h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

New Year's Eve.

This, I think, is one of my least favourite nights of the year. It all just seems a bit pointless and arbitrary. And it's frankly irritating when everyone keeps saying "Happy New Year!" and will continue to do so for the next 2-3 weeks. By the middle of January it's usually all I can do to stop myself from replying "oh just feck aff!"

Then there are the resolutions. Christ, not the resolutions.

And then that maudlin drivel by Rab Burns (who could do so much better) with the silly handshake like a bunch of Freemasons on E-tabs cut with Valium.

Virtually all the trappings of New Year's Eve instil in my heart an inexplicable sense of misery and doom, unlike Christmas, say, which has bits I like and bits I'm not fussed about.

Well, there's Jools Holland's show. Sometimes that's actually not bad, and has some interesting music. Maybe I'll sneak offside with a few beers and watch Jools.

All that said, I'm not being misanthropic, and sincerely do hope people have a happy new year. But there's no need to run around *saying* it every five minutes, like some kind of bloody lunatic leprechaun.

Thank you for putting into words so eloquently my feelings about this time of year - 'inexplicable sense of misery and doom' indeed.. Very reassuring to know I'm not on my own in that...

All the best

Bob-Protect us I'm just going to hide away... and read all night... like I useually do and invent some very silly new years resolutions to put on twitter... for amusement... rather than any actual seriousness oh, and happy changing of the date thing.... I hadn't even noticed it was that day, today, until I went onto twitter earlier

I'm an even worse curmudgeon than usual at this time of year. My favourite day of this season is Twelfth Night - thank god it is all over.

The compensations are that the house is laden with food and drink and there's no guilt about partaking. (I might regret this when Jan 6th arrives)

Kind thoughts to all of you.

Ah yes, all that, and the faux elation (preceded by the predictable countdown) when the clock strikes midnight, as if everyone has suddenly won the pools (showing my age there).

I may actually be working through it all this year, so I'll avoid being woken up at midnight, and kept awake for the next hour so, by fireworks (which are illegal within the city limits anyway because of the drought) after having gone to bed around 11pm.

The Hootenanny (together with the Crackerjack-like repetition of the word every time Jools says it - showing my age there too) is a highlight for sure and has turned up some frankly sublime moments, such as the year Paul Weller accompanied Amy Winehouse on the strillers

lang may yer lum reek KB

Thanks from me, too, for putting into words the feeling I get as midnight draws near.

There's that empty time with Terrible Television between dinner and midnight, where it would just be so rude to disappear with a or a laptop and do what you really feel like doing.

Many's the year I've got the ironing board out just to while away those hours, which is hardly less anti-social, I suppose. I'd go to bed early, too, if I really did just what I felt like.

So Happy New year 2015 to everyone, and no repeats(!), fellow Bah-Humbuggers.

I heartily support all these sentiments in favour of ignoring this faux milestone and simply enjoying the time off.

My family tradition was to make some cocoa, watch a little telly, wait for midnight, yawn, say, 'Happy New Year!', and toddle off to bed...

I'd rather celebrate Zoroastrian new year, it's in the spring.

"Virtually all the trappings of New Year's Eve instil in my heart an inexplicable sense of misery and doom" [KB]

Actually, I don't mind the trappings as such. It's just that they are thinly-veiled attempts to distract us from the ten weeks of frostbitten misery that lie ahead. I don't think there's a big need for another party holiday so soon after Christmas; it's just that there will be very few excuses for a good time between New Year's Day and Saint Patrick's Day. Well, maybe Chinese New Year or Mardi Gras if you live in an area that goes heavily for those.

Our agrarian ancestors knew what they were doing when they lined up numerous holidays during the Winter. There wasn't a lot to do on a farm in cold weather, so ingenious ideas for having holidays were a plus. The down side was the depletion of food resources, hence Lent.

Wow.

I've really struck a chord with this one! I had no idea so many other people felt similarly!

Prior to the eyar 2000 myself, and a friend, had a bit of a new years tradition... we'd go to this one, particular local (to my hometown), pub, which... didn't really* 'do' new years and drink the evening away there (yeh, it was new years eve, so it were busy, but not overly crowded; and no one charged then, for entry on new years eve), If you listened, really* really* carefully; come midnight, you could hear a wireless, somewhere in the back of the pub, tuned to radio four, and hence hear the pips - and friend and I on midnight would both light a cigar... silly tradition really... but.. dunno
Of course. come the year 2000 everythign went bonkers, and since then everywere charges entry, everywhere is busier, and fireworks seem to be a national thing (they've started here, tonight already,). then, of course teh smoking ban came in, pubs stopped being pubs, and the pub in question is now a resturant pretending to be a # 'bar' Vaguely recall, a few years ago, now, going out roughly in hte same area, 'looking' for a pub to go in new years eve; nearly everywhere was ticketed, and/or charging on the door; those few that weren't, were packed so full... and, of course one can't fit so many drinkers in, when the pubs laid out with tables, etc., as it was a rewturant

I revelled in too for several years. There was a pub in East Ham that some of us used to go to every December 31st. It was small (still is), packed, and around 11pm every year half a dozen Scottish pipers came in, piped their pipes for a while and then piped off somewhere else.

Until you've experienced bagpipes in a confined space you have no idea how loud they can be

I have just spent the evening cleaning out the freezer. It seemed sensible as there is snow outside so I could put the food out in the snow to keep cold while I did it. It took me over three hours in all, what with waiting till all the ice had melted and everything was cleaned and the sea of water on the floor (it's a front-opening one) was wiped up. Now I'm sitting with a a glass of wine and waiting for dinner to cook. Made a change from doing the ironing.

I made pizza... then ate it... followed by choclate and now I'm gona hide in bed... where it might be warmer and read...

I made some stewed pork. I'm now trying to have a beer, but it just isnae going down well.

The weather forecasters said "tomorrow will be good weather for a duvet day". I think I'll take their advice.

Happppppppy new year!


* runs away and hides behind a flute of champers*

nooooooo! not yet, anyhow! wait! damnit!

I want to share with you all that many years ago I made a New Year's resolution that I have, at least so far, managed to keep.

It was to never again make a stupid resolution

Nighthoover




F S

Beatrice, you just aren't grumpy enough, you know!

In fact you are, as a rule, much too cheerful and optimistic to be from Northern Ireland. Next time I see you I will be checking your passport and birth certificate in case you are an imposter, or a spy from some other *cheerful* country.

I had a customary new years eve drink.

This year, for my tipple, I chose to have a loverly glass of fridge-cold wholecream milk. Milk is loverly, I like milk. I would have also partaken of some triangles, possibly of a bread and cheese triangule nature, but, really, I was too full, still, after the explosion of triangle love that was the triangular slices of the homemade pizza I had earlier... Still annoyed the surgery/pharmacy didn't take my request... to have triangular tablets, more seriously The world would be a better place, with more triangles in it... I'm sure back to hiding under the duvet... and reading... I think...