From 2011 to 2012

Well, another year is drawing to its close and we're on the threshold of 2012. The years seem to whiz by, especially in one's later years, and they soon become a blur. Many bad things have happened this year on the international scene, one could hardly imagine a worse year, and some not-so-good things have happened which touch upon my personal life, but on the whole the latter could have been worse although of course it could likewise have been better.

Times come and go, times change, we change as we grow older, and nothing seems the same anymore. People that we once took for granted pass away or pass on and our circle of family, friends and acquaintances takes on a different form and structure. Things that were part of our everyday environment have been discarded and replaced and though we scarcely notice this, a photo of how things once were set against a photo of how things are now will immediately reveal the changes.

All our Yesterdays and all our Tomorrows

We too have changed over the years, both physically and emotionally. The physical changes are of course the most easily noticeable, but the mental changes are no less powerful for being less visible. As I look back on my life, I know that my attitudes and approaches to the people and things around me have evolved and altered as my realities alter and as perhaps my options diminish and the time I have before me becomes markedly less than the time stretching behind me. And if at this point you should be curious to know my age, your curiosity will alas remain unsatisfied! Hehhe...

[BREAK FOR FESTIVITIES] ....

I did not actually have time to complete this post before the New Year caught up with me, so I'm writing the rest of this in 2012! But never mind, it makes no odds, the mood is the same... well, for a few more hours. I've had the cake, I've had the bubbly, and I've had a few nibbles, and in fact I think I've had a little too much to drink,as I'm feeling a bit woozy. But that's mostly affected my locomotion rather than my thought processes... hehhe.... though I rather think I should be horizontal in bed rather than propped up here in front of the computer screen! But, as I want to finish this post before I hit the sack, propped up in front of the computer screen it shall be! 

Out with the Old and in with the New

Now where was I before I was rudely interrupted by... myself? Ah yes, the pros and cons of the outgoing year. Now, as I was saying... ahwwwwwww, I just can't, it's too big a subject for me in my present semi-inebriated state, so I'll have to break off to replenish my batteries and get back to this. So until then, I wish my readers and followers a HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR 2012!

[off to beddy-byes] ....

It's now the evening of the first day of 2012 and time for me to wind up this post, and there will be no looking back over the past year as I over-ambitiously implied yesterday. I leave this to the mass communication media, who can do it and have already done it much better than I could possibly hope to do. 

As I write this I can still hear fireworks being let off sporadically. It seems every year the letting-off of fireworks goes on for longer and longer. And talking of fireworks, the great fireworks display on the Embankment was as usual spectacular and did not disappoint. With Big Ben and the London Eye as the centre-pieces of the display, it was an impressive extravaganza of light bursts illuminating the night sky. Wonderful!

Big Ben assailed on all sides by fireworks

And so we begin a new year. What will the new year bring? We can guess in many instances and as the year wears on we shall see if we're right. We can be sure of one thing: as always, it will be a mix of the good and the bad. The only question is how good will the good be and how bad will the bad be and how much will our personal life be affected by the events to come. The world now has become a very small place indeed thanks to instant global communications and super-fast travel, and what happens at one end of the planet is already being reported at the other before the dust has settled.  We're all in it together, though some will fare better than others. And the way things are going in the area of social networking and the like, there will less and less privacy of the individual in the year to come.There will simply be no place to run or hide anymore.

Welcome, Brave Virtual World!

Goodbye 2010, Hullo 2011!

The countdown to the New Year has begun and, just as with the lead-up to Christmas Day, there's a sense of expectation in the air. But on top of that is a feeling that one door is closing as another opens, the sensation of a certain finality. The end of one year and the start of another makes us acutely aware of the passage of time, and the older we are the more aware of this we become. The years truly seem to whizz by.

The clock ticks on into yet another year



But as we cannot do anything about the march of time and, as yet, very little about our ageing bodies, the best thing to do is to try and make the most of the time we have left and to resolve to lead more constructive and more worthwhile lives in this incoming new year and in every year henceforth. This means appreciating all the good things we have and valuing the natural world around us and the human qualities that really matter, and not worshipping at the altar of materialism, self-gain and self-aggrandisement.

Party fun to see us into the New Year

It's good to see in the new year with friends and family, with celebration and exaggeration, and to make it a fun occasion in general. After all, it is a significant moment in time, one of many milestones in our lives. And, after the parties, the fireworks, the eating and drinking, the singing and dancing, the jubilation and the general madness of New Year's Eve, there remains only one thing to say before the lights go out on 2010:




SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, FOLKS!