Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year - I'm off to the beach

It's New Year's Eve and we're off to the beach....

Not this one. This is a beach near Obidos in Portugal on the west coast, far from the Algarve that was turned into another Costa long ago by loud tattooed Brits.

The best places, inevitably are those that few people have discovered in the same way as the best restaurants are those frequented by the locals that look from the outside like the sort of joints you would take your dog to be put down.

New Year's Eves can be like that too. The big venues seldom fail to disappoint, unless you like freezing half to death for hours for the honor of having beer tipped over your head, in Time Square or Tralfalgar Square or Edinburgh's Tron.

In saying that the low key New Years have disappointed too. As a teenager growing up in suburbia there was such a crush of expectation placed on one night, that New Years inevitably proved to be damp squibs.

They'd often end up in cold bowling alleys, exchanging germs with a nefarious and frightening looking girl from the local comprehensive school, who you'd jump in an icy river to avoid making eye contact with the next week.

A bad New Year's Eve was failing to exchange germs with  a nefarious and frightening looking girl from the local comprehensive school, and having to watch your friend in the aforementioned germ exchange.

Actually a bad New Year's Eve was walking for hours in a sullen huddle with a group of no hopers looking for a non existent party and ending up back at the home of one of these no hopers polishing off a bottle of Thunderbird.

Of course, we are more evolved now. We have also recognized that New Year's Eves can be what's technically referred to as a pile of old cat poo.

But tonight we are free of the kids and out partying at the beach down at the Outer Banks. It should be enjoyable in a 40-something, semi-responsible, almost grown-up kind of way.

Happy New Year to all my fantastic blog friends. Here's to 2011.

9 comments:

  1. I hope you have a lovely New Year. I'm just waiting for my party to start. Half an hour to go, exciting! :-)

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  2. Happy new year, and may you not experience any snogging in cold bowling alleys. xo

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  3. Happy New Year!
    I am cooking,cooking and drinking champagne!

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  4. Happy New Year to you and your family! The beach sounds like a wonderful place to be. We brought the new year in quietly at home eating popcorn and watching a movie which suited me perfectly. :)

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  5. Happy Holidays and I am jealous of the beach.

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  6. I hope you're having a wonderful time!

    Happy New Year!

    May every day of the new year glow with good cheer for you and your family!
    I wish you the best of everything that you so well deserve.

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  7. Hi David

    Happy New Year From Southern California.

    Don't forget to watch the 122nd Rose Parade on New Year's Day coming from Pasadena, California...only 30 miles from The Old Geezer's home :-) If you miss the live telecast, I'm sure there will be lots of reruns through out the day.

    No matter what looms ahead, if you can eat today, enjoy today, mix good cheer with friends today enjoy it and bless God for it. ~Henry Ward Beecher

    May God Bless and Protect You in the Year to Come. ~Ron

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  8. Thanks frog - hope your party went well. Cheers Robyn, not too many cold bowling alleys thankfully. Sounds like a plan, Olga - happy new year too. Happy New Year Oilfield trash, actually I did feel a bit old to party, Daisy. Hope you had fun. Thanks Deborah - the beach was crazy. It was like 60 degrees today. Thanks so much Betty - I wish you are yours all the best too. I appreciate it Ron, hope you had a good one; fraid I missed the Rose Parade, tho.

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On Blog PTSD

Now then. What the heck. It seems I had forgotten about my blog completely rather than just neglecting it this time. To return after so long...