2009

Woollies will not be making it's way into 2009 and I have to say that when I walked into the Falmouth store the last day of opening a huge wage of nostalgia welled up and floated over me. Not for that particular store but for all the Woollies' stores of my youth. The hours spent moping about after school as a teenager or meeting one of my first boyfriends outside at 5.30 every Saturday before we went into town for a night out. It's so sad to think of all those expansive commercial properties languishing empty in prominent spots all over Britain. More interestingly think about Woollies' contribution to British architecture. How many of those shops were built for Woollies'? And has the heart of the high street finally been outsourced to out of town supermarkets? Everything was reduced all the shelves were empty (the shelves were for sale) and it did seem something like the great depression as people scurried to buy 90% discounted chewing gum, no body was buying the school uniforms. I was glad to see Darren walk towards me to share fleetingly the last moments of this national institution. What would it be like for all those managers and shop workers after the doors had closed? How many people had lost that job for life, that they'd started one Saturday when they were sixteen? I'm sure if the nation had voted we would have saved Woollies' rather than one of the high street banks but hey ho you can't have it all. So that was 2008

Goals achieved include finishing a crocheted blanket (a not very attractive one), playing 'Bird on a Wire' on the guitar badly on New Years eve and a few other mainly insignificant things. I can say that 2008 was the best of times and the worst of times and it certainly will be one to remember like all the rest. Best moment is easy and that is seeing my boat 'Samara' being craned into the water and I'm glad Jim, Wayne and Richard were all there to share it with me. Worst moments we will not be going into...........

Hogmany and Christmas have probably been the best that I can remember and I'm glad that for the first time in a long time I've had somebody nice to share it with. New Years eve I had more than one invitation which was a joy and in the end a simple night out in Penryn sufficed. We just missed our positioning at the turn of twelve at Penryn town clock tower, I had someone to kiss and a bottle of 'Asti Martini' what more could a girl want. We gate crashed or more appropriately first footed 'Bar 20', who then let us devour the fine buffet that they had on for paying guests (Not us), Dave wore a pink wig of Una's and Una was very glad to see someone she knew. The party moved to Jamie and Anna's and there was lots of hugging, lots of dancing and an even nicer fire pit out the back, where I was able to sit with nothing on except a strappy silk dress. David and Beth left early due to the ever spreading and present lurgy and I snuck out relatively early on Kimberley terms. I was happy. I am happy, long may it reign ............

I had New Years Dinner over at Cheryl's on the default that Aarron never turned up which although I do feel a bit guilty about I might have felt worse having not got any. I met up with Ian, Dave and Ben, who all seemed happy. They were happy that I was happy, so everyone was/is happy and that's all we can hope for it looks and feels like 2009 will be a good one I collapsed into bed not long after.

Penryn is back to normal Miss Peapods is open and everything else has the weekend to recover nearly everyone didn't know what day it was on Hogmany mainly guessing it was Thursday. How do we manage to do that? Loose track of the days of the week so easy? The east wind has been blowing for a week now, it's still blowing the boat has not sunk. So lets see what tests January and February bring.......... March here we come.