Hogmanay

This time last year we were watching the London fireworks from our bedroom window having heard Big Ben chime in the new year (I was sick then, too, there may be a theme here). I had handed in my notice and had three weeks left at work. We didn’t know where we would be living, except that it would probably be somewhere in this corner of Scotland, if we could find somewhere decent to rent. It’s been eight months since we moved up here – too soon to say if this is just a blip in our lives or the start of a whole new direction. So far, it’s been fun, it’s been beautiful, it’s been cold and it’s been quiet, sometimes too quiet. No real surprises there.

By the time you read this, we’ll be welcoming the new year with a glass of whisky in front of the fire. If we hear Big Ben it will be over the airwaves and the only fireworks will be if I inadvertently put a piece of unseasoned pine onto the grate. We’ve never been big on New Year’s Eve celebrations so we won’t miss all the London hoopla, although we will miss our London friends.

Who knows what 2009 will bring. I know what I’ll be hoping for as I stare into the fire, drawing castles in the air. I hope you have a peaceful or a wild new year, whichever you prefer. And I wish you all also a peaceful and prosperous 2009, assuming that such a thing is possible in these credit crunchy times.