A Vintage Year

The moment has passed, I fear, for doing a blog on 2009, as most bloggers had that done and dusted well before now, but my excuse is that three out of four of us in the house had a virus on Wednesday, and then spent yesterday recovering and catching up on the stuff we should have done.

If the previous year has been a good one, I always start the new year with a certain amount of trepidation that the new one couldn’t possibly be as good, but that’s my old demons I guess, the negative thinking that still sometimes plagues me. What I feel overwhelmingly is a sense of gratitude that I can look back at 2009 mostly with great fondness, apart from the odd glitch or two. I have seen over the last few days online that it was not a great year for some, and many were glad to see the back of the old year. Hopefully they will not feel that way about 2010.

2009 brought me many new friends, as well as maintaining contacts with “old” ones. In February 2009 I went against my own rule of never joining a social networking site (I think I’d been put off by what I’d seen people posting on Bebo), and joined Facebook, followed by Twitter in June. Boy am I glad I did! The people I have met, both online and in the flesh, through these sites, have enriched my life so much. A special mention must go to Andrea, whom I met through the Bobby Ball “circle” on Facebook (more on him later!) – she has become one of my dearest and most trusted friends, and her husband has also become a good friend of mine. To those who say that friendships which originate online are not as “real” as those formed through other channels…..pah!

And as for Bobby Ball, well, half of my Facebook list consists of mutual friends of his! I had added one or two celebrities, as well as “real-life” friends and family obviously, had done the customary “thanks for the add” on his page….and he wrote back! I’d always liked Cannon & Ball anyway but this made me think “What a nice bloke”, and hence, a year later, I have wonderful new friends thanks to seeing his profile page. The man himself is absolutely lovely and I’ve had the privilege of meeting him in 2009, but his fans are lovely too and a great bunch. I’ve had the pleasure of going to England and meeting some of them in the flesh, and had some great times. Hard to believe that a year ago I’d never heard of any of these people, apart from Bobby himself of course. What a difference a few months makes.

Of course I’ve also made new friends outside “Bobbyland” and Facebook, whom I’m very fond of, not least Dotty from Twitter, and who have been very encouraging to me. I was pleased to get back in touch with my old teacher, Tim, for instance.

2009 had its share of bad points too, but I prefer not to dwell on those. It was a good year overall, in fact a truly life-changing one, and I want to make 2010 an even better one, if that’s possible. I hope that 2010 brings you all what you wish for.