Archie Hume of A Hume Country Clothing on his love of the marmite month.
No doubt about it, January is a marmite month.
Those who don’t like it throw themselves with great fervour into the pastime of dissing each and every one of the 31 days. Expending great energy bemoaning the lack of light, the weather and the consequence of festive excess coming home to roost, mainly in the form of tighter waistbands and fatter credit card bills.
They are misery incarnate. And some of them make it worse for themselves by indulging in further acts of self-inflicted masochism, such as Dry January. Honestly, I’ve never met a bunch more in need of a drink. Though, to be fair, some of us in the love-January camp do the Dry January thing too. The difference is all in the approach.
Personally, I think January is a great month. It’s the re-boot. You wake up. You’ve had your fun. You get out for a good long walk to blast the cobwebs right out into the cold, clear air. Use that fierce January chill to scour out the excess. Embrace the New Year and that empty diary, bereft of social engagements.
Then use the time to reflect on the past year and think about your plans for the year ahead. It’s time well spent.
The past year has been a time of celebration for A Hume. The company my grandfather, Arch, founded in 1929 turned 90. A ripe old age by any measure. Especially when those years have been passed during a time of massive change and innovation in the retail sector.
At risk of repeating myself, neither my grandfather nor my father would recognise the company now. They might if they walked through the doors of our shop in The Square, Kelso. Growth and an upgrade haven’t rendered it unrecognisable as a place where country gents get togged up. But they’d have a hard time getting their heads around the online side of things.
My dad might indulge in a ‘told you so’ moment when he saw Karen running the show upstairs. He saw a role for my wife in the business before I did and her success as E-commerce and Operations Director would come as no surprise to him.
But other than that, there would be much tilting of caps and scratching of heads at the idea of people all over the world clutching palm-sized screens buying tweeds and twills they’ve neither touched nor tried on.
Now, as ever, stepping into 2020, I relish not just a new year but a new decade. I’m up for the challenges that lie ahead, keen to plan, braced to implement. If I choose to go with the Dry January brigade and sign myself up for Bootcamp, it’s so I can be sharp and on my toes. Mindful and best placed to make the most of the year ahead.
Each January day gets a little bit longer, a little lighter, brighter and clearer. By the end of the month the year ahead will be in sharp focus and I look forward to living it.
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