New Year's Eve was never much of a celebration time in England until recently. For my parents and grandparents it meant finishing the Christmas drinks and watching the White Heather Club in black and white on television (unless they went to bed early). Even today, if you go to a pub or a club it all seems a bit forced.
Above: in the north of the county there is the White Heather Club. If I went there this evening would I find Andy Stewart and Moira Anderson and all the black and white characters of the 1960s? At midnight would everyone go out onto the terrace in the freezing air (it has been freezing all day) to watch the (black and white) fireworks?
Above: at The Napoleon there is a fancy dress party (wear something "crazy") with free shots. Like most transplanted celebrations Hogmanay has never really got off the ground. Portugese landworkers sometimes go to The Napoleon so they will probably think it is all typically English.
Above: for real end-of-year sadness you have to turn to Tennyson. 2008 started fairly hopeful and then... crash. And the crash is still going on for many people - who knows when the fall will stop?
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