Happy New Year
For the first time since I was at convent school I’m staying in on New Year’s Eve – no party to host, no party to go to, no loud music, no pointless conversation, no people in their 40s and 50s trying to recapture their lost youth (or trying to pretend that it isn’t lost at all), no bad food and wine like warmed-up cat’s piss, nobody stepping on my toes or spilling red wine over my silk skirt, no vomit in the lavatories or tiresome people wired up on cocaine, no false cheer when the clock strikes midnight and no false greetings afterwards. Bliss. I’ve always disliked New Year’s Eve, the dislike eventually turned to extreme distaste, and finally to a shudder at the thought of all those people jumping around and shouting not to celebrate the year that has passed and to welcome the one that has begun, but to drown out the sound of that little voice whispering that they are mortal and that time is running out. And now finally, I feel ‘allowed’ to stay at home and do what I want to do, which is watch some brilliant old film and drink some brilliant old wine. I have given myself permission to do nothing, go nowhere and invite no one round.
For years and years one feels obliged to jump through these hoops and then one fine day – a really fine day – one wakes up and realises that one doesn’t give a damn, and that one is permitted at last to do as one pleases.
I understand that I am in a minority here, so all those of you who are going out to celebrate must be sure to have fun once you have bothered to go to all the trouble and effort of making arrangements and giving the GRTU one thing fewer to grumble about.
Enjoy it, whatever you’re doing, and happy new year.
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and so say all of us, cheers.
Happy New Year to you too! Am staying in like you and don’t feel like am missing out at all!
Are you sure you are in a minority? I took this decision around 20 years ago and have been enjoying New Year’s Eve at home in the same way, watching some good old (or new) movie +/- the wine.
Happy New Year to you and all the readers of this blog. See you in 2009.
This reminded me of Thomas Hood’s poem ‘November’.
“No sun – no moon! / No morn – no noon – / No dawn – no dusk – no proper time of day -” …and on it goes.
In any case, welcome to the club Daphne. As my gerbil used to say, New Year parties are for the outdated – they peaked in the 30s during the Great Depression. As for the Club version, it wouldn’t have been bad if only one could move and talk – and perhaps buy a drink…
One thing for sure: 2009 is going to be a year to remember. And it is the year people will start enquiring what money is made of, who creates it, how, and, hopefully, why the system unfailingly crashes with plenty of bubbles bursting. They will also be asking – ‘Where has all the money gone?’ without the fear of being labelled a tin-foil looney.
As a New Year treat watch the documentary “Money as Debt” (47 minutes) – it’s on Google vid and Youtube (5/5), and it’s for dummies.
Happy New Year from another New Year’s Eve couch potato who always enjoys the interesting insight into Maltese mentality-in every way- on this blog!
Happy 2009!
My exact thoughts, Daphne. I don’t miss going out on New Year’s Eve. I have done that for so many years; besides I do go out quite often throughout the year.
Happy New Year to you and yours and to all the readers of this blog.
Maa! I stayed at home also.
Are we getting old?
I had an overdose of “Keeping up appearances” with Mrs Bucket.
Poor Richard , I like Onslow , with his lifestyle he’s the millionaire!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Onslow_(Keeping_Up_Appearances).jpg
Happy new year.
Happy New Year to you Daphne whichever way you decided to see the old one out and the new one in. Your way sounded just as good as the million other ways it’s done.
Just keep that old fire burning in your writing and never let it get put out, not even for a second. Keep holding out that mirror to our faces and show us how ugly we Maltese could be at times. It’s the only way we can ever learn.
As we say around here goodonyer and more power to your elbow.
I see that the average age of the people commenting on this post is 40.
With two boys aged three and five, I see no point in going out, or inviting friends over, and anyway I am past that stage when I needed friends to get drunk with; now I can do it on my own:-))
We had a small party consisting of pastizzi, mini toad-in-the-hole , hash browns and tons of good wine. A good movie summed up everything.
P.S. Both my husband and I are around 40.
John Meilak Thursday, 1 January 1518hrs
I see that the average age of the people commenting on this post is 40.
Still a lot younger then the average age in parliament……….. I think :)
That’s the problem with parliament then I think. Young people should lead. Old people should be taken care of.
[Daphne – You appear to have a problem with older people.]
You don’t go to race in the Formula 1 with an ageing Ford Anglia do you? Of course, the Ford Anglia is very valuable but its time is past. Time to make way for the new.
A happy new year to all!
@John Meilak,
God speed you!
John Meilak, that’s why you’re not a Mathematician.
Your logic is screwed up.
Leading a country demands experience. Don’t you agree?
A person’s experience increases as one grows older.
Don’t you agree?
A car cannot gain experience.
Don’t you agree?
Therefore a car has no relation to leadership, because it misses a very important variable.
So using my logic, I’d say a leader matures like a fine wine; you drink a wine too early and it will taste like shit.
@John Meilak : that is the problem with Maltese politics. One party is an old Ford Anglia running on all four pistons driven by an experienced driver; the engine needs a good tune-up. And the other is a re-bored , renewed , re-sprayed garaged Anglia which is still in the pit-stop, with a young, presumptuous go-cart driver at the wheel. I wish one of the Anglias was Harry Potter’s. That would have been great for all of us.
We spent new year’s eve at home too, ordered a Pizza Hut gigantic pizza, breadsticks and chicken wings and washed them down with a good bottle of wine whilst watching the film Seven Pounds (great film)…. and the hightlight of it all was that we did all this dressed comfortably in our pygamas! I cannot agree more with Daphne about what I refer to as the New Year’s eve charade.
Wishing you all the very best in 2009.
@Graham Crocker
“Leading a country demands experience. Don’t you agree?
A person’s experience increases as one grows older.”
Not necessarily. You see, Graham, the problem is that our MPs’ waistline increases while their experience surely does not. It is evident in the day-to-day blunders they make. Both sides, mind you. We are awed by their supreme intellect, I mean.
To lead a country you need determination and INHERITED skill (you’re born not made to be a leader). Spending your formative years as a Catholic Action president doesn’t give you much experience I’m afraid. I mean, you’d end up losing your other cheek quite quickly.
@John Schembri
One party is a Mr. Bean car complete with a stupid padlock and everything. The driver is even worse than the car. The other party is a battered and beaten Escort which should be driven off Dingli Cliffs at the first opportunity. Don’t worry John, the cars of both parties all come from Hogwarts. They’re as nutty as a fruitcake.