Happy Hogmanay – May Your Lum Ay Reek! *

A guid New Year to ane an` a` and mony may ye see!

It’s at this time of year that I come all over patriotically (and some might say idiotically) Scottish and wander around muttering about needing to make some black bun and buy some coal.

Oh look, the fireworks at Sydney Harbour are lovely and everything, but you just CANNOT BEAT being in Edinburgh for Hogmanay, watching fireworks lighting the castle in the freezing cold and smooching policemen and other assorted strangers.

It’s a blast, it really is.

I’ve always liked Hogmanay, for the partying at ‘the bells’ and the visiting friends to wish them well for the New Year.

The sense of renewal is fantastic.

Here’s to starting all over again in 2012, wiping the slate clean and starting afresh in 2012.

A very Happy New Year to you and to all the family, wishing you good fortune in 2012.  And, just to be practical, also wishing you (and me) great fortitude when dealing with life’s inevitable pains and tricky problems.

Happy New Year!

  * This Scottish phrase means: ‘may your chimney always be smoking.’