In With The New

My January task: take a chainsaw to this huge pile of wood

A new year dawns.

Here at Pilsdon we welcomed in 2017 in our usual manner. A candle-lit three course meal for everyone at 8pm. A quiz in the Common Room led by our Warden (my team won with precious little help from me) then the floor was open for homegrown entertainment - songs, sketches, poems, even a masterful yo-yo show in which Cameron* amazed us all by attempting to depict the Eiffel tower and the Union Jack by creating cats-cradle-style pictures with the thread. I was on piano duties.

At midnight we went outside, shared a large bowl of warm cherry punch and cheered as we launched three rather spectacular rockets one by one. Cameron and I were responsible for setting them off from our chosen launchpad out on the front lawn. Just before midnight I walked straight into one of the picnic benches in the darkness so 2016's parting gift to me, as if Brexit and Trump and a stinking cold weren't enough, was a throbbing knee.

The evening ended with clearing up and a short “Compline” service in the chapel.

It's fair to say that for a lot of us there's a certain amount of trepidation about 2017 as the big electoral decisions made in the UK and US start to play out. In my own life too there's a healthy slice of uncertainty about the future to deal with. But I have a lot to be thankful for and each day this year I hope to be constantly learning - how best to love other people, how to trust in God, and how to grow a decent head of broccoli.

So let's wave 2016 goodbye and put on a brave face for whatever this new year might bring. Let's make positive changes in our lives when and where we can (once I'm back in Wales I'm going to try to stop eating and drinking dairy products due to their massive impact on the environment). Pursue your passions. Seek justice for the oppressed, give to the needy, stand up for what's right, you know the drill. Let's make this year one to remember for the right reasons!


*name changed

This is what I do over Christmas