Shirley Tart: The best intentions can soon fade away

I thought – I may even have said it dreamily out loud – “new beginning, past put behind us, new resolutions” – and all the usual sort of goodwill that come out as the year turns.

I had already missed a good few dates wearing the poorly hat so a special little jolly would be nice.

I worked it all out in my head, we demolished dining room dust, polished the silver and so on. It was all going very well. Until I found myself bed bound – again – and spent that particular planned day and several others either side of it, miserable beneath the duvet with a list of symptoms which alarmingly could fit all sorts.

So guests had to be postponed and the duster forgotten for the moment.

Ah well, best laid plans, eh! But hopefully this really is only a short postponement and even if “happy new year” also becomes “happy the rest of the year”, that’s okay as well.

And that’s what I wish for anybody kind enough to still be casting a Saturday eye over this column.

Still talking turn of year and all that, half the population of the nation are already dedicating themselves to losing weight, giving up this, cutting down on that, doing every blessed thing to emerge sylphlike and gorgeous into the spring sunshine.

Mind you, there’s always some stumbling block, isn’t there? In my experience so many who do take the new year challenge each January (and to be fair at times in between) think the first thing they must do is ditch the carbohydrates altogether.

But aren’t they very often the building blocks of our bodies? And is it wise to say farewell altogether to potatoes, good bread and so on?

In my time I’ve worked with colleagues who start a diet to lose weight but wouldn’t give a lettuce leaf, half an old pepper and a wrinkly tomato the time of day so drift back to over eating and filling up, usually quite quickly, and generally fall back on to good old carbs. But just too many of them.

Now, some experts are suggesting that low-carb regimes can actually impede rather help the dieting throng. Oh!

So now we can be pretty sure that ditching the carbs altogether isn’t the best way to get in shape for spring. Perhaps it would be best to just start eating well all year round...

On a much more serious dietary note, the terrible statistic that by the age of 10, children have swallowed up to 300lb of sugar is something which should concern us all.

I’m never sure how experts and statisticians work out these things but if it’s only half the actual fact, it’s frighteningly too close for comfort, since it means that the next generation may live shortened lives, suffer from the likes of diabetes and other avoidable conditions and become victims of this easy additive to their daily diet.

And shame on those who say the state is once more interfering with the lives of other people and their kids.

We are talking young lives and the future here. Each of us has a duty of care to our young.

Now, may the rest of this new year be special for everyone through times of cloud and sunshine, good times and not so good. As Mr Dickens might have said: God bless us, every one!