Firstly, I'd like to wish all my readers a happy, peaceful and fullfilling year. I think that I've never felt less positive going into a new year. As someone who is, by nature, an optimist, it is hard to look at the state of the nation and the world and feel happy with how things are going. What troubles me most is the sheer dishonesty. We have politicians lying on an industrial scale, which is perhaps nothing new, but what is new is that no one seems to care anymore. Normally at this time of year, I make a few predictions for fun. I was very tempted to not bother, but why should I let the fact that the world is run by a bunch of chiselling spivs influence me. So here are my predictions
Politics.
London Council elections. I predict that although Labour and the Tories will take a bit of a beating, it will not be the domesday scenario that everyone seems to think is coming. I suspect that Barnet will swing back to the Tories. I suspect that a couple of East London councils may swing to Reform, but they will do far less well than expected. I expect the Lib Dems and the Greens to do very well, especially if they do not attack each other and come up with some sort of non aggression pact.
I expect Keir Starmer to still be PM this time next year. Although he seems to be under a lot of pressure, as far as I am concerned most of it is media noise.
I expect things in the States to become more difficult for Donald Trump. There are mid term elections in the USA and this will give us a chance to see how the ordinary people actually perceive Trumps performance.
Sport.
Once again, I expect that Arsenal will fall short. As Alex Ferguson once said, you win nothing at Xmas.
I expect Manchester United to have had at least two managers by this time next year.
I think Hadley FC will have a great second half of the season and make the play offs.
Music.
I expect this to be classic year. I am much looking forward to The London International Ska Festival. I think this may be a big year of surprises. My own prediction is that we will start to see a return to guitar based pop and rock bands, which have been out of fashion for a very long time
Technology.
I expect this to be the year when we realise that AI is not the future, although it has an important role to play. I suspect we may see the first beig crashes of AI tech stocks and corporate failures due to AI.
The Weather.
I expect a cold February/March and a scorching July. I also expect that in February/March we'll have the climate deniers claiming there is no global warming and in July we'll have all manner of climate change advocates claiming that the end is nigh.
My New Years resolutions.
The Gym
My targets this year. I want to do over 3,000 KM in the Gym, with at least 2,500 on the exercise bike and 500 on the rowing machine. I did 2063 km on the bike this year, 450km on the rower and 36km on the treadmill. I think it is achieveable
Weight
I want to get my weight down to 14.5kg. I am around 16.5 at the moment following Xmas excess. I was doing well until December.
Music
I hope this will be a classic year for The False Dots, I can't say too much but we've been promised several 'big' gigs. If they come off, it will be the best year ever! We will be releasing a new single in March entitled "It's behind you" and an album of the same name in April/May/June.
Business
This is the year that I expect to see my music business finally emerge from the ravages of the pandemic and have a bigger turnover than 2019! If it doesn't then I might just retire. I am hopeful, pandemics, wars and recessions aside
Firstly, I'd like to wish all readers of the Barnet Eye a Happy New Year!
How did you see the new year in? As with most years, we went away with friends and celebrated. This year we rented a mansion near Stratford Upon Avon between us and partied to the early hours. We've been doing this for the best part of 35 years. When our children were small, it was a great way to have fun and still be responsible. For as many years as I can remember, Jools Holland's Hootenanny has seen us in. This year was no exception. We've seen Jools morph from being an edgy young musician to a National treasure. It is one of the few things constant in a year of change.
One tradition I am keeping this year on the blog is my list of predictions for the year. At the end of the year, I revisit these and give myself a mystic meg mark out of ten. Last year I did well, sadly too well in some areas.
Here is this years predictions.
January
The year starts as the year ended. We have the funeral of Pope Benedict. In some ways, this draws a perfect line under a terrible few years. The Weather starts mild, but by the 21st we are back to freezing temperatures, snow, ice and train strikes. Normal politics returns with Labour leader clobbering Rishi Sunak at PMQ's on a weekly basis. Tory MP's, especially those on the right start making noises. We see the start of Nigel Farage's return to front line politics, with his land grab for that area formerly known as UKIP.
February
Cold weather continues, petrol prices soar. To celebrate the 1st anniversary of the Ukraine Campaign, Putin announces a new offensive in Ukraine. This starts with a massive bombardment of Ukraine, but peters out as half trained conscripts decide that death in a futile war is a bit silly.
The False Dot's perform the Burnt Oak Boogie live in Burnt Oak at the Bacon Lane Club on Saturday the 11th February, seeing the most exciting night of the year so far in the Borough of Barnet.
March
In March we have Jeremy Hunt's first proper budget. Hunt is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He knows that the Tories are doomed if he doesn't do something to boost their popularity, but are even more doomed if he spooks the markets. He opts mainly for economic sense, but cuts tax on beer, wines and spirits, with measures to help the hospitality trade, on the basis that this can be sold as boosting the economy and is always popular. Labour clobbers him, whilst privately agreeing a Knighthood for him after they take over, as he's just about single handedly saved the UK's reputation for sensible management of the economy. He will have bequeathed them a basically functioning economy. After months of disruption, deals are struck with transport unions, as the Tories try and fix the problems before the council elections in April.
March also sees The False Dots Triumphantly return to The Dublin Castle on the 15th to celebrate our amazing drummer Gray Ramsey's 60th Birthday!
April
Good weather arrives, just in time for local elections. The Tories suffer swinging losses. Labour takes a swathe of never held before councils. A few Tories resign and a series of by election follow in seats that the Tories would have lost at the next election anyway. They are clobbered and Rishi Sunak's regime is on life support. Boris Johnson is making noises that he needs to return to save the Tories and Nigel Farage is stating that he is now the soul of the 'Real Tory Party' with is new incarnation.
May
Better than expected trade figures give a brief period of respite for Rishi Suank, he claims the hard work is paying off. Mortgage rates have stabilised and the continuing good weather makes the mood in the country better. Petrol prices drop as the oil price stabilises. In a big shock move, having had a wonderful season at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta departs to Real Madrid, causing tears across North London. Patrick Viera replaces him.
June
In June we have a wonderful Mill Hill Music Festival. However the bad news at By Elections continues. Tory MP's start putting letters into the 1922 commitee. Boris is on manouvers and Nigel Farage is claiming he is the saviour.
July
Rishi Sunak resigns. Boris Johnson is crowned king once more and The Tory party celebrate. Their poll ratings improve from 20% to 30%. The pound falls as Boris sacks Jeremy Hunt in his first action as PM and appoint Jacob Rees Mogg as Chancellor. He re-appoints Matt Hancock as health secretary as he's the most popular Tory politician in the UK. Boris announces that the Tories are back.
August
Temperatures break records in the UK. Beer sales soar, the UK feels more like the Costa Brava. The SNP announce that they will hold an illegal independence referendum, as they hate Boris. Boris gets an injunction to prevent the Referendum.
September
Boris stuns the world by calling a snap general election. The pound plummets. Boris announces that it will give the whole UK a chance to decide whether they want to keep the Union, claiming that Sir Keir Starmer will destroy it and give in to the SNP. The Tories edge up to 34% in the Polls with Labour on 40%.
October
Five days before the election, Dominic Cummings releases his memoirs. This is a horror show for Boris. A soft pack between the Lib Dems and Labour see's the Lib Dems take 30 seats from the Tories in the South of England. Labour achieve an 85 seat majority, which Boris claims is a victory for him. Many Tory MP's breath a sigh of relief that they still have a job and it wasn't as bad as seemed likely when Sunak was in charge. Jeremy Hunt is knighted and Boris resigns. We are faced with yet another Tory Leadership contest although no one really seems that bothered.
November
Sir Keir Starmer gets Rachel Reeve to make and Autumn financial statement. This is fully costed and placates the markets. Labour also announce a Royal Commission to come up with ideas for a replacement for the House of Lords.
December
After nearly two years of fighting, Ukraine and Russia make a peace agreement. Part of the deal is the lifting of sanctions on Russian products. Vladimir Putin claims a great victory as some territory is permanently ceded to Russia, but the world see's it differently. Oil and Gas prices plummet. Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool to take over at Barcelona, as Real Madrid start to run away with La Liga.
The Barnet Eye holds it's first annual awards ceebration party since 2019 and the world starts to seem just a bit more normal.
And it finishes with a White Christmas, and I hope we are all still hear to see how much of this came true!
On New Years day, as a bit of fun, I made a set of predictions for the year. I'm the opposite of psychic, which is why I rarely gamble! I thought it might be fun to see how I did. My comments are in Red Italics.
January
We will shortly see the beginning of the roll out of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Many of us are pinning our hopes of a return to normality on this. I predict that the ramp up of the vaccination program will initially be a fiasco with questions in the house. Given the governments inability to organise anything, I don't really think you need to be Mystic Meg to predict this.
We will also see the inauguration of President Joe Biden. I predict that Donald Trump will not go gracefully and we will not have heard the last of him when he walks out of the White House. Trump grants whisltleblower Edward Snowden and Julian Asange a Presidential pardon on his last day of office.
I predict that Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives will initially rally around Joe Biden, to show that they do care about the National interest, in a bid to beat Coronavirus and stop the economy tanking completely. I suspect Biden will have a very good first hundred days, with Donald Trump claiming it is all really down to him.
I also predict that by the end of January, we start to see far less complimentary headlines for Boris in the Daily Express and Mail, as the true nature of what he's negotiated becomes clear. I suspect that we will see Farage claiming that the chaos is all because Boris betrayed Brexit and stitched us all up and that the chaos is down to not having a hard Brexit. I suspect that facts will not support this.
So, as I stated, I'm no mystic meg. I got the vaccine rollout completely wrong. For once, Boris Johnson and his govt got it right. Mind you I was spot on with Trump not going quietly. With every month it has become clear that Brexit is a fiasco.
February
By the end of February, we should see the fruits of the vaccination program starting to take hold, with a gradual easing back of restrictions. A return of crowds to football and us all to pubs and restaurants, albeit in limited numbers will be more than welcome. The national mood will start to improve. The papers will start to fill with stories of how Brexit is ruining businesses, problems for ex pats and stunted financial growth. I predict that President Macron will take great delight in whatever pain the UK suffers. I predict that Irish reunification will start to be seriously discussed as the DUP wake up to the fact that Great Britain has sold them down the river. As the Covid crisis improves, the SNP will step up pressure for a referendum to leave the UK. Within the Tory party, serious mutterings about the suitability of Boris as PM will start to emerge. When all the heavy lifting has been done with Covid and Brexit, the ambitious chancers will see the opportunity to steal the crown.
So I was a bit more on the nail with the Covid vaccination rollout, although over ambitious with the scaling back of the restrictions.
March
As the vaccination program rolls on, things open up ever more. Live music starts to return, larger crowds start to appear at football matches. The chancellors mind turns to how we are to pay the overdraft we've run up. For a nation that has had the worst year in living memory, this is not welcome news.
The governments postpones phase 2 of HS2 and calls for a major costs review. As the economy opens up, it is clear that the days of the High street as we know it are numbered. The people who have switched to online are not switching back. Our city centres are hollowed out as firms have realised that there is no point spending huge rents on offices when people can do the job at home. Rishi Sunak responds by bringing in new taxes on home working, in a desperate attempt to shore up the nations finances.
As the true cost starts to become apparent and the austerity ++++ measures become clear, any credibility that Rishi Sunak may have retained ebbs away. The questions as to how the Uk could have had the worst death rate and the worst economic damage in Europe start to hammer away at the government. With every day it becomes clearer that the Government needs a serious reboot. With the EU it is clear that the hastily signed and unscrutinised agreement needs a major overhaul as it is causing problems for both the EU and the UK.
It seems that far from ending the arguments, Brexit has just split the UK and caused deep structural problems. Nigel Farage claims this is down to the lack of a proper Brexit, Kier Starmer claims it is down to a bad agreement and Ed Davey says that it is because Brexit was a bonkers idea in the first place.
So again I was spot on about HS2 phase 2, if a bit out on the date. I think that is true of my comments on Brexit as well. This will become ever clearer as we emerge from Covid. I was wrong about Rishi Sunak's credibility. Not quite sure what Farage said, as he's become an irrelevant non entity.
April
The end of the pandemic is in sight. All of the vulnerable people in the UK have been innoculated. All of the key workers and schools, offices and public transport are declared safe to use. However the number of people commuting has declined. The London Mayoral Election looms amid total apathy. No one has any enthusiasm for Sadiq Khan and they have even less for Shaun Bailey. A Barnet Council by election in Edgware, formerly a safe Tory seat becomes interesting, as the decline of Edgware becomes a key factor. The rampant unpopularity of the Tory government looks set to deliver a massive upset.
Well again the pandemic predictions appeared pretty close to the mark, with the vaccination programme going well. I think my view of the Mayoral race was spot on. Sadly, the comments about Edgware were wildly optimistic. With Lockdown it was impossible to put the donkey work into turning the Tory majority there around.
May
To no ones great surprise, Sadiq Khan delivers a victory with a far smaller turnout than ever. The Tory candidate Shaun Bailey gets a comprehensive kicking coming fourth, as Londoners blame him for Brexit and the failures of the pandemic. The Tories come fourth in the Edgware by election behind the Lib Dems, Greens and Labour as a huge protest vote. It appears that Boris is living on borrowed time.
See comments for April
June
The UK and USA officially declare the pandemic beaten. Boris announces a 'Festival of Brexit' to celebrate, to widespread derision. Keir Starmer says the money should be spent rebuilding the NHS and Nigel Farage says that Brexit has been betrayed so there is nothing to celebrate. Ed Davey announces that Lib Dem policy will be for a referendum to rejoin as the economic figures show that Brexit has had a massive impact on UK GDP. Boris states that the impact is due to covid and Starmer claims it is down to Boris mismanaging everything.
In June, things opened up. I went to my first gig and Boris declared the Covid restrictions lifting as irreversable. Sadly, no opposition figure has the balls to address the elephant in the room that is Brexit
July
Japan announces that the Olympics are being postponed, as a new vaccine resistant variant of Covid is identified and start to spread across the globe. Boris announces that Britain is well placed to develop a new vaccine to beat the virus because of Brexit. Everyones holiday plans are thrown into chaos as borders are closed and flights cancelled. Boris announces that the Festival of Brexit is being cancelled as a precaution.
Thankfully the Olympics did go ahead, although sadly the prediction of new variants was also pretty accurate.
August
President Joe Biden announces that his 'Virus task force' has a new vaccine and we only need to wait three months before it can be deployed. The UK sees its first cases of the new strain of the virus, as Boris is criticised for not following the EU and closing borders. Boris reaches a record low popularity.
Again, this is pretty much correct if out by a few months.
September
Jeremy Hunt launches a leadership bid, stating that the Tories are finished if they don't appoint someone not tainted with the failures of the past year. Rishi Sunak throws his hat in to the ring, as Boris succumbs to the inevitable. As is the way with the Conservative party, the favourites are shafted and Elisabeth Truss takes over, largely on the basis that no one has a clue who she is, so they don't hate her yet. Boris responds to his fall from grace by claiming French citizenship and moving to his Dad's chateau.
Clearly most of this was wishful thinking, although I suspect that by April next year it might appear a slightly better prediction.
October
Elisabeth Truss flies to the USA to try and negotiate a trade deal. Joe Biden tells her that this can only be completed if the UK cedes Northern Ireland to the Republic. Truss agrees and Irish Nationalists everywhere celebrate. Truss claims that her action is only a practical recognition of what Boris had put into effect with the Brexit treaty. The DUP announce that they will be seeking full independence for the North.
Well Liz Truss has negotiated a trade deal with Australia, albiet one that has shafted British Farmers. I suspect that my comments about Biden and a Trade deal are not far from the mark.
November
The UK enters lockdown as new cases of the mutant virus run rampant. Liz Truss announces that Xmas is cancelled as we will not have a vaccine until January. Keir Starmer announces that it is 'Groundhog Year' due to Tory mismanagement. Ed Davey bemoans the fact that the EU has slammed 500% export duties on the new vaccine to the UK, ensuring that we have no supplies, except for the mega rich who can afford it from private clinics. Liz Truss announces that this "levelling up in action".
Omicron emerged. We had new restrictions as a result, albiet not a full lockdown. Earlier in the year we saw EU shenanigans about vaccines. Of course Liz Truss is not PM!
December
Donald Trump launches his new TV channel, based in Moscow, where he has fled to avoid the FBI. On its first day, it reveals that the USA has been in constant contact with Aliens since 1947 and that Joe Biden is in fact an Alien. Trump reveals that the Chinese have also been in contact with the Aliens and it was the Aliens who distributed the virus to ensure he was not re-elected.
In the UK, the Queen's speech is a rather different affair. Her majesty makes an unexpected live broadcast. She apologises to the nation for the total ineptitude of her government and announcing that she is abdicating as she's had enough of them all. Furthermore, she is taking up German citizenship, as she's of German ancestry and they seem to know what they are doing. Her parting shot is "I am leaving you lot in the hands of Charles and Camilla, God knows you deserve each other.
Well, oddly enough, the us govt has been making all sorts of strange noises about UFO's. They've released footage of Navy pilots chasing them and set up a new task force. Donald Trump announced he's setting up a new media platform, albiet not from Moscow. Watching the Queens mas speech, I could almost imagine that she wished she was delivering the speech I imagined. No woman her age deserves the year she's had. Losing her husband, a weekly call with Boris, the antics of Randy Andy and estrangement from her Grandson.
All in all, I think I deserve 8/10 on the mystic Meg scale. If only my football bets were as accurate!
Let me leave you with some music to see the New Year in. I am rather proud of this video and music, it's had a great response. If you enjoy a bit of Ska and nostalgia I think you'll enjoy it.
