Tonight:
4°c
SO welcome, then, to 2009. Things may look bleak as we face up to the hangover from the annus horribilis of 2008, but there are reasons to be cheerful in the year to come. As well as packed and enticing programmes in sport and the arts — comprehensively covered elsewhere on these pages today — here are 10 things to look forward to in 2009.
When the United States' first black president enters the White House later this month it will usher in a new and intriguing era in international politics. Aside from his iconic status as a representative of change, he is set to take a stand on the environment. The excitement that surrounded the US election could also lead to greater political engagement in the UK if and when Gordon Brown calls an election.
THE DEATH OF BLING
The sort of conspicuous consumption embodied by bankers, oligarchs, Nicky Haslam, and footballers and their Wags will be a thing of the past as the crunch hits even their swollen purses (or they at least wake up to the vulgarity of flaunting wealth). Even the younger royals are buckling down to a lifestyle which is oriented more towards duty than necking Crack Baby cocktails at Boujis.
THE RETURN OF UNDERSTATED STYLE
Style commentators suggest that the new austerity means this year's collections of clothes and accessories will be classic, sober and well-made — built to last rather than just to exist for a blink-of-an-eye fashion moment.
AFFORDABLE HOMES
If you can get a mortgage, 2009 may be the time to get on the housing ladder, as London homes become affordable for the first time in about a decade.
THE NEW HONESTY
“I can't afford it” has become a perfectly legitimate excuse for turning down pricey invitations to weddings, holidays, or even a drink or meal.
WARMER WEATHER
Researchers say 2009 is likely to be one of the warmest on record thanks to the still-mysterious El Nino/La Nina phenomenon. Probably bad news in the long run, biosphere-wise, but nice in the foreign holiday-free short term.
GETTING OUR PRIORITIES RIGHT
The worsening economic situation affords us all a chance to concentrate on what we need rather than what we want, and to make a virtue of necessity. Look for a rise in home cooking (and a rise in culinary cheating and corner-cutting as the crunch destroys food snobbery), a rise in home-grown (rather than shop-bought organic) food and the triumph of good-value local restaurants over elite dining rooms. Expect, too, a resurgent interest in crafts, hobbies, board games and other (cheap) home entertainment.
GREAT TELLY
If we're going to be spending more nights in, thank goodness there's plenty to watch. On terrestrial TV, there's the second series of Ashes to Ashes, Joss “Buffy” Weedon's new sci-fi thriller The Dollhouse, the remake/sequel to Minder and the prospect of a new Dr Who. Cult followers of David Simon's The Wire can look forward to the satellite premiere of his new show, Generation Kill, following a group of young soldiers in Iraq.
HOLIDAYS AT HOME
The falling pound should prove a boost to the UK tourism industry as it makes the country more attractive to overseas visitors. Similarly, we Brits should explore our own country as foreign travel becomes more expensive. Personally, I've got my eye on a cottage in Staithes.
CHARLES DARWIN'S ANNIVERSARY
Two hundred years after his birth in 1809, the great rationalist would doubtless be chuffed to see that his theories apply to economics as well as biology.
