There have been times in my life when my prospects of surviving looked a bit dodgy. However, here I am looking down the road into my eightieth year and feeling very glad I got here. So far so good! No matter how unattractive some aspects of modern life are,I see it all through rose-coloured spectacles, survival is the biggest achievement. Perhaps I may not be the best person to assess what 2015 means for others younger than I am. However, that's never deterred me from having a go before so let's see what it looks like.
The first thing to say is that if the weather is as good as it was in 2014 it will do. I'm writing this at the end of November and we haven't had any severe weather yet, I can't remember a better year. Of course that's a hostage to fortune, December might have a nasty kick in it!
If you're reading this you survived Xmas and all you have to do now is brace yourself for the usual flood of bills that always follows at this time of the year. I hope that you were taking care up to Xmas and that they will be supportable. My old Scottish farming friends had a tradition that you should enter the new year with all your bills paid, great stuff if you can afford it but I know that many of you aren't quite that fortunate. I do feel for you, especially if you have a young family. Bad though things got in the early years we always managed but we hadn't got the pressures on us that you have. Today we live in a society where too often your ability to consume is the criterion on which you are judged. In my days it was enough to have well fed healthy children and a regular job.
The 'regular job' is another thing that has changed. Despite the fact that we were on low wages and long hours I can't remember ever feeling insecure. It seems to me that all that has changed and very few people can say that they feel perfectly safe in their job. So many are on annual contracts or even the infamous 'zero hours' conditions. I simply can't imagine putting up with that, as I say, I am out of touch with the modern world.
Despite all this I can still wish you all the very best for the New Year. I hope your job is safe and your health is good. In particular I hope the children do well and enjoy school. They are the future and when you get to my stage where I have a great grandson it's wonderful what a good feeling that gives you. For those of you who do hit problems I wish you the best help and support available. There are times when a helping hand can transform a bad situation into an opportunity. Finally, thanks to all of you for putting up with me for yet another year....
A traditional Scottish Black Bun for Hogmanay.
