Anyone who titles their blog by the date each day is hardly going to miss out on new years day.

I imagine that most of you by now will have broken your new year’s resolutions. I have still kept mine from a few years ago which was never to make anymore. I find myself beginning 2009 in exactly the same way as I did 2008. That is to take up my sword and engage in battle with cancer once again. This is quite definitely not the way I would have chosen to begin this year or any other year. But then what choices do we really have in life? At present my mother is in hospital and is enjoying it so much, she does not want to come home. I have been to Nobles many times over the last year, and though I have nothing but praise for the staff there I have never enjoyed it so much that I did not want to come home.

Well now time for a little moan. It seems to me that every day of late, our civil service and Government get more stupid. In this weeks Examiner the prison is or appears to be trying to prevent people from playing with toy planes, this time hiding behind that word ‘security’. They have decided that the model plane club should not be allowed to fly their toys near the prison as it poses a security risk. Have you ever heard as much clap trap? If model planes are posing a security threat to the prison, what on earth did they build their new prison on or near an airfield? It’s so easy for any Government run establishments to get away what nonsense they want. All they have to do is quote one of three words, security or health and safety.

Well, here is to 2009 folks and I hope you all have a good one. I leave you today with a little tip which has come my way from our good friend Cheryl, across the Atlantic on the banks of the Columbian river.

The friendship test.; “In order to check out who is your best friend, lock your wife/girlfriend and dog in the car for one hour and when you open it up, see who makes the most fuss of you.”

Tom Glassey. On the banks of the Silverburn river.