And a Happy New Year!

I was half-listening to a radio review of the main news items of 2008. It was very entertaining and reminded me how much more we forget  transient news stories than actually remember! I suddenly felt my age (for only 2 more days can I sing "When I'm sixty-four" because I shall have got there!) But what will you remember of 08?  McCain putting his chips on the table and choosing a pitbull with lipstick as his running mate; Obama barracking us about how it will all change with this election(and who was his running mate who will in 4 weeks time be the vice president of the US?)

But what will your memories be? Shannon Matthews? Catastrophe in Zimbabwe? The wonderful Olympics in Beijing? The Bitish tally of medals there? The wash-out summer? a particular holiday or event in your life? The death of a loved one? What are the memories that shape us? Are they personal moments, national or international events?  I suspect that for most of us it is the events that revolve around the family and close friends who make up the daily routine and ritual of our lives. I suppose external events only impact upon us when it actually affect our lives: the credit crunch and the way the value of our property and shares are quickly devalued. Or when a bank goes bust and we lose a substantial portion of savings; or the war in Afghanistan brings about the death of a loved one. That came home to me in April when I was asked to dedicate a memorial rose garden at the Anglian Regimental Chapel at Warley in Essex. At that point 10 soldiers were being commemorated who had died in the last year or two. War suddenly impacts on real people that I met on that occasion, wives, girl friends, parents, who were proud of the sacrifice and bravery that these soldiers had displayed.

So what will 2009 hold: what predictions could be made? The credit crunch deepening? Yet more businesses going under? How we we be changed: illness, bereavement, redundancy, or the challenge to let this coming year be more fun, less tense, more relaxed because we have made a resolution NOT to let things get us down? That is my resolution and I hope to keep it until at least 12th night!!

Anyway May 2009 be for you

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!