It's cold, it's dark, it's wet, it's windy, and the weather forecasters are implying it's going to carry on that way forever.

Plus there are fears of flooding and warnings about snow.

No-one has any money left after Christmas, credit card bills are starting to drop through the letterbox, so our local shops are struggling for business – except for those selling umbrellas maybe.

All the experts are talking about a credit crunch and how 2008 will be a dreadful year, with house prices falling and a record number of banruptcies and repossessions.

And everyone is on a diet, which puts them in a grumpy mood. New Year's resolutions are being broken left, right and centre.

Even the news in Bridlington is depressing.

There doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel regarding the hospital and the park and ride saga is dragging on and looks set to be a mini-marina – by taking far longer to get sorted than it needs to.

A walk around town depresses you further.

It's just deathly quiet and the seafront is shut down.

Here at the Free Press we have had a number of budding journalists coming in for interviews in the past fortnight.

They are all from outside the area and have been commented on how grey and quiet the town is. They ask: "How do all the businesses and the guest house owners cope?"

To add to the gloom, I received a press release last week about Blue Monday.

Some over-paid university professor, with far too much time on his hands, has drawn up a mathematical equation and deduced that Monday of this week was officially the most miserable day in the calendar.

Well done, Sherlock, a knighthood surely awaits! Anyone could have figured that out.

What he hasn't done, and what is a far harder task, is suggest something that can cheer us all up.

Maybe you can prove yourselves a brighter spark than this nutty professor. What can we do in Bridlington to make January fun?

It's no good trying to attract day-trippers at this time of year so we need something to put a smile on the faces of local people.

Money is tight, so it needs to be cheap and cheerful. I'm stumped but there must be a decent idea out there.

Over to you, get in touch.

Paper Clip

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