It was great to have all the family together.

Kit was only over for one day due to work commitments. And Paddy left on 31st December to return to Berlin.

So, house full of girls again.

I’m not complaining.

New Year’s Eve is not a day I look forward to. All that organised fun, augmented by Jools Holland and sporadic updates of the impressive fireworks in Sydney.

This year, we didn’t know what to expect.

We’d heard the Danes like fireworks. This was confirmed when one exploded outside our apartment mid afternoon, turning the room orange and possibly changing the colour of underwear. It was probably lobbed from a car.

When our heart rates had settled, we watched an elderly couple taking it in turns to light rockets with their cigarettes, seeming to take no pleasure in it at all. By four o’clock, thousands of fireworks had been set off.

After dinner, we put on our coats and ventured down towards the city centre. We crossed the road and went down towards the beach. In the distance, the skies glowed red and orange.

As we got closer to town we decided to stop at one of the main intersections near the docks. A group of young men were clustered outside a 7/11 smoking cigars, drinking Champagne. All wearing dinner suits. Then some more party goers turned up and, every so often, placed what looked like a crate in the middle of the road. These were similar to grenades. Occasionally, a yellow bus would appear through the smoke. It was like Beirut on a bad day. There were fireworks coming out of every orifice.

We were offered Champagne from glass flutes and there was much shaking of hands.

What we saw was difficult to put into words. It was as if the Danes had allowed themselves to go crazy for one day. But it was all so good natured. No tottering teenage girls throwing up in a bus shelter. No bad behaviour of any kind that we could see.

After a good hour and a half of this onslaught, we walk back up the hill towards home. As we reached the high street we saw the remains of thousands of rockets and Catherine Wheels. The crowds were still there and a young guy was playing a saxophone. It was total carnage.

The best New Year ever.