However, the future was to prove bright.
Children who may not prove bright in other respects are picking up complicated phrases and sophisticated corrections that would confuse many adults.
Japan, Korea and China have proven bright spots for Apple, with higher-than-expected demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models.
But all proved one bright and shining truism about politics: just when you think you've seen every single way a person can diminish their chances or doom their hopes, a new generation of politicos comes along to demonstrate new and innovative ways of cocking up everything epically.
One who tried to do so late last year, a bright reformer called Koichi Kato, proved not bright enough to carry his erstwhile supporters with him, and is now in the political wilderness.Probably, after that upper house defeat, the Liberal Democratic Party LDPP) will at last change its leader, and thus prime minister.
Housebuilders proved a bright spot.
Curiously, an Indian runner in the Oxford race proved one bright spot in a murky affair.
After recent gloomy news from the high street, Dixons Retail proved a bright spark.
Footwear, at all prices, proved a bright spot for the clothing industry, with sales surging 6percentt.
There was a sporty feeling from Richard Nicoll, who proved that bright color and the right proportions create a fashion winner.
