It's been a few years now since I last used these pages to make formal New Year's resolutions.
I'm not going to start again. However, I should like to note that, at the beginning of this year, I have one general aim in view and that is to end the year by doing professional work which is more interesting than I have been experiencing of late.
In fact this may come sooner than I had anticipated as I am going to be involved in some business style workshops later this month - one in Walsall and a couple in Leytonstone. The irony is that they use materials that I helped to develop some seven years ago when I was doing the sort of work that I was initially employed by Connect to do. It is like coming a sort of full circle.
It's also been bloody cold. So far this year, every car journey that I have made has been accompanied by a flashing display on my dashboard which warns me that there is a danger of ice. This happens if the external temperature falls below 3°C. Most days, we have been lucky if the temperature has risen above freezing point.
Elsewhere in the world, Russia has cut off gas supplies to the Ukraine. These supplies then go on to many countries in Eastern Europe. The Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria have declared a state of emergency. They are within days of the populace having no means of warming themselves. In several Balkan states, people have taken to chopping down trees in public places.
And in the Middle East, Israel continues to invade and bombard the Gaza strip. They are doing it presumably before the new President of the USA is in place and whilst there are still some Zionist-friendly banks with spare capital. I wonder if the State of Israel will be an unforeseen casualty of the credit crunch.
By the way, am I alone in this nation with having difficulty with Gaza and Gazza headlines in the popular press. There was a television programme announced about saving Gazza from alcoholism which sort of clouded my view on the Palestinian peace process.
Still, I'm looking forward to a number of nice events for me in the coming year.
My work in London at the end of the month may give me the opportunity to take in some West End theatre and the week after I am back in The Capital with Roland for an opera and I also hope to catch James McAvoy in the first preview performance of a new play.
In February, Ross and I are looking to return to Glenthorne for a long weekend of Quaker activity for me and rest and relaxation for him.
In March, I'm planning on visiting Madrid with Roland and hope to visit the Prado Museum and to stand in front of my first Hieronymus Bosch painting and to visit the Reina Sofia Museum and to see Picasso's Guernica.
In May, I'm hoping to visit Glasgow with Ross and to re-visit the Mackintosh House at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery.
There are also a number of other arts events already in the diary.
At the cinema, judging from the trailers I've seen, I am looking forward to
I've already marked a number of operas for my To Do list but my stand out events would be
On the concert platform, I'm eagerly anticipating
On stage, I want to see
There's also a remarkable sequence of plays by J B Priestly in May which could be interesting.
The visual arts also produce an interesting list which includes
So, it doesn't feel as though I'm going to be at a loss for things to do.