Well...
That was a bit weird wasn’t it?
2020, who could have predicted that? I mean, aside from medical professionals and scientists of course, who might have mentioned once or twice the dangers humanity faced from rapid spreading pandemics and the grossly underfunded health service that would struggle to cope with such catastrophic events...
But we won’t mention that.
This has been a difficult, lonely, isolated and heartbreaking year for many. It has required new ways of living, working, socialising, coping and surviving on an unprecedented scale. The whole world was affected. Some have struggled far more than others, but all have had to adapt.
Today, I sit at my computer, fatigued from a full year of relentless tragedy, soul destroying news and doom and gloom projected through media and social outlets. It is hard to wake every day and be bombarded with death tolls, disasters, poor management of difficult situations, economic collapse and more. It is worse for those directly affected by the traumas of 2020, but let’s face it, there are few people left who have not come into direct contact with one of the many nightmares this surreal year has brought with it.
So today we say goodbye to this crazy year that will certainly never be forgotten and we move on to the next, 2021!
The earliest evidence of New Year’s celebrations seems to come from Mesopotamia around 2000 BC. The celebrations took place in March when the first full moon following the Vernal Equinox symbolised the beginning of a new year and was celebrated with days of festivities.
In Egypt the year began with the flooding of the Nile and the rising of the star Sirius. The second new moon after the Winter Solstice marked the New Year in the Chinese calendar. March had been widely accepted as the first month of the year, but as calendars and agricultural importance improved, dates for the New Year altered.
January and February were apparently added to the calendar by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, in the 8th century BC and in 46BC Julius Caesar consulted with astronomers and mathematicians to align the whole system in a structured workable timeline for the year.
The god Janus, whose name is honoured by the month of January, is the god of new beginnings. Janus had two faces, allowing him to look back to the past and forwards to the future. Caesar initiated January 1st as the start of a new year and the Roman public would celebrate with sacrifices and wild parties. The goalposts have shifted now and again since then, but as it stands, January 1st remains the beginning of a new year for many of us, particularly here in Europe... and we still sacrifice our vices and have wild parties... well comfortable parties maybe in our case.
As someone born in the 1970’s (just), 2021 seemed like a Sci-Fi future that would see flying cars and mixed communities from outer space mingling on Stations in galaxies far, far away. We’re not quite there yet I guess, but I have seen some crazy dancing robots that would have been pure fantasy in my childhood!
This year has been a difficult one, but I do not want to dwell on the bad times. I thought to use this opportunity to highlight some positives from our 2020 in the hope it might lift a tiny part of the veil of unhappiness and cheer the spirit. It may not be a lot, but if I can help end the year with even the hint of a smile, then I will consider it a win. And if we go into the next year smiling, then anything can happen!
A few unexpected side effects of a mass pandemic...
This year, our little family were gifted with the one thing we have been begging for since at least when Audrey was born. Time to spend together!
For years, we have been busy. Busy with work, busy with commutes and busy with meetings, busy with fixing things and moving and when we do get to spend time at home we find ourselves busy cooking and cleaning and tidying things. We have been busy with writing and illustration and music projects, making videos and lesson plans or homework. Now, don’t get me wrong, many of these things can be enjoyable, and who doesn’t like a tidy house? But when you are busy with so many things, other things get neglected. The simple things that you take for granted.
This year as the world ground to a halt, our eyes were opened, and we realised just how much we had missed. How much more rewarding it was to go for long walks outdoors as a family, to have movie nights and to read at bedtime, to play games and enjoy each other’s company without the panic of impending commitments and deadlines. We made time in the past for such things, but it always felt limited to a set time or space. This year we were a family without so many constraints, and it was glorious.
We also got to know our neighbours! It sounds silly, but we didn’t really talk to very many of the people on our street or in our community, there just wasn’t time. Everyone was pleasant enough. They said hello when we passed them in the street, but it was just good manners, never any real connection. Then everyone had to stay at home, everyone became visible, approachable, friendly. Conversations began, the applauding of our medical professionals brought everybody out together, and then the pleasant hello’s became how are you’s, and so it grew. The community glowed from new found friendships. We are now closer than ever and it is a wonderful feeling, particularly for our three year old tornado of a child who loves her neighbourhood!
I have done more exercise this year than almost any other time I can remember. I must have been in my teens the last time I ran so much. A combination of being able to claim back the hours usually stuck on a bus or a train, or otherwise engaged in some taxing pursuit, and the allowance of time outdoors strictly for exercise purpose during the various lockdowns, led to a desire to retain a level of health and fitness that I hadn’t considered possible in recent years. I feel great for it. I don’t miss the sluggish foggy feeling of years gone by. My mind and body are feeling kind of good. It is perhaps a shame I left it until I was an old man, had I started earlier, I might have been competing for a place in the Olympics.... or maybe not.
Finally, we have had a number of small successes this year of which we are very proud. Emily Archaeomum followed her passions and acquired an amazing role teaching history, whilst also continuing her own education with a PGCE. I was delighted to be awarded a full scholarship to study a PhD in Archaeology, a long time dream of mine. We have both been heavily involved in various creative pursuits including novel writing, illustrated children’s books, music projects and TV work.
Audrey is growing up remarkably fast, her current passions lay somewhere between being an astronaut, a veterinarian, a fairy princess, a chef and a scientist. Her counting is coming along, her writing seems incredible for a three year old, she is a swimming sensation and her sense of humour utterly kills me. I have never laughed so much at anyone’s deliberate comical moments as I do Audrey’s, she is hilarious.
As for Bramble, she is in dream world! For a year, the whole family has been together at home almost all of the time. It is a golden age for the puppies of the world. Family walks are now far more frequent, she has a whole repertoire of new tricks under her belt, and she was spoilt at Christmas so has an overflowing basket of new toys to play with.
We have tried to help and support people as much as possible during this difficult year. Emily Archaeomum signed up to the volunteer NHS support army, as well as offering her medical expertise in other areas. We have offered help and support to people in our network and try to keep an eye on the community for any who might be struggling. We are always here to help if we can, to anyone who needs to reach out.
It hasn’t been an easy year for anyone, but we feel incredibly fortunate that we have been able to spend this time together. We realise many have not been so lucky and our hearts go out to those who have struggled. Reach out, talk to friends and family as much as you can, and with a little bit of luck and a lot of science, the world will return to something a little more familiar in 2021. Tonight will undoubtedly be less frivolous than years gone by, no crowds along the Thames for epic fireworks displays, but the clock will tick past midnight and a new year will be born. We will be looking forward to a brighter year, but also continuing some of our new found family pleasures into the next. Here is to new beginnings and bright horizons.
For the final time this year,
from our Archaeofam to yours,
Happy New Year Everyone xx
