WHEN it comes to Christmas wishes most of us have got plenty of personal ones we’d love fulfilled.

These will range from having loved ones with us over the festive period to better health and wealth. Like everyone, I’ve got some relating to family and friends (although one big one has been granted by actually having the New Zealand “wing” of my family here for the holidays).

But the other big one is really a plea for the New Year and that’s to, please, give Bolton a chance.

We all know that things have not been good in our town centre and in our town for a while – but, then, most towns and cities up and down the country have suffered from the recession and are fighting back.

What seems to have happened in Bolton is that knocking it has become a habit. It’s just so easy to go on social media and let off steam in a totally unhelpful way just because we can but far harder to actually do something positive to help our town get back on track.

Yes, I know there’s plenty to moan about. Our town centre is not as vibrant as it once was, but then nowhere is. The Market Place development is about to give it quite a boost with its cinema and restaurant additions and other plans are also underway to modernise various shops.

Our rail service is not improving as quickly as we all hoped but, hopefully, it will start to do so in the New Year after the busy festive passenger boost. And I know that having hot pink sofas on the Bolton Station platform to “celebrate” the new timetable is just salt in the wound. But, frankly, get over yourselves, will you?

You’re right, there should be no need for food banks and clothes’ appeals in 2015 but there is. I can’t giver you a quick fix for that, but I do know that there has been a lot of conspicuous caring surfacing to help people as a result.

Fortunately, our local currency is not all about money. It’s about goodwill, and the town is rich in that because it has real wealth in its people.

Bolton is not a perfect place, administered by a perfect system. But, it’s a town with a tough history and it does have hope - if we all get behind it in 2016.