Shaun Says: The tree is down and it's back to reality

I’m certain I’m not alone in feeling that the Christmas just gone didn’t feel as sparkly and special as in years gone by, it seemed to just sidle in barely noticed like that quiet fellow who works in accounts, nobody knows his name and he usually doesn’t come to the party. Well, he turned up last year and BOY what a mood hoover he was!

However, we find ourselves in a new year, only 500 years short of Zager and Evans famous song (Google it, I’m not your Wikipedia page!) and nothing has really changed, we have a blank piece of paper to fill with whatever we choose to happen, alongside the stuff that will simply come along like a smack in the face with a wet towel.

I’m not going to dwell too much on the negatives, there’s still unmitigated violence and injustice throughout the world, the leaders are losing the plot and talking utter and complete nonsense, their strings being pulled by people with more money than they can ever spend, yet will never think that sharing a bit of the wealth could easily make billions of lives better without diminishing their obscene wealth by more than pocket change. People are still cold, hungry, afraid, angry, and sadly very very silly and naïve.

It’s not all bad news though, every day this year, new life will begin, babies will be born, couples will fall in love, songs will be written, books will get published, films will be released, spring will be with us in a matter of weeks, new flowers, lambs, and the birds who left us last autumn will start to return, bringing their song to the morning.

We’ll almost all have a birthday! We’ll all have a day that we’ll never forget, a golden 24 hours where everything falls into place, being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, making a memory more personal and more beautiful than anything that went before.

I’ll be busy with gigs (Crookes Club, Friday February 21, the Big Shaun Experience) a play (Lamproom Theatre Barnsley Friday February 7 ‘the boys are back int tarn’) and of course writing this column once a week and musing on whatever the year brings.

So, Happy New Year everyone, let’s have a great year!