We were so close.
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After all the upheavals and turmoil of 'annus horribilis' 2020 - I borrowed that from the Queen, no less - it seemed that Christmas 2020 might be something approaching normal.
Borders open, family around, cricket and the Sydney-to-Hobart on the box, more ham than you could eat, the dog sniffing the presents ... just as it should be.
And then the latest COVID outbreaks, with hot spots seeming to spring up everywhere, daily COVID updates by the Premier, Sydney to Hobart cancelled for the first time ever, serious doubts over the Sydney Test, suburbs in lockdown.
Now all those best-laid plans are - what's the word - fluid? Optimistic? Certainly things are changing daily and many families are going to be separated at Christmas.
It seems 2020 will have the last say after all.
So, from all the team at the Mercury, with all this going on, have as merry a Christmas as your circumstances allow.
And, in an attempt to bring some lightness to a troubled time ... a joke!
A couple is walking in St. Petersburg Square on Christmas Eve and feels slight precipitation.
"I think it's raining," says the man.
"No, it's snowing," replies the woman.
"How about we ask this Communist officer here?" the man says. "Officer Rudolph, is it raining or snowing?"
"Definitely raining," Officer Rudolph replies before walking off.
The man turns to his wife with a smile. "See? Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear."
Boom, boom.
We will be taking a well earned break for a couple of weeks and will return in print on Friday, January 22.
Our website will continue to bring you the news at www.maitlandmercury.com.au
Thanks for you support and we look forward to bringing you the local news again in the new year.
Roll on, 2021.
Rick Allen, Editor