"So this is Christmas,
And what have we done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun..."
A quarter of a century after John Lennon's death his words still ring true.
As we come once again to the holiday season it is time, amid all the Christmas shopping and travel plans, to look back at the past 12 months and take stock of all that has occurred, both the highs and lows of another year in Lightning Ridge.
This year has been quite a big one, with so many highlights it is difficult to name them all.
One of the biggest was the hosting of the Fourth National Opal Symposium, an incredibly successful event which drew the eyes of the world's opal industry to our town.
Another was the announcement that OPA4 will finally be opened, with mining to begin in the new year.
The opening of Stages Two and Three of Lightning Ridge Central School gave a huge boost to the education potential of the town, as did the new Schools in Partnership program which will see the school receive a massive funding boost next year.
In fact, the school produced many of the great achievements this year, including the Rock Eisteddfod teams which were so successful in Armidale and the MAD night which people are still talking about, months later.
Then there were those annual events that make Lightning Ridge so unique: the Great Goat Race, won this year by Fiona Williamson; the Opal Queen, won by Dee Black; and its cross-dressing cousin the Potch Queen, taken out this year by Phillip Spicer.
As a brief side-note, this wasn't the first time Phillip graced the front page of our paper, after the spectacular pictures of his car in flames in the middle of Morilla Street.
May Searle should be noted for her extraordinary persistence in calling for the sealing of the Cumborah Road.
Looking back at our old newspapers you can see she has been fighting for a road upgrade - virtually single-handed - for years, and that she finally managed to achieve it is a true credit to her determination and strength of will.
It was a great year for Lightning Ridge on the sporting field, as well.
Just to name the barest few of the many highlights: in cricket the Hardhats beat the Shincrackers in the Mine Field Shield; in swimming three local youngsters, Peter Anderson and Skye and Brook Holland, have been winning races all over the region; in netball Kristina Kelly did well in the Far West Academy team; and of course in junior football the Tigers had an absolutely brilliant year, winning the Grand Final to claim the Balonne/Barwon Shield.
While celebrating the good news we must also pause for a moment and remember the bad.
Lightning Ridge lost some of its favourite characters this year.
Brian Morris, Robert Molyneaux, Toni Allen, Edna Fuller, Arthur 'Dada' McBride, Sadie Watts and German Max were just a few of the beloved residents who passed away in 2005.
No loss was more sorely felt, however, than the tragic death of 14-year-old Ben Walford, whose untimely end caused such grief in the community that already there is a memorial garden in his honour at the school and plans in place to name the section of road where he was killed after him.
There were other losses suffered by Lightning Ridge this year.
The Big Opal, a popular tourist attraction for the past 30 years, was forced to close due to ever-increasing insurance premiums, while the tram-o-tels, a Ridge landmark since the early 60s, rolled out of town, leaving a conspicuous gap where they once stood.
It was not all bad news, though, and several times locals rallied to save one institution or another that was under threat.
For a while it looked like the Three Mile Open Cut was to be filled in and rehabilitated, but the indignant outrage of locals who want it preserved seems to have put a halt to that idea.
It was a similar case with the Lightning Ridge Caravan Park, which for a while was under threat of closing but received a stay of execution after residents appealed to the council.
There was no story of triumph over adversity greater than the fight to save the Club in the Scrub.
The revelation that it was more than $300,000 in debt, with no possible way of repaying the money, unleashed a tidal wave of community support that had to be seen to be believed.
The club seemed doomed, but nobody surrendered, and under the inspired leadership of secretary manager Cheryl Bailey they were able to convince creditors to accept just 16 per cent of the money that was owed. Congratulations, guys. You really deserve to be proud of yourselves.
From Nick and Maude at The Ridge News, we would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.
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