New Year, New Post

This blog is so rubbish these days, I'm left with two options: either delete the whole thing completely (the sad fate of the impulsively charming "maximum load") or post more often. For the moment I'm going with the latter.

I've enjoyed being asked over the past few years by people who don't know me all that well, the question, "How are you ringing in the new year?" I usually answer somewhat sarcastically (one of the reasons I'm single no doubt), something along the lines of "With a very big bell." And then go on to describe with some faux modesty how I ring bells in Christchurch Cathedral.

(That's me with the solemn look of concentration and floppy hair)

So while others hollar, yell and scramble for someone to grope, I, with a band of silent campanologists, have my sweaty hands gripped around a rope, with some intensity of concentration, while the muffled roars of New Year revellers invade the belfry.

This year, there was a party in my flat which conveniently for me is beside the Cathedral so I forwent the post-ringing inebriation in the belfry and returned to a rather surprising spontaneous applause from some very tipsy friends at the flat and to one of the best parties (for me) that we've had since we moved in there.

New Year's Eve had sucked (to use an increasingly popular americanism) my whole life up to the age of 21. But the last 5 have beeen somewhere between palpable and really fun (which is a huge improvement). The common features have been alcohol and good health, but the specifics have been in this order: being in love at 21, then bell-ringing for the following 3 years was a nice way to spend the evening and this year's New Year's Party was just downright smashin.

At quite a few parties we've had at the flat, I've been cajoled into hoola-hooping as a drunken party-piece. I've generally been reluctant but intoxicated enough to do it, but this time I actually agreed with some enthusiasm and really hammed it up, which was a bit odd because I was pretty sober, having come so late to the party.

My friend Jenny got a nice picture of said party-piece, which I'm pretty happy to share with you as it makes me look more proficient at the hoola than is actually the case. Oh yeah, I'm straight by the way, and incidentally that's not my hat... but worryingly I wish it was.

Happy New Year anyway folks, I hope you were all braver than I was when it came to resolutions. I bottled (literally) and didn't go through with my plan to give up drinking for a month.