How strong are your resolutions as we face a Brave New Year?

A New Year lies before us and this is normally a time to make resolutions, hollow promises of what we will do in the year ahead.

We announce our intention to lose weight; to stop smoking; to drink less; to be kind to others; to refrain from licentious behaviour; not to abuse others on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or whatever floats your social media boat.

I make no rash claims to be and do better in 2023 than I did in 2022.

Come to think of it I couldn’t do much worse on this blog than I did last year as things got on top of me and I have not blogged for the past six months. I apologise to readers and can only say I will try to do better, the operative word being try, after all I am heading rapidly to my 74th year.

I intend to return to the tale of my sabbatical from journalism, we were still in the early days of my tour with that well-known magician Sooty, and his sidekick, Sweep.

I will also hopefully entertain you with some of my favourite poems.

Books I have read will almost certainly be on the agenda, whether they are brand-new, something I read in my childhood or anything in between.

The spotlight will also fall on my love of theatre, amateur and professional, classical and modern, music and dance and even down to my grandchildren appearing in a school play (with my daughter Sarah’s permission of course).

Politics and my own personal view of what is going on in the world in general and the UK in particular will also feature. Reading is not compulsory but you never know you might find it amusing.

Finally I will be writing about family history, starting at the very beginning and offering hints and tips as well as information on records which could prove useful.

I am not claiming to be an expert genealogist but Marion an I have been carrying out our own research into the Duke and Pierce families and their branches for the last 45 years. I also created and edited a family history magazine for people with origins in Norfolk which had subscribers worldwide, so do have some knowledge of the subject.

Let me just say, welcome to 2023.