What a year!

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m glad Christmas is over. Much as I tried to cheer myself up with a Christmas tree and decorations spread over my newly (almost) finished home, I ended up feeling bored and miserable. Without Callum (thanks to Tier 4) or the rest of the family, the day passed by Mumo and I despite our attempts to festive up a duck breast. Thank God for the internet and video calling, the only good thing to come out of this year.

2020 has been a year that most would rather leave to the history books, me included. Mind you, I’ve managed to do quite a lot between lockdowns and border blocks. Losing Dog Hollow, selling Knollys, driving 9 dogs across the Channel in the Mothership and moving into a house I hadn’t actually viewed before buying – all done in a year held captive by Covid. I’ve gone from being a stressed-out city girl to one happiest when digging up weeds and designing a garden. The alarm clock has been binned in favour of daylight streaming through the bedroom window, even the dogs snooze until Mother Nature’s calls become necessary. Instead of bouncing up and down to the monotonous sounds of a gym class, I run through vines and up hills with the most spectacular scenery to blow the cobwebs away. I think I made the right choice.

I couldn’t have done or perhaps, wouldn’t have done, any of the above without the support and encouragement of family and friends. And my woofers. When plans went pear-shaped and it seemed like we would never make it to the promised land, I could always rely on someone to pull me back up or a wet nose to remind me why we kept going. So thank you to all who have propped me up over the last 12 months especially Arry, Alice, Simi, Yogi Bear, Neo, Mo Cridhe, Coco Loco, Evee and Gizmo. 2021 will be, I hope, a calmer year for all of us.

So here’s to the end of 2020 and all its upheavals and may 2021 bring lives back together again. From me and the woofers, here’s to a happy and healthy New Year xx

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.” (T.S. Eliot)