The good news on the coronavirus vaccine - the first supplies were delivered to hospitals in Britain today - has been overshadowed by a new crisis over Brexit.
Four years of debate and negotiations could end in failure. Only days are left for the 27 EU nations and Britain to reach agreement.
‘Bullish Boris ready to walk away,’ says one headline. Intense discussions over the weekend in London are being continued in Brussels with Michael Gove joining the team. The PM is speaking today with the EU Commission president.
The main sticking points are trade and fishing rights with neither side wanting to give way, but with the politicians' habit of brinkmanship there could be a last minute settlement.
If not, Britain’s economy faces an even more difficult time.
Johnson is like a battered boxer, staggering to his corner where his chancellor Rishi Sunak will try to patch him up and send him back in the ring to carry on fighting.
Meanwhile, the second wave of coronavirus has taken a firmer grip on many countries, waiting anxiously for a vaccine.
The USA is one of the hardest hit with president elect Biden facing his first challenge. Many states are reporting a big rise in cases and deaths with California declaring a state of emergency.
My friends in Des Moines, Iowa, gave Thanksgiving a miss for the first time and in Massachusetts and also in Germany they tell of a return to stricter conditions and isolation from their families.
All so disappointing after the expectations of relief with the new vaccines but it could all change as with Brexit.
All disappointing, causing doubt over their Christmas.
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