"HAPPY New Year, Europe," was The Northern Echo's front page headline on January 1, 1973, as Britain joined the Common Market.

It quoted the Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath "urging people not to be bedevilled by fears – 'the only future lies in energetically seizing opportunities', he said".

It is a fair bet that today, Boris Johnson, the Conservative Prime Minister will also address the doubters, the doomsters and the gloomsters and urge them to energetically seize the opportunities – only those created by being on the outside rather than on the inside.

And so, in 47 years we have come full circle.

The Echo's front page that day also has a neat graphic saying "the same in every language" above a map of the united continent.

"We wish a Happy New Year in their own languages to our new fellow Common Marketeers," said the Echo, before doing a bit of dictionary work to address the marketeers in nine member countries.

Bonne année went out to the French and the French-speaking Belgians.

Gelukkig nieuwjaar was said to the Dutch and the Flemish-speaking Belgians.

Frohes neues jahr was for the Germans.

Buon anno was for the Italians.

E glécklécht neit joer meant something to the Luzembourgers.

Gladeligt nytaar was for the Danes.

Bliain nua faoi mhaise dhuit was for the Irish.

The 600,000 Luxembourgers are truly multilingual. Their country's laws are in French; their government largely works in German, which is the language first taught in schools, but they all speak their own Luxembourgish, which is very similar to German and Dutch with a lot of French loanwords. And, of course, they all speak magnificent English – certainly their English is a great deal better than my Luxembourgish.

Anyhow, as we have come full circle it seems appropriate for this Brexit day edition to follow the lead of that hopeful New Year's Day and send out a message to our nine friends from whom we are departing.

And so, according to the Google Translate app on my phone, we wish them all "goodbye and good luck", or au revoir et bonne chance, as they say in France.

Tot ziens en success goes out to the Dutch.

Auf wiedersehen und viel glück is for the Germans.

Arrivederci e buona fortuna for the Italians.

Äddi a vill gléck is for all our friends who understand Luxembourgish.

Farvel og held og lykke is for the Danes.

And beannacht agus dea-luck is for the Irish.

It's not quite the same in every language, but I hope they get what we mean.