Kentish Express Ashford & District
Rooster fired up to greet the new year
Cock a doodle doo ... what does the year 2017 hold for you?
Our new year started five days ago but for the Chinese their new year begins on January 28 and ends on February 15 in 2018. 2017 is the year of the Rooster. The Rooster is 10th in the Chinese zodiac. Each year is related to an animal sign according to a 12-year cycle. Years of the Rooster have included 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 and it will be Rooster year again in 2029.
And 2017 is actually the year of the Fire Rooster. In Chinese element theory, each zodiac year is associated with one of five elements – gold (metal), wood, water, fire, or earth, which means that a Fire Rooster, for example, comes once every 60-year cycle.
The theory is that a person’s characteristics are decided by their birth year’s zodiac sign and element. So there are five types of Roosters, each with different characteristics.
The Wood Rooster is said to be energetic, overconfident, tender and unstable.
The Fire Rooster (this year’s one) is reckoned to be trustworthy, with a strong sense of timekeeping and responsibility at work (sounds like the Nuts and Bolts team must ALL be Fire Roosters!).
The Earth Rooster is believed to be lovely, generous, trustworthy, and popular with their friends, while the Gold Rooster is determined, brave, perseverant and hardworking.
And, finally, the Water Rooster is said to be smart, quick-witted, tenderhearted and compassionate. But if 2017 is going to the year of the Fire Rooster in China then in Ashford it’s likely to be the year of the bricklayer.
As we report elsewhere in this week’s issue a host of major building schemes are set to get under way this year.
They range from the expansion of the Designer Outlet to the start of construction of the new Elwick Road cinema and hotel and from the beginning of the creation of the new M20 junction 10a scheme to the building of the new Commercial Quarter.
And, that is to name but four major schemes set to start in the next 12 months.
So for bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, steel erectors, roofers, landscapers, double glazing installers, quantity surveyors and numerous other tradesmen, 2017 promises to be the year of the Cash Cow.
Notwithstanding that we hope that all our readers have a very enjoyable, profitable and happy 2017 too!
Did a host of celebrities actually die over Christmas or it just that at holiday periods when not much else ‘news’ is happening more is made by the meedya of their demise?
The sad death of singer George Michael on Christmas Day was swiftly followed by news that Royle Family TV comedy actress Liz Smith had died at the age of 95; followed by confirmation that Watership Down author Richard Adams had died at the age of 96 and then the passing of Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, aged 60, was announced on December 27 after she suffered a heart attack on a trans-Atlantic flight a few days earlier. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Carrie Fisher’s mother, actress and Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, died aged 84, just one day after the death of her daughter.
Facebook and Twitter were awash with messages from fans, as is the case of a celebrity death these days.
Yes we all miss these wellknown faces but sometimes the tributes people post or share make it sound like they’ve lost a close friend, rather than someone whose records they bought, books they read or TV programmes or films they watched. Perhaps a bit of perspective is needed when mourning the passing of someone we admired, were influenced by and grew up with ... but didn’t actually personally know.