2007

It's a blank canvas. There may be optimism. There may be pessimism in the air but it's still a blank canvas. At a personal level, Shirley and I just went down the pub and then on to Christine's house to count the bells and sing "Auld Lang Syne". It wasn't much of a party. Only a handful of people - but one or two I had never met before - Irish Moira who had never been to Ireland and her nephew John Maloney who also - in spite of his Irish name - has never been to the Emerald Isle. Maybe next New Year we'll have another rip-roaring party at our own gaff. We've had many fine parties here.

2006 ended with the death of the dictator Saddam Hussein but we should perhaps hesitate to recognise and accept that he only grew into the monster he was because the West - America in particular - gave him the rope he needed to hang himself. I watched his unedited death on You Tube. How could the security be so lax as to allow someone to visit the gruesome scene with a camera phone? Crazy! I suppose it is good that he has gone but he took so many secrets to his grave - especially information about financial and political support he received from America in the late seventies and early eighties. How convenient for Dubya!

In 2007 I want to get rich. I want to be thin again. I want to leave teaching. I want to be molested by busloads of nymphomaniacal virgins. I want to hear one of my songs on the radio and have plays and stories published at long last. I want to watch the TV news and relish items about Bush's fall from power, Gordon Brown's shady share dealings, the re-nationalisation of British train services, the prohibition of reality TV shows, Hull City's promotion to the Premiership, the death of Osama bin Laden, drug busts for Take That, The Corrs, Liberty X, Girls Aloud and Cliff Richard. In 2007 I want to be healthy, avoid road accidents and eat well.

Happy 2007 to anyone who reads this post!