That was the year that was

It’s the last few days of 2023.

Most of us will be thinking about the twelve months that have passed and what 2024 might hold, be it joys and lows, miracles and disasters.

We can’t predict the future but at best we can welcome it with open arms and enjoy the moment. Taking happiness in the small things in life rather than the big ones.

And most of all, being kind.

I’m not a great one for New Year’s resolutions but I have vowed to steer away from negative and toxic people whose dramas can suck you into a void from which it’s very difficult to emerge.

I want to do more walking, exploring and singing. And always remain curious.

In the meantime, I’m compiling a playlist for tomorrow evening because I’ve been press-ganged into donning the headphones and performing as DJ for the New Year’s Eve party at the Lush Places pub.

I’ve been doing this for several years now, initially with the back-up of DJ extraordinaire, Ding Dong Daddy, who was better known as award-winning musician Simon Emmerson, who lived in the village.

He died in March this year and left a gaping hole in the musical stratosphere. Here in Lush Places, his eclectic knowledge was a thing to behold when my own role at the pub parties was to bring the cheese in the form of 70s disco and audience participation stuff such as Cha Cha Slide.

I used his DJ gear during the 2020 lockdown, when every day at one o’clock I’d play the theme tune to The Sound of Music before blasting out a song request from my windows overlooking the village square.

Last Christmas, Simon gave me his DJ gear, telling me he wasn’t going to be using it again. He died a few months later. In December, he was celebrated at a special concert at London’s Roundhouse venue.

We’ll be remembering him here in Lush Places this New Year’s Eve.