Tuesday 2nd January
Maybe I am just a miserable old bugger (I am sure you will agree) but I never get excited about New Year. I go along with it and sing Auld Lang Syne and kiss everyone, but there is always a rational part of my brain that is telling me ‘this is nonsense’. Mankind has always told off the years by the seasons, but why 1st January should be any different to any other day is quite illogical. Besides, it is quite ridiculous that it is so close to Christmas itself – we have a period of almost two weeks when nothing gets done, offices are closed, too much food is consumed, too much crap on the telly. Now on 2nd janauary at least we can get back to normal.
But I suppose the thing I am most amazed at is the optimism people display, the belief that somehow their lives will change, that things will get better, that the world will become a better place just because a certain day in the calendar has been passed.
And when one looks at the next approaching few months there is little to be enthused about. Brexit talks will resume shortly; we have spent a year talking about the ‘Divorce’ Bill, and we have ended up giving the EU just about everything they asked for. This was obvious from day one. In order to move on to talks about a possible future trading arrangement we had to agree to their demands. We still have the impossible circle to square of Northern Ireland; and the equally impossible desire by the Government to have frictionless and tariff-free movement of goods and services but not in either the Single Market or the Customs Union. My best guess is that the EU will stick to their guns – we will stay in both for another two years while the arguments continue – so we will formally have left the EU, but still be in it, and with no agreed trade deal in sight. Of course Mrs. May will then call an election….no predicitons are possible about the result.
In America Donald Trump is busy tearing up all the good which Obama did. He may well rip up the deal with iran too. A new war in the Middle East is even more likely now. North Korea is still a problem, as is Russia. But maybe he will surprise us and bring World peace all round. Don’t hold your breath.
So – I can see 2018 as much of the same. Nationalism shows no signs of diminishing, common-sense is in very short supply.
All we can do is just to try to get on with our lives best we can.