The Team at Velvet would like to wish all our Members and Visitors a Very Happy New Year

After what was nothing short of an excellent Christmas drinks party Patricia, John, Catherine, Curtis, Udara and Alastair are looking forward to our first Drinks Party of 2012 on Friday 3rd February 7–12pm and later at Shadow Lounge.

Best Wishes Patricia X

New Year's Day is said to be the oldest and most universally celebrated holiday. The tradition of celebrating New Year's Day is said to have started by Romans Velvet 153 BC. Romans celebrated their New Year on March 1 according to old Roman Calendar. Even before the Romans, Mesopotamians are said to have celebrated new years at the time of the vernal equinox in mid-March around 2000 BC. After a series of changes in calendar, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar still in use today, and set January 1 as New Year's Day.

It is said that the tradition of making New Year's Resolutions was started by early Babylonians. Their most resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment and begin the new year with a clean slate. Some people believe that New Years Resolutions were once promises made to the Gods, in the hope that the Gods would grant them some favor in return, such as a good harvest. It was also believed that breaking of New Year's resolution brought bad luck on the individual hence one was advised to be careful while making New Year's Resolution.

Check out these funny and innovative New Year's Resolutions!

Just for today, I will not sit in my living room all day in my dressing gown. Instead, I will move my computer into the bedroom.
I will no longer waste my time relieving the past, instead I will spend it worrying about the future.
I will not bore my boss by with the same excuse for taking leaves. I will think of some more excuses
I will do less laundry and use more deodorant
I will give up chocolates totally. 100%. Completely. Honestly
I will try to figure out why I *really* need nine e-mail addresses
I will spend less than one hour a day on the Internet. This, of course, will be hard to estimate since I'm not a clock watcher
I will read the manual... just as soon as I can find it
I will think of a password other than "password."
I will not tell the same story at every get together
I will not ring the steward button on airplanes just to get his phone number
Stop exercising. Waste of time. Eat earlier in the day and burn it off
Procrastinate more and savour the moment
Drink. Drink some more and build up a toterance
Start being superstitious
Spend less time at work - develop personal projects that produce revenue
Stop bringing lunch from home eat out more
Take up poker - it will develop your mind reading/body language skills !!