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!

 

Countdown to the New Year

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 are. At this time of the year, thoughts often turn to our mortality as we review all those celebs who passed away during the year.

But as we cannot do anything about the march of time and, as yet, very little about our ageing bodies, it is surely the best policy to behave in a way which will make our time on this earth as worthwhile as possible. So we make New Year’s resolutions that we hope will improve our lives in the year to come and make us more content and hopefully happier. We promise ourselves and others that we will do this, that and the other in the months ahead and, I suppose, at the time we make the promise we mean it. But a few days, weeks or months down the line, our resolve proves to be less than steadfast and the cracks are beginning to show. Still, what the heck, there’s always next year ... we can renew our resolutions then if it doesn’t work out this year. However, as the years go by and we grow older, we no longer see the need for New Year’s resolutions and indeed it gets less and less likely that we’ll be around to keep them!

Of course no New Year’s Eve would be complete without all the celebrations and general festivities associated with seeing in the new year, and so this NYE, as with every previous NYE, there will be the usual partying and razzamatazz and woe betide those who, for one reason or another, are not in a mood to whoop it up. The best place for them would be in bed, their ears muffled, their eyes closed, and preferably asleep! I’m sorely tempted. As for the rest, who are in the party mood, this is their chance after several days of rest following Christmas, to get in another bout of revelry and overindulgence.

After the parties, the fireworks, 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 for 2009:

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, FOLKS!

Me in Brazil

Well, folks, this is your humble blogger shown within touching distance of a lovely latin lass deep in the heart of Brazil at carnival time. I resolved to go native and make whoopie with the revellers but my english reserve got the better of me and I felt more like an observer making a mental record of the partying locals. Still, there I was mixing with the natives, as it were, and, thanks to my mediterranean roots, looking like one of them, as long as I kept my mouth shut.

Needless to say the carnival frolics continued well into the night thanks to a hard core of ever-present merry-makers determined to whoop it up until they dropped. And they were helped by ample booze that flowed and the loud syncopated music that boomed out. The processions of effigies known as 'bonecos' had run their gauntlet among the crowds and now, as the night deepened, scattered groups of die-hards toughed it out in the streets under the watchful eye of the police.

And here is your humble blogger in more sedate moments, when the sights and sounds of Brazil could be savoured at a more leisurely pace in a seaside 'pousada' situated in a verdant setting far from the "madding crowd" and where the simple pleasures of sun and sea could be enjoyed in restful surroundings.

Brazilian Carnival

Carnival time in Brazil is a time to really let your hair down and go wild. For days on end there's nothing else but carnival and more carnival and for those few who are not into such revelry and merriment it is sheer hell. But for those who can't get enough of it, it's heaven on earth! For a great many, however, it's the way things are and they go with the flow in a sort of love-hate relationship with carnival capers and high jinks . Carnival during the day is lively enough, but come the night it livens up even more. The less adventurous stay indoors as much as they can while the more daring hit the street to live it up and party late into the night. Alcohol flows freely and makes people want to dance in the street and follow the many processions that parade through the streets.

The streets come to life with music and the noise of carnival in general, and at night some streets are illuminated by lots of overhead decorative lights strung up everywhere to add to the special atmosphere that characterises the carnival season. And by carnival season i mean the pre-carnival lead-up, the official carnival period, and the post-carnival wind-down! The Brazilians certainly know how to keep things going and milk a good thing when they have it.

A whole industry has grown up around the carnival and before the event itself takes place there are months of preparation to organise everything, make up the costumes, banners, giant dolls, floats and whatever else goes into making a carnival worthy of the name. This is especially so in such cities as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where the art of carnival is second to none and where the main event takes place in a stadium called a 'sambodrome'. The processions that parade through the sambodrome have to be seen to be believed. They are nothing short of magnificent and breath-taking.