Any review of events in 2011 would have to start with what might lie ahead.
This was Rugby World Cup year, and the much anticipated event was a daily part of the news-psyche, as were memories of the All Blacks' quarterfinal loss to France in Cardiff in 2007.
That the calendar would also include a general election, notionally much more significant in the general scheme of things, took a back seat.
Had it not been for the earthquake in Canterbury in February and the Rena grounding in the Bay of Plenty in September, both of which necessarily brought leaders into play from all quarters, the existence of our political representatives in Wellington might have passed us by.
Hawke's Bay, once the scene of some of the country's more notorious New Year welcomes, showed it could do it in an atmosphere of fun and family.
But it was more so for Central Hawke's Bay couple B.J. and Teresa Moleta, who chose the early hours of January 1 for their nuptials. They'd been together 14 years, and had five children.
Later in the morning, though, saw tragedy for another family, as a man from Auckland died in a crash south of Hastings and became the country's first road fatality of a new year in which tragedies big and small were by far the most common features of the headlines.
Temperatures in Hawke's Bay soared over the following week, and were well over 30C at times in the first weekend, when almost 1300 young athletes took part in the North Island Colgate Games at Hastings' new Regional Sports Park.
It was a different story for another big weekend at the end of the month, as veteran rocker Joe Cocker performed at Church Road Winery, Taradale, supported by George Thorogood.
A fair bit of rain fell during the weekend, about 100mm in places, and some trees fell down - a bit like some of the concert patrons whose intoxication caused organisers to close the liquor booths early.
Falling trees were a big problem from the start of the year, most notably initially when on a boozy weekend, a 21-year-old man used a chainsaw to fell a century-old palm tree in Nelson Park, Napier.
He also went down, for 18 months, after a judge in the District Court vented frustration on behalf of the community and sent him to jail.
No one would have known at the time, but it wasn't to be a good year for the old trees at Nelson Park. In May, another tree, which had been planted in 1911, collapsed after two days of rain, and at the end of November wind pulled down more trees.
Timber milled even before such trees were even planted was among the loss when a 110-year-old woolshed at Eskdale, north of Napier, burnt down, with the loss also of wool estimated to be worth about $10,000, depending on when it would be sold, in a year when the prices continued to rise.
Another woolshed that was really on fire in January was further up the road at Waitara Station, where brothers Rowland and Doug Smith shore a world two-stand record of 1066 ewes in eight hours, a day after Waipawa gun Cam Ferguson shore a world solo record of 742 lambs.
Among the other winners of the month was Hastings-based racehorse Jimmy Choux, winning the Wellington Stakes at Trentham. Much more would be heard of the three-year-old star throughout the year.
These were examples of hard work in Hawke's Bay, but the flip-side was the release of figures revealing 4069 jobless in Hawke's Bay, 30 per cent higher than a peak record in 2005.
Even though it was the school holidays, it was hardly school's-out for those running the 156-year-old Te Aute College, where the Board of Trustees made a sacrificial resignation so that a commissioner could be appointed to help save the school.
On the beaches, it was all happening at Waimarama, where Hastings student Catherine Cater was named Miss Waimarama, fellow teenager Karl Julius was named Mr Waimarama, a horse hit a youngster, and members of rival gangs faced off, all on the same day.
A couple of days later, four youths suspected of stealing a kayak from Waipatiki were chased by police and eventually apprehended near Hastings.
Behind the scenes were more of Hawke's Bay's unique initiatives in resolving these types of problems, and on the last weekend of the month members of rival gangs faced each other in a retreat.
Guided by Waiohiki-based gang and social issues luminary Denis O'Reilly, and New York-based author John Wareham, with American actor and scholar Richard Habersham also on the scene, they ended the weekend with the Otatara Accord. They pledged commitment to a better future, and encouraged friends and families to do the same.
Also flying under the radar was cycling legend Lance Armstrong, arriving on a private jet with his family for a few days' R&R; incognito in Hawke's Bay.