I soon realised that I had made a mistake and that the whole business of not being punched in the face was going to be challenging, to say the least. It was cold and windy – but then again, what do you expect Cardiff to be on the 31st of December? Sure, everyone around looked cheerful enough, and the group of retired women whose cheeks were suspiciously rosy had offered me a sip of whatever their hip flasks contained, but I didn’t feel at ease