At the start of a new year, none of us know what it holds for us.
The world is beset with problems, some of which may become even more dangerous and explosive. At home, there is certain to be a General Election and, despite speculation about an earlier date, my guess is that it will be on Thursday, the 6th of May, which, had he lived, would have been my late father's 105th birthday.
Maybe the election will prove to be 'Independence Day' for South East Cambridgeshire: maybe not. But, in any event, our Government, be it Labour again or Conservative, faces both dangerous and possibly explosive problems abroad and serious ones at home.
I am not a religious man, but I have always been moved by the Christmas message, broadcast on the 25th of December, 1939, by the late King George VI. I was then just over a year and a half old and our Country and Empire had been more than three months into the War. The King concluded his radio address with the following words:
"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be better than light, and safer than a known way.'"
I wish all of my readers a happy and hopeful 2010.
Here is a link to a recording of His Majesty's actual words in 1939 -
http://archives.cbc.ca/society/monarchy/clips/12704/
