TOP TEN POSTS UNCLE GNARLEY BLOG 2021

The annual ritual of presenting
the “Top Ten” posts of the year, based on Google’s counter, is repeated below.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to
several writers, especially to Ron Penney and PlanetNL who, especially in the second half
of the year, kept the Blog going as I was otherwise engaged. Their ideas and analysis are widely acknowledged. This year David Vardy was
busy offering his vast skillset to Moya Greene and to the Premier’ Economic
Recovery Commission. The job done he continues to write; his latest
contribution is entitled “Muskrat Falls An Unmitigated Disaster”.

We welcomed a post from one new
contributor, Catherine Penney. We also mourned the loss of the Bard of Pynn’s
Brook, John Tuach; we will miss his poetry and the enormous insights that he inscribed
in each turn of phrase.

Most of us are happy to
see the end of 2021. Covid-19 remains a scourge robbing us of a quick return to
some semblance of normalcy. Our collective sanity is threatened thereby, not
least because Covid is a distraction that removes oxygen from places where
discussion of NL’s economic, social and political deficits ought to be
paramount. That “the doctor is in” represents occasional drama but little comfort.
But those issues are for later.

There are several days left in
the Christmas Season, more turkey to be devoured and, yes, mountains of “hash”
to be consumed. Even Uncle Gnarley rang up threatening a visit. I fear that our
rest will be short lived! Merry Christmas – Des Sullivan