I woke this morning to the news that Debbie Reynolds had passed away, 2 short days after hearing of her daughter Carrie Fisher had left us. Preceding her demise, we had been shocked to the core by the news of George Michael…

And the list is long this year, of famous names who have forever said goodbye to the word, sung their last song, acted their last scene, rewritten their last book, played their last game, etc…

Prince, David Bowie, Gene Wilder, Harper Lee, oh man, I can’t even write how many names have been heard this year, included in obituaries…

It’s been horrifying hearing of all these well-known names passing away.

But what of the average person too? There have been deaths, every day, as there always haws been, and always will be, in our personal lives.

I hear it, and I say it myself a lot, “2016, do one now. I can’t take hearing any more of this news, another celebrity, gone.” But we don’t appear to be thinking of normal lives, just those well-publicised deaths.

I remember, as a child, there was another year, like this, but for us, it was a personal reason that we wanted the year to be done. It seemed that every month, we heard of a family member passing away, from old age, or through a road accident, and it was horrible. Of course, these people passing, who we knew and loved, were going to elicit a reaction of devastation.

But why the same reaction for all these celebrities?

Sure, we know of them, but there is no real link, is there?

Here’s where I beg to differ. For many of us, these names formed part of a framework of our own history. They were the soundtrack of our lives.

From the music we listened to, the books we read, and the movies or shows we watched, to the political decision that may have coloured our lives one way or another, these names meant something in an innately different way.

I am no super fan of anyone really, but on the evening of Christmas Day, when a news update pinged on my phone, informing me of the untimely demise of George Michael, I was shell-shocked, speechless, and quite frankly, devastated.

I used to have Wham! posters on my wall as a teen. Admittedly, it was Andrew Ridgely who I lusted after, but George, well, he was truly part of the soundtrack of my youth.

Gene Wilder – Well, his films had my brother and me in stitches many a time. Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka was something that we will never forget.

Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia, will live forever in our hearts. One of the first true advocates of Girl Power!

I could let this list go on and on…

Suffice to say, this year has had many ups and downs, and it will probably be remembered for many of the downs relating to the loss of a famous figure, alongside the shock Brexit vote, the whole US presidency voting, and the number of devastating terrorist attacks.

I am definitely ready to say goodbye to this year… I know there will be celebrity losses next year, but here’s hoping that the volume of them are not in the same capacity as this year. This year, we lost Gold….