And A Happy New Year

Yeah, yeah, so I am early. Allow me the novelty of being too early instead of too late for once.

So, 2006, an interesting year but here is hoping that 2007 brings more with it, and good things only please.

When I was younger, and I mean Primary age, my dad and I would walk to the end of our street, wait for the bells in the local church (which was a good mile and a half away at least) to ring and then be 'first footers' for my mum. Instead of the lump of coal we were meant to put on the fire we would give her a box of chocs, well, we had a gas fire, mum would have been livid if we starting throwing great chunks of coal at it.

I loved that experience of being out in the cold night air, holding my dad's hand, more than anything and the memory is saddened knowing I will never get it back. My dad is getting on a bit, I mean he was 50 when I was born and I just turned 35 so you do the math.

The last good Hogmanay I had was the Millenium, which seemed to suck for so many other people. Husband and I drove up to the Kilsyth hills and watched the fireworks from Glasgow, across the central belt of Scotland to Edinburgh. It was a wonderfully clear night and I even saw a shooting star (yes, the wish was fulfilled.)

I can't remember what we did the next year but the year after that we celebrated in hospital with our new born baby boys and a group of other parents, and a grumpy nurse telling us not to wake the others. FFS we all had newborns, who was sleeping?

Hogmanay with little ones is somewhat subdued, apart from the revellers who go to parties to see in the New Year through beer-goggles does anyone actually celebrate it properly?