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Some thoughts about Hoole by Andy Medcraft
I HAD already decided that this year I was keeping the New Year celebrations low key. What I didn’t bargained for was the flu and spending the night on the sofa wrapped in a duvet watching Jules Holland on TV while the neighbours threw a party that spilled out into the street as well as their backyard. I sat listening to them laugh and clink glasses to various toasts and wondered what I would have been doing if I hadn’t been taken ill.
At midnight I was aware that the music had subsided and when I looked out of the window the sky was full of lanterns. With my duvet wrapped tightly around my shoulders I stood in the backyard and watched the glow of peoples wishes lift off into the sky. The romantic in me warmed at the thought of the amount of dreams the people of Hoole had let loose and now only the moon seemed able to catch a glimpse of.
Last year I had written myself a letter and sealed it up, tucking it into the box of decorations as they were stored away for another year. I had pulled it out a few weeks ago when we had decorated the tree and had tucked it behind the clock on the mantelpiece. As the last of the lanterns faded into the night sky, I came back into the warmth and opened my letter. It was filled with the same stuff I wrote every year about health and happiness, the usual stuff you’d say to people at New Year and it also mentioned my resolutions. Typically, I had written down my list of good intentions, sealed them up and had instantly forgotten about them the moment the decorations were down.
So this year I decided I was going to be more rigorous. I was going to make resolutions that I could keep and be proud of myself for keeping. I decided five was more than enough and easily manageable and so set about writing them down and sealing them into the new letter ready to be read next year. I opted to walk more and leave the car at home. I vowed to keep an eye on my portion sizes and stay away from takeaway foods. I intended to stay in touch with people more, to throw open the lines of communication and write, email or call my friends and family a little more often. I wrote that I was going to keep on top of the washing up and do my bit around the house and lastly I decided that this was the year I needed to finally get shot of the belly and look good in the photos for the wedding this coming December.
Pleased with my resolutions, I decided not to mention them to anybody else. Like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, I thought that mentioning them would somehow jinx them. As the tree was folded away and stored under the stairs, so too were my resolutions. Heading into Faulkner Street the following day, I met the neighbour who had thrown the party. He was looking a little worse for wear but was in a tracksuit and was jogging back from the Co-op. “Wow!” I said. “You’ve started the new year as you mean to go on.” He flashed me a smile and then vomited onto his trainers. Maybe a build up to the resolutions was a better idea. So with that in mind I continued to purchase some bread (healthy multi-seeded stuff) and milk (so skimmed it was nearly transparent) and then filled the rest of my basket with the cut price left over Christmas stodge and set about eating my way through the reminder of the weekend. Well, if I am going to start walking everywhere and healthy eating, I am going to need to build up my strength. Pass me that Pain Au Chocolate and a packet of Cheese and Onion. Oh and that caramel slice from the deli that’s in the fridge but you better make that cola a diet cola, I’ve got resolutions to uphold!
Why do AM radio stations keep broadcasting in the afternoon?
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