Rosher.Net

So here we go… 2016 beckons. Of course, almost nobody is going to do what nearly everyone used to do, and write the wrong year on the next cheque they write – mainly because hardly anyone writes cheques any more! But as the old calendars are taken down and the new ones put up, and neither one is looked at because the important stuff is all on our phones… it’s time for reflection and anticipation.

I started this year in full employment. I end it almost as busy as I was when I was being paid for it! Ah well, at least I choose my hours now. As the year drew to a close, my Parish Clerk handed in her notice and moved to a larger council and a job with more hours and more responsibility. The midwinter festivities have therefore been flavoured with a tinge of uncertainty as we go through applicants and prepare for next week’s New Year interviews.

Over the same period, our new Neighbourhood Plan Area has been out to consultation, and assuming nothing goes wrong (and it won’t) the approval for our NPA should come toward the end of the month. I suspect many of my blog entries for the next year or so will be me thinking aloud on the subject of planning… You may be totally bored by this but bear with me.

In early 2015 I did my very bestest to walk away from Facebook. I failed. I got over it. However, I did find BlipFoto, which gave me a new space in which to witter away, with added photo loveliness. And then BlipFoto went a bit bust. There’s a crowd sourcing initiative to buy the thing, and I’ve put my pledge in. I wasn’t going to, but in the midst of a stinking head cold I found myself still pushing to upload that one pic a day and I realised it had me.

In the last nine months I’ve seen far more of Janet. You may not think that odd but I’d not seen much of her for twenty some years. Teaching… every now and then I meet someone who is ‘going to be a teacher’, and a little bit of me whats to scream at them. Anyhow, it’s smashing to have the old girl back. It’s ok, don’t panic, she doesn’t read my rubbish.

For those following my waffle on the solar roof, although the weather hasn’t exactly been great (only 45kWh for December 2015 over 69kWh the year before), we’ve generated more than 7MWh since install two years ago and we’re still on course to cover the initial investment in three years time, leaving fifteen years of anticipated pure profit. If the world hasn’t collapsed into climate change exacerbated ruin by then.

Anyhow, sitting here sipping my hot lemon and paracetamol and wondering how that will work later with champagne… Happy 2016 folks. The world is going nuts, but if we all do our best we can feel smug when the finger pointing starts. Oh, that’s not quite right is it…

I don’t do resolutions; I was fantastic in 2015 and I intend to be incredibly splendid in 2016.