Well, here we are, three days into the most eagerly anticipated new year in centuries and I’m already starting to feel a bit sorry for 2021.
Because how on earth is it going to live up to the hype and fulfil all the hopes we have riding on it?
After 12 months which saw our world turned upside down we are understandably desperate for a new dawn – a healthy, happy and prosperous future.
In fact, an Ipsos Mori survey reveals 75 per cent of Brits believe 2021 MUST be better that 2020 – simply because “it cannot get much worse”.
Covid vaccines mean there IS light on the horizon at last and the prospect of beating this deadly pandemic.
And, after years of bitter wrangling, Brexit is apparently done so we can all look ahead to a brighter, bolder, independent Britain. So, no pressure then 2021, we’re just expecting miracles.
What’s that you say, check out Nostradamus? Oh, I see what you mean. Because the 16th century French astrologer said to have foreseen the most seismic events in history certainly had a much gloomier vision of 2021.
In fact he predicted a zombie apocalypse – sparked by a Russian-made biological weapon – followed by a biblical famine.
Our only hope of salvation will be an army of soldiers with microchips implanted in their brains.
If, that is, they can act before America is devastated by an earthquake, solar storms send the seas rising and Earth is wiped out by an asteroid.
And we thought 2020 was a bummer? Joking aside, of course we must endeavour to look ahead with optimism.
The first week of a new year is a time of reflection and renewed hope, so it’s natural to make predictions.
But we still have a long way to go in the battle against Covid and many more bumps in that Brexit road.
So, let’s give the year a chance to breathe rather than smothering it at birth with the weight of our expectations.
And, instead of focusing on the heavy stuff let’s take a lighter look at how 2021 might keep us occupied.
A happy New Year to everyone.
