Start the year with a bang not a beep

And a happy new year to you too. A phone call is a nice way to wish someone well for the season. A text message from someone three sheets to the wind at 12:44am is as welcome as having someone scream happy new year in your face and then throw up on your new shoes. Hence to say I did not feel compelled to reply and pretended that I slept through the festivities. I usually bother very little with New Year's forced upon celebrations. However I did manage to stay awake long enough to see the spectacular display in the night sky, the weather I mean. The thunder and lightening over the bay provided an exciting show and didn't cost a cent. The news programs of the morning do their whip around the world to show various fireworks displays over the predictable national monuments. In the lead up to the European new year there was the story of the Italians who go out and buy their own fireworks by the truck load. There must be something quite satisfying about doing your own fireworks display as opposed to standing around waiting for someone else's (sorry make that tax payer funded) pyrotechnically managed, same as every year, new year event. Health and safety and so on but the joy of buying it, setting fire to it and watching it go bang was probably the whole point of the fire cracker game in the first place give or take a few lost eyes, limbs etc. So my predictions for the year is that 2010 will be a year of much joy and sadness, increased ageing for everyone and a variety of weather conditions for all hemispheres. Bonne Annee but just don't text me.