Blaise Tapp: Farewell 2017, you've been quite a year!

Lots of us told anybody who would listen how pleased we were to see the end of a year that brought us Brexit, Trump and saw the demise of some of the best loved names in entertainment and sport, including David Bowie, Prince and Muhammad Ali.

It was, we were told, a year so extraordinary that would not be repeated.

We were wrong.

2017 has been a year which will fascinate the historians of the future.

The devastating terror attacks in London and Manchester along with the unspeakable tragedy at Grenfell Tower were life altering for so many although whether or not we learn from these lessons remains to be seen.

Politics has always been an unpredictable game but experts and pollsters would have been forgiven if they had decided to throw in the towel during 2017, the year which saw Theresa May go from the Iron Lady Mk II to Mrs Overall from Acorn Antiques.

Brenda from Bristol spoke for millions of us with her ‘you’re joking’ reaction to the news that Mrs May had called a needless snap election, a decision which could prove to be damaging in the long run, especially if this weak government is given the runaround during the next round of Brexit
 negotiations.

We also saw the summer of the ‘youthquake’, which brought a permanently bewildered looking sixty-something career politician to the cusp of the highest office in the land.

It remains to be seen whether Jeremy Corbyn will become our Prime Minister in the next few years, but the fact it is now considered even a possibility, demonstrates what an incredible year this has been.

Then there is the madness that is the Trump presidency, which, thanks to his obsession with social media, has become the most addictive over-the-top American drama since Dallas. I am not sure whether my nerves can cope with three more years of his haphazard approach to running the world’s only genuine superpower.

It is a fair bet that 2017 will also be remembered for the earthquake that followed the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Once the flood of allegations against one of the most powerful men in showbusiness became public knowledge, it led to women across the world feeling able to talk about the abuse they had suffered at the hands of others.

The #MeToo happening was one of the most talked about social media events in many year and will go a long to ensure that sexual assault masquerading as banter will be called out in future.

There are still some dinosaurs who think the whole thing has been taken out of proportion and that a slap on the backside is just a bit 
of fun.

Fortunately, they are a dying breed. It is my hope that my kids will look back on this period in history and shake their heads in disbelief at the current lack of respect that so many people currently have for fellow man (and woman).

It is one the lesson I really hope we take from 2017.

I am no Mystic Meg - a wig and a sequined dress wouldn’t suit me - but I suspect that we are in for an equally eventful 2018.

Blaise will be back too in 2018 for more of his wry observations on life.