Happy New Year!

Well, after a couple of weeks offline, I'm back up and running. Xmas and new year were good (and thanks are due to loads of people for nice prezzies), though marred by some 2.5 hours of delay on the way back at Dublin airport and the demise of our car on the way to Devon for the new year. Thanks to our rescue company we were provided with a loan car for the weekend, which meant we could actually go ahead with our new year plans

...Which were to be in Bideford, my home ancestral, which has long been the scene of some great revelry but over the last few years (since I moved away!) it seems to have become one of the top spots to celebrate new year, with a massive party on the quay — a town with an adult population around 30,000 (half of whom are over 50) was home to a free outdoor party with an estimated 15,000 attendees. And fun it was too — great kudos to Jude, the DJ lady who spent much of the night prancing around on the stage whipping up the atmosphere.

Bideford at new year (image nicked from the BBC)

Last year I had one resolution: to eat some stinging nettles. I succeeded (they are a lot like spinach when cooked). I think I will stick with these achievable, expand experiences in a small (edible) way type resolutions. So this year I will expand into two resolutions: eat tripe and smoke my own bacon (and probably other stuff too). Both eminently doable, but easy to not get around to. Watch this space...