A Quiet Beginning

Hi, I'm back.  The festivities are over, people have gone back reluctantly to work and I'm back at my computer.  The new year here had been quite quiet - a little fireworks and a little merriment in the night spots, not like past years when people thronged the esplanade, danced on cars, sprayed messages on their windscreens and raced on their motorbikes at midnight, daring all to join in their revelry.  In Mum's days, ships in our small harbour let out loud hoots from their funnels to welcome in the new and bid farewell to the old.  I guess it's quiet because our spending power today has shrunk, people are holding tightly to their purses and are perhaps spending more quality time with their families at home instead of splashing on lavish new year parties and the like. Even my cat chose to stay in, resisting all temptation to party and smooch with  his admirers. Perhaps the pace will pick up as we trudge slowly if not carefully into the new year.