Our annual Kindling Day

Yesterday Zoë and I held our new yearly ritual of a ‘Kindling Day’ at The Bakery Desks in Leigh-on-Sea. We spent a valuable morning reflecting on 2025 and mapping our ideas and intentions for 2026.

Why kindling? We felt we were gathering the fuel in preparedness for the next chapter, lighting the fire.

In fact, the last few months have been about recalibrating - as if we were clearing ground. I’ve been doing some self development, taking a class in Conversational Leadership with Invitas. Zoë’s had her own shifting perspectives - her father passed away in October.

We took over two large desks at The Bakery where we spread out long rolls of butcher’s paper. With coloured sharpies and coffee we scribbled and noodled. We posed each other questions, jotted down what excited us and then mapped the kinds of things we want to see and do more of in 2026. This wasn’t just about The Ian Sanders Company, of which there were plenty of thoughts, but for life itself.

Next steps are assessing which sticks will make the grade or which are a little damp and for the discarding pile. There’s still a lot of uncertainty about my health right now but still: I’m excited by the optimism and possibility that comes from scribbling ideas on a blank piece of paper or notepad; by a new month in the calendar, a new day. A new year ahead.

We’re both looking forward to lighting some fires in 2026 🔥