Pop the bubbly and bring on Scorpion and Man-O-War. 2024 is not far away and along with with copious quantities of bubbly to toast with and a very large charcuterie board, lets see in the New Year with a bang, call your nearest and dearest, and when the clock clicks over drown out your neighbours with a boisterous chorus of “Auld Lang Syne.”

Old Lang Syne or “times long past” was written down by Robbie Burns in 1788 but there are many earlier versions including Sir Robert Ayton, who died in 1638, and the Scottish poet Allan Ramsay published a poem in 1720. In the 19th century the song was reprinted many times, and eventually it became part of the Scottish Hogmanay.

So join hands in a circle and celebrate the New Year (Hogmanay) with “times long past” !