It's that time of year again! Thank you to all my readers for putting up with my ramblings during 2015. I can't please everyone all the time but from the feedback I get both at home and when walking round the town, a few of you enjoy your weekly read of Stanley's View. It's not easy writing a column every week but it all becomes worth while when someone stops me in Town Square and starts a conversation based on my Friday piece. I can't tell you what a warm feeling that gives me. So, a very happy Christmas and a good New Year to everyone who reads this. Don't eat too much but enjoy the family. Christmas isn't simply a marketing opportunity, it's much more important than that, it's the time when we give special attention to family and friends and my only observation is that we should try to keep up that level of attention all year. I have one more piece of advice, presents go down better when they are unexpected. Not a bad ploy to surprise people occasionally, they never forget it!
Looking back over the year I shall try to forget the bad bits, I can bend your ear about those in 2016! Better to concentrate on what went well. I think you will all have noticed the successes the Community Team have achieved, who would have thought that little old Barlick would do so well in the local Bloom awards and win the national Best Main Street competition! So much volunteer activity went into this and I am so pleased they got recognition and awards. Saying well-deserved seems so inadequate, collectively they produced minor miracles.
Another thing that cheers me up is the frequent erection of a marquee on Town Square. When you see that you know that yet another event is about to happen, anything from Barlick Beach to a celebration of our heritage. Pause and give a thought to the fact that behind all these is a lot of hard work by dedicated volunteers. I feel so lucky to live in such a vibrant, active town. My only question now is, what are you going to do for an encore?
On St Valentine’s Day I reach a personal milestone, I get to be eighty years old. I've had a hard and sometimes dangerous life, I've lost track of the number of broken bones from my skull down to the little bones in my feet and if anyone had forecast that I'd get this far and see my daughters preparing for retirement I'd have told them to dream on! It just goes to show that we know nothing of the future, all we can do is do our best, look after ourselves and our kids and take what is given to us. I'm still making engines in the shed and I shall do my best to keep you entertained once a week for as long as I am spared! Onwards and upwards into 2016!
One man and his shed!
I had a good night's sleep but didn't think it was that good. 
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