OK. Why not as it is the fourth already I can safely pop up and say Happy New Year. We ended up doing a really good gig musically which enough people seemed to get into. When we finnished it descended into mayhem pandemeonium and scraps. There usually isn't "security" at the squatted pub we play at so I was amused to see both people who were kicking off disappear backwards one after the other, collar held by some looming shape. They both came back in a little bit later much more peaceable. Fucking good bouncer. I will make enquiries.As it is New Year and I am trying to at least start a little bit positive I am not even going to bother commenting about Palestine. I am a bit annoyed with my Repub buddies straight away wading in but I shouldn't be surprised eh. I'm not there. I have never...

(truffles on display) (my stall with two handsome chaps that work the French cheese stall behind me.) . Howdy. Happy New Year. Are you enjoying your holiday? Me? Well…, I WAS thinking; “yay! no more work & no more Xmas dinner mayhem! Tis the time to slow pace & rest!” … But instead…, my body decided to go...

We've been very busy today ~ away from home ~ out in the cold. But we're not saying where we went or what we were doing. Okay? We eat and warmed up a little before we sat down to write about this: Thousands protest in Europe at Gaza offensive Before we had time to, we learned of this: Israeli ground forces enter Gaza in...

After killing 400 Palestinians in the past week - and suffering just four Israeli deaths in the same period of hostilities - in the past few minutes, Israel has confirmed that its ground forces has crossed the border into the Gaza strip...defying calls from around the world for a...

2009. Ouch. I'll be 26 this year. Double ouch. But let this year also be the year I get myself together physically and financially. Things to be excited about today:The new Doctor Who is announced! In 20 minutes time no less... The first programme in our new Eurovision selection process, entitled "Your Country Needs You" is today. I'm excited even though it does involved Russian Premier Putin and Andrew Lloyd Webber. I don't really like either of those guys personally... And ITV's new series "Demons" starts today with the rather shaggable UNIT soldier from Doctor Who (also known as Christian Cooke) in the lead......

Best New Year I’ve ever experienced/survived was an all-week, 31 Dec-6 Jan, lock-up yer Jamesons affair, in West Cumbria, so I was somewhat surprised to read in the Daily Telegraph: The English just can't get the hang of New Year. Only the Geordies and Scousers know how to do New Year properly, otherwise it's best left to the Scots. "More UK Establishment prejudice against England"? No,...

That Communist dictator regime in Cuba: what have they got to do with Energy Performance Certificates? Watch the remarkable abridged video - Cuba has lots to teach...

Could Gordon Brown yet stand down before the next election? It's possible. Here's today's "Preview of the Year" column from today's Journal.Chelsea will regain the Premiership title, the Man Booker Prize will be won by a book about India, Kate Winslet will win an Oscar, King Kev will not return to St James’ Park, and it will snow in April.Next to UK politics, sport, award ceremonies and the British weather are relatively easy things to predict these days.But what will the next 12 months hold for Messrs Brown, Cameron, Clegg and Co after a year in which expecting the unexpected became the only real political certainty?Will 2009 be equally unpredictable – or will we see politics start to return to something approaching “normality?” Well, here are four consequential predictions for...

Us at the KH3.NET Staff would like to wish everyone a happy New Years! In 2008, we had a lot of good times. We learned more and more about not only one more installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, but three! Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts Coded show a very promising future indeed! Now that 2009 has finally arrived, everyone in the Kingdom Hearts world is buzzing with excitement as the release date for the games draw closer and closer. As the time gets shorter, we are sure to learn much much more about the games, so make sure you check back here often so you do not fall behind! Again, Happy New Years from all of us at the KH3.NET Staff! DON’T FORGET TO JOIN OUR NEWLY UPGRADED...

If "Annie Lennox, Alexei Sayle, Ken Livingstone, Bianca Jagger and George Galloway" are condemning Israel's retaliatory strikes on Hamas, Israel must be doing the right thing QED!PS I must have been out when they were condemning Hamas rocket attacks on Israel!PPS Should these "celebrities" really be rubbing shoulders with Mohammed Sawalha, President of the British Muslim Initative who allegedly “master minded much of Hamas’ political and military strategy” and in London “is alleged to have directed funds, both for Hamas’ armed wing, and for spreading its missionary dawah”? Hattip: Harry's...

From a very stressful period leading up to Christmas, we end up having a ball. Even when son J. fails to turn up for our family Christmas meal on Boxing day, we don't let it get us down. Hazel and I cackle with laughter as we munch down on "just one more" chocolate and knock back another glass of wine. We must look like demented fools. It could be the sugar. We have ended up with 7 large boxes of chocolates, all gifts from friends. Duh! Hasn't ANYONE noticed we've been dieting for a year! Still, as its Christmas, we try and work through the lot. Oink! Oink!I have to go into work during the holiday period which is a pain. I let the few team members who turn up at the office go home early but am forced, through gritted teeth, to sit it out myself until the clock slowly works its way round...

This Week's Theme: Take a favorite character you have created. Pick a New Year’s Resolution that they truly intended to keep. Now, why did they break it within 24 hours?"After due consideration I believe it is in the best interests of both myself and the organisation if I resign my commission. I appreciate all that Your Excellency has done for me, and I am truly grateful, however my experience during the Sarajevo mission has convinced me that I am unsuited for the tasks this organisation was created to deal with.Please accept this resignation as effective from today, 1 January 1998.Yours sincerelyGideon Strangechild, Cpt. (ret.)The second hand on the desk clock ticked steadily towards the top of the dial. As it swept past 12, Gideon raised a glass of water and toasted the hour....

Happy New Year from Charlie and I.  We hope you had a safe night and were not too scared by any fireworks overnight. We have been out this morning for a walk by the side of the River Eden.   The... Follow Charlie and Buster as they look at life from the other end of the lead...

Start the new year with a bang, well sort of. I have just checked YouTube and found that I have blasted my way past another YouTube milestone. The video I shot in a former Soviet secret nuclear submarine base in the Crimea in the Ukraine two years ago has now had 100,000 viewings. If you really want to, you can see the video on the following link:...

You can breathe easily this week, as I’m not going to embarrass myself by running around looking for something vaguely photo-worthy at the last minute. An FPB with no P… what in the world next, eh? There’ll not be a great deal of the usual reportage either, because I actually did very little of a practical nature in the last fortnight (despite trying to, in a few cases). Instead, there has been a lot of that festive and seasonal stuff going on. You know - going out, seeing family and friends, eating too much, drinking to excess. And hell knows I suffered for the latter yesterday… Resolutions However, I’ll not be suffering that way again for some time. After various experiments with shorter terms of abstinence in recent months, I have decided that 2009 will be...

The cause of the fire in the Thai nightclub that claimed at least 61 lives has yet to be officially determined but this video gives you a good idea of what might of...

Welcome back to the land of the living! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas, ate far too much, relaxed, and are raring to go for a great 2009. I happily did all of the above, and today I’ve been busy thinking of what to set as my New Year’s Resolution for 2009. Yeah, yeah, I know I should have decided before the clock struck 12 on New Year’s Eve, but hey, I was too busy partying! My New Year’s Resolution is actually one from a feature we’ve created for all you people looking to be that teeny bit more compassionate this year but need the motivation and know-how to get the cogs in motion. And no, I’m not just shamelessly promoting the feature, there are some great ideas on there that will benefit both you and the animals. Everyone’s a winner! So,...

Lots of ancient music on BBC Four over the next few days… Tonight there is Prog at the BBC (Yes, Genesis, ELP, BJH, Caravan, etc. playing in the BBC studios in the 70s) followed by Prog Britannia (documentary). Over the next few days there is also Mark Lawson talking to Phil Collins, Genesis in concert plus the tour documentary, a Time Shift episode about prog rock and a 1974 film of Mike Oldfield playing Tubular Bells.  I think the V+ box is going to be busy this weekend - lots to record and watch when Mrs Skuds, who has much more modern tastes, is not...

Christmas Catch Up So I hope that you have all had a good Christmas and New Year. The kids have discovered Daddy’s competitive edge on the Wii to the extent that they are now practising hard at Wii Sports. The connection problems suffered whilst we are away seem to have been solved although for how long is anyone’s guess. It has been a mixed holiday period on the pitch. Before the two matches, Arsene would probably have settled for four points. Looking back, I have little doubt that he will be feeling it should have been six but quite easily could have been one. The visit to Villa Park was a match hard to digest. The hosts quite rightly felt that they should have been over the hill and far away before Denilson robbed Reo-Coker and finished coolly. When Diaby gave a tantalising...

Well Happy New Year woodworking folk! My only resolution was not to make any - thus breaking it by its very existence. Might as well get it over and done with, eh? Whilst idly looking for something else, I ran across this photo from 1925: Quote: Mr Glenister, who runs a tobacconist shop but makes violins as a hobby, at work on a violin. Have fun playing 'spot the tool'. Nice shot of a means...

FA Cup, West Ham - Barnsley, 3 Jan, who will win? Dedicated to Barnsley FC and it's fans. Documenting the ramblings of a Barnsley season ticket holder - On the Ponty End. "When you know which side of your bread's......

If 2009 is about saving money then you have to look at your mobile expenditure as a matter of urgency. If you're not on the best tariff then you need to change...

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } New Year Sunset Ardrossan Harbour, originally uploaded by ♥ Silverstar ♥ "Happy New Year". Happy New Year Everyone...

Mr Tweedy’s bird flu took hold of me yesterday, which left me in no mood to write, so new year greetings come a day late. Happy New Year.It’s difficult to imagine how this year could be better than the last one – the highlight of 2008, our wedding, will take some beating – but Matchgirl and I are optimistic. We’ve the safari honeymoon to look forward to, various career-related hopes, greater use of the motorcycle, my literary aspirations and Matchgirl’s search for the perfect automobile. Plus, there’s always the unexpected…This will also be the year when Shaker finds fame, fortune, artistic recognition and plays its first gigs outside Ross-shire. Adam has anticipated our success by creating a band Bebo site, Shaker Rocks. I now feel very...

. As the hangovers fade and the memories of 2008 rescind, people around the world are finding that the promises made to loved ones and to themselves on New Year's Eve are being kicked into the long grass faster than ever before.Tom Meiner of Woodbury, Minnesota had planned to quit drinking on New Years Day 2009, but his wife Sarah had also secretly pledged to leave him and take the kids. When Tom woke up at 11am and realised they were gone, he reached for the gin and spent the rest of the day in his own alcoholic private hell.The monks of the Order of St.Hefner in County Sligo, Ireland made a promise to the Bishop of Elphin that they would stop downloading hardcore porn and free up the diocesan bandwidth. But Brother Peter received an email at 6am on New Years Day promising free hot girl...

William Hague has promised that the Tories will defend the pound for all eternity:We would never join the euro. The jobs and businesses of this country are too important ever to sign away our right to do our utmost to defend them.This amuses me. Being a political anorak, I remember Hague – as party leader during the 2001 election campaign – doing interview after interview in which he awkwardly dodged making exactly this commitment, not wanting to upset the Europhiles in his party. His stock phrase was “no Parliament can bind its successor”. Here he is being Paxmanned:JEREMY PAXMAN: Would a party led by you ever vote in favour of the euro? WILLIAM HAGUE: It will not do so in the next Parliament in the next Government. I set the policy for the next Government. You were accusing me a...

January 2009 Football GossipMay I just take this opportunity to wish all Premier League fans a very happy and prosperous new year. I certainly hope to deliver you with great football news and welcome all comments about my footie blog going into 2009.I absolutely love this time of year, the winter transfer window makes football journalists, forum members and club fans chin wag and speculate on who is coming/leaving all league clubs. So what's happening in the market....?One of the most obvious transfer rumours linking Jermaine Defoe to his old club Tottenham Hotspur became stronger today when Tony Adams said that Defoe may have played his last game for Pompey. Defoe, loved by the Tottenham faithful has performed teriffically for Portsmouth but is strongly linked with Harry Redknapp who has...

Kick start your New Year with style by stepping into the shoes of Christiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney – after all it’s the new fantastic Nintendo Fifa 09 Wii all – play wii game. Savour the never before football experience with a classic '11 vs. 11' simulation and over-the-top arcade action with Wii versions of your all your favourite football legends. The unparalleled gameplay unleashes the football capabilities in you with an added option of 8 vs. 8 mini match as well. Expert Gamers in fact can access all the in-depth controls with using a precision passing system with point-and-play control. Last but not the least you can also create customized football players with all you need to do is just pay £25 for the......

NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION: SATURDAY 3 JANUARY HANDS OFF GAZA: STOP THE BOMBING: FREE PALESTINE ASSEMBLE 12.30 PM EMBANKMENT, LONDON WC2 Nearest tube Embankment or Charing Cross A national emergency demonstration has been called for Saturday 3 January by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War, British Muslim Initiative, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and many other organisations, assembling at 12.30pm at Embankment WC2. More info and updates from:...

Counterknowledge gives us a helpful run down of 10 bullshit hangover cures: the only thing that generates more charlatanry than hangover cures is baldness. Nevertheless we've all got one. Mine is Isotonic sports drinks and marmite on toast, on the basis that at least part of a hangover's symptoms are caused by dehydration, a sports drink should help. Having bland food in the gut should help with the nausia. The best thing to do, though is go back to bed, and let your body deal with the alcohol metabolytes in its own good time.Alas, it is now the second of January, the market is open and bed is not an option.Happy new......

Guardian, Wednesday 24 December 2008.The universities secretary, John Denham, still smarting from the furore sparked by his decision to cut £100m funding for students taking a second bachelor's degree ("equivalent or lower qualifications" or ELQs in the jargon) at the end of 2007, announced a wide review of the future of higher education in England. He commissioned reports from various vice-chancellors and others that were eventually published in the autumn.Universities were rapped over the knuckles for failing to encourage poorer pupils to go on to higher education before research in the spring revealed that all the government's efforts to widen participation had effectively been in vain. And despite protestations to the contrary from the government, the Sutton Trust found that tuition...

Today I was hoping start the new year off with a bang by landing a fish on new years day, I was hoping to try the Fendrod but with the heavy frost we had last night I didn't feel that Carp fishing would pay off today, so I packed the car and headed towards Neath to try a spot of Pike fishing but my plans were foiled when I got to the Neath Canal as it was completely froze over.The Neath CanalSo, undeterred I packed the gear back into the car and headed for the Tennant Canal, with its steadier flow I was hoping it might not be frozen but I was wrong that too was frozen over. This dashed all my hopes of catching a fish on new year day so I decided to get back in the car and head over to the Fendrod and see if there was anyone as stupid as me and had gone out fishing on new years day.The...

Happy New Year! It's the first of January, and this is my first post of 2009. I admit I have rather a hangover - a real head-thumping humdinger in fact - the first for about a decade - so forgive me, if my thinking seems a little wooly... It seemed appropriate to reflect a little on the turning of the year. Last night, of course, we moved from one calendar year into the next. But the year is 'turning' in other ways, too. The winter solstice last week was the moment when the days began to grow longer and the nights began to grow shorter. And it's called the 'solstice' (as I can confidently tell you, because I did Latin at school!) because the sun (sol, from solus), which has been getting lower in the sky throughout the winter so far, stands still (stasis) for a few days before it begins to...

While you could never countenance agreeing with some top Tories' claims that the recession can be "good for us", it's also the case that the new year may mark a turning point and - we can but hope - encourage us to put some of the ephemera that have characterised not just 2008, but the last decade, behind us. Futurist Richard Watson, writing in the Times on New Year's Eve, labelled some of our obsessions of the past period of time as "ridiculous diversions", including among them pretentious job titles, plastic surgery and overblown things and past-times from owning expensive sports cars to dress-down Fridays. Essentially, his thesis is that a new age of 'seriousness' is upon us - anything which reeks of being spun and of being an extravagance will be looked down upon, while unvarnished,...

Before the first day of the New Year is out I'd better get around to making my 9 predictions of 2009. 1. There will be a General Election. I expect it around April and not being held of to the same time as the Euro elections in June. Because I don't think Gordon is convinced holding off once polls appear to be in favour too long will do any good.. ...for the party, bugger the country....

Can I make a new year's resolution for you? How about this:Subscribe to the BBC Radio 3 Music Matters podcast. The one about Music and the Brain in November was really good, exploring neuroscience and how music changes our emotional states, and how the brain can even conjure up sounds. The programme includes tentative attempts to project music from thought.I think that subscribing to the podcast usually gives you the option to get recent programmes as well as the current one (though I might be wrong about this).On a similar subject, the surprisingly good In Business podcasts are worth getting as well. The current programme - 'all that Jazz' - is about music and innovation. Annoyingly, though, this programme can't be put out as a podcast because of copyright material that is included. But...

Well the champagne has been popped, the glasses have been raised and here we are in 2009! I'm feeling very optimistic about this new year - 2008 was a generally a very good year for me and I hope that 2009 will be even better. But before I start looking forward I thought I'd take one last glance over my shoulder at the year that was, culinary speaking. So here is 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' 2008, in pictures (click on each photograph to view the associated blog post).JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovember...

next week, 10th of january i'm planning a n0shIT get together (this means a mezze of a variety of greek food) at the mykonos (mykonosburton.com) in burton for a catchup with all my virtual/local friends to see what your plans and projects are for the new year. i'll be hopefully heading out stateside the week after so i wanted to get in a sit down meal with friends before i headed out. I'm hoping that some of you in the south surrounded by the invisible forcefield will try to be in attendance. Trust me, it has a level of fromage factor rarely found in the uk. Let me know if your coming by sticking your name in the comments or by dropping me an email or tweet. click contact for various contact details for me. It's £10 a head (three course) i normally shout for beers and......

Goodbye 2008, hello 2009. Made many resolutions for your business this New Year? Perhaps you’re reflecting on 2008, and wondering what opportunities 2009 will bring. Perhaps you’re taking a look around the current market and worrying how the credit crunch may eat into your business revenues this coming year. Perhaps you’re starting to wonder how you are going to distinguish yourself from your competition. Whatever resolutions are set, most business owners are probably worrying about how they avoid the fate of Woolworths, and other UK retailers. My tip for 2009 is simple: avoid mediocre as if your business depends on it (it does). In my view, the problem with Woolies was that no-one ever left their house thinking ‘I must pop into Woolworths for ______‘ - they...

Happy New Year! And to celebrate here are a couple of album downloads for you. High Fidelity looks at two albums produced by Zaine Griff. If you know your Ultravox, your Yellow Magic Orchestra or your Hans Zimmer then you may well have come across Zaine. If you like synth-pop in the vein of Visage, Ultravox et al then you'll probably like the two Zaine albums Ashes And Diamonds and...

Happy New Year everyone. I wish you all health, happiness and peace in 2009. If you get those you are wealthy...okay, the gas board won't accept them as legal tender but trust me they are true wealth. From every angle we are told how awful 2009 will be. It may be the effect of Pollyanna being shown on tv today but I live in hope that sometimes the worst of times brings out the best of people. One thing I would like to see, or rather hear, is a change of vocab' in 2009. I'm so bored of 'chav', 'gay' and the continual removal of vowels by the under 16s. I would like to see some words I haven't heard in recent years make a comeback, notably: cadswallop, rapscallion, twaddle, huzzah and whither. And whatever you do, try and do something the Daily Mail would brand as beyond the boundaries...

I came across that account of winter through T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Journey of the Magi." It's not a poem I greatly admire but I dutifully followed the reference in Southam's student notes and discovered the sermons of Lancelot Andrews. I couldn't agree with Andrews' theology - he was a high church Anglican and defender of the Divine Right of Kings - but I loved the way evocative phrases emerged from his careful translation and exposition, often in the movement between Latin and English. The passage quoted in the title of this post concludes by drifting into Latin and back to English: "in solstitio brumali, the very dead of winter." Andrews may be trying to conjure up the journey of the wise men but, for me, what he offers is a harsh English winter, thick frost on the countryside and...

Some interesting research today in the Independent: The research concluded that Mr Clegg was the Liberal Democrats' best asset even though he is unknown to many voters. The party's strategy in the new year will be based on giving him as high a profile as possible. It's the old story. When shown photos and videos of Cleggie, the great British public warm to him. The biggest problem is that...

I’m not making any new years resolutions this year. Traditions can be a great for instance buying a Christmas tree is a great way of celebrating the commercial nature of our mid winter festival but I find the tradition of making a new years resolution merely a prelude to a pang of disappointment and self loathing somewhere around the end of the month if I exceed expectations or the end of the first week if I’m being more realistic. Anyway I have bigger things to worry about this new year as in only a few short months I shall be heading through the big three O. This is a fate I’m sharing with one Ariane Sherine.You know Ariane the atheist bus conductress. She captures the horror in far more eloquent prose than our own poor power to add or subtract can muster....

A handful of predictions for the coming year, made by Vaughan Roderick (begrudgingly):I'm always in a bad mood on New Year's Eve, and in one word here's the reason - predictions. For some reason there's a tradition for poeple like me to put their head on the block and and predict what might happen over the next twelve months. This puts somebody in quite a predicament. It's quite easy to play safe and form a list of things that are likely to happen. I could predict that Nick Bourne's trials and tribulations will continue and that Rhodri will keep his word and retire - but what would be the point of that? I could be a little more daring and predict that Jonathan Morgan and Carwyn Jones will be the Conservative and Labour leaders at the end of 2009, or braver still by swapping those...

Made a New Year’s resolution? Of course not, you’re all completely perfect already. Admittedly, I did acquire a new pair of running shoes in the sales and I’ve taken special care to walk through ankle deep mud in them, just so no one would think they were brand spanking new when I went for a...

Happy New Year to you all and thanks for all the support I've had from everyone over the last year, the rumour mill has gone into action over the last few days with news that the name of the person to take over from David Tennant will be announced just after the screening of Doctor Who Confidential: The Ten Doctors which goes out on Saturday the 3rd at 17:35 on BBC 1, (over 45 years have passed since the TARDIS first landed on our screens on a cold November evening in 1963. Doctor Who Confidential takes a look back at ten incarnations of the wandering Time Lord, reliving some of his most heroic moments and terrifying adventures, and examining the menacing monsters, colourful costumes and faithful companions which defined each Doctor.) this of course is just a rumour but we'll all have to...

To roughly translate how we say it in Russian, "to the new year, to the new...

... from FOX News (via). Also, some perspective for...

Each year, I try to write a quiz for any New Year's Eve party that I go to. This year has been no different, so below is the quiz and its answers in a separate document (both Word documents)...

The world in 2009 is set to be gloomy be you poor or well-off, a C2 or A1, employed or self-employed. Except if you're a teacher in the stat system or working as a startup in the online creative sector.The former will see growth as rich kids from the private schools transfer to the comp as mummy and daddy-the-former-investment-banker can't afford to pay the fees any more, the latter enjoying a good part of a £1 billion (or $1b or €1b) innovation fund from the UK Government, and 4iP in Scotland continuing to attract proportionally more investment and potential spend than any other area in the UK.For the rest of you, many of whose place in a web-driven world will only become more fudged unless significant change occurs soon, the Rev IM Jolly sums it up. Happy New Year indeed. For the...

Lindsay and I celebrated New Year's Eve by not going out; our only gesture towards the festival was to watch the fireworks on the South Bank 2-3 miles away from John William's window at the top of the house. Its not a very good view, not only because its so distant, but also because there are some trees in the way. Then we took a hot water bottle to bed with us. JW, needless to say, was out on the tiles until daylight, and this evening he's going to Alastair's.The pictures below are of dinner on December 30, with Jay and Jeremy, their house guest Innocent, who is at Atlantic College, and...

A Happy New Year to all visitors to Caledonian Comment. After the holiday this blog intends to recommence its regular, relentless onslaught on pomposity, political correctness, fairy-tale religious bigotry, governmental incompetence, official ineptitude, mindless banality and corrupt, greedy bankers and stock marketeers with renewed vigour and tenacious contempt. Watch this space. -...

I hope that, wherever you are, you enjoyed the extra second imposed upon you by the imperialist forces of the dominant scientific-capitalist worldview and that you have a prosperous 2009. As for my year so far, I jogged wearily to the gym this morning, dreading the crowds of resolutioners (though it hasn’t been too bad in the...

Happy New Year! I imagine that almost every blogger in the western world will be blogging on a similar theme today, but despite that I decided to add to the blog-clutter of the new year and have my say! I was conspicuously absent from the blogosphere for a goodly while, this time last year, but I distinctly remember making pen-and-paper lists of things that I hoped to achieve by 2009. Well, as with everyone, some things were done while others were shelved or put on a back burner. I think almost everyone makes lists or resolutions which are challenging at best, or hopelessly unachievable (my usual!) at worst! I’ve read through the blogs which I follow, and most of them have hopes and aspirations for the coming year, some more specific than others. But one in particular stuck out in...

The last throw of the dice, or not even bothering to roll it ? Whatever way you look at it, the decision by the Charlton board to make Phil Parkinson permanent manager is a huge gamble, one likely to shape the short-term future of our club. It is a bold decision, but based on no form of sound logic, factual evidence or previous statements, and everything to do with taking the soft option, the one least likely to have an immediate financial impact. Whether what to be gained by short-term savings will later be widely outstripped by long-term suffering is yet to be seen. It is a decision the club knew would be met by derision from its own fans, and ridicule by those of rival clubs. Releasing bad news at quiet times could not have been more in evidence than announcing it on the afternoon of...

Here’s hoping for a good year for everyone in 2009. The last year was a tough one so I’ve been looking forward to the New Year for some time. So far, so good as incipient flu meant very little drinking last night so I am in a better state than usual for January...

Aims for this year are to have a wonderful wedding and honeymoon without turning into a bridezilla, and to find a new job.  That's all. ...

A ‘must’ for design-related firms planning a New Year mailout: a new set of Royal Mail stamps, British Design Classics (PDF link, 3Mb). On sale 13th January 09, and two have West Midlands connections — featuring the Spitfire (designed by Mitchell, of Stoke-on-Trent / produced at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham), and the Mini car (first put into production at Longbridge, Birmingham, in...

Happy New Year Bonne Année...

New Year used to be celebrated by banging dustbin lids. It's not the same now we have wheely bins.And we didn't hear anyone banging saucepans either. Something to do with ready meals? Focus on Sodbury, Yate and...

I hope you have as happy a new year as these two clearly...

In my case, the main tradition for New Year’s Day is seeing how long I can put off clearing up the aftermath of last night’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. Right now I have managed to drink four cups of coffee and have spent two hours gazing out of the window at the extraordinary amount of detretis from fireworks which currently litters our courtyard, without fetching the broom. Fireworks - the aftermath The temperature outside is minus five. That’s ear-freezingly nippy. I think I’ll just put on another pot of coffee….       ...

UK Libertarian Party: A first UK Libertarian Party New Year.Click on the link to read a New Year message from the Libertarian Party's chairman....

Now seems as good a time as any to mention that there are going to be some changes around here.To cut a long story short, I've been taken under the wing of Old Mr Anorak and his hugely talented team.I will continue to run the page, but with the added benefit of a lot of technical and creative experience who'll develop it. The changes and new features will begin soon. Happy New...

"Happy New Year from all at Smiths News Crawley"NEWSPAPER INFORMATIONAll titles are in and packed.There are no re runs this morning.FIRST ROUND AWAY AT 3.30LAST ROUND AWAY AT 5.05PUBLISHER ARRIVAL TIMESDAILY MAIL 2.00DAILY MIRROR 2.25DAILY EXPRESS 2.50DAILY STAR 2.50INDEPENDENT 2.25SUN 3.10DAILY TELEGRAPH 3.00TIMES 3.10GUARDIAN 2.50SPORT Not PublishedRACING POST 2.25FINANCIAL TIMES Not Published These time off of the Smiths News Buletin this morning show another great set of arrival times that means that we start 2009 as we ended 2008 with an extention to our re-run free period. Now grown to 41 days. Absolutely brilliant. It helped greatly this morning as we had most of our delivery team taking a day off so it was down to the my wife, my son and myself to take an extended trip around the...

It’s far from being all over. Happy New Year, and happy (or, often, emotionally mangling) New Adventures! The 1963 Pilot episode’s TV premiere and the wildly creative Battlefield novelisation both suggest new beginnings, and Virgin starts publishing Doctor Who’s most cohesive and inspiring continuation between 1989 and 2005. A linked theme of the villainous ‘Timewyrm’ runs through such books as Terrance Dicks’ Nazis-and-time-warlord novel Exodus and…Doctor Who: The New Adventures – Timewyrm: Revelation “You mean I’m dead?”“…Oxygen starvation, brought about from finding yourself on the moon having believed the place to be Norfolk. I do believe that’s unique.” Paul Cornell expands the boundaries of Doctor Who original novels [and the minds of his readers] in a...

Happy New Year!To any readers who still stop by and visit me... Thank you for your patience whilst my posting has been sporadic. Until some ongoing behind-the-scenes issues have been resolved, my blogging output will remain intermittent and irregular at best. In the meantime, I wish you all good health, success and happiness in 2009. By all accounts it's set to be a tough year - so good luck!Best wishes,© 2009 Sam Breach© 2008 Sam Breach at "Becks & Posh", becksposhnosh.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at might be guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright....

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,The flying cloud, the frosty light:The year is dying in the night;Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.Ring out the old, ring in the new,Ring, happy bells, across the snow:The year is going, let him go;Ring out the false, ring in the true.Ring out the grief that saps the mind,For those that here we see no more;Ring out the feud of rich and poor,Ring in redress to all mankind.Ring out a slowly dying cause,And ancient forms of party strife;Ring in the nobler modes of life,With sweeter manners, purer laws.Ring out the want, the care, the sin,The faithless coldness of the times;Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,But ring the fuller minstrel in.Ring out false pride in place and blood,The civic slander and the spite;Ring in the love of truth and...

Happy New Year to all our readers and friends, I hope you all have a great 2009, and thanks to all our readers and friends for all their support in 2008. See you all tomorrow with lots more gadgets and cool geek gear. This is a post from Geeky Gadgets, who bring you the latest news on the coolest gadgets. Happy New......

If you’re reading this, you survived new year’s eve. If you’re reading this, you survived 2008. Well done you. Give yourself a pat on the back. If you’re writing this, it wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be. Truthfully, I knew I’d survive, I just wasn’t sure in what state. But I’m OK. Today I was not raped by a bear.       ...

Happy New Year!   Personally it went better than could have been expected - apart from not finalising the new blog layout and being away in Somerset with family… hopefullly “coming soon” after I get home which will be late tonight… so not even starting on it before the second and still a lot of design issues to sort...

webmink posted a photo: We were given a pot of bulbs in December, which has been quietly sprouting and growing on the window sill in the kitchen. Around midnight on New Year's Day it decided the time was perfect for the first bud to flower, and this gorgeous daffodil emerged, as if to say that 2009 is indeed a new year and beautiful things can happen in...

Have a Wonderful, Happy & Prosperous...

I was in a famous London bistro last night, arm wrestling Gordon Ramsay for blind orphans (to aid them, not win them), when I was reminded that I hardly lead an ordinary life. There I was, surrounded by some of London’s top showbiz personalities (and Noel Edmonds too), who had gathered together for a good cause and were happy to dip into their millions to put money on my opponent to win. A lesser man might have been compliant but I had the orphans in mind. A victory for me would be a victory for the cause of bouncy castles and trips to Conway. I couldn’t care less if the bout was so one sided. These celebrities couldn’t know that arm wrestling is one of my party tricks and that I’m impossible to beat due to extended arches in my ball sockets. What began as a slight genetic...

Have a Wonderful, Happy & Prosperous...

Happy 2009! What will it bring us I wonder? Well there are four more Doctor Who adventures, which will probably have Confidentials too, then there is the Torchwood five part series called Children of Earth in the late spring, possibly with Declassifieds, and we have The Sarah Jane Adventures Season three in the autumn too, so all is not bleak.Sadly Peace on Earth seems impossible :( All the best everyone, may 2009 be the year you...

Yes, it’s the time of year when all good bloggers write a time-delayed post to totally clog up the Internet… What happened last year? Well, the world economy took a definite turn for the worst as y’all know. We were expecting that to hit us bad but what it did in practice was to change the nationality mix which we normally get over the summer from Brits/French to German/Dutch/Danish/French and generally lengthened the average stay which in turn bumped up the profitability. Somehow I fancy that the economic downturn won’t be quite so benign on the travel industry over the coming year. I did what was supposedly the hardest course in the university as the final one for my modern language degree and found it to be the easiest one that I’ve yet done. The net...

Hi everyone, from all my heart I wish you a Happy New Year 2009. I wish that the New Year will bring hapiness in your family and that all your dreams come true. And as a treat for my blog readers, this new year I have updated my theme to a new Wordpress Windows Vista Style Areo Glass Theme. Features include: Striking Glass-style design Drop Shadows Transparency Taskbar-style pages list Glowing Options Orb Seven user selectable sub-themes Void, Life, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire and Lightweight Cookie saves user’s preference for 30 days Default Theme is admin selectable Easy Navigation “Taskbar Preview” style menus when you hover over page buttons - makes finding pages a snap! Cross Browser Functionality IE6, IE7, FF2/3, Safari 1-3, Chrome NOTE: IE6 Functionality is just...

Yes, it’s that time of year yet again when all good bloggers write a time delayed post to totally clog up the Internet and do their review of the year. So, what did we get up to this year? Well, for one thing, this blog was born on February 1st. I’ve actually had the domain for getting on for 10 years now but had previously just used it as somewhere to pick up email and for testing other websites from time to time. The plan was that it would be a trully personal blog with content that interested me as time went by. One side effect of that is that it’s collected together essentially the things that didn’t fit into my other blogs which has had the result that posts here haven’t been quite so frequent as I’d originally expected them to be. That’s...

And as another year draws to a close, where are we?It was a pretty rough year up to the autumn, with Gordon's position as leader under very real threat, with each week bringing a new deadline for him to improve or to face the 'men in suits' turning up to urging him to do the decent thing. All this was so far away from last summer, when Brown could do no wrong and the Tories were on the run. We had a year of battering in the opinion polls - with Tory leads of 10-20 points, more than enough to guarantee a solid majority at the next election. They seemed unstoppable...And then came the crash. The Tories - ever the friends of the free-marketeers and the 'light touch' banking fraternity (something that Labour has also perhaps embraced a little too willingly, enjoying the benefits of a decade...

A great picture by James of me sitting at the bench - Rangetastic! Have all the 'crack shot' jokes been made already? With the new year begining; the economy sliding, Google soaking up all the advertising budgets, loafer wearing smart arses not being in demand the way we once were, and me and the gorgeous Mrs SBW no longer an item, I've decided give myself a kick up the arse and to go to...

Happy New Year to all our readers and visitors. We can’t believe it’s been another year already, hope everyone had a wonderful time with their friends and family during the Christmas break, 2009 is here! We have some great plans for improvement in the near future, many thanks to all who contributed to feedbacks and comments. Also we realise many have sometime found problems accessing our blog, we have now a good idea of the cause of this issue and thus our first priority for 2009 is to move our blog to a larger more stable server, please stay tuned for that news. For now, let’s party! Written by: GadgetLite - Latest gadgets and technology news... Click and comment on the post you've just read: GadgetLite wishes Happy New Year 2009 to...

Happy New Year Gaj-Iteers! Wow I can’t believe 2009 is here. It’s scary how quickly the past year has gone. Anyhow, it’s the New Year, which also means New Year’s Resolutions. Now this usually means one thing to girls (never heard a guy say it yet) – diet!! So here are Gaj-Its top 10 gadgets for keeping fit and losing weight this New Year!...

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A wee change.Wishing all the very best for 2009. I've posted this shot of Loch Tulla for all the ex-pat Clydesider's throughout the world. Good luck to...

New Year's Day My Ninth Birthday:Hooray, I am NINE![R: He is eight; we have this every year...]Today we will be mainly playing JAMES BOND using my NEW Hi-Tech device…Maybe THIS will help me keep up with my Diary!PS: Happy New Year...

Danny is on chicken shepherding duties this week. “If we go with the names Peace and Hope, the one that pecks would have to be Hope. Arsenic and Old Lace are by far the most apposite names.” “Miss Pecky will calm down. She’s just ratted because she’s being bullied. Holly and Ivy would be good. Miss P could be Holly. Difficult to pick up. We need to find your gauntlets so that when she pecks you it doesn’t hurt so much.” “I like Frankincense and Myrrh but I’d rather reserve that for new pair of chickens. Frank is a great name for a cockerel.” D has a thing about the F name. The new Wynadottes are slowly settling into their new life in the cottage chicken run but they refuse to go up to the chicken house dormitory at night. They prefer to roost on the roof. This would be...

Happy New Year to all! I wish you all the very best for 2009 and ...

2008 was a mixed year for most.  Economically, certainly the most unusual and shocking in my living memory.  Oenologically, one of the most interesting for different reasons. I explored a wide range of wines from a litany of suppliers serving us through clicks and sometimes bricks.  Wines have ranged from the decadent to the indecent, the sublime to the slime, the super duper to the pooper scooper. For personal and professional reasons I have found myself eating out more than usual in the last 12 months.  My regular haunts of London, Leeds and Manchester all have nice places to offer, but finding VFM has not been easy.  I predict that with falling oil prices bringing the cost of food back to manageable levels, and customers more concerned with paying off debt with the spectre of...

As 2008 draws to a close, I take pride in being able to offer the first New Years message from the Libertarian Party.   This is the first year that the Libertarian Party in the UK has been in operation, having launched itself into the public arena on the 1st January 2008. During this year we have purposely kept our size and numbers close to our chest as the party has steadily grown in strength and members throughout the year, not least because we did not wish to alarm those in the established mainstream parties as to the groundswell of public opinion that has quietly risen and is eagerly awaiting news of a general election.   2008 has seen yet more civil and personal liberties being swept away under the relentless tide of new and draconian laws, ever changing by...

At work, we are given a choice between working on Boxing Day or working on the 2 January. I have always opted to take 2 January off, even though I tend not to drink much on Hogmanay — certainly not enough for me still to be hungover two days later. Sure enough, this year I have no plans to see in the new year with a bang. (Even if I did, I probably wouldn’t be able to attend, as I’ve been hit by some winter disease that has taken it right out of me. Yesterday I was sent home from work, and when I got home I went straight to bed and accidentally fell asleep. This was at around 16:30. I stayed asleep more or less right through until 08:30 this morning. I feel better today, but still in no form to celebrate properly.) Nonetheless, it feels right to work on Boxing Day rather...

It is that time of year when we like to reflect on what has happened during the year and look forward to what will be in 2009. Here in the UK the ‘Credit Crunch’ has dominated the headlines and had an effect on business in all areas and for sure the effect will be felt in 2009 and passibly beyond. Ignoring the Credit Crunch for now, then 2008 has seen VoIP widely adopted and accepted by businesses and we all need to try and continue this in 2009, where clear savings can be demonstrated then businesses will be looking for for such technology. Early indications have shown that GSM gateways will be more readily adopted as for the vast majority of businesses really big savings on mobile costs can be demonstrated and remember to talk to us about our ranges from Topex and Teles....

An excellent statement by Jewish Voices for Peace on the current Gaza conflict.Jewish Voice for Peace joins millions around the world, including the 1,000 Israelis who protested in the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, in condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. We call for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.Israel's slow strangulation of Gaza through blockade has caused widespread suffering to the 1.5 million people of Gaza due to lack of food, electricity, water treatment supplies and medical equipment. It is a violation of humanitarian law and has been widely condemned around the world.In resisting this strangulation, Hamas resumed launching rockets and mortars from Gaza into southern Israel, directly targeting civilians, which is also a war...

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year,with hopes that all your troubles be small......

Happy New Year to one and all from Edinburgh, and a good riddance to 2008 I say... Clara...

We would like to wish our readers a very Happy New Year and for all those right-thinking people out there that see the EU federal project for what it is, take heart: the Czech presidency of the EU starting tomorrow should be a very interesting one if President Vaclav Klaus has anything to do with it! 2009 is probably the last chance we have to stop the EU federal project. By the time the...

... to all my lovely (& loyal) readers :)And to all those who've accidentally hopped on to my blog after Googling `lass sex', `lass dog sex' and `buttock love' a Happy New Year to you too, you pesky...

Happy new year to one and all, here's hoping that 2009 turns out to be a good...

Greetings from a snow-covered Walkden! We seem to have had the optimum amount of snow today - that is, enough to create a nice picturesque wintry atmosphere but not enough to grind the entire world to a halt. Anyway I’m off out to see in the New Year with friends shortly, so I thought I’d make a quick post here to wish everyone all the best for New Year, and here’s to a successful and happy...

Happy New Year! The Menston Community Association and Menston Parish Council wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.  From the Menston Village...

The Doc presents his 2009 economic outlookSo now Dr Doom reckons he's lost a packet in Mr Madeoffwithyourmoney's Doom Fund.Well, that's all very well, but how do we know Henry "Dr Doom" Kaufman is the real Dr Doom? I mean anybody can claim to be the good Doctor, and these days there are any number of jokers doing just that.Take Nouriel "Dr Doom" Roubini, the economics prof from NYU. He's for ever popping up on telly to scare our pants off, and is always introduced as Doc D:Then there's Mark "Dr Doom" Faber, who is so doomy he actually publishes the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report:Then there was Tony "Dr Doom" Dye, the City fund manager who sadly died this year.Which one is the genuine article? How many do we need?Do try to have a happy New Year. Because as the Doctors Doom keep telling us, it...

Predictions for the coming year are a tricky business (though "things will continue to get worse" would seem to be a fairly safe bet) but some things we can be fairly sure of. Such as the fact that nothing, but nothing, will deflect the government from its increasingly demented campaign to turn Britain into a nation-sized realisation of Jeremy Bentham's panopticon. One of several interlinked Home Office proposals is to spend up to (i.e. at least) 12 billion of our increasingly worthless pounds on a massive database containing details of everyone's phone-calls, browsing habits, emails and internet searches.When the plans were dropped from the last Queen's Speech, the spin was that the government was slimming back its legislative programme in order to concentrate on tackling the global...

This might seem an unorthodox suggestion from a Conservative MP.  Today is Harold Pinter’s funeral, and I think it would be appropriate if one of Britain’s greatest twentieth century playwrights was commemorated in Poets’ Corner.  Memorial to Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Noel Coward, Herbert Read and John Betjeman, to name a few of the twentieth century figures there, are already in place.  Whatever one’s view of Pinter’s plays or politics, there is no doubt he will be remembered in the next century and beyond as one of the great exponents of a medium for which Britain is justly famous.  Who wants to get the petition to Number Ten going?  Happy new......

So here we all are then at the end of another excruciating year, this one going by the name of 2008.Another year, where as a species we ignored all the lessons that nature continually teaches us. Another year where throughout the world we went about killing each other in the most imaginative ways possible. Another year, where things that shouldn't happen, happened. Things like starvation, disease. Another year when what could be the greatest force for good ever, yes I'm looking at you organised religion, fucked up. When, instead of spreading out to look after all God's creatures, believers or not, they closed ranks, spat venom (can you hear me Mr Pope) and made those who maybe were thinking of joining their ranks, back away smartish. But hey, it wasn't all doom and gloom was it?Perhaps...

Happy New Year to one and all. May 2009 bring you lots of good times the whole year through. I have a few resolutions for 2009... to use the things I save for best on a regular day to day basis, to empty my life of the things I do not need, and to REALLY live my very lovely life! To my boys - we know the rules, it's up to us how to play and break...

This man is called Dr. Gideon Gono. Some details can be found about him here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Gono Some other details I have gleaned from various articles on the Zimbabwe Situation website. These include – He started of at the Reserve Bank as a ‘tea-boy’ but was promoted after he was caught counting each grain of sugar to try and work out how many make a 14 and a quarter teaspoons. His degree came from a university that also sells ‘lucky bags’ with do-it-yourself Zimbabwe driving licences. The Dr. stands for doctored, as in budgets. His signature has been reproduced more often than all the signatures in the world and all of them on legally binding bits of paper promising something. (But no one knows what.) He...

In the past I've done an end of your quiz (see 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003) but I've chosen not to do it this year and write a brief entry summing up 2008 and what 2009 has in store for me. 2008 has been mostly a consolidation year after the big changes in 2007. Up until mid-December I was working for the university in Bradford, where I saw my contract move from casual work to a salary, my contract extended, and then subsequently finding in November that it wouldn't be renewed. I had a couple of job interviews which unfortunately proved fruitless (and with hindsight I wouldn't have wanted one of the jobs anyway) and I'm now currently unemployed. Hari and I have also had a good year together. We moved in properly in summer 2007 and have been happy together - for the most part at...

Wherever you are in the world, I'd like to wish all readers of this blog a very happy, healthy and peaceful 2009.Take it away,...

Story. Subscribe in a...

I think 2008 has been characterised by Unexpected Developments. A few of these have been negative, but most not and more importantly, the positive ones have set things up for a very interesting 2009. Oh this is is just rubbish, but I'm really tired now and I can't possibly say what I want to say. Basically, 2009 promises to be one of the more interesting years of my life so far, if it goes according to plan. If it doesn't, well that's going to be interesting as well. But I am looking forward to seeing how things pan out.It was a very good Christmas. Alexander liked his snake puzzle, although asked what kind of creature it depicted, he said, “Ssss – ssss – ssss – worm!” He has however learnt both our names and has over double the vocabulary he had in August.But I am...

I guess it has: Video: New Year's Eve celebrations begin in AuklandRevellers in the New Zealand capital have watched a colourful display coming from the top of the Sky Tower. "Aukland"?"capital"?Oh...

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has written his New Year message:...

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has written his New Year message:...

Our Deepest fear Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. by...

While a knighthood for cyclist Chris Hoy who won his second, third and fourth Olympic gold medals at Beijing was perhaps on the cards, it was a pleasant surprise to see Terry Pratchett get a knighthood in the New Year honours list. Terry's work will never be considered as a literary "great" but his discworld novels are thoroughly entertaining and are loved by millions worldwide. Personally, anyone who can create such wonderful characters as Lord Vetinari, Sam Vimes Mustrum Ridcully, Gytha Ogg, Gaspode and Foul Ole Ron, deserves an honour!I hope he will be able to continue writing, despite suffering from early onset...

I like the views in today’s Times about what’s coming for the world in 2009. Some are funny, some are clever, some are stark, and some are heart-warming. I particularly love Libby Purves’ comments, with which I fully agree. I quite like Janice Turner’s too, although I will draw the line at joining the local bowls club. I am scarred by memories of the one in the small town I grew up in, where it seemed very dangerous to join, as the flag seemed to fly permanently at half mast! Happy New...

I have had the flu all over Christmas and I am just beginning to feel better so it has not been so bad doing the livestock chores. Cats - Stripe is still missing. Hope he turns up soon. Spot is getting more and more friendly. Cattle - My husband has been feeding the cattle on his own today as my father-in-law is now coming down with the flu. Ducks - Tonight the ducks went into their hut first time, phew. I think this is because it is very cold and becoming misty. Got 5 duck eggs today. Guinea Fowl - The guinea fowl have started to venture up the lane. I hope this doesn’t become a habit, the other day they were heading towards the village! Guinea Pig - Guiness the guinea pig calls out when his bowl needs filling with food - what a clever animal! Hens - Hatty the hen is thriving and...

While people are gearing up for a boozetastic New Year's Eve, I thought it would be a good time to go through a quick year in review; posts I've been particularly proud of in 2008 and a condensed recap....

Happy new year, everyone. Raise a glass to 2009 being defiantly optimistic and fabulous! I was on the verge of adding a question mark to today’s headline, given how 2008 turned out and what with all the predictions being made in the media for 2009. But no, I thought, let’s not join in the general gloom ‘n’ doom being dispensed around the world by our not-so-glorious leaders and definitely notorious bankers. Instead, I’m choosing to say that, whatever happens, there are ways forward through whatever hits us, personally or within our communities. If you lose your job, and even your house, if you become ill or a lover leaves you, it can be hard to see that there’s a future. But what came before is always yesterday’s news, a foundation stone for the...

You wouldn't know it from this burnt-out husk of a blog, but I've been blogging like crazy for months and months. But it's all been on the village website, and that's a very different form of blogging - and in terms of writing style, you'd scarcely even know that it was me doing it. It takes many hours of every week, it involves a lot of behind the scenes work, and I absolutely LOVE doing it - because the site has made a genuine, tangible, positive difference to village life. Never underestimate the motivational power of second-homer's guilt! (Although in truth, the village stopped feeling like our second home a long time ago.)There are six of us on the village blog team - three full-time administrators and three part-time contributors - and we work remarkably well together, pooling...

Hard to believe it’s already New Years Eve 2008. We begin to bid farewell to the limping 2008, whilst simultaneously squinting apprehensively in the direction of the year that lies ahead…not easy unless your eyes are placed far apart. Time to put the lid on what has, unquestionably, been a remarkable roller coaster year, from both a personal and historical viewpoint. Many memories will be savoured and I’ll gladly bid adieu to those negative, bumpy bits - from which I hope I’ve grown and, more importantly, bounced back. I can get down in the dumps if I’m with the wrong people on New Year’s Eve. So, after the frenetic Christmas festivities, I prefer to spend it quietly with Mr. Splodge and the teenager. This may sound duller than puréed wrapping paper, but all that...

Evenin' allIt's not the purpose of this blog to pass political comment. There's plenty more out there that can do so better than I. But, when looking back on this year, there's one little story from back in June that should serve as a warning to all U.K.-based investors.If you like gold, for instance, as an investment (as I do) then you may read on other websites that you should avoid "paper" gold investments such as futures or options, or even ETF's such as GBS. US-based comments usually allude back to Roosevelt's private gold confiscation of the 1930's, and the fear of something similar happening again.The problem is, if you live in the U.K., what are your options? Oh, you can certainly buy yourself a stack of gold goins or even bars, but what are you going to do with them?...

Dr Grumble, the Jobbing Doctor & Dr CrippenThe year reaches its end with the news that Ben Bradshaw, that embodiment of over-promoted political mediocrity, is to nationalise Neil Bacon. Bacon, you will recall, is the egregious little shit who has been trying to make a fast buck by setting up a website that allows people to make critical remarks about doctors. Bacon poses as some sort of kidney “specialist” but is nothing of the sort. He is not on the GMC hospital specialist register. He is not on the family doctor register. He does not have a sense of humour either. He had a major sulk when the gloriously vulgar origami maestro and doctor, Fishgoth, posted a clearly “doctored” composite photograph on a Doctors.net.uk forum purporting to depict Bacon, dressed in a basque,...

This is the scenery of inbetween days. The no-man’s landscape that stretches between Christmas and New Year. New books form skyscrapers on coffee tables - little towers of fact and fiction. Cards that came late drape the curtain pole, white leaves with best wishes for veins. And the last arrival, hastily employed as a makeshift bookmark.The table confetti from Christmas day has fallen to the floor. With every step she takes silver stars are carried to other rooms. To other carpets where new constellations form, forever drifting through acrylic...

I hope that the bongs of Big Ben bring in a happy, healthy and prosperous year for you...

There's no day like New Year's Eve to release a new version of software that will draw up a Bible Reading Plan. The changes from the previous version aren't massive (it's a minor release), but I think it makes it more...

I tend to be a bit cynical about these things but am very pleased for a no of reasons, not least because it is recognition needed and that it is timely, that Terry Pratchett gets a knighthood...

Are you happy that the Government propose to ask a private company to run a database with details of everybody's telephone calls, emails and internet use?I'm not. It seems like "terrorism" is being used as an excuse to increase surveillance.No content will be collected according to the Home Office, but they'll still know who you rung/emailed/messaged and...

I never believed my dear old dad when he told me that as I got older, time would pass quicker and quicker. As usual, he was right - but then, he is the one with the Masters from Oxford! As 2009 races towards us, I can’t quite believe what a busy year it’s going to be in terms of significant anniversaries. Here are a few of the noteworthy milestones 2009 will mark. It’s by no means intended as an exhaustive list, but merely a taster of what’s to come over the next twelve months! 500th anniversary of the coronation of King Henry VIII. 300th anniversary of the birth of Samuel Johnson. 250th anniversary of the British Museum. 250th anniversary of the births of Robert Burns and Georges Danton. 200th anniversary of the births of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin (and the 150th...

So, how was Christmas 2008 for you? Myself, I received a few gifts, two of which I will look at in this entry. I got clothes, James Bond on DVD, socks, sweets & a few books (the best being “The Onion Atlas”, which is such a funny look on the world). But I also got a couple of Xbox games. The first being Civilization: Revolution, a rather cut down version of Civilization 4. And cut down it is, you can pretty much complete a game within about 2 hours, and never return to again. It’s all right, and a good introduction to the game for those who have yet to play it. However, for the rest of us who have played it before, it’s a little short. I don’t blame anybody for getting me this, as I did ask for it, but it’s short and doesn’t keep my......

As I'm working on 2nd & 3rd Jan at the Lowry- it only seemed fair to go up North for the New Year. We're staying at Sarah's parents where the most comfortable bed ever awaits Hopefully I can get to see my sis and dad on Friday night and then we're back here on Monday 5th Jan..... so it leaves me to say Happy New Year now in case I don't get chance tomorrow... I hope you all have a great day, great year and great rest-of-your-lives Love Jake & Sarah......

Well it's that day again - December 31st! Time to usher in a new year and bid farewell to the year that has gone by. It's been quite a year for me, good and bad - ups and downs. In all honestly it's not been a great year, especially the latter half. I'm fully hopeful however [...] Read the full post at shaolintiger.com....

Early last year, my wife and I made a fascinating trip to Israel in the company of our close American friend Eric Lee who lived on a kibbutz in Israel for 18 years before moving to London. In the course of the journey, we had some interesting political discussions because, while I am a friend of Israel, I am more critical of the country than Eric. You can read my account of the visit here. Roll forwards to today: New Year's Eve. Now, for eight years, we've had a traditional of seeing in the New Year with Eric. The trouble is that Israel has just launched its assault on Gaza, almost 400 people have been killed in the last four days, and Eric and I don't see this the same way at all. He has made his views very clear in a passionate piece published on the blog Harry's Place which has...

It's been an eventful 2009 one way and another..January saw me starting swimming lessons, we managed to escape to Robin Hoods Bay, had a sprinkling of snow, Debbie got a new camera and I got a huge lens for my new bird photography escapades.In February we had an earthquake which sent our two cockatiels bonkers and had us jumping out of bed in the early hours.For March we had gales and another dusting of snow which saw us heading to the hills of Langsett to make the most of it.In April Debbie started suffering with ear ache which we think was down to the local pool so we stopped going swimming.May saw us going on holiday to Primrose Valley near Filey, never again, there's no place like home and that's where we're staying!June was quite hot and we went for numerous walks, many too far for...

After being ridiculed for the length of my posts (not entirely unfairly), I thought I'd finish the year on a short note.It will take slightly longer than normal for new year to arrive - one second longer to be exact, because an extra second is being added to GMT to keep time in sync with the earth's rotation.Now of course it's not really an extra second on to your life but just suppose it was. And then imagine what you would do if it was slightly longer.Sleeping, eating, shopping or any host of other things you do everyday. So instead why not do something purposeful with your extra time?You could visit a friend. Or look into volunteering next year./ Or finally look into doing that education course you've been putting off for so long now. In other words, something positive.But however you...

Yay me. Ten past eight this evening (give or take a leap second or two) terra firma will be back where she was sixty two years ago when yours truly popped out of my mother's front bottom. With a fully-formed set of neuroses. Who would have thought it? ALMOST THERE Walking around town yesterday, watching the preparations for the world's most famous New Year party. (Called Hogmanay in...

One of the more recent Silvester traditions brings us back to the Anglo-German relationship. Every Christmas Eve, television channels throughout Germany broadcast an 11 minute sketch called Dinner for One.The sketch had its origins in British musical hall comedy of the 1920's but the version broadcast in Germany was filmed in Hamburg - in English with two English actors - in 1962 and has never been shown in the UK. It first featured as a New Year's Eve broadcast in 1972 and since then has become the most repeated TV show ever.The sketch has given rise to a whole series of offshoots including a lego version and a version featuring Bernd Das Brot, a children's television character on the KI.KA channel. The script is also available online. You can read more about the history of the piece and...

I've been scanning the New Year Honours List for Northern Ireland and there are four CBEs, fifteen OBEs, thirty-two MBEs, three QPMs and one QFSM; approximately, at any rate. Do not count on my elementary mathematical prowess. Nobody in the Province is sufficiently deserving enough for so much as even a Knight Bachelorhood. Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) ranks at about Number Twenty in the Honours scale, the Knighthood of the Garter being Number One - apart from the VC and GC.Of more interest to me is the considerably higher honour awarded to the outgoing Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, KCB, CBE, MC.Sir Richard, having been a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (military division), now becomes a Knight Grand...

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has already signalled that 2009 will bring more of the same from New Labour: The private sector will be asked to manage and run a communications database that will keep track of everyone’s calls, emails, texts and internet use under a key option contained in a consultation paper to be published next month by Jacqui Smith, the home secretary. A cabinet decision to put the management of the multibillion pound database of all UK communications traffic into private hands would be accompanied by tougher legal safeguards to guarantee against leaks and accidental data losses. Do I need to repeat the same counter-arguments yet again? She presided over an unthinkable growth of the DNA database, trumpeting its unmatched value in fighting crime, yet although the...

So another year has passed us by.  2008 has been a pretty good year, unless you are Heather Ledger or a major shareholder in Woolworths. Tonight sees us drift serenely, and somewhat inebriated, into 2009.  But this New Years Eve is slightly different.  It is different because we get to take advantage of a leap second. The extra second we are getting this year is something to do with our orbit around the sun and other sciencey things about which I know very little.  You can read more here. More importantly however is the fact that we have been gifted an extra second in 2008, and it is our duty to use it as best we can, otherwise we might as well have let Space keep it.  And you just know that Space would have wasted it. A lot of things can be accomplished in a second at midnight. ...

I love this story about how an internet campaign raised $10,000 dollars within four days to save a family from being evicted from their home. It shows how creative America is with its use of the internet in rallying support and raising desperately needed funds. Under the headline, "Help a Family Keep Their Home," Jaki Greer pleaded with readers of her LiveJournal to donate just $1 dollar each to save her neighbours and friends Ebony and Daniel Sampson from losing their home. This is how Fast Company reported Greer’s impressive campaign: Greer talked about how her friends Ebony and Daniel Sampson were about to loose their home if they could not come up with $10K by December 8th. Ebony was a stay at home mom, caring for their two children, one with special needs that...

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Happy New Year!, originally uploaded by zombiecoterie. If I've been a bit quiet online this last month or two, it's not because I've been in a depressive fug but just that I've been working hard to keep on making new comics and learning all kinds of things about space at the National Maritime Museum. Fear not, I'll have lots to tell you about once I've got some more work actually finished.Thanks so much for being brilliant all this year.-- All content (except where noted) is © www.zombiecoterie.com....

Happy New year to everybody ! I will be celebrating New Year's Eve with 10's of thousands of other party people in our town - Bideford. Just a few years ago New Years Eve in Bideford was mentioned in The Times Newspaper as one of the top 10 places to be in the world on New Year's Eve! Quite a compliment for our little town ! SO what exactly happens, well firstly and this is the most important part - everybody dresses up - fancy dress is the only dress to be seen in, the majority of the revelers, go really out of their way to dress to impress, this is a link to some of the photos taken at last years event ! I rather liked the gnomes! These are my 'French Friends' oooh la la !!!!! We all enjoy the good humour, dancing,music and of course the fireworks ! So Happy New Year to...

Watch out for the extra second that’ll sneak in just before midnight tonight! At 23:59:59, there will be an extra wait before 2009 begins.It’s all down to the rotation of the Earth which slows down over a long period due to the effect of the Sun-Moon attraction as well as vagaries like the Earth’s core/mantle, the atmosphere and the oceans.The good news is that since 1972, an additional 23 seconds have been sneaked in, the last being on 31 December 2005.More details if you need it!(Image via Graham...

There’s been a lot of sick people about the office, with colds and flu about. I’ve had two weeks off with a nasty dose. When I got back in at the start of this week Junior had got a cold, which he said had been bad for a few weeks, but he’d managed to drag himself in. On Monday it had got a bit much for him and he went to his doctors, who gave him antibiotics. With New Year approaching I said to him:Me: “What? You can’t drink any alcohol over New Year then?”Junior: “I cancan’t I? I asked the doctor if there was anything I had to becareful about,…could I still drive? and so on.”Me: “Yes, you can still drinkwith antibiotics. I had you going for a while though.”The boss is temporarily sitting near us this week:Boss: “Can’t wait for the Hogmanay Show...

Anger over knighthood given to Treasury chief, Nick Macpherson - Times Online The Treasury’s top official, who was at the helm during the boom before the credit crunch, has been knighted for his role in dealing with Britain’s deepening financial crisis. The move, as the pound plunged to a record low against the euro and after another slide in house prices, prompted protests that the honour was premature and self-congratulatory. Critics said that Nick Macpherson, the Permanent Secretary at the Treasury and on an annual salary of £196,400, had been knighted while it was still too early to claim that the £500 billion banking bailout was a success. Sir Nick, 49, a close ally of the Prime Minister,... There is also an award for Alastair Clark, a former Bank of England expert in...

Happy New Year..........The hours and minutes are ticking down to 2009......So we thought we would give you a big old discount for the first month of 2009! Thats right for the whole of January 2009 you can get 20% off any order of Mens Jewellery on the site WOW!Not only do we offer some of the cheapest mens jewellery on the internet, its some of the best quality, we post it to you for FREE! and now we are giving you 20% off! (Bloody hell next you will want us to wear it! lol )Get shopping now! Just add "PC20" in the discount coupon section of the checkoutMens...

Well, this time last year I was recovering both from a kidney stone and having spent Christmas with my family.How times change.The world of politics and economics have seen massive shifts in the past twelve months, so it's perhaps not surprising that I have too.Last December I was looking forward to moving in August, to start a new job in Derbyshire.Little did I know how things were going to turn out.Still, I'm now happy settled in south Norfolk, having a restful time, gardening, writing, hobbying, doing a little preaching (I'm taking a service in N*w B*******m on Sunday) and generally enjoying myself.'We're not the same, we're different in a good way,' says High School Musical (whatever that may be).I wonder what the next twelve months will bring, eh?I read at the weekend that we've all...

Happy New year to everyone who reads my rants/raves/beats and brags! Gl in life and poker in 2009 {inevitable brag screenie of today:–>} played solid, winner was a luckbox mofo who hit every draw and didn’t fold once practically on final table. GG me. up about €8-€9k this week across the sites I play on… Thanks Santa. Moving to London next week, so prolly no more online poker for a few days…...

Please don't Drink and Drive this new year. Horrific Image WarningNew Year - WikipediaNew Year's Eve set to be colder than in IcelandBlackDog's Happy New Year Party. One for the kids.New Year Traditions Around the WorldAuld Lang Syne - WikipediaI wish you all the best and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Take care, have fun and I'll see you on the other...

Here we all are, Family Munster dovegrey on Christmas Day, unusually all in the same place at the same time, about to sit down for dinner and sporting our joke Christmas Teeth. These are an annual tradition in our non-existent (this year) homemade crackers...don't we all look lovely in that Devon backwoods hillbilly sort of way? There's Offspringette on the left with the Gamekeeper behind, then me, the Tinker, Bookhound sporting traditional daft hat (before the pudding - brandy - premature match - eyebrow incident) and the Kayaker.So we recover from all that Christmas idleness and just get going again and now it's time to be lazy once more for New Year.The tree has been up long enough so we will de-festivate soon and pack it all away. It's just not going to make it to Twelfth Night still...

Love how the audience doesn't quite take it in at first...

2009 must be a year of real change and of hope says Nick Clegg in his new year message.Britain is facing a difficult year.Every day, 200 families are now at risk of losing their homes, and three million people could be out of a job.The government got us into this mess and haven't got the right ideas to get us out of it. The Conservatives want to do nothing - they wouldn't lift a finger to help.As the New Year starts, it's time to do things differently.There is a path to recovery.Liberal Democrats will do things differently.We'll get practical help to families who are struggling - more money in their pockets with big, permanent and fair tax cuts.That way people will be able to afford the bills and get spending again.And Liberal Democrats will put the economy back on track with a big, green...

Was it really only in September when I last posted? It seems like years ago. I came back to answer the traditional questions but, half way through and really bored, I decided that wasn't a good omen.However, 2008 does feel like it's been a significant year and it's definitely been interesting. There have been events, minor and major, like moving down to Plymouth, meeting the person who is now my significant other (for want of a better phrase), nearly writing off my car. More than that though my last year in my twenties has felt like a time of transition. I'm nearer feeling grown up than I was, and that's partly do to with meeting someone and a world of possibility of marriage and family being opened up that was increasingly feeling barred to me, at least for the moment. It's probably also...

To add to the credit crisis, the automotive crisis, the retail crisis, now we have the housing crisis.  In a masterly piece on Coffee House, Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps highlights that 50% of people are fearful of not being able to pay their mortgage or rent.  I was fortunate in that I sold my house earlier this year, but as I was on a fixed-term contract, if I had still been in Birmingham, I would be fearful of what would happen if I did not find another job quickly. Mr Shapps highlights: “44 percent of mortgage holders are worried about being able to meet their payments over the next 12 months, only just under the 47 percent of Local Authority and Housing Association tenants who say they are also worried. And you don’t have to be a council tenant or own your own...

Recession-defying, downturn-destroying, money-making – online shopping has had a good year. According to the IMRG/Capgemini Sales Index, while Christmas day 2007 saw £84 million spent online, in 2008 more than £103 million was expected to be spent in the 24 hour period. Ideally, any would-be competitive company in Britain will have been allocating a portion of its marketing budget to the internet for years now. However, a sizable number of firms have yet to explore the full potential of online marketing, from search engine optimisation (SEO) to making the most of social platforms. It is not too late to upgrade your online efforts and make 2009 the year your company became truly competitive. Here are a few New Year resolutions to help you boost your web marketing prowess. Resolution...

National Demonstration: London Saturday 3 January Stop Gaza Massacre (STWC) Hands Off Gaza: Stop the Bombing: Free Palestine Assemble 12:30pm Embankment, WC2 Nearest tube Embankment. Called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative and many other organisations. Israel has launched a terror bombing against the people of Gaza, with over 350 dead and many more injured. Not content after 3 days of devastating slaughter, the Israeli government promises more barbarity to come. The head of the Israeli military says, “This is only the beginning”. The people of Gaza are asking, if this is only the beginning, what will the end look like? Other demonstrations in London Wednesday 31 December, 2 - 4pm outside Israeli Embassy Thursday 1 January, 2...

Inspired by Peter Black, I am doing my party loyalist...

Look — you’ve almost made it. Christmas is safely behind you, and in a few days it will be January. Life can return to normal. It won’t be normal, of course, and that’s the problem here. But at least it will be known. Christmas is stressful because you just don’t know how to face it on your own, and because you’re bound to relive the Christmases you shared before. The same goes for New Year. I know exactly where I was last year when Big Ben struck, and for quite a few years going back from there. You’ll be just the same, I’m sure, and your emotions will reflect that. If last New Year was full of fear and foreboding which played out in spades, or dressed with dreams and happiness all ripped away inside a moment, then I’m sorry with all...

Just this once I am going to do the dutiful party hack bit and propagate the Nick Clegg New Year message. I may do some more video blogs myself next year once I get my video camera back from the Kirsty campaign...

This is what we know about your options - please feel free to add to the list:Moonbow Jakes"Our last hurrah will be New Years Eve even if the electricity is switched off. We are going to drink the bar dry so DON'T bring your own beer. I hope you can get a moment before then to pop by for a quick espresso made by yours truly. The shop will be empty from January 1st onwards."- JohnJam Circus"We have a few tickets left for New Year's Eve, which of course is only a few days away. At £10 each tickets include a glass of bubbly, light bites and Sean McLusky of Sonic Mook selecting the music until 2am."-...

Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months.The UN Human Rights Council (as quoted on the Stop the War Coalition website). A national demonstration has been called outside Parliament in London on Saturday (see previous link). I think there were some “jokers” at the demonstration because I see that someone else also noticed a Free Palestine poster on a police...

Even the recession is affecting celebrities! Well, D-list that is. Gawker lists some of the semi-famous and their desperation on making some money on guest appearances. Here are just a few of them: Daisy De La Hoya is available New Year's Eve. (She has a new show on VH1), dimply Mario Lopez, The Hills Jason Wahler, Dr. 90210, and MTV's Real World Brooklyn cast. They're all looking to make money to show up somewhere. However, would you want to see them and would you pay?The cast looks all shiny and bright now, but when they come out of Brooklyn they will look haggard. Maybe I am a Manhattan snob but when I used to be invited out to parties there I would avoid it. It was like being invited to Mars and besides I think the air is different there!Even though we are in a recession, I'm not...

As I said yesterday "UNISON has clear policy of support for the Palestinians so I hope we'll hear from our trade union very soon too." And here it is :) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY 30 DECEMBER UNISON CALLS FOR A NEW CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT IN GAZA UNISON Deputy General Secretary, Keith Sonnet, is today (30 December) calling for an immediate end to the Israeli military action in Gaza that has resulted in hundreds of Palestinian civilian deaths and casualties. "Whilst UNISON condemns rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilian targets causing dreadful suffering, the bombing in Gaza is completely disproportionate to the threat faced by Israel. Both sides should agree an immediate ceasefire and Israel should open crossings into Gaza to allow humanitarian relief....

Writing on the Guardian politics’ blog today, Toby Helm implies a degree of nervousness on the part of Tory academics who propound the communitarian vision of conservatism which provides such an attractive alternative to Labour’s statist ethos. His contention is that in differentiating Conservative policy on the financial crash from the massive programme of borrowing which Gordon Brown believes is necessary to restimulate the economy, a perception has arisen that David Cameron is reneging on the vision of social responsibility which has paved the way for a Conservative revival. Perhaps sensitive to such criticism, Cameron has reiterated his commitment to the principles which his new conservatism promises. His New Year message states, “…far from dropping our green agenda because...

Today is Fused’s first birthday, it is exactly a year since I wrote my first post up here, and it’s been a pretty awesome year :D I didn’t really get to my target of writing once every day (on average) because my posts have gone down after I banished my asides, but that’s not important. My new years resolution for fused is to write more :) I’m not going to set any targets, because I’ll either fail miserably to reach them, or write crap to get there, which is even worse. I guess today would be a reasonable day to bring my other plans into action - I have been thinking of moving this to iampearce.com, which is an altogether much better domain, and I think I might flip the switch on New Years day. I’m aware that I’ve moved things around a lot...

I hope ypu all had a very Happy and peaceful Christmas, as indeed did we - albeit rather busy and with lots of people here! I finished work on Tuesday afternoon and drove back home and then met up for “the Planning Committee” AGM at “Thge Rising Sun” for lunch and to discuss the main agenda item - the date of the next meeting! A very pleasant afternoon, followed by a carvery at another local hostelry, then off to the Midnight Service. Christmas Day was frosty, although warm in the conservatory in the morning. We had twelve people round the table for lunch, before gathering round the tree for present distribution - the conservatory had cooled off a bit too much by then! Olivia (who has grown a little since she last featured here!) was in her element! Boxing day...

Well they’ll be dancing in the red half of Manchester this morning after the fantastic day December 29th turned out to be for the Red Devils. Firstly, I awoke to discover that Steven Gerrard had been arrested after a night out in the Liverpudlian Rivera, or Southport as it’s really known, apparently after having an altercation with a DJ who wouldn’t play the music he liked, but no word if Gerrard wanted his favourites from Phil Collins or Coldplay on the decks: Note to self, never, ever book Steven Gerrard to DJ at a party. As I write this, Gerrard has been charged with assault and affray and has been bailed to return to the Magistrates on January 23rd. Ironically, as is the way with such things, Liverpool have to travel to Goodison in the Merseyside derby on the 19th,...

Happy New Year! Make Sure 2009 Is A Good One Every year it is good to make a few New Years Resolutions. I personally make a few New Years Resolutions and also write down actual targets for other things. A lot of people say New Years Resolutions don’t work. But I think they are good and worthwhile, but only for certain things. Splitting New Years Resultions And Actual Targets For 2009 You don’t need to write down new Years Resolutions, just begin them and try to stick to them You DO need to write down actual targets. Create a document on your PC with your targets and then you can refer to it when you need to New Years Resolutions should be things like “go for a jog once a week” Actual Targets should be things like “earn £75 in bank interest over the next...

No mention of the travails us canines will be facing in the new year. It's all about humans and hope and change apparently....

from Mr Singleton-White, the fraudster's friend. What pompous bollocks is this? New Year's Message, forsooth. What does he do, emerge on to a balcony and address the grateful multitudes of Reading about bus priority measures? Idiotic. It is here. Notice that he says "I am a consensus builder". That right Stuart? Couldn't even build a consensus that electoral fraud was OK when you were chair of Reading Labour Party, because too many members of it have more sense than that. What happened to that job as Climate Change Officer at Reading Borough Council that you told everyone you were...

“David Miliband may not be prepared to say it, but the Israeli reaction is utterly disproportionate. From the standpoint of ordinary people in Gaza this is a full-scale attack, which is leaving women and children dead and thousands of innocent people suffering. The rocket attacks by Hamas are totally unacceptable, but Israel ought to have [...]...

Rachel may be weeping for her children. But Afrah, Aisha, Haleema and Salma are weeping an awful lot more. These new-made widows howl for their dead husbands; mothers wail for their slaughtered sons and daughters; children scream for the loving embrace of the mother who will never again comfort them; families are bereft; communities ravaged. The weeping is incessant; the suffering incalculable. For every tear that is captured in a photograph, a million are shed unseen, unheard, unfelt by a world obsessed with trivia and increasingly incapable of weeping, as the Lord exhorted, with those who weep. Israel is acting like a depraved tyrannical maniac. It has persecuted its neighbours for years with an economic blockade which limits imports to humanitarian supplies and prevents all exports -...

Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza has triggered the expected response on the international Left. In a 1,500 strong protest yesterday at the Israeli embassy in London, protestors carried signs referring to the “Holocaust” in Gaza. Emails racing around the net talk of “genocide”. The mainstream media speak of an Israeli “blitz”. Some editorial writer somewhere has surely already used the expression “final solution” to describe what Israel is trying to do. Soon they will run out of the well-worn analogies to Hitler, and then what? Will someone compare what Israel is doing to other mass slaughters? Let's see – an effective one might be to compare it to that much larger massacre of Muslims, the one that took place back in 1982. Ten thousand dead,...

2009 must be a year of real change and of hope says Nick Clegg in his new year message.  Transcript: Britain is facing a difficult year. Every day, 200 families are now at risk of losing their homes, and three million people could be out of a job. The government got us into this mess and haven't got the right ideas to get us out of it. The Conservatives want to do nothing - they wouldn't lift a finger to help. As the New Year starts, it's time to do things differently. There is a path to recovery. Liberal Democrats will do things differently. We'll get practical help to families who are struggling - more money in their pockets with big, permanent and fair tax cuts. That way people will be able to afford the bills and get spending again. And Liberal Democrats will put the...

Adams, Woolworths, MFI, Whittard of Chelsea, Zavvi, The Officers Club - who...

Commenting on the continued Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Edward Davey said: "David Miliband may not be prepared to say it, but the Israeli reaction is utterly disproportionate." He went on to comment that, "From the standpoint of ordinary people in Gaza this is a full-scale attack, which is leaving women and children dead and thousands of innocent people suffering. "The rocket attacks by Hamas are totally unacceptable, but Israel ought to have learnt from its attack on Lebanon which only served to strengthen the cause of extremism. "If David Miliband does not realise this action is disproportionate then he must be the last person in Britain who thinks so." "With this massive attack, Israel is in...

As the year 2008 draws to an end it has one unwelcomed record to it's name with the record for fatal stabbings in England and...

Avaaz have launched a petition for Gaza: Stop the bloodshed, time for peace. Petition to the UN Security Council, the European Union, the Arab League and the USA: We urge you to act immediately to ensure a comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, to protect civilians on all sides, and to address the growing humanitarian crisis. Only through robust international action and oversight can the bloodshed be stopped, the Gaza crossings safely re-opened and real progress made toward a wider peace in 2009.Worth signing!...

Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip seem to be more driven by an emotional desire for revenge than a proportionate response to deal with a defined threat. This is a time when the UN Security Council should meet as it appears that Israel are intent on using the US Carte Blanche until the change of administration. Whether this would have any practical effect is unclear, but at least it would...

  Green Party urges Britain to offer asylum to the Baghdad shoe-thrower     "The Green Party calls on the British government to condemn the torture and prosecution of the Baghdad shoe-thrower, Muntadar al-Zaidi, and to demand his immediate release and the dropping of all charges against him. If Mr al-Zaidi feels it is no longer safe for him to remain in Iraq, we urge Gordon Brown to offer him political asylum in the UK," said Peter Tatchell, the human rights spokesperson for the Green Party of England and Wales, and the party's parliamentary candidate for Oxford East.   "The overthrow of Saddam Hussein was supposed to usher in a new era of democracy and human rights. The torture and prosecution of the shoe-thrower is an ugly revival of the abuses that...

Israel has caused yet more outrage by launching attacks on Gaza. Whilst your humble Devil deplores the loss of civilian life, he has to agree with Iain Dale's article on this matter (not something that happens often). Whilst Iain's article is fairly comprehensive and worth reading in full, for me it is the following paragraph that sums up the issue.Hamas broke the ceasefire by firing more rockets into Israel. Imagine if this had happened here. Imagine if France fired rockets onto Dover from Calais. Would the British people expect its government to stand idly by and do nothing? Of course not.The simple fact is that Israel endures near-daily rocket attacks from Gaza; let's face it, when the Israelis withdrew from the Gaza Strip, it took less than a week for Hamas to start firing rockets...

The Israeli assault on Gaza has prompted the charge that Israel's use of force is disproportionate. Some of those levelling this charge do recognize Hamas's share of responsibility for the current situation, since Hamas presides over - whether by organizing or by authorizing - never-ending rocket attacks on Israeli towns. Others levelling the charge do not recognize this; they don't have the interests of the people of Israel at heart. But, in any case, what is meant by 'proportionate'? If the insistence on proportionality is supposed to entail that Israel's military response to rocket attacks from Gaza should be on the same scale as the attacks themselves, then this would amount to forbidding effective retaliation - a response, that is, which could put an end to those attacks....

I have raised my head above the parapet before and defended Israel, and today is no exception. Hamas will not stop until they have destroyed the state of Israel. If Israel allows supplies through to Gaza, it is criticised. If it does not, it is criticised. If it shows restraint - which it has done for many years - very few come to her defence. If it says, enough is enough, and seeks to defend its citizens, the world comes down on them. Those who say Israel should show restraint at this time must have been living on a distant planet for the past few years, because this is exactly what Israel has been doing. Personally, I think they should have dealt with Hamas in this manner a long time ago. Hamas does not want peace. It never has and it never will.Here are some facts courtesy of the...

Saw this on our wonderful photo Just Sheds group shed recycling at it’s best TV screen for a window Related Posts September 11, 2008 — “Sheds” in the NYTimes September 2, 2008 — Do you want a fantasy shed? August 4, 2008 — Couple live in allotment shed June 27, 2008 — Just sheds : Allot of them June 24, 2008 — Olympic Sheds on the Radio February 6, 2008 — Hello Sheddies! Got an allotment or just a shed? June 15, 2007 — Olympic Allotments can harvest then “sod” off December 26, 2008 — Boxing day and new year Shed sales December 25, 2008 — Merry Wossname to all our sheddies December 24, 2008 — My Sheddie: Big Al...

By the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul GheitThe Israelis have been warning you that this was coming if you continue your cross border rocket attacks. Egypt has been imploring you to stop firing rockets into Israel, but you ignored our words. We have been urging you to renew the cease-fire with Israel, but you refused. You have brought this upon yourselves. You are responsible for what is happening to the people of Gaza.Honest, to the point, and the reality that many just refuse to...

There have been a lot of players that really impressed in the opening stages of the Premier League but I will try to point out few that should have done much better. Some of them were not given enough chances to shine but other have only themselves to blame for poor performances. Nicky Shorey (Aston Villa) Nicky Shorey arrived to Aston Villa this summer from Reading and he was expected to quickly become an integral part of Martin O’Neill’s team. Shorey had an excellent season at Reading that helped him broke into England national team and no wonder that Villa fans expected a lot from him this season. However, even though the team played great this term, Shorey was struggling throughout the season and he has lost his place in the starting line-up. He is now restricted only to UEFA...

ToryDiary: Grassroots want the 'big beasts' in the shadow cabinet Local government: Cllr Patricia O'Brien defends Suffolk Conservatives' schools policies Robert Halfon on CentreRight: If we want an enduring peace in the Middle East, then Israel must be allowed to defeat Hamas in Gaza Today's must-read: "Out of the Gaza bloodshed the real winner is...Iran" - Michael Burleigh in the Daily Mail Osborne talks of trio of Tory tax cuts "The Tories are preparing a tax cuts agenda to prove they have the right ideas to rescue Britain from the economic slump. Chief among them will be a vow to reverse Labour plans to increase National Insurance contributions by more than  £5billion after the next election. But there will also be help for savers and pensioners." - Daily...

Hamas are a bunch of murderous thugs. Over the past few years they have fired 5,000 rockets on Israel from residential parts of the Gaza strip, killing and injuring dozens of innocent Israelis. Israel has done its best not to react, but in the end their patience has snapped - and understandably so. They have acted using the only kind of force Hamas can understand.According to Conservative Friends of Israel, over the past week more than 300 rockets, missiles and mortar rounds have been fired from Gaza by Hamas and other militants at Israeli villages and towns. More than 560 have been fired since Hamas escalated rocket firing on 4 November. This is on top of the 5,000 which have been fired from Gaza this year. The media seem to think these rockets are fairly harmless. They are not. They are...

More than 15,000 people have joined a Facebook group trying to get Bruce Forsyth knighted.Despite the popularity of the 80-year-old Strictly Come Dancing host, it looks like he has once again been overlooked for in the New Year honours list.And the Queen can't claim it is because she is doddery ... doddery she is not.As a result dozens of campaigns have been launched on social networks trying to make Brucie a knight, one 'Give Bruce Forsyth a Knighthood' has over 15,000 members.The campaign has even Prime Minister Gordon Brown, more than 5,000 people signed petitions on the Downing Street website. Forsyth - who made his name as host of 'Play Your Cards Right' and 'The Generation Game' - had been a bookies favorite to get the nod with odds plummeting to 1/2.LINKSGive Bruce...

I thought I’d put together a few thoughts at the end of ‘My First Year’ of this blog and the ideas that have encompassed the last year for me.Today’s post is a more personal one about the technicalities of the blog - tomorrow I hope to write more about the more general themes that have been covered and after that, a little look forward! Although my first post on this blog was published on the 23rd November 2007, I didn’t really start ‘properly’ (that is, regularly) until 13th April 2008. I had in my head that writing a blog would be a positive thing. I think, regardless of the profession and my training, I am a fairly reflective person. I think about things a lot. Having just finished most of the substantial work on my course to become an Approved...

The Haaretz reports (via Moments of Clarity): Long-term preparation, careful gathering of information, secret discussions, operational deception and the misleading of the public - all these stood behind the Israel Defense Forces “Cast Lead” operation against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, which began Saturday morning. The disinformation effort, according to defense officials, took Hamas by surprise and served to significantly increase the number of its casualties in the strike. Sources in the defense establishment said Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago, even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Oh wait, I thought they were just retaliating against a recent...

ConservativeHome.com carries a couple of articles on the recent excesses of the Israeli military. Alex Deane loses himself in his eulogy to the State of Israel: surrounded by “enemies who wish her ill”, this “sliver of democracy and decency has always held my sympathy,” he informs the reader. However, pick up a Sunday newspaper, and you can see that Israeli policy is pretty far from decency. If even the likes of Deane are feeling that supporting Israel is now “less straightforward”, then serious questions have to be asked about how long the guilt-induced whitewashing of Israel’s actions can last. Signs were emerging yesterday of a new consensus, with all three parties criticising Israel’s recent air raids on the Gaza Strip. However, the crux...

The Conservative Friends of Israel have been quoted verbatim and without criticism at ConservativeHome. Tim Montgomerie is responsible and is pictured above on a fact-finding mission (June 2006*). Reproduced below. Here is my immediate response which I would repeat at any similarly ignorant, unbalanced, disingenuous and uncritical posting on behalf of Labour Friends of Israel. In fact I posted a quick response to an uncritical post at LabourHome yesterday. Friends tell friends when they're wrong. Israel could hardly be wrong-er IMO:17 people have been killed by Hamas Rockets in almost 8 years.This is inexcusable. Just one old bloke in the period since the cease fire ended.c 350 people have been killed by the state of Israel in 24 hours.Including c 100 civilian police recruits and c 50...

HAMAS asks for a damn good thrashing. Israel obliges. And Barack Obama..? Well, he’d do more, Remember this? President-elect Barack Obama has voiced sympathy for Israel’s predicament. During his visit to Israel last summer, he held a news conference in Sderot, the southern town that has borne the brunt of the Gaza rocket attacks, saying he does not “think any country would find it acceptable to have missiles raining down on the heads of their citizens.” “If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that,” Obama said at the time. “And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.” But the jihadis and militant Palestinians want blood. And they don’t care whose it it: A suicide...

Home Meaning of “tahdiya” (from Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) : temporary calm, as in the ceasefire which Hamas recently decided against renewing with Israel. Some interpret its meaning as the “calm before the storm” Comment at end 28th December, 2008 Quartet’s Middle East Envoy calls on BOTH SIDES TO STOP (Visit Blair’s official website) Tony Blair urges restoration of the calm to end suffering in Gaza and rocket attacks on southern Israel, 27th December, 2008 Tony Blair today called for a restoration of the ‘tahdiya’ or ‘calm’ between Hamas and Israel to prevent further innocent civilian loss of life in both the Gaza Strip and southern Israel. Speaking following Israel’s retaliation for the latest rocket attacks...

Manchester protest: Pic: Richard Searle. Manchester Protest against Gaza Massacre. Around 400 Palestinians and their supporters joined an emergency demonstration outside the BBC in Manchester on Sunday 28th December. The protest, called at 24 hours notice, was an act of solidarity with the besieged of Gaza; a condemnation of the recent Israeli attacks and a demand that the BBC begin...

Booker is in an optimistic mood today in his column, declaring that, “2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved”. To support his thesis, he points out that all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare. He thus tells us that last winter, as temperatures plummeted, many parts of the world had snowfalls on a scale not seen for decades. This winter, with the whole of Canada and half the US under snow, looks likely to be even worse. After several years flatlining, global temperatures have dropped sharply enough to cancel out much of their net rise in the 20th century. Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in...

A good amount of conflicting information has followed the recent worldwide economic crisis with regard to house prices, so here we have a look at what the industry sees for the year to come. Will house prices continue to fall in 2009? Undoubtedly they will; it bears remembering that the current trend of falling house prices did...

…some 50 percent of Hamas’s underground rocket firing potential was destroyed in the second wave of the attack. This was given as one of the reasons that the Hamas reaction has so far been limited. It was also mentioned that Israel has not received any requests from Hamas to negotiate, and neither has it been offered mediation by the international community. Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin told the cabinet that many in Gaza were pleased with the Israeli attack, because of the suffering that Hamas has brought upon them. Jerusalem Post reports. 50% in two days is a pretty good outcome. Now that Israel has also called 6500 reservists to service, situation can get only better. Well, naturally it would be pretty impossible to wipe out the whole 100% of Hamas...

UK childrenswear retailer Adams applies to go into administration, the BBC has...

Now this would make for a Happy New Year.From William Hill: GORDON BROWN is a 9/4 chance with William Hill to leave office as Prime Minister during 2009. If he does go, Hills make Harriet Harman 3/1 favourite to succeed him and also offer 4/1 David Miliband; 7/1 Jon Crudass; 8/1 Alan Johnson; 9/1 Jack Straw; 10/1 James Purnell. Hills are also betting on whether there will be a General Election in 2009 and offer 7/4 that there will be one between January and June of the year; and 11/2 that there will be one between July and December of the year. If there is one, Hills make the Conservatives 4/9 to emerge as the largest Party, with Labour 13/8 and the Lib Dems 100/1. It is 2/1 that there will be a Hung...

That incompetent idiot, that lying, foolish hound Gordon Brown has the audacity to pontificate that his recession is a 'test of character' that we, the British people must pass; the fey feartie urges us to display the 'same spirit' our fathers did in World War II.This is beyond parody. It insults the intelligence of every British citizen who realises that much of the mess we're in is of Brown's making, and it insults those who fought a war of national survival. That the Prime Mentalist can be so delusional to imagine that we'll go one extra step, or contribute one extra ounce of effort that will prolong him and his morally corrupt cabal in office for one nanosecond longer than necessary tells us his grip on reality has failed entirely.In this case, It is Brown himself who has stolen our...

Israel launched a fresh wave of air strikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today, as one of the deadliest assaults on Palestinian militants continued for a second day.Palestinian officials said 270 people had been killed and more than 600 wounded since Israel's campaign to stop rocket barrages from Gaza began at midday yesterday.Israeli military spokesman Avi Benayahu said some 250 attackshad been carried out since the offensive began.Witnesses said the latest attacks struck one of Hamas's main security compounds in Gaza City, including a prison building.The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, warned today that the offensive against Gaza militants was "liable to take longer than we can foresee at this moment". Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting, he said the operation was intended...

Having been brought up as a Christian focus has been on the land of its origin. This led to the belief that those who lived and rules the lands were steeped in religion, which meant having the highest moral thinking and actions gained through years of deep experience. Of course very many people of all faiths given birth in that region are horrified at what they see acted out daily. At the same time they see the Israeli government backed to the hilt by powerful western nations. Gaza has been under siege and we have continued to be horrified to see basic human needs denied by a powerful bully. "They are firing rockets at our people" they cry. Yet, as an article in the Observer (28/12/2008) shows, the situation was largely of Israel's making. Hamas was encouraged by Israel to undermine...

I have neglected this blog for the past six months. The year seems to have gone by so quickly and I have never found the time to sit down and write. Unlike most people who just use a clock or a calendar, I tend to measure the passing of time by television programmes. One minute, Nick Knowles was ringing in 2008 for the BBC, then the next thing you know, Jane McDonald is singing Santa Claus Is Coming To Town with Matt Lucas on Loose Women. No wonder I haven't had chance to update.One thing I have not neglected, however, is an annual tradition that stretches back to, erm, 2006. Each year, I sit down with L to make a big list of all the things that we've loved during the past twelve months. Then, we choose a winner in a number of categories to represent the year as we saw it. Generally, it's...