It’s New Year’s Day as I sit down to write. Christmas has come and gone in the usual familiar way – frenetic build up and then the luxury of the world itself (mostly) stopping.

I love the familiarity of Christmas. I’m not Christian – but I adopted Christmas long ago. It really has everything you need for a good family tradition – if you are lucky enough to have a family.

The rhythm and pattern of life and its familiarity anyway is important to me. I sometimes think that’s why I ended up living in Highgate, having grown up here (in Highpoint on North Hill) from the age of five. Much of my childhood was spent in the gardens there or in Waterlow Park – where my uncle took me each Saturday to feed the squirrels and the pigeons. I used to love to put some peanuts in my hand and hold it out for the pigeons to fly up and land on my hand whilst they ate. Now nothing would horrify me more! I am clearly moving towards Grumpy Old Woman status!

I went to Highgate Primary School and played kiss-chase in Highgate Woods – occasionally even letting myself be caught! I was taken to Highgate Police station once when young and lost – and yes it was once open and working – and the officer ‘phoned my mother to say ‘I have your little girl here’. Very Dixon of Dock Green.

So – do we all hanker after familiarity and days gone by? No – I just get sentimental on New Year’s Day. The front page of the Guardian this morning carried the picture of Saddam at the moment of death with the noose around his neck and an account of the mobile phone footage sound track, which was unedifying and distasteful. Back to earth with a bump.

I was horrified that anyone would film such a moment and put it on the net – almost equating it to entertainment. And horrified too on reading that some of those present had hurled abuse and taunted Saddam – as if they were taking part in an act of violent revenge rather than the final stage of a legal process. That way lies even more trouble for Iraq.

So as 2007 marches forward -I wonder and worry about the way the world is going and resolve, as ever, to take more exercise and work even harder to make the world a better place.

(c) Lynne Featherstone, 2007