A happy New Year!

Dec 31 2007 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

AS we prepare to welcome in the new year, we inevitably make resolutions.

Sometimes we’ll even stick to them.

There are many thousands of people who are good at giving up smoking... they’ve done it loads of times. It’s an old joke, but it is also very true.

Tonight many of you human chimneys will vow to give up the evil weed as a New Year’s resolution.

And by the spring many of you will have fallen by the wayside, allegedly weakened by the daily stresses of life.

We know that stopping cigarettes can be tough. But other people do it, so why not you?

The reasons for giving up have never been better circulated and there is now an added impetus with the ban on smoking in public places.

Who has not seen disturbing TV adverts of a dying man with a tube up his nose, croaking to viewers about the need to stop? It could be you one day.

Other resolutions will include improving your fitness, losing weight, being more organised, cutting down on drink and enjoying life more.

Many people will hope for high-minded things, such as world peace.

Others will just pray that Huddersfield Town reach the play-offs.

Judging by readers who contact the Examiner, a main concern is for street cleanliness. So a combined new year’s resolution must be to make Huddersfield a tidier place.

We will look back on the year 2007 as quite a good one for our town in general.

The Queen visited on a heady day in May when a huge party was thrown in St George’s Square, our university continued to expand and a £50m extension was announced for the thriving Kingsgate shopping centre.

Towards the end of the year thousands were dazzled when a French performance group staged a spectacular show, again in St George’s Square. In the last few weeks, a temporary outdoor ice rink has provided pleasure for many.

The fun events added to the impression that Huddersfield was fighting back after many years in the doldrums and making serious progress on the long road towards regeneration.

Whether that thrust forward can be maintained in the coming year depends very much on the national and global economic climate.

What would also be a worthwhile resolution would be to spend more time with loved ones.

If everyone did that, the world might just be a better place in 2008.

We hope you all enjoy it as much as we intend to, and wish each and every one of you a happy and prosperous new year.