I suspect that once the dogs were walked, the horses were safely stabbed, the fires lit, the special bottle opened and the oven full of something – anything – that was not left with turkeys , the thoughts of lost friends and family reached longer than ever before, with phones and video calls growing as a result.
In our own evening there was a lively gathering of friends, scattered across time zones, attendants moving in and out, mostly with young children sleeping upstairs, and most of cock gripping – more than ever including New Year’s Eve abandoning, moving to one side for a minute. the bare facts we knew would bring the morning.
Suddenly, once again, schools are closed, plans are ruined, life has to be reorganized and reorganized, all remembering the hardest part of this last hard year – that locking effort to tuition and work at the same time, its impossibility, and its impact on pupils and us.
We knew, we all knew, that this winter was likely to be a test. But now that it is here, this stark New Year, with the high levels of disease, forewarning has not led to an emotional shift. How could he? Thomas Hardy knew that the frost would come every year, but the evacuation was less severe.
So let me be a dark thrush for you on New Year’s Day. Ten days ago, my 90 – year – old father received his first vaccine injection. That news alone brought a rush of joy, but it was curated, because my mother had to wait for her, because who knew how long.