Happy new year! I hope 2014 is treating you well so far. Well, aside from the wind, and the cold, and the rain, and everything else it's thrown at us so far.
After a run of celebrating each new year in London, this year I escaped up to the wilds of Scotland to Knoydart. We stayed as a group in some accommodation in the tiny village of Inverie. The pub in the village has the claim of being the most remote pub in the UK, with good reason. The area is inaccessible by road vehicle and to get there you need to take the 'ferry' from Mallaig.
New Year's Eve itself was completely joyous. Imagine a whole load of visitors crammed into Inverie's village hall with a few locals, then imagine a ceilidh with a live band but very scanty instructions - so scanty, in fact, a dance has to be stopped part way through because two of your friends are doing it so badly. Then a fabulous disco - which goes completely mental to this - face paints, and lots of bartering to get the bottle of rum given away for the raffle prize. All fabulously silly.
With no phone signal and no wifi, and definitely no vintage shops to offer distraction, it was a case of making your own entertainment, and many a silly game was played during our evenings. And, of course, there was the stunning scenery to be explored in the daytime in walks and (in one brave case) a swim.
It's hard to be somewhere that remote - and especially at new year - without making a few resolutions. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know how I love a resolution. Needless to say, I made a few biggies, but some fun ones too. I'm aiming to read 50 books this year (now I'm freelance and don't have a daily commute, I can feel my reading for fun time rapidly plummeting). I also want to watch more 'classic' films - Golden Age of Hollywood kind of stuff. Where on earth should I start with that? Your recommendations please. Oh and, because of my Knoydart new year experience, I have definitely decided 2014 should contain more ridiculous dancing.
Happy 2014!
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