Has it really been a year since I last sat down to pen an editorial in celebration of an Ovi birthday? Wow, where has the time gone? Let’s see…. what has happened in the past 365 days since I last appeared on the front page of this long-running website?

What can I write about 2020 that hasn’t already been discussed in-depth by other editorials across the net? Well, from my personal perspective, it has been a terrible year full of heartache, disappointment, hardship and anxiety, which puts me in the same boat as pretty much everybody else on this planet.

The past year must be one of the first times in my 40-odd years that the world has collectively suffered from the same trials and tribulations. We’ve all struggled with the physical discomfort of wearing a mask to protect ourselves from an unforgiving virus and even a figurative one to keep up the façade that everything is fine.

While nobody in my family has been infected, it has still taken its toll. My last surviving grandad, who was happily living alone at the start year, began a downward spiral after the first lockdown was imposed through loneliness. Unable to be visited by his children, his health deteriorated until he died in a care home at the end of the year.

My children have had precious school and individual experiences taken away from them throughout 2020 that they will never have the chance to repeat. Right now, they are even unable to visit their unwell mother in hospital because the building rightly refuses entry to visitors because of the risk of Covid-19.

I had planned to write something positive about this year and even use the ’20 of this, 20 of that’ joke I often employ in response to the question ‘how’s your year been?’ However, it has simply been too exhausting and that’s without the additional anxiety thrown into the mix by the threat of a hard Brexit in my homeland and Trumpian politics poisoning my social media channels.

Despite all the hardships that have been dropped on me, I know that I am not alone. Millions of us have the same stories, the same experiences, the same sorrow, the same desire to see the end of this utterly miserable year. Roll on Christmas, step up 2021, and here’s hoping for a more positive editorial for on Ovi’s 17th birthday.

Today I raise a glass to the formidable Thanos and the dedicated contributors to this enduring website, as well as to the unwavering human spirit during these dark days. I can’t wait for the light at the end of the 2020 tunnel.

Happy birthday!