text: I found a spot with a reasonable view of where I expected the fireworks to be. The crowd watched the countdown clock on the Arts Centre spire, and the bells of St Paul’s Cathedral started up. On the stroke of midnight, the lights didn’t all go out – on the contrary, the sky lit up from about half a dozen different places – there were fireworks everywhere for about 10 minutes. Then they quietened down, and just as people thought they’d finished, there was another enormous burst, as the crowd cheered, clapped and said "Oooh!" and "Ahhhhh" when the really spectacular fireworks went off.