The lane up to the village , my cottage is at the top
The cottage with her bluebirds
I got home last night to thick ice and some snow.
The girls were safe at Trendy Carol’s so I picked them up, fed them and we all promptly went to bed.
I felt dreadful.
But overnight the antibiotics started to do their thing and by morning I didn’t feel too bad.
I’m resting today.
I Bought a trashy Asian disaster movie for this afternoon and I will go to bed early which is my want to do on New Years Eve.
My long awaited turn around on day shifts have come around with a vengeance , I’m working the next two long days and the hospice staffing is pretty low.
Hey ho, be careful for what you wish for eh?
Now my blog today, is passed over to you commentators,
It has proved so often to be a good move on my behalf as often the comments are much more interesting than the post itself .
Of course it’s about New Years Eve,
More importantly a New Years Eve
What is your most memorable New Years Eve?
I have not really celebrated New Years Eve since the 1980s where it was common here to get dressed up in fancy dress and make a tit out of yourself at family parties and the local pub circuit
In 1989 that was all finished for me when a friend, Ian Parry, was killed in a plane crash on the 28 th of December.
Frivolity and celebrations at New Year just kind of ceased after that
Perhaps it’s almost time to change this ......?
Tell me your New Year stories.
Just you take care of yourself and shake off that bug whatever it is. Keep warm and stay safe. I am not a New Year's Eve person so have no tales to tell. x
ReplyDeleteYou’ve just told one xx happy new Year Pat, you deserve a happier one
DeleteTrying to find a taxi at 5am to get us home. We walked from a warehouse party at The Docks towards the train station in ripped jeans, as is the fashion now. That is my last memory of NYE in the 90s. I am not sure how we got home.
ReplyDeleteYou party animal
DeleteRipped jeans in a New York winter ?
You were brave
Just realised you weren’t in New York lol duh
DeleteLove that view of your cottage! So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAnd OMG you've taken me back. My best memories of New Year's are from when I was little. We used to get together with friends and family and have awesome parties. When I was a teen, the neighbours used to close the street and have literally a block party with food and music. It was awesome. We'd go around wishing everybody a Happy New Year at midnight. You'd hug anybody and everybody. Such a good vibe. The first time I tasted wine was at one of these parties.
Good times.
Hope you have a fab New Year's Eve, dearheart.
*smooches*
XOXO
You too my friend
DeleteLet’s all have a better 2021 x
When I was a kid living with my parents Mr and Mrs Weaver, our neighbour was a bit of a wag. We lived in a bungalow in a cul-de-sac on an housing estate. Anyway, on new years eve the wag next door turned up unannounced, pissed, with a lump of coal wrapped in newspaper, a tartan rug for a kilt and a distemper brush tied up with string for a sporran. I I must have been 12ish. I just remember the grown ups having a good time.
ReplyDeleteThe laugh was next morning. In the night the wag had festooned our front door with toilet roll streamers, dragged our dustbin onto the doorstep and fixed a large sign to it that read: HAPPY NEW YEAR MILKMAN!
I think he thought my mum was a bit prim and proper. He always called her "Auntie".
Yes I think we both have similar memories of fathers running amok in underpants to shrieks of laughter from the 1970s heavily made up ladies .......
DeleteWhat’s a. Distemper brush when it’s at home lol
Distemper brush is like a heavy duty external paint brush for brickwork.
DeleteI have just seen from the comments above the The Weaver of Grass claims to have no tales to tell. Well, now you know.
ReplyDeleteI knew she was mistaken lol
DeleteOur daughter was born on December 10th in Spain. My mother had come to stay to help and offered to babysit. We looked forward to a nice meal in one of our favourite restaurants.... everything was closed ! We found a British place open and ordered two streaks and asked for French mustard. The waitress told us they only had English mustard called Dijon. My husband and I still laugh about it X
ReplyDeleteWishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year xx
Those “ laughable” nights often become family folklore because of the shared humour
DeleteMy most memorable was when 2012 arrived, our first New Year’s Eve in Spain. Champagne, one grape per chime at midnight, in the city hall plaza in Sevilla with hundreds of other mostly sober people! Pure magic. Wishing you hope and happiness as 2021 progresses! Thanks for enriching my year.
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely the Spanish know exactly how to celebrate xx
DeleteThank you fir following and for being a dear friend over the years x
I can’t think of a good New Year’s Eve story. In fact, any effort to try to celebrate it has ended badly, so we tend to sit quietly home trying to stay awake until midnight. If we’re feeling crazy, perhaps we’ll have some prosecco to toast the new year.
ReplyDeleteSassybear
Www.Idleeyesandadormy.Com
Yes, perhaps this entry underlines the present New Year’s Eve rather well ....love to you both
DeleteJxx
Out of curiosity, I entered this link - and my internet provider blocked it. It matches addresses of pornography and adult content. . . .
DeleteI declined!
Can you explain that one rambler ?
DeleteI was a chuchified youth, so I never managed to have a rowdy New Years, but one fellow would host an all night party after the Watchnight service, and it was a great get-together.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never been to an all nighter!
DeleteThis is another thing on my bucket list x
I'll buy you some MDMA to keep you going past midnight x
DeleteOh lord.........
DeleteIt's OK John-possibly a mega dandelion with added mega aniseed flavour herbal infusion(pro plus and prescibed valium for my anxiety worked for me as a teenager) x
DeleteI honestly have no memorable New Year's Eve tales to tell. If I stay up and phone people I get told off for waking them up, if I go to bed early I get told off for ignoring them ... I just can't bloody well win 🤣🤣
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year John, here's to a better year ahead and another good years blogging. 💖
Yes old friend
DeleteOld Lang syne
“
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?“
I wish you a very happy 2021, John.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite New Year's Eve was spent in bed, alone, drinking champagne, and watching silent movies on the local public broadcasting station. I wasn't lonely or sad, just wanted to celebrate my way. It was immensely satisfying!
Classy val, classy
Delete1978 - just finished a late shift at St Albans A&E as a student nurse. On impulse my friend and I accepted a lift from two young lads and went to Trafalgar Square to see the new year in. First time I ever kissed a policeman.
ReplyDeleteI kissed on in 1987 xx
DeleteOne
DeleteThis year is my most memorable New Years Eve so far. Our daughter just gave birth to a beautiful, sweet grand daughter on the eve before New Years Eve! They are both doing well.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to you all....good news indeed xx
DeleteOh John .... Trelawnyd looks so pretty especially with a covering of frost.
ReplyDeleteFor the past four years, we have been invited to our friends sisters house for NYE .... we did know them but, having sat next to them at two weddings, we must have impressed as they invited us to their NYE party after that ..... it’s amazing ..... magician, cartoonist, singers, celebrities and wonderful food and drink and a real mixture of people. We shall miss it tonight. XXXX
I love meeting people at weddings, there’s something about the celebrations that make people bond rather quickly x
DeleteMy parents, never really social, had a NY's eve party. I was 6. I remember sleeping in my parents' bed with five other kids and giggling a lot while the party went on downstairs. My uncle Ernie opened a bottle of fizz and the spray hit the ceiling. Those stains were up there for years.
ReplyDeleteFamily folklore x
DeleteYou take care of yourself this coming year mister...
ReplyDeleteNYE? some good some bad...my ex's mother died some years ago on NYE so we never really felt the same after that ..but when I was a youngster I travelled from the midlands with a handsome boyfriend and another couple to see what all the fuss was about in 'that there London Trafalgar square'...in my memory it was crowded and happy and people were great...we were in and out of pubs and I kissed the policeman outside #10 when you could still walk up Downing Street....we drove back in the early hours and parked at the top of a hill and had a lovely 'magic moment' as Barbara Windsor would say with the sun coming up ...it was great. Now I think I will be happy with a prosecco and an early night....sadness and sentimentality have wrapped their arms around me too much these past few years and it is time for a change...stay safe and well my friend xx
Well the kissing of policemen seems to be a theme lol
DeleteNothing at all exciting, but as a child, we (Dad and my two older brothers and me) used to go outside just before midnight and walk down the road as far as the Police Box (shades of Doctor Who) at the corner of the common and back again, during which time midnight would have struck. It wasn't the fashion as it is now to set off fireworks, but we also knew when it is midnight as all the ships in the port would set off their hooters/sirens. We would wish neighbours who were also out A Happy New Year and then knock on our own front door to be First Foot - although at the time none of us were tall (my Dad was 5'7") or dark (all fair). This was after an evening of stuffing ourselves with chocolate and fizzy drinks, and from what I recall there was quite often a Marx Brothers film broadcast. I'm the only one living in the same house now, Mam and Dad are gone, my brothers married and moved away, but I always go outside a just before midnight. The neighbours slowly dwindled, until there was just one who would come out and we'd have a chat at midnight, and watch the fireworks, and he'd be the first person I'd say Happy New Year to. He died in March this year, his funeral in early April so I couldn't go to his funeral. I stood on my doorstep to say goodbye. I'll stand on my doorstep again tonight and say another goodbye to him and 2020. I know which one I'll miss more.
ReplyDeleteEvocative and nicely remembered
DeleteThank you
And thank you. Reading your blog has made a difficult year easier to bear. I wish you a happy, healthy and safe New Year with many things to remember rather than to forget
DeleteWriting it
DeleteHas made a difficult year easier to bear x
New Year's Eve has never been that big in this house. The millenium year was the most memorable. Nick was on call until midnight, being an IT person, in case the millenium bug did its worst. We had invited another couple round with the idea of cooking dinner in time for 12.00 when his shift ended and some other hapless techie had to take over. Singing Auld Lang Syne before the starter was just wierd and I could barely keep my eyes open by pudding.
ReplyDeleteTake care and Happy New Year to you, I daren't say that 2021 could hardly be worse because you just never know!
Oh yes the year 2000...I was parked about sheffield on the moors watching the fireworks
DeleteHello John, well as l have mentioned before l dislike Xmas itself for many reasons including my beloved fathers death one year.
ReplyDeleteHowever, l always feel better once it is over and remember one Old Years Night, as it used to be called, as a good 'un.
Dancing the night away at the Tottenham Royal in North London, loads of us missed the last bus back to Islington, so we decided to walk home 5 miles plus in the snow and we lot being not only 'Soft Southeners' but city kids as well i.e. not used to Walking anywhere much!!! We were at least 20 strong as the walk progressed.
Singing Tamla Motown songs, snowball fights, linking arms, good humour.
Not too rowdy, even a couple of Police cars stopped us to see what we were up to and offered any of the girls (only!) a lift home if we wanted.
Good job the fashion was for clumpy shoes with a sturdy stack heel walking on the icey pavements.
Don't think they could do it nowadays, but we had fun anyway without drugs or too much to drink, did all smoke cigarettes though!
HNY to you dear friend, let us hope that the New Year brings better times for everyone.
Tess xx
Nice memories Tess , as alwaysvx
DeleteI used to frequent Tottenham Royal in the 70's. Walking home in the other direction - Edmonton.
DeleteSorry to hi-jack this John, but Andi, do you remember when the dj's used to play the songs for slow dancing at the end of the evening and used to announce 'and now for a ration of passion!'? Then end the night with 'Go Now' by The Moody Blues
DeleteTess
Lol hi jack away xxxxx
DeleteTess - don't remember that. I just remember horrible groping blokes and sticky floors. Good times :D
DeleteYou cannot beat a quiet evening at home listening to Kenneth McKeller and the lovely Moira Anderson. Remember them?
ReplyDeleteIndeed I do ....Ken was all man with sturdy knees and moira was at least seven feet tall
DeleteAnd Val Doonican
DeleteNow val looked like my uncle Jim
DeleteI prefer Moira and her massive frocks and always a broach to her left shoulder
Ah, Moira and her massive cock - and always a brooch to her left shoulder, don't ye know?
DeleteI don’t ever recall really celebrating NYE at a party or anything. Usually just to bed early and would wake up at midnight hearing neighbors put off fireworks, etc. last few years I have stayed up to watch Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen in Times Square to bring in the new year! What a great and fun time on TV. Will do the same tonight. Our usual family tradition was having a rather large gathering on NY day and having sauerkraut, pork, mashed potatoes and applesauce. The pork is to bring luck into the new year. I will cook for me but take dinner to friends so they have a nice meal to since many do not cook.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year......I hope we both find what seems like that special person that we would welcome in our lives. One can hope I guess.
I raise a glass to you dear Karen x
ReplyDeleteOh dear, you shouldn't have asked that. I had it in mind to write about a particularly memorable New Years Eve, on my blog. One I will never forget, for all the wrong reasons.
ReplyDeleteGive us the precise
DeleteCaught in the act ;o)
DeleteOh lord lol
DeleteI'll post it on my blog. I might have to change my name to trollop ;o)
DeletePissed dancing with Santa on the millennium eve. I was wearing a black velvet mod suit with a turtle neck sweater from Yves Saint Laurent. I felt the dog's bollocks, but probably looked more like the dog's dinner.
ReplyDeleteYou dapper homo !
DeleteI think I should take you with me as my personal shopper when I next go to TK MAXX
I would skint you darling x
DeleteLol but would I look better
DeleteYou would look just fine if you resisted the temptation of a particular brand of footwear x
DeleteThey are in the bin mave from tonight x
Deleteoh gawd...there's been some shockers, one very nasty, involving a lot of brandy and babysham drinks and passing out..but that's for the memoirs.
ReplyDeleteNYE 1981 was THE most terrifying I think, I was at a vile, stuck up dinner/dance affair at a hotel in Southampton,(long dresses and dinner suits type of thing) and I already wasn't keen on being there, dreading that kissing of strangers milarky after the countdown, AND my panty girdle was killing me already BEFORE the dinner was eaten..so...you know!!! but one thing for certain was my fervent desire NOT to get serious or heavily involved in any way with Mr Smith, a sort of reliable but bit boring/friend/occasional boyfriend. He was rather keen,too keen, I WAS NOT, but he cadged an invite to the dinner dance anyways. After the countdown, as the kissing commenced and the Happy New Years reduced, and just as I was attempting to satisfy Mr Smith with a small peck on the cheek, he pulled away, to the centre of the room, dramatically got down on one knee and glanced around at the whole crowd, which parted and suddenly became very quiet. Oh sheeeet...NO!!!, how can I refuse THIS in a room full of people on New Years? I thought as the fear (and a smidge of loathing I admit) left me wide eyed and dumbstruck. In the silence,
Mr Smith, calmly reached into his jacket pocket, and promptly whipped out................... two desert spoons he had saved from the dinner (still showing signs of congealing trifle I might add) and said to my scowling face..
'my most lovely darling...any requests?'
he always had misguidedly fancied himself as a brilliant player of the spoons.....the idiot.
to say I was immensely and heart stoppingly relieved was an understatement..and most people laughed and carried on snogging thinking 'oh, the poor plump girl, she must have thought he was going to ask her to marry him'.
I requested 'does your chewing gum loose it's flavour on the bedpost overnight?' and downed a large gin in relief as Mr Smith happily spooned away, still on one knee.
and yes, dear reader...many years later, I did marry him.
the daft idiot, and he's still pretty ropey on the spoons. God loves a tryer, so they say.
The very best of everything to come in 2021 wished for you all, we sure do need it, and, Northriding, that was very beautiful and ever so meaningful for me this year, at Midnight, I shall be standing on my doorstep and thinking of you doing the same. Happy New Year one and all.
love from Mrs Smith xxx
Lol loved this..yes onwards , upwards
DeleteTo better times x
Marvellous!! I shall dine out myself on this story given the chance !!
DeleteThank you anonymous. I did stand on my doorstep and see in the New Year at Midnight, and thought of those who had gone before, and elderly friend lost last March in particular. I hope that your doorstep remembrance was a comfort to you
DeleteHmmm...
ReplyDeleteHere's some bare bones:
New Orleans.
A band with a lead singer named Little Queenie who fancied my boyfriend.
My boyfriend a fresh, brand new one for me and I already knew he wanted to marry me.
A pound of homegrown marijuana.
A freeze so severe that most of the water in New Orleans had been shut down.
The most psychic experience of my life.
Should I go on?
(I married the boyfriend. He is my husband of thirty-six years now. Our lives are somewhat calmer.)
How exciting......so far the most Rick n roll comment
DeleteNew Years Eve has largely been a stay at home affair for me, with family. Kind of quiet, but I usually make it until midnight. One of my grandmothers had a tradition that had to have money in your hand at the start of the year, to assure good fortune in the new year. If you didn't have it, she would give it to you. I have a wood cigar box, with the cash I have had in hand over the past 50 years in it, about 30 years ago I started writing the date and location on the notes, someday someone will either have fun, or be mystified by my box full of New Years money.
ReplyDeleteYour own tradition David
DeleteLove to you and hubster x
What beautiful pictures. I wish i was there to have a coffee with you. Long story short...my most memorable Nye was when friend and I went into downtown Harrisburg for their Nye festivities and I was in full drag complete with updo and doves adorning the wig and floor length white lace and beaded gown...and a group of frat boys were for some reason enamoured with the Mistress. We had a blast that night and they even went to the gay club with us.They were a hoot!!!! I may have even did a shot off one of their abs!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNow my dear...I wish you a most peaceful and healthy New Year! 🎇🎉🎇🎊🎇🍸
Now you and mz moon are in the lead deArheart x
DeleteThe one that immediately sprung to mind was the millennium. We were at a family party, we being me, husband and 3 kids (youngest just 18 months) Somehow I was the designated driver so every single person was truly rat arsed by midnight except me and my kids. I remember sitting on the sofa with my kids cuddled into me looking at my husband and just thinking what an obnoxious arsehole he was. And not just because he was drunk as a lord! Took another 10 years to divorce him though!!
ReplyDeleteThis NYE I find myself by myself and I'm content with my life for now. Wishing you much happiness and contentment in 2021 John xxx
Thank you Ali x
DeleteSome nice memories of New Years Eve but the the best was on a warm sandy beach in the middle of nowhere Belize. We were with a small group of dear friends and watched the moonrise while eating and drinking ourselves silly waiting for midnight. This year will probably be spent sprawled on the couch with hubby and dottie dog watching Netfix. But most definitely there will be cocktails and snacks involved.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a healthy and joyful New Year John. X
Sometimes those special moments “ just happen” they are not organised , they “ just happen”
DeleteFor me, New Year's is a bit of a Nothing Burger - I stay up because people around me will set of fireworks and I'm going to be blasted awake if I try to go to bed. My favorite memories are of New Year's Day when I was a kid, because we'd have a big Family Reunion at our house - one of only two we'd do indoors, the rest would be at my uncles' farms which were a lot more comfortable for as big a clan as ours. My aunts were fine southern cooks, so the spread was always amazing. My uncles - all well over 6 feet tall - would play poker for penny candy or matchsticks. My 5-foot nothing Grandmother, widow of a Baptist preacher, would come sailing through like the Queen Mary and all those grown men would hide their cards and beer like they were pre-teens. They're all gone now. Lord, how I miss them.
ReplyDeleteLovely memories.....a lovely read
DeleteAs a child we would get together with family and as the adults played cards we kids would go sliding down the hills on the bright moonlit nights until our clothing was soaked and stiffening in the snowy Manitoba cold. This year will become most memorable s I lost my hubby just 10 weeks ago from cancer after being diagnosed just a week prior to death and I have been in an emotional meltdown since Christmas. In any case, I wish you good health, peace, and happiness throughout the New Year.
ReplyDeleteOh Norma , my thoughts and best wishes are sent to you.
DeleteYou describe your new year quite wonderfully too
It’s my birthday on New Year’s Day so New Year’s Eve was always a good night out when I was young, and I celebrated at midnight (and again the next day!). I only ever once opened my presents at midnight New Year’s Eve, though.
ReplyDeleteIt was my thirteenth birthday the next day, and we had a family New Year’s Eve party in my honour at our house. I was so excited as the clock struck 12 and asked my parents if I could open my presents and cards, They agreed. I felt very sad and flat on my birthday morning to have nothing to open, and have never done that again.
A lesson learner x
DeleteMy most memorable one was the one many years ago when I decided against my better judgement to go to a party, drank (and smoked) too much and was involved in an automobile accident on the way home that totaled both cars. Fortunately, no one was hurt, other than the DUI convictions. Since then I have celebrated the passing of the year quietly, at home.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young everyone drank and drove
DeleteI don't have any new year stories I'm afraid but just wanted to say that I'm so glad you're beginning to feel better and also to comment on how beautiful your cottage is! x
ReplyDeleteThank you xx
DeleteNot being a night person or much of a drinker, NYE has never held much attraction for me. However, I did have one memorable NYE. Went to a dance with fellow I had by that time dated for seven years. At midnight, as the DJ played Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers we danced and he asked me to marry him. Considering I was a single mom with four children (ages 8-17) at the time and he had never been married before, it was a definite leap for him. That was 29 years ago today. Still married.
ReplyDeleteHow romantic x
DeleteMy most memorable NYE was with a dear friend who was given three or less months to live but was out to truly live each and every day to the fullest. She was five months into her diagnosis and we (9 people) went to a lovely restaurant where we all had a wonderful time. We stayed up past midnight and, though we were all tired, she kept going (may have been the drugs). She lived another eight months during which we did so many things including flying in a balloon and attending a wine festival five days after she had a tumor in her brain removed. She lived to the fullest and a week before she died, she took to her bed and my husband and I sat with her and we all drank good French wine, and helped her plan for her memorial party. A life well lived.
ReplyDeleteI hear many such stories in the hospice xxx
DeleteThis is a secret but as we possibly won't ever meet I can share-I had been invited to a Church New Years Party and decided to attend after all taking a bag of food and a bottle.When I tried the door it was locked and I forgot whether I needed to use another door and whether I had the correct time.My cousin had invited me previously to theirs but If declined and so I went there but he had decided to go to friends.I then thought I would have a ladies drink at the nicest pub in the village just for a while and try the village hall again.The disco started and surprisingly I met Norman.Oh dear next lunchtime as I was returning from a dog walk he was hanging around in my road.This was 10 years ago-I am now tea total x
ReplyDeleteYou fast cat you
DeleteTwo of my children were born on New year's Day , so today I remember the anticipation leading up to their birth . I always had new year's Day off to spend the day with them , this year we are in France my daughter is in lockdown in Runcorn and I don't know if we will speak to my son who is on a royal navel frigate protecting shipping routes in the gulf .
ReplyDeleteWrap up warm look after yourself , hope you get through the long days ok I always found them really hard .
Well that’s interesting you would have two kids on the same day
DeleteI've got nothing. Hangovers, bad choices in men and lots of dancing was my usual NYE. I am content to sit at home now and go to bed early.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your UTI. Have you had your prostate checked?
Having a good night John and Happy New Year!
Typical of most of us, bad hangovers bad choices in men lol
Deletebefore both sets of str8 neighbors split up and divorced, we would all gather on NYE to drink/eat/laugh. all couples would bring a dish to pass and something to drink. there would be singing and dancing too. best of all, NO DRIVING; when the party was over, we would walk to our respective houses.
ReplyDeletetoday it's just spouse and I and cats. plenty of snacks for nibbling. we will go to bed early.
may 2021 be better for us all and see an elimination to COVID-19!
Happy new year deArheart
Delete2000, waiting up to see if Y2K was going to happen (my DH works in the computer field). It didn't. So we toasted each other with champagne, shared a kiss and went to bed. We lived in a 140 yr. old Victorian at the time, in a state far from here. It felt an ideal place to begin a new century. Seemed as though we were carrying the last 2 into the new one. Quietly. With purpose.
ReplyDeleteClassy
DeleteNo stories about New Year's Eve.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for a happy, healthy 2021, John!
Xx
DeleteWaving goodbye to the negative of 2020 and saying hello to the positive of 2021. We can only hope.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year John.
Patty
I’ve hated 2020 more than I did 2018
Deletemy best new years memories are from when i was small. we were allowed to stay up until midnight and then go outside and bang pots with wooden spoons. all the rest are basically memories of stupid parties with bad drinks and ugly clothes. always trying to have more fun than those parties provided.
ReplyDeleteYou probably speak for many of us when you write this
DeleteNever done anything on New years eve.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a happy and healthy 2021.
Xx
You too Christina x
DeleteWishing you a good year in 2021. Just keep entertaining us with "Tales from a cottage in Trelawnyd" and we'll keep reading.
ReplyDeleteI’ve written daily fir neigh on sixteen years . I’m not going to stop now
Delete1983 Dec 31st, Munich, was seeing in New Year at an apartment of a [German] friend of a [German] friend with maybe a dozen more [German] friends. After watching [first time for me] their country's annual NY ritual of viewing 'Dinner for One' on TV, which I still don't get as being anywhere near as funny as others think it is, we saw from a balcony the fireworks climaxing at and just after the magic hour. Then we went inside and each one was asked to say one single, significant sentence to mark the New Year. When my turn came, thinking of the date, my hopeless contribution was - "George Orwell, wo sind Sie?" [G.O., where are you?]. Of course it fell flat with blank looks all round. I just wanted to crawl under the settee! After all, how many Brits could name the authors of 'The Tin Drum' or 'The Glass Bead Game'? The moral - trying to show off, especially in front of mostly strangers, is bad enough, but expecting all to appreciate your being over-clever? Just don't!
ReplyDeleteBtw: ABBA's 'Happy New Year' along with 'Super Trouper' are THE most evocative pop songs of my entire life. Easily. Because of Amsterdam, but that's an entirely different story.
Your record story sounds interesting , perhaps more interning Raymondo
DeleteThe photos of your part of Trelawnyd in snow are lovely and worthy of framing.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 5 years I worked the 3p-11p shift in an ER in Memphis, on New Year's Eve the staff would all go out to a midnight dinner together. Spouses and girl/boyfriend would join us there. It was such a good group to work with and I miss those fine folks still. Since then, it's been mostly quiet celebrations at home with champaign at midnight.
May the New Year be kind to everyone.
Hugs!
Nice memories babs
DeleteNice memories
Our worst NYE was when our border collie got frightened by fireworks, squeezed through a gate, and took off cross country. After searching for her for days, then giving up thinking she’d been killed by a mountain lion or a pack of coyotes, we got her back. She’d run 5 miles and was at a building site being fed by the workers. In an amazing coincidence, the woman whose house it was had once been to our house. She called and asked if we were missing a dog. We got Maggie back in a new year miracle.
ReplyDeleteThis reads like a film.
DeleteLosing a dog would kill me x
1987 we were invited to a fancy dress party. We turned up looking amazing in our Noddy and big ears costumes. What they forget to tell us was that it was 20s fancy dress. All the ladies looked amazing in their flapper dresses and then there was me lol
ReplyDeleteI love faux pax such as these
DeleteIn my 20s I spent every New Year's Eve on Anna Maria Island in Florida with my three closest friends. This went on for many years and I always think of them on this night.
ReplyDeleteTake care of yourself, John, and have a Happy New Year despite your work schedule!
Are you still in touch with your friends Steve??
DeleteNew Year's Eve 2000, cycled with my husnand an a friend to the top of a nearby hill at Shatterford, watching fireworks 360 degrees and cycling home with the smell of cordite hanging in the air. What high hopes we had for the new millenium, and how I loved to watch fireworks (though never the banging ones!) Now I huddle down and try to distract my dog from the fireworks...he hates them and is terrified. Dread to think how the animals at the nearby safari park feel...
ReplyDeleteYou have just reminded me of watching fireworks over Sheffield at the meneliumn
DeleteMy most memorable New Year's Eve was being in Sydney in 2011 and being in the crowds watching the fireworks from Milson's Point, just across the water from the Opera House. A quite unforgettable experience.
ReplyDeleteSydney holds a special place in my heart nick
DeleteJohn, you could probably find the Sydney Harbour fireworks online, they were spectacular last night.
DeleteAmong my favorite New Year's Eve memories is a few of us left the Pacific Ocean seaside tavern and had a bonfire on the beach in San Diego.-Mary
ReplyDeleteI have dear friends in Sydney
DeletePerhaps one new year I will visit them x
New Year's Eve in London in Trafalgar Square. Every year the same, crowds and crowds of people around the Christmas tree.
ReplyDeleteAs a Londoner now living in a beautiful village I still hanker for those nights!
I’ve just added it to my bucket list.....a list which is gently growing
DeleteI have a good excuse not to celebrate. I have always been moved by the celebrations of others. Have a happy new year John.
ReplyDeleteTaking Vicarious pleasure is a skill and gift.
DeleteNot everyone can do it.
Happy new year dear Yale
I'm not a fan of new year, we spend it together with the dogs at home and the odd couple of bottles of red wine. Safe in our own environment, suits us. Happy New Year to you John xx
ReplyDeleteAnd to you Lisa x
DeleteHave many memories of quiet and not so quiet New Years Eves. The one that comes to mind was camping on Fraser Island. After a campfire meal we took our fizzy down to the beach to bring in the New Year. Had a swim, drink the fizzy (it wasn’t the first drink of the evening) and the had a terrible time finding the path back up to the campsite in the dark. I would have slept on the beach but my partner eventually found the route back to our tent...happy times.
ReplyDeleteHappy times x
DeleteMost memorable NYE - a fancy dress party at the Copley Plaza Ballroom, Boston, MA, USA. Second most memorable NYE - a London, England restaurant on the Thames with friends and family. Feel better soon John. All the best for 2021!
ReplyDeleteAnd to you susan , and to you
DeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI really don't have any NYE memories that stick out. I am not one to party hard and NYE has always been a quiet affair for me. With this year ending a bit precariously for me, I will spend tonight being thankful for surviving 2020 and hoping for a better 2021. I loved your photo with the snow.
~Mick
Mick , I understand and was just about to email you.
DeleteRemember that goldfish
Keep swimming mick, just keep swimming
I love the pictures of the lane and your cottage. My most memorable New Years would have been the birth of my firstborn son. He was born on 12-29-72 at 11:55PM and we came home from the hospital on New Year's day. That New Year's Day started a whole new and wonderful life of Motherhood for me.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely story Bonnie xxx
DeleteThe best.........
DeleteJohn, I remember as a child also going outside and banging a pot with a wooden spoon at midnight...I lived in NY. But, more importantly, like Bonnie, I also had my firstborn son (Lamaze Method) on December 29th, 1960. The most precious and beautiful experience was having his warm little body placed on my chest for the first time. An incredible miracle! Wishing you good health and all you might desire for 2021. Take care and get well fast. Hugs. From Across the Pond in Maine.
DeleteDid people bang pots to ward away the devil during an eclipse
DeleteSomeone else who responded here did the same thing on New Year's Eve. I'm going to have to do some research to see from whence that came. Toodles oodles! Feel better soon.
DeleteI don't even remember my first sober New Year.
ReplyDeleteWell said you Dowager x
DeleteEvery year we have a large, but very casual party at our home. We have a large yard (1 acre)and my husband builds a big bonfire in the yard. Our friends bring food and drinks to share. We are the parents of 4 teenagers, and the kiddos are allowed to invite their friends, who in turn are invited to bring their families along. The teenagers are all welcome to spend the night, which many do (I would prefer they not be out on the roads on New Year's!). Most years, folks kind of trickle in and out. Some stay for a short time, others longer. But by midnight, it is usually just my husband and I, with our kids, and a few teenagers who will ultimately stay over. LAST YEAR, everyone stayed! The party grew and grew and it was just cold enough to need to be by the fire to stay cozy, but not so cold that it was miserable. We all gathered, ate, drank, laughed - adults and kids. Some folks even stayed until 2:00 in the morning. And it was SO wonderful. It wasn't the kind of party that lingers until you absolutely cannot wait for the last guest to leave. It was lovely. Everyone was relaxed and happy. I was so happy!
ReplyDeleteWell, little did we know what 2020 would bring. No party tonight. No friends or family here. No kiddos staying the night. We will have a small little New Year's Eve with just my hubby and the kids. I'm making low country boil for dinner. We will build the fire, and I did buy goodies to make s'mores. It will be different, but it's okay. I will be dreaming of last year, and hoping again that 2021 will bring us all back together.
The joy of your party seeps from your words and descriptions and it’s made me tearful
Delete2020 was a year for tears
1997. Was on my own & "philosophical". Had worked up to Christmas Eve, was about the last person through the doors at Holloway Safeways - not that there was a huge amount left on the shelves. But I managed to feast - mostly on cheese, as I recall. A friend asked me to do a DJ slot at a big name club (Blow Up) on the Saturday between Christmas & New Year, as several of their regular names were out of town. It was not as full as usual nights, but I had a good time, & have in hindsight felt my sometime club DJ career went out on a high point.
ReplyDeleteAs a thank you, I was also given a free ticket for their sold out New Year's Eve party, if I helped on the door for an hour. Once I'd done my stint, I went into the main room, which was heaving. Couldn't move too quickly through the crowd, so when I was fed up of being hassled by one particular drunken octopus type, I turned to the person next to me & said "You've got a friendly face. Pretend you know me at least until that idiot gets the message I'm not interested in them".
And that's how I met Howard.
Lovely ......lovely
DeleteOne year my parents had booked for myself, my fiance, my sister and her boyfriend to go with them for a multi course dinner at a lovely pub in a nearby village.
ReplyDeleteWhen the boyfriend arrived he proposed to my sister and she turned him down! There were tears for hours.
Eventually my parents, myself and finace went to dinner. I was the designated driver.
I didn't live at home so I don't know how my sister and her boyfriend got back together, but they are married now.
Helen
Bloody hell .lol
DeleteI remember hitting the town in the 1980s. Trafalgar square, crowds and climbing in police vans to kiss the lads in blue. Wouldn't recommend now. Happy new year John. Xx
ReplyDeleteThe third police kisser here
DeleteI'm not much into New Year's Eve reveling, although I've done my share :)
ReplyDeleteOne of the best New Year's Eves was standing on top of Pikes Peak the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America, looking over Colorado Springs. Truly breathtaking, I have never witnessed such beauty since. No drinking allowed, otherwise you would tend to pass-out on the way down :)
Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year, dear friend, thank you for sharing your little corner of the world with us daily.
Hugs,
~Jo
xx
Nice to see you here again old friend x
DeleteOh JG my brother and I went out, we lived in a small village, anyhoo, we gathered about 50 folk out of the local pub, walked to my Mum's, we had been practising on the walk, then all sang under my Mum's bedroom window at the top of our voices !! I wish you bestest and happiest new year, and I love you xxxx
ReplyDeleteps when we returned hours later, a bit worse for wear, she let us in (she has stopped en route to light a fag) she inhaled, exhaled and laughed !! Still love you xx
DeleteThank you deArheart
Deletepps I got a skate board for my ninth birthday, I fell off it and landed on my right wrist, I was brought home by the other ragamuffins, my Mum had to phone my Dad to come home in his Vauxhall Viva to take me to the City Hospital, as he drove in the entrance, my Mum turned and said (with a fag in her hand) if your bloody wrist is not broken I'll kill ya !!Praise be, it was !! Defo love ya now xxx OOh I was caught paddling in the fountains roundabout too xxx
DeleteSkinny dipping in the North Sea with a group of friends and some soldiers on leave. I was in 19, single and very skinny. God it was cold...
ReplyDeleteBrave cow x
ReplyDeleteWe always put a few coins outside on the windowsill before midnight to ensure properity in the coming year. To celebrate the millenium, my husband and I walked to a park on the shores of Lake Ontario. I packed a picnic and we snagged one of the few picnic tables not put away for the winter. It was a beautiful, starlit, mild night and we watched the firework display over the lake as the beautiful Toronto skyline twinkled in rhe moonlight. It was magical. Someone asked if this was our last picnic of 1999 or our first of 2000. Both, I guess. Wishing everyone peace, contentment and hope in 2021. Hugs, Elaine
ReplyDeleteWatching a dear friend of mine, who was a brilliant musician, playing a full-sized accordian while accompanying himself on a harmonica, perfectly, all the while slowly falling backwards (very drunk!). He didn't miss a note as he hit the floor, and carried on playing, still perfectly! He's now playing the piano in that great party in the sky, sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteLets hope for the best for all of us for the New Year.
The visuals of this are quite bizarre x
DeleteAll my memorable New Years Eves were spent with my family, relatives and friends in my childhood home growing up. Such amazing memories.
ReplyDeleteToo many to choose from. In recent years have seen in on my own quietly. Here is hoping its a better year. Wishing u everything u wish for yourself and more. Tricia x
ReplyDeleteBy far my most memorable New Year's Eve was that of 1999. Everyone was in a panic about computers going nuts etc. My husband asked to pilot the 777 flying from Chicago to London overnight. My daughter was home from college and was coming with us. There were so few passengers booked that the airline consolidated flights and my husband and his crew were able to fly as passengers with us. We began toasting and celebrating as soon as we reached the Canadian coastline. The working Captain announced that, with so few passengers, all were welcome to come up to Business Class. Some passengers had brought paper hats and those blow out curly things. We celebrated every hour until we all got tired. My daughter went back into the coach section where she took out armrests and had a whole row to herself in which to sleep. It was so much fun and I think might have influenced her decision to also become a pilot.
ReplyDeleteHope you're heaps better by the time your shift comes round
ReplyDeleteDh and I have hugged with the dog, she gets jealous so no hanky-panky when she's about. what happened to the pic of the very fit man in the Dai cap?
Happiest of years John, praying it will be a good one and virus free for us all. Take care
No NYE memories for you, just best wishes for 2021 and glad the drugs are working! Take care. xx
ReplyDeleteThis one has been pretty decent. I walked through the nursing home gardens to check on the decorations our volunteer group had installed. Despite some harsh weather everything was looking very cheerful and in good shape. Families had added decorations of their own which was lovely. Then I heard shouting from the bushes up against the building. On investigation I saw an older man, shouting at the top of his lungs, to the frail little person on the other side of the window "I love you Mum". The joy of the moment stays with me.
ReplyDeleteSeeing in the New Year has not been high on our Must Do list, but it was a very big deal for my husband's parents, who spoke fondly of NY Eve parties, with dancing and elaborate Suppers. So, even though they were in their 80s, so got them wrapped up and took them to the Waterfront in Wellington to watch the Y2K fireworks display. The weather was perfect, the harbour still and glass-like and the crowds very well behaved. We were able to park at Bill's work very close by, so they weren't overtaxed by the outing. The fireworks were spectacular, and our view of them perfect. You might recall everyone's fear that computers were going to crash and it would be chaos - perhaps that increased our enjoyment of a completely successful evening.
ReplyDeleteNowdays, although we're not nearly as old as they were, we watch the display from our bedroom window, and are asleep as soon as it's ended!
Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2021.
I think that I would have to say that it was 1980. I was in Korea. I had gone to Camp Red Cloud to meet my husband. I waited in a hotel room for hours alone, me and my plans for a nice New Year's Eve. When he finally came, he said, "I was watching a football game with the guys." I left for Seoul the next morning knowing that it was done. It took him a couple months to decide I actually meant it. Happy New Year John. I am glad that you are feel better!
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable New Year's Eves were also the most embarrassing as they involved alcohol, me passing out, and stories told for days afterwards. I think they were all when I was still in my 20s. Then came a bunch of New Year's Eves spent in strip bars watching women pole dance, and then gay bars (some which also had pole dancing, just not women), and one New Year's Eve in a "health club", where they DID pass out champagne. The death of my mother and a loss of a job within a month of each other has brought about a certain wariness in me, and with the exception of a party at a relative's house, I've spent the last 13 New Year's Eves at home. Sorry if this is TMI but you asked. Happy New Year's, John.
ReplyDeleteWell you’ve ticked every box xxx
DeleteI miss the tradition we had of waking the kids up at 11:45 and giving them all pots and pans and wooden spoons. Then we’d go outside to race around the yard raising a hullabaloo. I’m sure the neighbors didn’t appreciate it much, but the kids loved it. We’d go in to some hot chocolate and then back to bed. Good times of unfiltered childishness.
ReplyDeleteMy bestie Kirsten and I in our 20s doing the Time Warp on the top of Mt Victoria with a bunch of high school kids who were also up there. It was mad and fun and unexpected. My last one was spent with a few friends with some drinks and nibbles.
ReplyDelete