It’s hard to believe that the year has come and gone and here we are, once again, on the eve of yet another. Where does the time go?

By and large 2012 has been a good year for most of us in the UK. For sure, we are still in the middle of a European crisis (aren’t we always!) and we are still suffering from the effects  of a recession that has allowed few countries to escape its clutches. However, life goes on and whilst there has been a general tightening of belts the country is hardly in a state of depression.

This was a year that saw the United Kingdom feature prominently on the world stage. The London Olympics together with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations put a smile on our faces and showed the world that our once mighty nation is still capable of putting on a show to match the finest. If nothing else those two events did wonders for national pride and morale and the positive effects may last a while yet.

So , what can we expect of 2013 and will anything change? Well, the recession is unlikely to go away in the foreseeable future and the problems over Europe are going to get worse before they get better. Our politicians will continue to promise prosperous days ahead (whilst crossing their fingers!), the trades unions will still call for national strikes and our weathermen will excite us with predictions of a glorious record-breaking summer until yet another rain-soaked August exposes their false promise!

We’ll ride through it all though, just as we always seem to do and there really is no reason why this coming year should not be, at the very least, the equal of the last. It’s all a question of positive thinking, isn’t it! Happy New Year to us all!