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| The Strictly judges practicing with their '10' paddles for tonight's final |
It's only mildly hyperbolic to say that this millennium's Twenties aren't so much "roaring" as "screaming and sobbing".
Nevertheless, I've still managed to find solace in my oldest friend: television.
Not just from the brilliance of my usual high-quality geeky escapist fare, across multiple channels and streaming platforms, but in the unexpected genre of "reality television".
More specifically from two shows I've always enjoyed, but have recently found to be the pick-me-up I needed.
I'm talking about The Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing.
Two shows that, at their core, are about lovely people doing lovely things.
"Life-affirming viewing," as my old friend Pete says.
We choose to gloss over the Strictly blip the other year when the mask (allegedly) slipped on a couple of the pro's harsh teaching methods.
You just have to contrast this pair of delightful shows with ITV's offering of family-friendly torture porn in the shape of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here to realise why Bake Off and Strictly are precisely what the country - if not the world - needs right now.
Shows that thrive on negativity (such as I'm A Celebrity) need to be consigned to the dustbin of televisual history, along with shows looking to mimic the 'gotcha' shock of The Jeremy Kyle Show and the heavily orchestrated 'reality' of talent shows following in the soiled footsteps of The X-Factor.
Both Strictly and Bake Off are good natured shows about striving for excellence, with friendly camaraderie and sportsmanship, devoid of any sense of degradation or humiliation in the process.
Everyone who takes part in these shows seems to be a genuinely pleasant person, whether a celeb on Strictly or a member of the public on Bake Off.
Honestly, I can only think of one contestant in all the years Rachel and I have watched Strictly that I wouldn't enjoy bumping into at a party... barking mad, right-wing loony Ann Widdecombe.
But her inclusion in the 2010 line-up feels like an aberration.
I'm not saying that 2025 is going to be much better than last year, but it certainly wouldn't hurt the mood of the country to have more television programmes that follow the encouraging recipe of these two very British staples of light entertainment.
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| The Class of '24: This year's Great British Bake Off contestants |