 It is this time of year when we all feel assailed by the abundance of good chair. It feels like only yesterday that I recorded my last year's greeting. This speaks to how quickly time flies. Time flies by so quickly that I do believe this forces us to do some introspection. Life is short. Why not just live it? Why don't we live by the principles of peace, love and light? The very ones which marked the celebration of our nationality this year. As we close the chapter on 2023 and open a new 2024, we need to ask ourselves, have we shown enough love to our fellow men? Have we shown our light to lead a brother or sister out of their darkness? Have we conducted ourselves in such a manner so that we exude peace from within and permitted to prevail wherever we may find ourselves? If we did not do so in 2023, let us embark upon that new journey in 2024. And whilst we invariably find ourselves in a mood of giving and sharing in this festive season, oh what a heaven would have created on Earth if we were to share those sentiments throughout the year. Those principles can be as greatly appreciated as material gifts. I want to take this opportunity to first and foremost thank the Almighty God for the breath of life. He permits me to extend greetings to all and sundry. I want to extend season's greetings to the Honorable Prime Minister and his family, my cabinet colleagues, my permanent secretary, my deputy permanent secretary and members of staff of all the agencies that fall under my ministerial portfolio. I want to extend season's greetings to the media of castries, all the constituency council workers and all workers and staff of various councils across the length and breadth of St. Lucia. To all persons who have supported me throughout the year and gave me a shoulder to lean on, I want to say thank you. To those citizens whose benevolence have instilled in them the compunction to feed the poor throughout the year, I want to thank you on their behalf. To all St. Lucia's in the diaspora or wherever in this global village you may find yourself season's greetings to you. I want to wish each and every St. Lucia and more particularly the residents of Castries Central a very merry Christmas and a new year filled with God's blessings. I pray that he grants me the longevity of life to continue representing you to the best of my ability. I wish you all the best and a long and blessed life.