to the high electricity consumption of computers engaged in bitcoin mining.

Researchers at Swansea University said plastic waste could be used to fuel the cars of tomorrow, cutting fossil fuel dependency and potentially eliminating the need for recycling.

Elon Musk’s dream of building a futuristic Hyperloop transport network came a step closer to reality in the Middle East while a supercomputer able to mimic the human brain and carry out 2 trillion actions per second was built in Manchester.

Health

As the NHS celebrated its 70th birthday, we heard a number of stories concerning inspirational recoveries from patients helped by the health service, none more touching than that of five-year-old Ben Williams, who was receiving treatment for brain cancer when radiology staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham staged a World Cup-themed party in his honour.

Ben, nephew of The Independent‘s news editor Richard Williams, also received a message of encouragement from England captain Harry Kane, whom Ben subsequently met at Wembley in September while serving as a mascot, helping Harry collect his World Cup Golden Boot before the side’s Uefa Nations League clash against Spain.

Another incredible story was that of Andy Grant, a royal marine from Liverpool who lost a leg after being blown up in Afghanistan, became mired in depression, alcoholism and gambling addiction before turning his life around and becoming a record-breaking runner.

In the US, the introduction of spinal implants helped Jered Chinnock of Wisconsin walk again after being paralysed from the waist down in a snowmobile accident.

Miscellaneous

Friends actor David Schwimmer being forced to deny he was the man being hunted by police in Blackpool for stealing from a restaurant, despite the pair bearing an uncanny resemblance, was a deliciously absurd occurrence.

The alleged thief caught on CCTV in Blackpool and David Schwimmer’s parody recreation (PA)

TV personality Les Dennis likewise found himself having to refute accusations he was to blame for the spate of graffiti across Norwich city centre bearing his name.

More touching was the story of Dawn Caviola, who whipped up community support to ensure every single doughnut was sold at a patisserie in Seal Beach, California, so that the owner, John Chhan, could close early for the day and spend time with his wife Stella, recovering from an aneurysm.

Emma Frost’s efforts to restore second-hand bicycles to help refugees arriving in York set a stirring example, as did eight-year-old Anupriya from Tamil Nadu, who emptied her piggy bank to donate her entire life savings (8,246 rupees) to the victims of flooding in Kerala.

The Royal Mail’s bid to deliver a letter from seven-year-old Jase Hyndam to his late father “in Heaven” is almost too moving to think about.