Saturday 2 January 2021

Goodbye 2020 - and Good Riddance

 


Welcome to a very cold South Manchester and a slightly later than normal summary of what happened in 2020 in the life of the Plastic Mancunian.

I have a set of questions I usually use to summarise the year, but I thought that this year I would use the questions supplied by Sunday Stealing instead (though there is some overlap). 

All I can say at the start is that I want to kick 2020 into the annals of history as a truly terrible year. We all know why but it does need to be said.

Without further ado – let’s dive in.

1. First things first, did you have a good year?

I had a terrible year. It was fine until the beginning of March, which is the time when I usually start getting over the boring winter period and look forward to a bright, warm and wholesome spring, summer and autumn. Instead of euphoria and optimism, we were subjected to a pandemic that is still going on. All plans that I had disintegrated and were cast to the four winds. 

Here in the UK, as with other parts of the world, we have been confined to our houses, unable to travel, unable to go to the office to work and unable to socialize with friends and see family. 

Of course, it is worse for those who have been victims of the virus and I feel for all of those people taken prematurely from us in 2020.

To add insult to injury, the UK has finally cut ties with the EU. We have a terrible trade deal but a deal nonetheless – it could have been so much worse. The architects of this travesty should be ashamed of themselves and all of them need to prepare themselves for a trip into deep space when I become World President – because that is where they are going to end up, special passengers on the spaceships I intend to build for them. 

The one gold nugget in the sack of turds that was 2020 is that the USA finally got rid of the Orange Goblin. Good riddance.

2. What was your favourite article of clothing this year?

This would be a weird question any year because I am not a dedicated follower of fashion. In 2020, though, it is totally irrelevant because the only items of clothing that I have bought are two pairs of jeans, neither of which I have worn yet. 

3. What song sums up this year for you?

I have lots of depressing songs that can sum up 2020 for me but instead of that, I am going to show you an uplifting song from 2020 that makes me feel more positive for 2021. This is a song by the symphonic metal band Nightwish. It is called “Music”, something that has helped me cope with the tedium of being locked down.


4. What was your favourite movie of the year?
I haven’t been to the cinema this year because of lockdown. However, I have seen a couple of films released in the early part of 2020 that made it onto Sky Cinema. Probably the best of those is “The Invisible Man”:


It was a creepy thriller and I enjoyed it.
5. Did an actor/actress catch your attention for the first time this year?
Not really. 
6. Favourite new TV show?
We binge watched Stranger Things, a really weird but highly enjoyable show.


7. Did you make any big permanent changes this year?
Not at all, unless you count not going out, not going on holiday, working from home and being bored out of my brain.
8. What was one nice thing you did for yourself?
I grew a beard for the first time in my life. Does that count? I am fed up of it now so it is coming off tomorrow in fact. Hopefully that will signal good things ahead.
9. Did you develop a new obsession?
Due to boredom and the inability to go anywhere, I bought more CDs this year than I have done for a long time. Nothing else leaps to mind to be honest.
10. Did you move?
No – but my son and his girlfriend did, just before the lockdown hit. They lived with us and had been trying to move out for a while and just managed to move into a rented house a fortnight before we were locked down. And thank goodness they did because otherwise we would have all been working from home for months and on top of each other. 
Now they have saved up enough money for a deposit on a house and got the keys in December. The house needs some work and they will be hopefully moving into their first proper owned home in March, at which time I hope this pandemic is beginning to fade.
11. Did you get a pet?
Yes, we acquired two black kittens called Ziggy and Star. We were going to take in their sister too but she was ill and needed more time to get over her illness. The three kittens were abandoned in an alley and left to die so for the first month or so they were quite ill. Ziggy and Star recovered and now the third one has too. However, the owner of the cat charity fell in love with her and asked if we minded whether he kept her. In the end we decided to leave her with him and his other cats. We know she will be well looked after. 
It’s great having kittens again and they have made the end of a terrible year enjoyable. Here they are:

Star performing her famous balancing act

Ziggy helping me to write software

12. Do you regret not doing anything?
Yes – I regret not going on holiday to the Canary Islands in January. Mrs PM’s dad asked if we wanted to go for a week but I had run out of holiday and so I couldn’t go. Mrs PM went and had some winter sun in a dark month. If I had known what was going to happen, I would have taken unpaid leave to go.
13. Do you regret doing something?
Not really – there hasn’t been much to do.
14. Did anyone/thing make you so mad it stayed with you for days?
Boris Johnson and his government. His handling of the pandemic has been so bad that a totally incompetent village idiot could have done better. And to top it all, now that we have split from the EU, he is trying to sell it as an opportunity when everyone who isn’t a frothing-at-the-mouth Brexiter knows that we will be worse off. 
Words fail me.
15. Did you lose anyone close to you?
We lost Poppy, our cat of 18 years. She had mouth cancer – and it was a very upsetting time for us and for a while we were a cat-less house. Ziggy and Star have helped to make the loss easier to deal with.
Here is Poppy:



16. Who was important to you this year but wasn’t important last year?
Nobody leaps to mind.
17. Who wasn’t as important to you this year as they were last year?
Again, nobody leaps to mind.
18. What was the best moment of the year for you?
I would say that it was the Delain concert I was lucky enough to get to in February before the shit hit the fan.
19, What was the worst?
Everything from March onwards.
20. What have you learned about yourself this year that you didn’t know in the years prior?
I have learned that I can grow a beard and that I can adapt to circumstances. I may have moaned about 2020 and the pandemic but by setting up a routine I can cope with it all. I have also learned that I need to escape quite often; I have missed holidays and just being able to go somewhere on a whim. I also realise that I have missed my mates – all of them.
21. What do you wish for others for the coming year?
A swift end to this pandemic so that all of us can get back to normality.
22. What do you wish for yourself?
I need a positive year and I need to get out there, so I really hope that this happens. By this time next year, I want to be a lot happier and also be a better person, which I can and will achieve in 2021.

20 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Ziggy and Star are totally charming and have won my heart (but I am a sucker for black moggies).
If only the Orange buffoon (and his enablers) would accept that he has lost and allow the world to move on.
And my best wishes for 2021 being a MUCH better year. For you and for the world.

CountryDew said...

I enjoyed your thoughtful answers to these questions. Brexit does seem like an ill-fated death wish, but hopefully it will turn out not to be that. I think shaving your beard is a great way to mark change, and walk into the new year with a different look. I wish for you all the travels your heart desires.

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi EC,

I hope it is a great year for everybody. I am a sucker for black moggies too.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi CD,

The beard has gone - and it looks weird having not seen the lower part of my face hairless for a few months. it may return - who knows?

:o)

Cheers

PM

Me, Myself, and I said...

Love the kitties, and your sentiments on the lunatic in the White House. I am going to hunt down the Invisible Man and have a watch--thanks for the tip!

LA Paylor said...

that was a good read. Your frustration comes out of course, it's all taken a toll. Love your kittens, and your expressions. I wish our orange goblin was gone but he's still trying to, by hook or crook, be powerful. We can't even feel good about the election because of his lies. I watched a video of daddies who shaved beards and their babies went hysterical!

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Me, Myself and I,

The lunatic will soon be gone. It's a good film. I hope you like it.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi LeeAnna,

I am normally a positive person but getting out the frustration helps the positivity I find.

I'm ready to go for good things in 2021.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Kwizgiver said...

Here's to a brighter 2021!

This was a tough one for me to answer this week. I felt like I had nothing to say.

Lori said...

I am so sorry you lost your Poppy, but glad you got some kittens. They are so cute! Enjoy. Loved your answers! Have a nice day.

https://lorisbusylife.blogspot.com/

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Kwizgiver,

I felt the same way - but ultimately needed to get it out. It worked.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Lori,

They have definitely made the year more enjoyable.

:o)

Cheers

PM

zippiknits...sometimes said...

I loved Stranger Things, and wished it would come back for a third season, but maybe it did...life’s been a blur since August year before last. Lol..
Ah.. the Orange Menace ... I hope the courts make him sorry he was born! Speaking of mutants, another version of covid19 has appeared in South Africa. Oh, joy!

Pandora Behr said...

Well PM, I hear you're back in stiff lockdown again - may this all pass quickly. Not being able to travel has got to me too. And I love your cats - they're wonderful.
Cheers,
Pand

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Zippy,

Yes, there is a season 3 and it was the best yet. I can't wait for season 4.

There may be more Covid variants before we are through.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Pand,

Yes indeed - they are threatening up to the end of March but, theoretically, by then, quite a few people will have been vaccinated.

Can't wait to travel again.

:o)

Cheers

PM

2 gators said...

we also adopted 2 kittens they were 3 to 4 weeks old when we got them, same scenario they were born outside in the freezing rain, mama kitty got killed :(( these 2 are twins and such a riot. hope you have a great week

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi 2 gators,

Kittens are fun aren't they?

:o)

Cheers
PM

Ordinarily Just Me said...

Your kitties are beautiful. Thanks for the music-hadn't heard that artist before-After I leave I will go stalk the band and listen for a couple of hours. Also-Orange goblin? I absolutely friggin love it!
Thank you
OJM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi OJM,

The band are from Finland and have been around for some years. If you like that song you will love them.

:o)

Cheers

PM