DEATH OF A DECADE

I won't be sad to see the end of 2009. In truth, it has been an awful year which I shall be glad to see the back of.
Good friends I have known for decades died this year, the health of immediate family members continues to give cause for concern.
And, until very recently, personal financial penury was most definitely looming.
At the start of the year, I invested much time and a considerable amount of cash in pursuing a Parliamentary seat in Keighley.
Last weekend, friends "kidnapped" me in an impromptu lunchtime drive up to Appletreewick, around 20 miles from the northernmost part of the Keighley constituency, for a splendid lunch. I reflected along the way that it was not - and nothing ever is - a complete waste of time. I met some great people - and learned some very hard political lessons.
My Christmas was less than wonderful thanks to the stupidity of a local DIY man who switched off next door's water supply ( therefore also curtailing mine). This took five days arguing with Yorkshire Water to ascertain.
Still, I now know it takes three litres of cold water to flush a toilet. And that there are far more important things in life than hot water. Like friends, family and basic facts like being healthy and relatively prosperous in a world where most people are not.
So I sincerely hope that 2010 is better. For all of us. A Happy Socialist New Year