Topic: ℌ𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔶 𝔑𝔢𝔴 𝔜𝔢𝔞𝔯

[Francois]

Yep, it's that time of the year once more.
After another year of hardships and tough decisions, I've had to think very hard about my wishes for this year.
But seeing what we all went through in 2025, pretty much all I can wish you all is to have good health, a roof over your head and food on the table.
I more than anything wish that you all find a way to find pleasure in the simplest of things, beauty in the most mundane and a way to quiet your restless and worried soul.

And lets not forget that in days like that, friendship is one of the free things that can't be taken away.

So, Happy new year to all 🎉

Do you have any plans for this year?
Lets share like in the old days.

[Pete_R]

Happy new year Francois and everyone.

Plans for this year are the same as last year because none of them happened last year. Or maybe we'll downsize them. The round-the-world trip could become a weekend in Scarborough - much more likely to achieve that. And buy less cameras and use more film. That hasn't started well. Five new cameras have appeared recently already. I must try harder.

[Nigel]

Well said, François.

I've had a year of fairly poor health, and to be honest, I've done very little outside the house. So I'm wishing for better health, a little happiness and a few trips out would be good.

I don't think I bought a camera or any film in the last 12 months, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself if I pick up the odd camera!

On the positive front, I'm taking early retirement at the end of March! I won't get a pension for four more years, so there are certainly not going to be any world cruises, but I'm looking forward to having more free time!

Happy New Year all!

[Pete_R]

Well said, François.

I've had a year of fairly poor health, and to be honest, I've done very little outside the house. So I'm wishing for better health, a little happiness and a few trips out would be good.

I don't think I bought a camera or any film in the last 12 months, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself if I pick up the odd camera!

On the positive front, I'm taking early retirement at the end of March! I won't get a pension for four more years, so there are certainly not going to be any world cruises, but I'm looking forward to having more free time!

Happy New Year all!

I can sympathise with the ill health. I started last year not taking any meds, I now take seven different ones every day.

But taking early retirement was the best thing I ever did. Thought I would hate it but loved it from the start.

[Mike (happyforest)]

Happy New year to you all.

Well Santa has kindly provided me with some Ornano Gradual ST-20 & Fixer, some film holders  35mm & 120 so I can digitise the negs so I plan to waste some film with my Olympus OM1n\Om2n & Bronica Etrs cameras.

An hopefully with have some new images soon to contribute to the Weekend threads!

Mike

[Nigel]

I can sympathise with the ill health. I started last year not taking any meds, I now take seven different ones every day.

But taking early retirement was the best thing I ever did. Thought I would hate it but loved it from the start.

Sorry to hear that Peter.

I'm a little nervous about not having a wage coming in, but not having to work to someone else's timetable for the first time in ... err ... 47-years  is quite exciting!

[Francois]

I must admit that being sick is probably what sucks the most.
I was lucky this year as all I got was a really nasty cold.
I know that I won't have much free time for the next 13 months. Because of lack of work in my field, I decided to go back to school. It's an accelerated diploma in accounting; that will hopefully be more in demand. So that's going to keep me pretty busy even though the classes finish relatively early.

[Nigel]

I must admit that being sick is probably what sucks the most.
I was lucky this year as all I got was a really nasty cold.
I know that I won't have much free time for the next 13 months. Because of lack of work in my field, I decided to go back to school. It's an accelerated diploma in accounting; that will hopefully be more in demand. So that's going to keep me pretty busy even though the classes finish relatively early.

Sorry to hear that work is quiet. I don't have much idea of the Canadian economy. I don't remember what you do?

[Francois]

Sorry to hear that work is quiet. I don't have much idea of the Canadian economy. I don't remember what you do?

I'm a city planner... or at least I used to be until I became a librarian in a small second hand bookstore. But business has been on the decline for the last year. So far, I've been in and out of employment so many times in my life that I don't have enough fingers to count it all.

Since August, I've been on a government program to help me find work. It was a big let down as I discovered that there are far more ghost jobs than I had anticipated. I had told my counselor that if I hadn't found work by December, I would go back to school. So that's where I'm at right now. I see this as a good thing since I'll be 13 months without having to think about the job market and the economy which will hopefully have stabilized by next year.

When it comes to the Canadian economy, our biggest trading partner used to be the USA... so you can imagine how things are going on that front.
The price of groceries is going through the roof, so people are limiting their spending in all other categories. Nobody wants to say the word "recession", but it definitely feels like a pretty deep one. This year, Xmas was unlike anything I've ever seen. The local stores were pretty much empty. The most customers my local Walmart had were grandparents shopping for toys. There was no enthusiasm. About 2 weeks before Christmas, all the seasonal decorations were already on liquidation and nobody was buying them.

I went to the drugstore in a neighboring wealthy city. Since they have a very slow speed limit, I took time to look at the houses and the people. I saw a guy who was coming to answer the door wearing a heavy wool sweater and a tuque inside. Not something usual to see. That means he was keeping the heat at a bare minimum to prevent the pipes from freezing. Not a sign that money is flowing. In that city, the stores didn't hire for the holidays. Even shopping malls did the same even though they were open extended hours. Very few houses put Christmas lights out. A lot of stores didn't even decorate. My local art supply store hasn't stocked anything new for the holidays even though a large section of the shop sits completely empty.

Just seeing signs like this is a pretty sobering reminder of how things are really going.

I hope things in the UK are at least a bit more cheerful.

[Nigel]

Sorry to hear that work is quiet. I don't have much idea of the Canadian economy. I don't remember what you do?

Just seeing signs like this is a pretty sobering reminder of how things are really going.

I hope things in the UK are at least a bit more cheerful.

Sorry to hear that, François. From a distance, I always imagine Canada to be a fairly comfortable 'middle-class' economy, with less pay differential than the US and the UK. From what you say, I think things are a little better in the UK, but that doesn't hide the fact that there are a lot of people with very little indeed.

I've worked as an engineer in refrigeration and air conditioning-related companies my whole life. The business I currently work for supplies equipment for very high-end wine cellars and the like. Even after 10 years, it still astounds me quite how many people there are with huge amounts of money to spend on home extensions, massive basements etc. Most of these homes have their own cinema, gym, wine cellar, sauna, etc, etc. (I've yet to see a darkroom though!)

I don't begrudge anyone having money if they've earned it, but the division between the haves and have-nots gets wider and wider. (Anyway, this has all got a little off topic - apologies to the Admins for getting political!) 

Going back to school sounds like a good plan, I do hope it works out for you. Here's to a better 2026 for all Filmwasters!

[Francois]

Sorry to hear that, François. From a distance, I always imagine Canada to be a fairly comfortable 'middle-class' economy, with less pay differential than the US and the UK. From what you say, I think things are a little better in the UK, but that doesn't hide the fact that there are a lot of people with very little indeed.

It used to be the case. While we did already have an apartment shortage before last year, things were overall not too bad. But when overnight we got tariffs on everything we export, things got complicated.