HAPPY NEW YEAR to all………………………..I arrived home in time to watch the ABC coverage on the gogglebox. I was kept amused by the antics of “Hoot” for the 30 minutes prior to the 9pm fireworks display for the kids……………..Then followed a couple of hours of a type of live tribute to Aussie music through the iconic COUNTDOWN brand…..Jimmy & Mahaylia Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Marcia Hines, Colin Hay, Isaiah Firebrace, Casey Donovan, JPY (my mother tells me he and I were friends when we were kids, although I have no recollection), Phil Jamieson all performing on a COUNTDOWN ‘set’ on the Opera House forecourt………………..I’m pretty sure most of you would have probably watched also, so as they say, “I’m preaching to the converted”………………..Then, the magic of fireworks on a grand scale on the Sydney Harbour! Absolutely stunning! Oh, and Charlie Pickering (comedic host) made the most appalling gaffe at the end for which he will most certainly be pilloried for. If he is, it’s a shame, one of those slip of the tongue moments on live TV…………………………………………Racing, as always, is on again today, with the obvious highlight being the Perth Cup. Lucy Warwick may get the chocolates on Material Man, turning the tables on Pounamu after running 2nd to that horse the past 2 starts…………Anyway folks, whatever you do on the first day of the brand new year, enjoy it and good luck if you have a wager.