Where did the last year went tae?

 New Year to ane and a’.  Hope ye had a great time at Hogmanay and wurnae too sore on New Years day.  Tradition was ye hud tae be ‘first footed’ (the first person to cross your threshold in the New Year) by a tall dark handsome man bearin’ a lump of coal if ye were gaun tae hae a lucky year.  Well, am no tall but ah am dark and handsome and ah have been mistaken for a lump of coal.  So, anywise, ah hope 2014 is kind tae ye all.

Me wi' ma Santa hat on

Where did last year went tae?  The nights were short and then they came lang.  The trees were bare an’ then they wus green.  The daffydils were oot fur Daffydil Day and noo we hae summer roses.  ‘Ma luv is like a red red rose’.  Talkin’ o’ which (which we weren’t), in November ah was looked efter by ma frien’ Sarah fur a week while the auld folk were aff galavanting somewhere.  Remember Sarah.  She used tae work in the office and at the cafe.  She an’ I had a good thing goin’.  Still have - ah think.  Anyhow, the auld yins went away fur a week an’ who should turn up tae look efter me?  None other than Sarah.  Oh! it was rerr.  Mind you she went off everyday tae work but then so did I.  We hud some lovely evening thegither but – och, ah’m blushin’ now

Ah’m getting’ worked aff ma feet these days.  Ye should see the length of them.  Ma bums almost scrapin’ the grass.  Ah could’ve said something a wee bit more coarse (and rhyming) but ah’m a highland gentleman.  Anyway, it’s been hard yards (feet) during the hoaliday season but ah’ve just had a rerr wee hoaliday wi’ a’ the family at Taupo – 6 adults and 6 weans.  Mind you, sometimes it wis hard tae tell who were the adults and who the weans.  The great thing aboot Taupo is the pumice staines.  They’re so light that ah can retrieve some pretty big yins without hurtin’ ma nose too much.  Trouble is ah can also chew them and the wee bits get stuck in ma stomach.  So, ah hud a coupla days there when ma stomach was givin’ me gyp.  Still, what goes in comes out – eventually.  An’ all’s well that ends well.  And ma ends well noo!

Talkin’ of Shakespeare (which we weren’t).  We’ve got the Scottish play (Macbeth shhhh!) being performed by they students from Victoria University on 6, 7 and 8 February (kick off 6.00pm).  It’s gonnae be great.  Ah’m hopin for a small part (get it?).  Ye can get yer tickets frae the vineyard, Hedley’s Books in Masterton, Almos Books in Carterton or the Wine Centre in Martinborough or on-line from www.gladstonevineyard.co.nz.

“Stands Scotland where she stood?” That’s a quote frae Macbeth y’know.  Reminds me o’ Chic Murray, a Scottish comedian from long ago (pre - Billy Connolly) who when asked if he had ever seen Dumbarton Rock said he’d looked at it many a time but never seen it move once.  Ha ha!





A’ ra best for 2014