Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Happy New Year’s Eve – 2020 in the rear view mirror by Sally Cronin.

Welcome to a review of the year past and a celebration of the one to come.

I am sure that I don’t need to add anything further about 2020 that has not been said already in the last nine months by millions around the world.  Despite the many challenges during the year due to Covid, Presidential elections and Brexit, there were still some events that brought smiles to our faces and inspired us to do more for others.

There are many stars of the year that I want to mention, including of course the front line health care teams who have worked so hard to keep people alive, the delivery drivers who have kept food on the table, the supermarket workers who turned up to work every day. Also the parents who have home schooled their children, which is not an easy task,and the teachers who worked with their students online, also not as simple as it sounds.

A huge thank you has to go to the millions of volunteers who have delivered food, checked on the vulnerable and made phone calls on a regular basis. And to the inspiring who have raised millions to buy PPE or to provide patients in hospital the technology to keep in touch with their families.

And in the spirit of that, here is Sir Tom Moore 100 years old, who was knighted by her Majesty the Queen later in the summer. He went on to raise almost £33 million for the NHS – Courtesy of Forces TV

 

When I was looking for a header for this post, I came across the image at the front of the post thanks to Pixabay.com and it made me smile…

The origin of the expression ‘Gone to the Dogs’ goes back as far as the 1500s, when bad or stale food that was not thought to be suitable for human consumption, was thrown to the dogs. The expression caught on and expanded to include any person or thing that came to a bad end, was ruined, or looked terrible. Source: The Idioms.com

In modern parlance it refers to an institution, organisation, that has failed or a country or a person who has sunk into the depths of immorality or destitution. There are certainly some parallels to be drawn with these definitions of the expression this year.

However, according to various news reports, this year went to the dogs, and other pets who have kept us company during lockdown. Their owners were home from work or school all day to keep them company, exercise was permitted so they could still go on a long daily walk, no doubt there were more treats to be had, as people ate in rather than went out to restaurants, and daytime television enabled more cuddling.

 

Of course dogs took it upon themselves to participate in all the work from home activities sometimes with interesting results.

With the prospect of a vaccine and a return to work at some point in 2021, the animal welfare groups are very concerned that this is going to result in separation anxiety, particularly for dogs. Cats may be quite pleased to get their kingdoms back again!

Whilst dogs have an optimistic outlook on life….

Cats are definitely at the other end of that spectrum….

Travel restrictions meant that many of us had to cancel holidays. We were planning to celebrate our 40th a few weeks earlier in September and booked a wonderful villa on the island of Malta. My two sisters were going to join us and it was an opportunity to revisit old haunts from the two years we lived there over 60 years ago. Of course by June it was clear it would be unsafe to travel and we had to change our plans.. There is always next year.. hopefully.

Some people did manage to get away in the brief window between lockdowns, but of course other countries also have strict quarantine restrictions and most require a mask to be worn at all times. Unfortunately this does not lead to flattering holiday snaps.

There is no doubt that some of the changes we have made to our lifestyles and working environments will remain in place as we become used to the necessity to be more careful in our interaction with each other. Hopefully, for all the small businesses such as pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, cafes and bookstores of course, it will become possible to enjoy their services again.

I know my shopping methods have changed and I have gone from a ‘happy browser‘ to a ‘straight in and straight out with what I need’ kinda gal. I am buying more online now but it is not the same. Hopefully I can return to my former shopping persona in the near future.

What I have enjoyed online, is the increased interaction with so many in our writing community who have offered support, a kind word, and a sharing of humour. That is definitely something I hope will continue into 2021 and beyond.  For the millions who have been isolated, social media, video calls and blogging have been an essential lifeline.

On that note….thank you so much for dropping in today and I wish you an amazing New Year’s Eve and all that you wish for in 2021. I look forward to sharing the next year with you.

To get your party started here is Boney M with the traditional New Year’s Eve song…