January 2022 Newsletter - Part 1

Welcome to the first newsletter of a New Year and of new hope that we all have a more settled set of months for 2022. I hope everyone had a Christmas they wished for considering the any restrictions we had due to COVID/OMICRON and were able to see friends and families. Personally I was able to have a Christmas free of shifts for the first time in four years and was able to enjoy a lunch and a glass without thinking of the pending nightshift or having a delayed meal when I arrived home after a day shift. People often ask me if it is busy on the water over Christmas. Well, usually there are no commercial moves, Cross Channel or IoW ferries on Christmas day but many yachtsmen take their yachts out for a sail in the morning before returning home for their festive lunch, so not busy, but steady. There can be a commercial container ship leaving or arriving on Boxing Day to Portsmouth International Port with tug crews required to man up though. If on a dayshift we usually take in some festive fayre to share the on shift to make something of the Christmas and Boxing days. Our families are all used to the disruption of a shift worker so its part of our family life.

The beginning of a new year brings the annual personal promise to make and keep a New Years resolution. We all know that sticking to your resolution isn’t easy, so as a suggestion, make your resolution attainable and sustainable. It doesn’t need to be dramatic or life changing but something that will make you personally feel better about yourself for keeping a resolution. Maybe to walk to the Shed rather than drive if you live close enough or keep in touch with a friend or neighbour.

The Shed members enjoyed their annual Christmas Lunch at the Cowplain Activity Centre. Looking at the photo, a good time was had by all. A big thank you must go to Paul T for taking on the arrangements, everything from the menu to table setting and the raffle and Alf W for providing the entertainment. Thank you also to those who contributed raffle prizes. It was a great chance for Shed members to get together socially, which has not been easy in the current climate of lockdowns and restrictions.