I was at the Town Clock at Midnight on New Years Eve. It was great to see so many families enjoying the party atmosphere of goodwill, dancing to the music provided by Stewart Dwight, waiting for the clock to go off. And when it did strike 12 times there was lots of smiling and hugging and a general feeling of enthusiasm for the coming year. This carried on for a good hour as families drifted off to home and bed while others arrived from other functions to keep the Town Clock area busy with partying people. By 1am the road was being reopened to traffic and we were off to a flying start on the rest of the world who were still waiting for midnight in their time-zone. In fact I was up and about long before Londoners were "singing in" the New Year. The Town Clock party was an exciting event carefully planned by The Gisborne District Council, the Police and 2ZG's Stewart Dwight to cater for everyone. There were lots of active street entertainers, including a storyteller. Children were able to ride on merry-go-rounds, or perch on shoulders to watch as long trains of people passed by dancing the rhumba. All this without fear of broken glass or irresponsible acts of aggression. It would be truly magnificent if each year the children of Gisborne, and all visitors, and all who live here, or have lived here, returned to make each New Year and especially the turn of the millennium an event to be recorded in history. We are the lucky ones who greet the new day first. We can proudly say that we saw the New Year in before anyone else. I have made my plans to be here in the year 2000. Hopefully my family will be here too. Hopefully so will yours. In the meantime Gisborne Photo News proudly present another issue, the 29th, with some of the highlights of December 1995. Be well.

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