As I sit at a table in a cottage in Bridgetown with my family, the strains of U2's New Year's Day is nearing its end. It is one of the few traditions I've managed to keep up at the beginning of a new year. Argumentative types aside, today is not only the start of a new year, but a new decade, the 2020s. After ten years of noughties, and another ten of teens (is that what we called them?) we can all finally be confident in what we call the new clutch of ten years. Roaring or not, time will tell.
We rung in the new year with a BBQ dinner followed by an evening of board games. It was a lot of fun! The kids are great company these days, and we all enjoyed the selection of games Lachlan curated for us. After watching the NYE fireworks in Sydney on the TV (delayed, of course) we popped a bottle of sparkling (for me and Rhona, of course) and all hugged and kissed each other as the year ticked over. Though there was some public outcry over the fireworks going ahead in Sydney as so many fires raged on, it was wonderful to see the Red Cross appeal raised $900,000 to help the victims.
With the new year underway, a bit of channel surfing took place, which saw us take in the end of a live Monty Python concert from 2014 and several music videos on Rage's New Year special. It was bizarre watching clips like Elton John's I'm Still Standing and Deee-Lite's Groove Is In The Heart and feeling the need to explain the '80s and '90s to our kids, he he he... We all landed in bed around half one or so.
When we emerged in the morning a breakfast fry-up was in order, as were some mimosas, concocted utilising the leftover sparkling from the night before. Bizarrely, we discovered the difference between a Buck's Fizz and a mimosa comes down to the amount of champagne used. A mimosa is half sparkling and half orange juice, whereas a Buck's Fizz is two parts sparkling and one part orange juice; the more you know! Thank you, Google!
After breakfast I decided that I felt like a bath, because why not? It wasn't biggest or comfiest of baths (the one at our house is better!), but it did the job! I also enjoyed Fleet Foxes' fabulous Helplessness Blues album in full as a side benefit. It looks our afternoon will entail more free time for TV, games, reading and what-have-you, with the strong possibility of a viewing of The Empire Strikes Back in the evening. We're endeavouring to watch all the Star Wars movies before heading to the cinema to see The Rise of Skywalker.
So, I've had a pretty fine start to 2020, although it is certainly tinged with sadness as tales of death and destruction from the bushfires on the east coast come through to us. What a horrific way to finish off the year. The lack of practical action from the nation's government is frustrating from an outsider's point of view, but it must be downright infuriating for those living the nightmare, and those trying to fight the fires. I'm so thankful that my family is safe and hope that relief comes to those who need it very soon.
