Hello again!

Gosh, it's 2011, innit.

To think that ten years ago I'd chucked university in and gone to stack loo rolls at a supermarket in the very armpit of New Zealand … and now I'm sweltering in a Melbourne summer and doing a PhD on West Yorkshire.

I was going to write a sort of farewell 2010 post (just.like.everyone.else up in your RSS feeds), but I had to leave abruptly for my holiday at home. So I didn't.

I'm not even going to contemplate writing a 2011 predictions post because the rule of thumb seems to be that (unless they come from a C of E blogger and laced with either comedy or tragedy) they are up there with a trip to the dentist.

What I will tell you is that I have uncharacteristically made a new year's resolution. Certain folk have plenty to say about making resolutions achievable and sticking to them.  I figured I'd start small then work up to world domination and/or having Edith Turner to tea later in the decade. So here it is: before this year is out, I will have, for the first time in my life, sat and watched Xanadu.

(That sound starting in the back of your brain is a special gift from Australia: the breathless tones of Olivia Newton-John. It could get physical – physical! - at any moment.)

Now, for those of us who do it proper, today is the last day of Christmas. I'm a sucker for a good carol, and this is the last chance to belt one out. So let's have one, shall we, before normal service resumes again.