New Year Message by Roseanna Cunningham

Dec 30 2008 Strathearn Herald

PEACE and prosperity. Two things we often wish one another at this time of year and two things that can seem in short supply in the world today.

As the Black Watch prepares for a tour of duty in Helmand province in the spring my prayers are with them and their loved ones and I hope that Afghanistan and other troubled parts of the world will know peace in the coming year.

As far as prosperity is concerned, I think there is general agreement that 2008 can be marked down as a pretty awful year. We have seen respected and trusted names in retail and banking go to the wall or at the very least teeter on the verge of collapse.

I am bemused by the choices that Gordon Brown makes about which companies or which industries are to be given help. Preventing the collapse of the banking sector I can understand but why is a foreign-owned manufacturer of fancy cars more worthy of rescue than a chain of shops that has been a presence on the high streets in towns and cities the length and breadth of the country.

My thoughts are with all those who have lost their jobs or face redundancy in the New Year. There is never a good time for such a thing to happen but it always seems so much worse at this time of the year.

Everyone is feeling the financial squeeze and there is a general feeling of concern about what 2009 might hold. As a society and as individuals we may have to make some – perhaps long overdue – changes to the way in which we run the economy and our personal finances. We should remind ourselves, however, that this is not the 1930s and the sky is not falling in.

I sincerely hope that all the Strathearn Herald’s readers have had a Happy Christmas and I wish you all a Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.