What’s the right age to realise new year’s resolutions are trash that won’t last until February? By about 12 years old, the data should be in: nothing is in any better order than it was this time last year and you’re a damn fool to think this year will be any different. Now give yourself a couple of decades’ leeway while you work other things out, such as who you are, and then you’ll realise that January is a time to relax and concentrate on keeping warm rather than making lists. This is something I should have learned many moons ago.
But January’s pull is irresistible. David Bowie is my earworm, crooning “ch-ch-ch-changes”, quietly, but not quietly enough. One tiny yet significant improvement must be manageable, surely? Yes, is 2025’s answer, but with a difference: I have decided that this is the year you should make resolutions for your friends.