Sunday 2nd January 2000
This has to be written down: what we got up to on New Year’s Eve of the new Millennium. History for posterity. Christmas was relatively quiet (apart from a stupid argument with my mum). R. cooked a wonderful dinner; we had roast beef (I don’t like turkey). R. and I went through a crisis the following day, we had an argument. I am beginning to believe that I am just impossible to live with, I am just too demanding. I just get into this state of mind where I think that R. isn’t doing enough, and I am doing everything. Which is not really true, but I can’t help it sometimes.
Until last week we were planning on staying at home for New Year’s Eve, but my mum said she would stay with you if we wanted to watch the fireworks at the River Thames and it just had to be done! We got you into bed around 9:30, after we had our last meal of the year/century/millennium which was juicy steak + veggies. The plan was that we would watch it and then make our home. We thought we would be back at around 1:00. We got off at Leicester Sq., the tube was packed with people going to the river. As we came off the station there was a sea of people. Our plan was to try to get to the riverbank. We were going to walk to the Big Ben and stay on the bridge. Our plan failed, as the police had closed all entrances to the river, except for one road : The Strand.
We walked past Trafalgar Square (which was packed) and the screens said that the only way to get to the river was by walking up the Strand. Off we went, pushing through the crowd. As we walked along the strand all the roads leading to the river were blocked off by the police. R. said that we would not get through and got all upset. I said we should keep going as there must have been at least one road open. We got to the end of the Strand and it was closed! Then we looked to our right and the police were letting people in very slowly, so we got in.
The road was at the top of a hill and all we could see was people, all rushing to get to the river (it was around 11 pm by then). We got to the main road next to the river and turned left to try and find a place to stand. Everywhere was packed so we kept walking left, past Waterloo Bridge. We could just about see the London Eye from above people’s heads. We were trying to get near the bank and it went all mad. It was the scariest thing… People just crammed from everywhere trying to go on different directions and everyone, including us, was getting crushed. R. and I got separated and for a few seconds I couldn’t see him and he couldn’t see me. I managed to stand on the pavement, where I could see a bit better. There were children being squashed, it was just really scary, but no one was getting hurt, so I tried to stay calm, then I spotted R. and he had that look on his face like he was about to lose it. I shouted his name (he was only about 5 metres away) and he pointed to the back and we both made our way there (the crowd pressure had gone down a bit).
We carried on walking forwards and found a reasonable place to stand in. It was about 20 to midnight by then. We settled down, had a drink, a spliff, watched Annie Lennox on the screen and just relaxed. People were generally happy, but a couple next to us said they should have stayed at home, watching it on the telly! And the girlfriend said: yes, but it wouldn’t be the same. Of it wouldn’t: at home they would have been comfortable and warm! Mind you, it was a very mild night and it only drizzled a little bit.
A guy climbed up on a traffic plaque and started hanging from it, like an drunken acrobat, and we were all cheering him up. Then another guy started trying to climb on a tree and everyone was cheering him on. Then a girl tried to get up there too, while this guy pulled her up by the arm. He couldn’t hold on to her and we just watched her drop down on the crowd below (it wasn’t that high, about 2.5 metres or so).
The atmosphere was getting seriously electric and the next thing we know the countdown has started… Then it was midnight and no chance of kissing. Everyone jumped up in the air and the madness started. Fireworks from everywhere for about 20 minutes. I just love fireworks and was screaming like mad. It was beautiful (not as great as Sidney’s, but pretty good anyway). Once it was over it was just a case of making our way home.
The problem was that another 2.5 million people wanted to get home as well… We got home, eventually, at 3 in the morning. After walking all the way back (the station we came across, Holborn, was just impossible to get through, there was a sea of people outside waiting, and the police was letting people in very slowly). We got caught in another minor crushing experience, trying to cross the road (where everything was stopped, including the traffic). It was the biggest people jam I ever saw in my life. After about 15 minutes we managed to cross the road and the amount of people on the road became more bearable from then on. I had a vague idea of where I was (R. didn’t have a clue) and we finally got to Roseberry Avenue. My feet were burning, my back was hurting and I hadn’t been to the loo all night, while R. was taking a leak on every little corner he came across! As we got nearer home I was walking slower and slower, as my feet were becoming unbearable to walk on.
We made it home and had a big pizza as we were starving. We passed out at 4 in the morning and my mum brought you down to wake us up at 9:30 in the morning. Not good. We just went back to sleep for an hour while you played. My mum just went back to sleep and got up at one in the afternoon! She said the neighbours were going mad with their fireworks and that woke you up. She said you were terrified (I had a feeling that might happen and I left a bottle ready to go in case you woke up) but she talked to you and showed you the fireworks through the window and you went back to sleep about 40 minutes later.
So, the world didn’t end, R. and I got out and had an epic adventure trying to watch the fireworks and making our way home and everything is now as it was before. The millennium bug didn’t really affect any systems as yet (tomorrow should be the real test as it’s back to work time for the most of the world) and it was all very peaceful and quite exciting. Sidney had the best fireworks display, and Paris’ was pretty original, they used the Eiffel Tower as the centre of the display, it was just brilliant. It was the biggest party in the world EVER! I will never witness anything like that again. The next big one will be in 1000 years. So HAPPY NEW YEAR/CENTURY/MILLENNIUM Dan! Thanks to global warming and the human destructive effect on the planet, it has been pretty mild, the temperature has not gone below freezing in about a week! The sad thing is, it is rather nice this way, I just wish I didn’t know what it actually means. My only comfort is that I know that the planet Earth is strong enough to cope. The human race will eventually cease to exist but the planet should survive for a long time after.