Nostalgia: Year we go again

THE last few turkey sandwiches are wasting away in the fridge, needles from the Christmas tree have formed a thick layer across the living room carpet and all those new toys carefully hand-selected for the kids have already been cruelly discarded.

Yes, as hard as it is to face up to the fact – Christmas is over for yet another year.

But don’t fret, it’s not time to tuck away your party shoes or hang up your best outfit just yet . . . because it’s time for the most Scottish of all occasions – Hogmanay.

New Year’s Eve could stake a fair claim as a bigger event in the Capital than Christmas, with the city centre hosting the world’s most renowed street party as the bells chime.

More than 80,000 party-goers jigged, reeled and boogied the night away in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle last year – with headliners Simple Minds certain to attract at least that this year.

And while the celebrations haven’t always been quite so boisterous, one thing has remained a staple feature – alcohol.

In 1971, an off-licence in Leith was packed out as revellers stocked up for the big night.

And in that same year, a bakers’ strike left queues for bread stretching far along Easter Road.

Historically, the Tron Kirk on the Royal Mile was the site for midnight celebrations in the Capital, with happy scenes being pictured in 1959.

One of the main features of the heralding of the new year is the birth of new life. At the Eastern General, Ann McCraw welcomed in one of the country’s first babies of 1975.

Spending midnight in the Forth might be an unusual one, but a few hours later a dip in the icy cold waters will seem like the most sensible idea in the world for Loony Dookers.