Soon all talk of Christmas will disappear from the newspapers, magazines and television. They will, instead, be full of information on January sales and advertisements for holidays in faraway places. And there will be long articles looking back over the previous year. 

Is looking back a good thing? If it teaches lessons, things to be avoided in the coming years, then the answer is yes. But hindsight is NOT a perfect science. We forget many bad things. 

In our minds all the holidays we had as children were full of sunshine, sea and sand. Not coldness, rain and forced boredom. 

The summers were warm but not unbearably hot. The grass was green, not burnt brown. 

Woking Town? Poor Woking Town! But …

Back in March 2023 this newspaper reported that Woking railway station had been named the best for London commuters, with its service to the capital topping the list of 30 of the busiest railway stations outside the M25 and within an hour of central London.

Hurrah for Woking!

Again in March 2023, the headline in this newspaper read: ‘Town achieves top ranking once again’. This time the town had been listed as one of the UK’s best places to live and work in the annual UK Vitality Index 2023. We outperformed Edinburgh, Cambridge and Guildford and were narrowly pipped to the post by Bath.

Hurrah for Woking!

In April 2023 the headline read: ‘Town’s campaign is one of the best’. This concerned Victoria Place reaching the final of an awards programme to celebrate the world’s best marketing campaigns. It was swung by last year’s Christmas campaign Forgotten Toys which encouraged families to donate pre-loved toys to be passed to the local charity Sebastian’s Action Trust.

Hurrah for Woking!

In November 2023 it was reported that Wetherspoon’s Herbert Wells, in Chertsey Road, had won a Loo of the Year Award. And the loo is on the ground floor, which is yet another bonus point.

Hurrah for Woking!

There is very important praise for this newspaper, which I came across just last week: it scores more highly than The Daily Telegraph in the inflammatory stakes. I am reliably informed that it is much better at starting a fire in the grate than the DT – evidently it burns much better.

Hurrah for the Woking News & Mail!