What you will

 

Just before Christmas, I was out delivering community newsletters. People were beginning to put up lights outside their houses, and inside I could see trees being decorated and people wrapping presents. Now we're at Twelfth Night, and those same houses are looking bare, with just the occasional deflated Santa clinging to a chimney pot. 

 As usual, I haven't made any New Year resolutions. I used to when I was a child: be kinder to my little brother; do my homework on time; pick up my clothes off the floor before bedtime; then later it was the usual things like losing weight, getting fit, cutting down on the tea and biscuits. I never lasted much beyond February, so now I just don't bother. Nor do I engage with Dry January, Veganuary or any other such nonsense. I prefer to decide for myself when things need a shake-up. 

The other thing is that it's so hard to predict what the coming week will bring, never mind the next year. Looking back I see I posted this on 1 January 2020: 

'I don't know if you've noticed, but a new year has started today. Honestly, to look at FaceAche you'd think it had never happened before. I'm SO fed up of people telling me how great 2020 is going to be. I hope they're right and I shall do my damnedest to make it so, but let's wait and see, shall we?'

 Need I say more?

The title of this blog is, of course, the subtitle of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night from which this quote comes:  'Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.'

I'll just leave that with you.

Onwards!

Programme from yesterday's show

It's all been said elsewhere: 2016 was rubbish, but 2017 will be better, so let's get started.

We've taken down the Christmas tree today and it feels as though the house has heaved a sigh of relief that everything is back in the right place. We're still on holiday, though, for another couple of days and there's Baileys and shortbread that need our attention.

I have mentioned before that I don't do New Year resolutions, but I do like to pick a word to bear in mind - a sankalpa, or intention, as we call it in yoga. This year I'm going with kindness, following on from the advent calendar I had on this theme. I think it did me good and I'm planning to keep it up, if I can. You can join in here.

In other news, there was excitement at the Royal Theatre in Northampton yesterday when in true 42 Street style one of the lead actors had been taken ill in the morning and a local actor (Jamal something, I think) was roped in at the 11th hour to take his place. He did the show script in hand, but made an excellent job and I think the book was more of a security blanket than a necessity. He got a huge round of applause at the end.

Finally, I wonder if Prince Charles is polishing his orb and sceptre. Get well soon, ma'am.

Onwards!

The decorations are down and we have eaten up the orts, save for the last few chocolates, which are currently being despatched by number two son and his girlfriend. The post-Christmas jigsaw is ready on the dining table. Order has been restored.

I've posted on my other blog (Yoga? Here's what I'm thinking) my reasons for not setting myself any New Year resolutions. Why set myself up to fail? However, I am going to try to lead a more considered life this year, by which I mean living a bit more mindfully (and I use the word here in the general sense of paying attention, rather than simply doing stuff on automatic pilot). Whether I shall be able to wean myself  off eating my lunch in front of the TV remains to be seen.

However, I'm absolutely determined to write more short stories this year. I have spent some time today working through Morgen Bailey's online course Entering Writing Competitions, so there should be no stopping me!

New Year's Resolution? Not likely!

This is the script of my broadcast on tonight's Paul Edwards Radio Show.

So here we are on the brink of another year. I have a good feeling about 2012: I like a year that is an even number, and a Leap Year is better still. Don’t know why. 

Of course, the papers today are full of tips on how we can achieve our New Year Resolutions. Boring! My resolution is not to make any resolutions. Instead, here is a list of things I'm not going to do this year.

Happiness is having warm toes!

• Take any notice of what's hot and what's not. Who cares what's trendy in the world of fashion? I have enough trouble finding something that fits – and, at this time of year I'm more concerned about keeping my feet from solidifying from cold than whether or not my boots are a la mode.
• Start a new fitness regime. Why put myself through it? I already do yoga every day, walk and cycle because I can't afford petrol, and have registered for the Sport Relief Mile. That should be sufficient incentive to keep moving.
• Count calories. Commonsense and a tight waistband tell me when I've had too much. My grandmother used to say that enough's as good as a feast, and I'm not going to worry about the energy stored in a garibaldi.
• Learn a new language. I think my schoolgirl French and random other foreign phrases will suffice. Besides, my passport has expired, so the chances of me needing to speak anything more exotic than English are pretty slim – unless we get invaded, of course.
• Grumble about the money being spent on the Olympics. It's happening, folks. Accept it and move on.
• Try something new. My life is already littered with stuff I have taken up with enthusiasm and then put down again. I should revisit these before attempting basket weaving or country dancing, or whatever.
• Kid myself that anti-ageing creams work. Wake up, sister: it's just marketing. And given that people with smooth, nipped and tucked faces that don't move are subject to more ridicule than those of us with our history writ large on our countenance, I'm settling for a few wrinkles.
• Read more. I don't have to try to do this: it'll just happen.
• Get stressed that my crockery doesn't match. There's food on the plates, isn't there?
• Worry about the end of the world. Isn't it possible that the last date on the Mayan calendar is 21st December 2012 simply because they got fed up of writing it? And if I'm wrong and they're right, there's nothing I can do about it.

Happy New Year, everyone.