Hogmanay

Hobbling down to the Kirk this morning I was impressed by the bright sun dazzling me.  Had it not been for the cold air I would have thought it summer brightness, however, wrapped up in my big coat, flat cap on flat head, I knew it was December.  

No fox running across me this morning at this spot, one or two dogs grinning as they headed towards the parks, a few miserable faces passed by, almost forcing me to say 'Happy new Year,' just for spite.

However, I refrained.  We ought not to say this until the stroke of the midnight bells, though the English adoption of Hogmanay has brought changes here.

The Kirk was quiet today.  No kids at all, few adults, possibly they are all preparing for midnight, possibly they have indulged, possibly the last week has just worn them out.  My attention was poor, I forgot to eat before going out, and the man rambled a wee bit.  However, the talk is on video tonight, hopefully, and I will hear it again.  I may wait until tomorrow.  No lift home, a stroll through the sun, now hiding behind clouds, and noticed how quiet the streets still are.  Just wait until Tuesday when they all return.  

Bright news from the Netherlands where an enterprising young man obtained 75kg of fireworks.  Great fun for all!  Unfortunately he smokes.  On his way home he smoked a cigarette and at the end threw this out the window.  However, the wind brought it back into the car, started a fire, and within seconds fireworks were going off everywhere!  His Volvo is I suspect a right off.

The last sundown of the year, seen through my grubby window, was a good one.  2023 has not been the best year, but not the worst either.  Years come and years go but if we keep in with Jesus all will be well.  

Hogmanay 2020

 

 

Hogmanay, as you know, is not New Year!

Hogmanay is the day before the New Year, it remains Hogmanay until midnight on the 31st and at the first 'dong' of the midnight chime the New Year has begun.  Out side of the Free World people these days wish one another a Happy New Year days in advance of the time.  Typical English, never get anything right.  

In oor hoose, Hogmanay was merely the time to gather the family and occasional friend, ensure everything was ready, piles of drinks for young and old, it was the only time my folks drank and my folks did not get drunk.  Although I have just remembered my sisters giving mum 'Brandy & Babycham' one year and had her giggling all night over nothing.  Dad was wary of drink, in spite of twice being in the army, his dad had been too accustomed to the beer and lost jobs several times because of this.  Dad had not forgotten his mothers warnings.  Mind you, mum always said she liked a drink anyway, that is where Granddad and her first met, in a pub!

After midnight, we await the first foot.  This tall, dark, handsome person (sorry I am unavailable) will be the 'first foot,' and bring you good luck.  He will also bring coal, to ensure you are warm, Black Bun and whisky to ensure you are fed.  I accidentally stepped out one year and back in, thus being our 'first foot.'  "You will not bring us luck!" was the cry - and they were right!  

It is also important to clean the house, this dates back to the idea of clearing out the devil before the new year comes.  Such superstitions are nonsense so I just no longer clean up before New Year.  No change there!

 

Sadly, while the 'Viking' whisky arrived the Black Bun has been unobtainable this year, another result of Covid.  However, while Tesco Christmas Cake sits in for Black Bun my niece sent, by 'Hermes' messenger no less, one small forgotten portion of my Christmas, a 'Lump  of Coal' soap!  She knows how I live!  Noticeable that he was an Englishman.  These days unemployment is forcing men to work for 'Hermes' and other delivery vans, the Romanians and Bulgarians will not be best pleased. 

Following Dave's command to get out I wandered, frozen, across the frost covered park this morning, my fingers nipping in the cold air.  Very New Year weather.  We are lucky, up north a couple of inches of snow lies all around, endangering folks like me and other sensible ones who hate the cold, slippery stuff.  

Almost all England is now Tier 4, the rest will follow soon, and 'Lock Down' after that, so the town was quiet with one or two awaiting entrance at Banks and the like.  I actually entered the Bank, when the young lady freezing on guard let me, to make use of a machine and insert a cheque given at Christmas. This is about the only time I enter this bank, the 'Hole in the Wall' machine (invented by a Scotsman) does the job for me usually.

Few people around, though some queued at Tesco as it is closed tomorrow, Sainsburys will be open. Usually one opens while the other closes at such times.  Nothing apart from Muslim corner shops will open in Scotland tomorrow!   I hobbled home, picked up the mail struggled up the stairs, all Dave's fault, and soon after was fast asleep.  All this exercise at years end, it's tiring.

 

This year has been bad for us all.  I started with that cold that began in December, lasted until April come May and then 'Lock Down' had begun.  On top of this there was the laptop explosion, the trouble with replacements, the trouble with this one and eventually some form of peace.  Once all began to settle the washing machine went bang, well, 'crack' actually.  So in the end all the money I saved by buying less during 'Lock Down,' the money saved by not going anywhere and spending on shiney things was all lost on both Christmas, the Laptop and the new washing machine.  Good job I'm not one to complain!  

The church is once again closed up for the duration, people with sense are in fear of the virus, and most now put their hopes in this vaccine, if it works.  However, if it works it is unlikely this government in England will be able to distribute it to those in need properly, already the second dose has been postponed, causing much trouble for surgeries.  

For me the year ends well, Jesus has made it clear I must be in St Paul's, this means they may not be happy of course, and the future with him looks bright, this usually means someone will oppose us, Halleluiah!  

May you all have a better year next year...

 

Hogmanay

On his last album John Lennon had a song which included the words:-
"Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans."
Today the plan was simple, first off breakfast, then Tesco for last shop off year, then ash, shave, fall asleep.  Simple and straight forward.
So awakened by a coughing fit before seven am, forced up when half asleep, struggled around to Tesco by 10:30.  The place was busy, many kids wandering around putting things into mums trolley, mum swiftly returning them as she walks.  However as I left the house I noticed one of those Royal Mail 'You were out' type cards scrunched up in the letterbox left from yesterday.  The ratbag!  This meant that after Tesco I had to limp all the way down to the sorting office for this very important and unexpected parcel.

This parcel, unexpected but hoped to be something expensive, turns out to be a picture calendar of 'The Broons' that would not fit through the door.  Thirty five minutes of hobbling, a few minutes with a miserable fat bloke, too fat to deliver mail, and all for this!  Naturally my sister did not mention she was sending this, though she usually does send a calendar, but mention was there none, and I have just finished filling in all the birthdays on the cheap calendar I bought myself.  Bah!
Sadly this interrupted my planned day and now I suppose I will have to sit here and avoid doing the many things I planned.  What were they again...?  Ah, sleep, well maybe I will manage that one...

  Edinburgh Evening News

    
Hogmanay is the Edinburgh word for drunken hedonism.  Not that I would ever had anything to do with that.  In my day it meant gathering at a pub, then near midnight being where the  crowds gather, outside Tron Kirk then.  It appears that these days the Edinburgh toon cooncil wish to make it more appealing to foreigners, foreigners with money, so not only is the Hogmanay celebration packed with fireworks and famous bands the previous evening a torch light parade marches through the toon.  I the late 60's they did not allow us burning brands, the constabulary thought it unwise!  
Anyway, some think the present day show is merely to bring in foreign cash, which it is, and preparations for the event take precedent over everything else.  Even to the extent of cutting down the Christmas tree that stands at the top of the 'Mound' and replacing it with an advert for 'Johnnie Walker whisky.'  The tree ought to stand until the 6th of January but clearly money talks and the tree, with the Christmas spirit, goes with it.  A mistake I feel.
I will loiter in my bed tonight, possibly with John Barleycorn to keep me company, possibly asleep. The hedonistic days are long behind me, although at one shilling and eleven pence a pint (two shillings and  penny on Friday and Saturday nights) there was a lot less hedonism than there is today. 

The year is passing, let us go forwards...

  

Hogmanay 2013

The year endeth as it most probably began, with rain lashing the town.  A close look will reveal in the far distance the ebbing sun, thus indicating the last vestiges of the rain cloud that arrived at four this morning and has drenched its way slowly past ever since.  That far end has still not reached me!  When I came here this was described as the 'driest county in England,' and several houses round about had workmen employed strengthening the subsidence as the foundations were under threat.  That was seventeen years ago and it has not stopped raining since!  I could have gone back to Edinburgh instead of coming here if I wanted rain!  Rain is expected there, it is supposed to be dry here, what went wrong? Good job I am not the complaining kind.

Tonight is 'Hogmanay' the Scots celebration of the New Year, the proper time for a booze up mid winter festival.  This activity is not what it was in past days in my humble opinion, and my opinion as so many have helpfully indicated is indeed humble.  In my late teens we went door to door 'first-footing,' even though others had been through the door first, where drinking lots in a controlled manner joined with singing, talk of a humerous manner, dancing in some places, and a night to remember, usually. The delight of asking certain souls if they were ready for bacon and eggs early the next morning was a delight!  Today it appears to my little mind that just getting drunk is more important and the old enjoyable get together appears to have gone. Living in this wilderness of sin amongst English folks who have never worked out how to celebrate Hogmanay properly this is understandable, however I think a new attitude is around in Scotia itself.  Time moves on I suppose and maybe it's just me?
Oh listen, I can hear the kiddies out there already, 'Buckfast Wine' anybody?

Again we have the strange phenomena of parts of the world now into 2014 while other areas are still in 2013's yesterday!  A few of those well in the lead may well wish by now they had stayed back in yesterday I bet.  Just wait until the pictures appear! Fireworks have been seen in far away skies and even if the rain returns some bombardier will spend an hour or more attempting to emulate their colossal effort by bombarding the area with his left overs from November.  I will look forward to that from my bed I can tell you!
  
Shall we do what many do and look back across the past year?   No!

Good things may lie ahead, Scots Independence, Heart of Midlothian's survival, more delightful, intelligent bloggers arriving here to join the crowd that gathers, a few days sunshine, and maybe me doing what I ought.  Things can only get better, mind you that's what Tony Blair said before he copied Thatcher!

Today we hear that John Fortune has died.  he became famous as a satirist in the 60's and more famous still when operating alongside John Bird.  The two John's spoof of the world around them was always hard hitting and usually unscripted!  Here he plays an adviser to then Prim Minister Gordon Brown.

 

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