Brian Monteith: Reasons to expect a smashing year ahead

The new year of 2012 has commenced and already it has got off to the bad start I feared last week, what with the Hibees losing the derby and gales blowing across the country. Still, if the rest of the year is not to become the self-fulfilling disaster that I wrote about, I need to dust myself down and put on a brave face – or any other clichés that involve me confronting my demons (sorry!).

You see I’m actually an optimistic person, my glass is not only half full, it is usually overflowing. Last week’s call to move straight to 2013 was my Ying, this week will be my Yang as I try to look at the positives of 2012.

Firstly that Hibs defeat; well, at least it wasn’t 7-0 so we Hibees that were there on January 1, 1973 can hold on to that glorious memory sure in the knowledge that it has not yet been matched by the men in maroon.

The other positive to take is that it will have served to educate and embolden the new manager, Pat Fenlon, rather like Robert the Bruce and that spider, so we can now look forward to some victories over the Hearts in the remainder of the year.

Secondly, the howling gales that closed Edinburgh Airport and Waverley Station will have yet again reminded us about the folly of wind turbines – all of which would have been switched off as the gusts blew in – as they don’t like strong winds. If there was one Scottish photograph from 2011 that will be used and re-used in the coming years it is that Hindenberg moment when a wind turbine at Ardrossan was engulfed in flames as it could no longer cope with, er, wind.

The Scottish government has promised to build even more of these eyesores in 2012 than in past years – all with great subsidies to the operators and the landowners that are financed by higher electricity bills. This policy can only expose the SNP to further ridicule as we move closer to the moment when Scotland has to start rationing power once there is no longer enough electricity to go round.

I see and experience these difficulties in third world countries I visit – when the lights start to be switched off in Scotland so too will the political future of the SNP. This day of reckoning cannot come soon enough for me.

There will be the local council elections that will probably result in the SNP improving their position as they are starting from a relatively low base. Again, this is a good thing for it is only when politicians gain power that they can then be challenged as the frauds that so many of them are – and in this respect I do not expect the SNP to disappoint. Let them have as much rope as they want in 2012, the only way in 2016 will be down.

I’m warming to this year already.

Undoubtedly, there will be much to become agitated about by the politics of 2012, but there is always the hope that like the new manager of the Hibs the Tories’ new hope, Ruth Davidson, might just learn from the mistakes she is bound to make in her first year. Then there’s always the likelihood that all the controversies of 2012 will at least give me a great deal to write about, so there’s another positive.

As a supporter of our monarchy I shall enjoy celebrating Her Majesty’s 60th glorious year of service – a truly Elizabethan age in which the advances made across our society have been seismic and generally for the good. Be it our improved life expectancy, raised standard of living, wider opportunities and technological advances the reliably enduring and perceptive reign of our Queen has provided the immutable foundation upon which we have been able to change and adapt. I look forward to raising my glass to her historic achievement on June 2.

Then there’s the 2012 Olympics to look forward to. I’m sure it will offer up some fantastic memories of Scots winning medals while representing Great Britain and draping themselves in the Union flag – our flag. The feelings of British patriotism towards our country from the varied peoples that have made our island their home must rekindle and reinforce the cultural identity of Scots as joint architects of Great Britain. This can only be a good thing as we move towards the independence referendum that Alex Salmond privately fears.

On a minor note there’s also the possibility that London Mayor Boris Johnson will be re-elected in May – providing the Tories with a credible alternative to David Cameron for when a change is needed, another positive I had overlooked last week.

Finally, I’m looking for a great year from Andy Murray. Be it the Olympics, Wimbledon or some other grand slam title, I think this could be the year he makes the breakthrough with the help of his new coach Ivan Lendl.

Glass half full? I’m feeling lightheaded already!