The Year of the Dog

I know it doesn't end til Feb 4th, but it's a good title for a review; it was still the Year of the Rooster when we said goodbye to 2017 in Sydney, all fireworks and summer stars. Since then, I worked hard though my concentration often lapsed through sheer laziness; need to keep improving my discipline. I didn't travel nearly as much as I like, but then not every year can be 2017. There was music, plenty of it, and grand festival times. I found good friends, saw off foes, dug up a lot of old bones; from the shores of a river in Siberia to a cave in Luxembourg, from Jacobites in the 17th century to the Rif wars of the early 20th, as well as ancestors from places little suspected. I cleared up a family mystery that flummoxed my Dad, a pointless exercise given that he either knows it all now or has no way of caring. But still. And of course, I found myself in Westminster palace and the tunnels beneath.The Cosmic Canine would be proud of me.

Things that made me sad: I tried to help a stray cat, trusted the RSPCA to help me and they put the cat down. He was very ill for sure but I don't quite believe they did the best they could. I will be careful of them in future, and won't forget poor Monty Scabcat.

And for the next year? Getting work done, making more time for friends, sorting out my eating habits, allowing more music into my life. Exploring if I can. Application!

I wish you a fabulous 2019, perfect in whatever you wish. Here we go! Happy New Year!