Happy New Year

No – I’ve not gone completely doolally as they say in the BM’s family. I know my dates, and yes it’s still September and January 1st is (thank heaven) several wintery months away. But I always feel more ‘new yearish’ at this stage in the year than I ever do at the end of December. For one thing, on January 1st it’s dark and cold and you don’t really want to resolve to do anything – you still have far too much food – the stuff you bought in that frenzied ‘buying for a siege ‘ mentality before the holiday – there’s lots of lovely wine left undrunk and you’re just enjoying indulging. New Year's Day is just a change of numbers – an arbitrary one imposed by the calendar.

I’ve always believed you can have a New Year whenever you want to. You just have to declare it – "my new year starts tomorrow" – and then you can make resolutions and hopefully put them into action without someone inviting you to a late party or something else, and before you know it, it’s halfway through February and you haven’t lost a single pound, been teetotal for a second, given up the dreaded cigarette. See – that’s how I know you can declare New Year whenever you want. March 14th 1989 – I had a New Year then – I stopped smoking and have never started again. So I have experience that non January New Years do work.

The BM and I have always felt more in the New Year Resolution sort of spirit around this time of year anyway. It comes from so much experience of new academic years – as school children, university terms as students, College terms when the BM was a FE lecturer – university ones again when he was a Senior Lecturer. Evening classes began in September . . .We’ve tended to measure our lives around new beginnings at this time of year. I’ve always loved the autumn - the Fall for those of you across The Pond - and along with the mellowing of the season, the warmth that lingers more softly than the heat of summer and the wonderful changing colours of the trees, there is also the added thrill of that whole Back to School promotion in the stationery shops.

I’ve always loved browsing in stationer’s - looking at fresh, sharp pencils, beautiful pens - pens that might just manage to turn my illegible scrawl into something that could possibly be described as handwriting - and of course notebooks. Piles of wonderful virginal, fresh, clean notebooks, with covers of all colours and size and designs, all untouched and just waiting for brilliant ideas, characters, stories, to be written in them.

I think this is why I’ve finally launched into the office overhaul with such commitment and enthusiasm. I’ve know this had needed doing for ages but I’ve always said, WTBIF (when the book is finished - usually it’s WTBBIF - yopu can guess what that extra B stands for - sometimes it becomes WTBBBBIF) and then of course as soon as the book is finished, there’s something else that need doing . .

But this time the office is done. Well, the physical overhaul is done. The carpet is laid. The bookshelves are built, the books are back in place. It’s all wonderful and fresh and clean and so inviting. It really makes me want to be in here. Which is a good thing, as I have another book to write.

I’d post a picture – may do so later – but it would be best if I could find the photo I took of the ‘old’ office so you could get the full before and after effect.

But first there is the little matter of sorting and filing and organising the paperwork – right now, the office looks extra wonderful because I haven’t yet brought back in any of the paper clutter that mounts up when I’m writing. That has all got to be cleared up and organised – another New Year resolution – this time for tomorrow.

So while I was in this New Year frame of mind, I set up a new contest on my web site. I enjoyed choosing the items to go into the prize package – it gave me a wonderful opportunity to browse in my favourite stationery store - and yes, I came home with some bits and pieces for myself. So if for you this time of year has a New Start feel to it too, and you’d like to win a notebook to record all your wonderful ideas in plus some other bits and pieces check out my Contest page and answer the simple trivia question.

And I wonder what sort of Autumn resolutions you might be planning for yourself?