Another year down. And a rather strange one at that.

Yet for all of its terror and tragedy, my 2020 was also full of some wonderful moments. I hope yours was, too.

I’m reminded of Horace’s 11th Ode (as translated by the great Irish poet Derek Mahon, who we sadly lost this year):

Don’t waste your time, Leuconoe, living in fear and hope
of the imprevisible future; forget the horoscope.
Accept whatever happens. Whether the gods allow
us fifty winters more or drop us at this one now
which flings the high Tyrrhenian waves on the stone piers,
decant your wine. The days are more fun than the years
which pass us by while we discuss them. Act with zest
one day at a time, and never mind the rest.

So, decant your wine indeed, and join me in a toast to a better 2021. Or, at least, to one with some excellent days and moments within it. Cheers.