Awards

...And so ladies and gentlemen, another successful year in the blogging industry draws to a close. It has been a year in which we have seen consolidation married with innovation. Some formerly effective members of the blogging community have suffered from "burn out" - withdrawing to various rehabilitation centres to recuperate. Fortunately, the gaps left by their absences have been purposefully filled by an new cohort of up and coming graduates from the international blogger training programme.

Now we come to the main business of this evening's gathering, here in the marble grandeur of Pudding Towers - the presentation of our industry's much-coveted Yorkshire Pudding Laughing Horse Awards for 2010. These prestigious awards entitle winners to copy and paste the award widget (shown at the head and end of this post) into their own blogs. As in previous years, this year's widget is a unique designer artefact that will be admired for years to come. I repeat that only registered winners are allowed to copy and paste it as it is subject to stringent copyright regulations.

In no particular order, here are this year's winners...

Australian Blogger of the Year - Helen at "Helsie's Happenings"

Award for the Advancement of Art Through Blogging - Katherine at "The Last Visible Dog"

Best Blogger in Sloughhouse, California - Jan at "Cosumne Girl"

Best Blogger in his street in Canton, Georgia - Robert at "Rhymes With Plague"

Best Blogger in The State of Ohio - Sam at "The Golden Hill"

Second Best Yorkshire Blogger - Daphne at "My Dad's A Communist"

Nicest and Most Polite Blogger - Jenny at "Demob Happy Teacher"

Award for the Advancement of History Through Blogging - Elizabeth at "Well This Isn't Gettin T'Ens Fed"

Foremost and Funniest Welsh Blog - John Gray at "Going Gently"

Best Blogger on the Island of Westray, Orkney - Malc at "Edge of Nowhere"

Best Mancunian Blog and Best Designed Blog - Ian at "Shooting Parrots"

Award for the Advancement of Photography Through Blogging - Michael at "In Sydney With an Old Leica"

After much deliberation by our team of knowledgeable judges, it has been decided that the overall Blogger of the Year for 2010 is..... (drum roll and ad break)... is Mr John Gray at "Going Gently" whose self-deprecating blog entries make hearty entertainment from the mundanity of everyday life in Trelawnyd, North Wales. His affection for his dogs and various fowl is matched only by his abject and incomprehensible hatred of starlings!

Editor- "Cue theme music. Roll credits!"