Picture the scene: New Years Eve, an 8 year old, an 80 year old, cold damp grass and very, very boring music. Add to the mix a sleepy aunt, a bored husband and brother-in-law and a drunk MC. My father-in-law is sent home to get jackets and blankets and my mother-in-law wants to sit indoors. Oh yes, New Years Eve was turning out to be quite an experience.

My gran and my daughter get themselves completely cocooned in the two blankets –never mind the rest of us. My daughter takes about two hours to get herself comfortable. Then, just as she falls asleep (I suppose the music bored her too), with 45 minutes to go we decide to leave. So we pack up the folding chairs. This was made more interesting since, just as we start packing up the venue has a mini power failure.

We get home and as we pull into the complex we see the students from 2 flats down with fireworks. Stephen promptly informs them that they aren’t allowed to fire them on the grounds to which they respond: “No sir, we’re gonna fire them in the road” They called my husband SIR.

Midnight comes, midnight goes and so do the students and their fireworks, keeping my daughter entertained for about twenty minutes. Then it’s off to bed. But apparently the night is not over yet. Some idiot at the back of our complex who obviously bought way too much fireworks was still at it until two. Now sounding off the New Year is one thing, but that gets old after about 30 minutes. Then we calm down and try to not get arrested. And quite frankly, I don’t like seeing the mighty tigress that thinks she owns my home cower under my bed for two hours.

So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, you see one of my resolutions was to be calmer and to let things go. But barely two hours into the New Year, I found myself cursing the idiots. The idiots that thought it’s a good idea to have a boring American band sing boring music late at night, the idiots that thought it would be a good idea to have us all sit on wet grass, and the idiots who sold so much fire works to the idiot in the next road.

Now I can Let it go…