I don’t imagine anyone will be sad to see the end of the year 2020.

It has been an awful year due to the Covid pandemic, a disease we hardly knew of this time last year.

We have seen such sacrifice, isolation and sadly loss of many of our residents during this dreadful year.

Families and friends have been separated for many months from the beginning of lockdown in March to this day nine months later as we struggle to stop the rapid rise of this dreadful pandemic.

As we look forward to 2021 and the roll out of the vaccination, we will all be very thankful when normality returns.

However, in the meantime, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our everyday heroes who have kept us safe, healthy, feed, paid and educated throughout this very difficult year.

I hope that you all had a very merry Christmas, and I wish all local residents a Happy New Year. I hope everyone has a very peaceful, enjoyable and safe festive period even if it is not as we would normally celebrate.

We can keep those celebrations for later in 2021.

Councillor David McBride