It started with …no, it was bad enough my using it twice. A
third time would be very lame, indeed.
No doubt, there’ll be plenty of News Reviews of 2011 to
remind everyone about the momentous events of the year just passed. Hours of
airtime that could be employed to entertain people in these troubled times
will, instead, be devoted to a seemingly never-ending collective post-mortem of
the last twelve months, as if we needed reminding.
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Japan, bin Laden, Gaddafi,
Berlusconi, Putin, rigged elections, Murdochs, custard pie, Rebekah Brooks,
Andy Coulson, phone hacking, Millie Dowler, Tom Watson, Euro crisis, Merkozy,
Jimmy Savile, Royal weddings, Prince Philip, the Space Shuttle, Christchurch,
Edmundo Ros, Vaclav Havel, Amy Winehouse, Sepp Blatter, Manchester City, Gary
Speed; I'm just scratching the surface. 2011 was far from boring.
Closer to home, the pandas arrived, and the Scottish
National Party achieved a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament under a
system that was designed to stop that very thing from happening. Opposition
party leaders tumbled like skittles and a tide of imperialist rhetoric began to
roar in from London. The future is unclear, but if the Scottish people can be made
to understand that Independence would mean an end to Tory rule forever, the
wind of change would blow faster and stronger than the 8th of
December storm. At least we’d still have an NHS, and a Public Sector workforce
that is valued, trusted and rewarded for its devotion and endeavour.
On the football field, there were some wonderful team and
individual performances, and the bargain signing of recent times, but the
season was characterised by disappointment and underachievement, and the least
said about that Wednesday night in May, the better. After battle recommenced in
July (yes, July), nerves, injuries and even ego conspired to leave the team 15 points behind
the unconvincing leaders by the beginning of November. As the year drew to a
close, a slow, patient miracle had crept up behind the complacent and the
unsuspecting, resulting in a swing of 17 points. I can’t quite believe it
myself.
On TV, the best series yet of the modern era of Doctor Who
aired either side of the summer and the much-heralded (and much-feared) digital
switchover came and went without incident or tears. Coronation Street
rediscovered comedy and Moldovans in pointy hats stole the show, but not the
winner’s trophy, at the Eurovision Song Contest.
What about me? Exactly, what about me? I played (after a
fashion) in two concerts; I finally figured out how to work Twitter; I resumed
blogging (obviously) after a long absence; I bought a BluRay player; I went on
strike for the first time in my life. Exciting, huh? I hear Nostradamus will be
trending in 2012.
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