Haddington Hogmanay

At home, couples see in the new year in glorious isolation. Nick and Anna-Maria in the bothy; Nix and Helen in the barn; Bill and Janette at Dolphinton; Mike, Naomi and Torrin at Bannalaw. I could go on.

In Haddington, Ang has cooked beef for a multitude, but there’s only me, Leila, and Tony who have braved the various impediments of geography and Covid.

There are preprepared cocktails. And much more. Stuart has organised a Zoom call for the bells. We’re far too drunk to make any sense - baffling the diaspora: Richard and George, Stuart and Charlie, Adam. Ailsa and Emily are absent.