The festive fancy is upon us dear readers, and all is calm, all is bright, until the booze kicks in that is and anything goes. Yet until the heavenly peace of your deep sleep is interrupted by the absolute and unforgiving horror of a hangover from hell, why not take a moment to light a candle, perhaps bake a mince pie, pluck a turkey, stick a fairy on the tree, kindly sing a hymn for your neighbors and ponder on what the real reason for this season is.

They said it would snow this Christmas but they got that wrong. So as you trudge through the warm wet oblivion of global warming, whistling some Cliff Richard classic, remember Christmas time, mistletoe and wine….. has been the ruin of many an aspiring athlete with dreams of Boxing Day glory, but who ended missing the match, sat on a porcelain throne with nothing but stomach cramps, regret, and cold sweats for company.

So before the moon turns red and the sleigh bells start up with their infernal racket, why not pull your head out of the trough and as you stumble backwards into the gutter, take a look up at the stars, what do you see there? A fat man in a red suit perhaps? Or something more?

Admittedly whatever you see could be a nasty side-effect of the port and stilton, or for the more adventurous amongst you, absinthe and wild mountain mushrooms, but in that dark abyss we call the heavens lie our destinies, our dreams, the very satellites which bring us Netflix.

They say fate is written in the stars, well that may well be, but if it’s reports on local sport you’re after you’ll find it in the Abergavenny Chronicle before you find it in the fading light of these heavenly constellations.

What this means, no-one knows and no-one cares, but come, why not indulge your indifference and join Sports Editor Tim Butters as he hitches a ride on Santa’s sleigh and rides on time to the beginning of January when 2018 was but a dark and unfathomable future waiting to be writ large by hands that pass, feet that kick, balls that bounce, whistles which pierce, and dreams that deliver, as we trawl the first six months of sporting action for nuggets of eternal delight.

So what you waiting for, if you want sport we got it, now buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Have a very merry Christmas one and all!

Football: There’s seven goals, five bookings and a fantastic advert for the women’s game in Wales as Abergavenny Women just miss out on beating Cardiff Met. University 3-4.

Rugby: The Clarets and Ambers entertain Machen hoping to record their eighth successive victory in the league and are not disappointed as they record a 20-5 victory.

Cross Ash lad Hallam Amos is picked as part of Wales’s 39 man squad heading for the Six Nations.

Cricket: Abergavenny Cricket Club’s newest international Tom Norton collects his Welsh Under

11s cap for the 2017 season at the Swalec Stadium.

February

Weightlifting: Plucky powerlifter Kathryn Holley carries the weight and claims the crown of British

P o w e r l i f t e r Champ for Bench in Weston Super Mare.

The 36-year-old teacher who only took up w e i g h t l i f t i n g after the grind and grunt of running marathons took its usual wear and tear on her body, goes in all guns blazing and her steely resolve pays off handsomely.

Football: A b e r g a v e n n y Women’s dreams of lifting a trophy are dashed in extra time,

as current cup holders Cardiff Met score a single goal to separate the winners from the losers.

They are awarded another another bite of the Welsh Cup cherry following revelations that Cardiff

Met University had fielded two ineligible players, but they just miss out on penalties.

Bowls: Abergavenny’s Bowls Club are bowled over by a Community Chest grant which saves

the historic Avenue Road outfit from extinction. Like many grassroots clubs in Britain, Abergavenny’s bowling fraternity have been been hit hard by a lack of interest in the sport.

Player numbers dwindled to the point where they could no longer play a team in the Gwent Bowls

League. Such a state of affairs could have spelt closure for the historic club which was founded in

1860, and whose first President was the Chronicle’s founder Edwin Morgan. But the men and ladies in white were not going to give in without a fight. For some time the Avenue Road faithful had thought a ‘mixed team’ of gentleman and ladies might just be the answer to their current woes. And hey presto, wouldn’t you know, the powers that be agreed. Henceforth Aber will field a gender neutral team for the 2018 season.

Rugby: Abergavenny RFC’s unbeaten run extends to 11 games on Saturday after they take the scalp of RTB Ebbw Vale at Bailey Park to the tune of 23-0.

March

Football: After two away day disappointments Abergavenny Town bounce right back on track with a home victory over Aberdare Town.

Ruby: Abergavenny return to league action at Bailey Park with a thorough 45-5 trampling of Fleur De Lys. The result sees the Clarets move to the top of the league.

Golf: At the Monmouthshire Golf Club Ladies AGM, Sue Bradley is installed as Captain for the year.

April

Athletics: Former King Henry VIII comprehensive school pupil David Hodgins warms up for not his first, not his second, not even his third, but his twelfth London Marathon.

It’s enough to exhaust a person just contemplating the weary slog towards Bermondsey, along

the Jamaica Road before crossing Tower Bridge and carrying on the grunt and groan through

Wapping, towards Limehouse, through the Isle of dogs, into Canary Wharf and…. well! You

get the picture, just the thought of pounding 26 miles of the capital’s pavements on a warm

Spring day is enough to make anyone break out in a cold sweat. But the 40-something athlete

takes it all in is stride. And so he should. Hodgins ran his first London Marathon in 1998 at the age of 29 when he was a keen cyclist. He enjoyed it so much he immediately hung up his bicycle

in favour of hitting the street on his own two feet. Now running in the Veterans category, Hodgins’ prime objective this year is to cross the finishing line with a time which will give him a starting place in 2019 when he’ll have the chance to do it all over again.

Lacrosse: A Raglan woman celebrates after helping Durham University to a national lacrosse title for the fourth year in a row. Menna Rose, who captained Monmouth School for Girls, was part of the Durham team who thrashed C a m b r i d g e University 14-4 in the Women’s L a c r o s s e

Championship final

Shooting: The Welsh team return from the Commonwealth Games with a record-breaking medal

haul, and Pandy couple Michael and Sarah Wixey play a large part in adding to an impressive

tally of 10 golds, 12 silvers and 14 bronze. And they both did it with shotguns!

May

Hockey: Abergavenny hockey player Elin Leppard makes her international debut for Wales in a hard fought three-match series in Scotland.

Cricket: The start of the cricket season coupled with a Bank Holiday usually translates into a

guaranteed Biblical deluge, instead a beautiful, warm sunny day is enjoyed by all.

Football: Abergavenny Town Girls Under 12s finish their first season of competitive football with a 1-0 win at Albion Rovers.

Golf: Addie Francis is crowned M o n m o u t h s h i r e County Ladies Bronze Champion after winning the competition on the 13th hole.

June

Cricket: Abergavenny Firsts take the trip to Brecon and were all out for a miserly 84. Only Will Glenn (21) and Chai Sanapala (15) have any impact.

Rugby: Cross Ash’s Hallam Amos scores a first-half try in Wales’s narrow 22-20 Test victory

against South Africa.

Football: Members of Abergavenny Rhinos junior football club visit Twin town Beaupréau to celebrate the 30th twinning anniversary.

Weightlifting: Weightlifting wonder Kathryn Holley is at it again - breaking records and claiming titles that is. The 36-year-old teacher makes the trip to Malta to compete in the World Drug

F r e e Powe r l i f t i n g F e d e r a t i o n (WDFPF) Single L i f t Championships and was

crowned best overall lifter after she broke a British record and smashed a lift of 92.5kg.

Football: For the sixth consecutive season Abergavenny Women’s Lyndsey Davies collects the

club’s Golden Boot trophy. She is also named the joint Player of the Season alongside team

mate Kate Jeremiah.

Cycling: Yorkshire’s M a s o n Hollyman goes top of the British Cycling Junior Series after a battling performance in the Monmouthshire Junior Grand Prix.

Martial Arts: Triple world championship winning kick boxer Dylan Ruck had a 2018 to remember after taking gold in the - 45kg continuous category to become WMO Nationals champion, he is also selected to represent Wales in the WMO World Championships.