First Footing and lumps of coal

31-December-2017

31-December-2017 9:21

in General

by Admin

Well New Year’s Eve is here- and as of 11.00am this morning the tv is showing firework displays from around the world starting in New Zealand and working through the time line until midnight here! There are only so many firework displays one can cope with- luckily due to being in a very rural area we do not get many ‘live’ fireworks and so our horses, cattle, sheep and dogs can rest in peace this evening.

I don’t remember when this trend of fireworks started at New Year? But when I was a kid New Year meant some serious rituals when dad would disappear outside just before midnight with a lump of coal, a slice of bread and some salt in a bag where he would jog on the spot to keep warm for those extra long five minutes until Big Ben chimed on the TV. My mum would open the front door to let the New Year in and pressumably the old year out, although I would prefer to have someone opening the back door a minute earlier to let the old one out but this year I might have to open it a couple of hours earlier to let all the dross out that happened for us during 2017 but, despite the crappy issues which we didn't enjoy there was a really big plus to one of the disasters that occurred when our house was condemned requiring six months of work, meticulously carried out by our builders.

The result? and please take note; anyone suffering delibilating joint pain, severe muscle soreness, an inability to walk any distance without pain or use your legs as you previously could and / or breathing issues such as asthma, take a long hard look at your environment because the severe but mostly invisible damp caused by a leaking pipe over a seven year period under the kitchen, spread to TV room and dining rooms in our home had been causing havoc with my health and saw a return of George's asthma which he suffered from 30 odd years ago.

Now? The legs work great, the pain has gone, my old mate energy has come roaring back and George (aka Peter Pan) is as fit as a fiddle, the smaller but less important bonus is a brand new Kitchen with lots of space for our owners breakfasts- the feasts will resume in Sping when owners come out of hibernation and....

Ever the optimist my glass remains half full and this year there are lots of exciting plans in the pipeline and I can't wait to get going.

However you choose to spend your evening, be it fireworks, lumps of coal, wild parties or an early night- we at Sunhill wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018.

And a big 'Happy Birthday' to all the horses who technically share a mass birthday tomorrow.

Old Kitchen & tv room Work under way