Day One

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of 2008, was listening to the Adam & Joe show on BBC 6 Music. During their ‘inter-festive’ show, Joe asked guest Garth Jennings how he likes to spend New Year’s Eve, to which he replied:

I like going to bed really early. I like New Year’s Day. I like getting up on New Year’s Day and going for a nice walk or something. But I really hate the night, the whole ‘let’s have fun, it’s all going to change’ – I hate that.

This sounded right up my street, so shortly after midnight I headed straight to bed – which is no small accomplishment for me! The next morning I was up and about by 8am, and after a spot of breakfast, headed over to Cannock Chase.

I haven’t spent nearly enough time in this ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, especially when you consider it’s close proximity to my parents home in Walsall. Of course in the early January frost, the landscape was just incredible. With the crisp ground crunching beneath my feet, and clean fresh air filling my lungs, I couldn’t have asked for a better start to 2009.

This way of celebrating the arrival of a new year actually seems far more appropriate than getting drunk and starting it with a hang over. To spend the first few hours exploring a little piece of the English countryside felt like a real treat, and for that reason, I think a new yearly tradition has been born.