Another New Year's Eve

Here we are, New Year's Eve again.  Despite having an invitation to see in the New Year at my local pub, once again I've decided to stay at home.  That's right, it's me, some beer and a big plate of sausage rolls seeing out the old and seeing in the new again.  (These sausage rolls are from Tesco - Sainsbury's didn't have any, because, presumably, those bastards I nearly had the fight with had bought them all).  I'm going to be completely honest here - I don't really like New Year's Eve, never have.  Sure, when I was younger I always used to go out to celebrate it but, in truth, I never really enjoyed all the forced bonhomie.  I couldn't wait for the year to turn so that I could get away.  So, nowadays, I tend to stay at home.  I'm not alone in feeling this about New Year's Eve, I know.  If I was Scottish, I might feel different, (as Billy Connolly once observed, in Scotland Hogmany is like Christmas, but without all the religion to spoil it).

Speaking of Hogmany, I remember the days when the TV channels, even South of the border, used to see in the New Year with televised Hogmany celebrations - basically a lot of B-list celebs with some vague Scottish connection wearing kilts, playing bagpipes and singing supposedly traditional, yet still shit, songs.  It was absolutely abominable.  If viewers in Scotland are still subjected to such crap, they have my deepest sympathies.  Nowadays, the TV companies make as little effort as possible to mark the turning of the year: the bongs of Big Ben and ten minutes of fireworks.  I always avoid these as, inevitably, the commentator feels obliged to make some patronising comments to us sad bastards who are home alone at New Year.  Fuck off!  It's our choice, fuck wits!  The other thing I always avoid are New Year resolutions.  They are utterly pointless.  I also tend to avoid all those programmes offering retrospectives on the outgoing year and trying to make predictions about the future.  I don't need to know about what has happened in 2017 - I was there.  As for the future, it is unknowable, so why worry?  All I will say is that I found 2017 far too stressful and I intend remedying that in 2018.  My only 'predictions' are that The Sleaze will continue, this blog will continue and I aim to do more podcasting.  It only remains to wish everyone a Happy New year.  See you in 2018.