"Another year over and what have you done?" Love John Lennon; hate that question. But it is the day before New Year's Eve, a time for reflection.
Fortunately, I am still just about in possession of a rather tatty Moleskine 2006 diary, which is filled with barely legible notes that I will now try to decipher. Samuel Pepys has nothing to worry about, you understand, but here are some highlights from my year and some tips to self on how to create an even better 2007.
A diary entry back in October informs me that this was the year I started presenting a radio programme called Weekend Blend on Newstalk 106. It was a big year for Newstalk, which transformed from a Dublin radio station beloved of taxi-drivers and my ma into a national radio station. The taxi drivers and my ma are still listening, along with, in the absence of official figures, hundreds of thousands of people around the country, probably. (Just so you know, as well as being a review of 2006, this column is also an unashamed plugathon of things that I think are worthy of plugging.) So in that spirit: ah, go on, listen to Weekend Blend on Saturday mornings with me, Róisín Ingle. We had Rupert Everett on talking about his friend Madonna a few weeks ago, and yer man from the Royle Family was great gas and this morning there's an interview with the actress Victoria Smurfit, who has a great story about cleaning the family Rolls-Royce for pocket money. Today we also have a review of the year panel that includes Bosco and Dana. Classic radio.
Tip to self for 2007: Buy George Hook lunch and steal all his broadcasting secrets.
I see from an entry back in May that I apparently wrote a children's book for Veritas, based around a character called Wendy O'Reilly who is being bullied by a girl called Maria Morrissey-Marr. The eagle-eyed among you will recognise that sneaky homage to The Smiths. The children in my old primary school, Scoil Mhuire in Sandymount, helped me a lot by answering a questionnaire, and I am really grateful to them. Unfortunately, the project stalled because I didn't get it together to work on the publisher's suggested edits, and in a head-in-the-sand kind of way I haven't been able to go back to the manuscript since. When anyone asks me about the book, I just change the subject. Sigh.
Tip to self for 2007: The only way to find out if the publishers still want the book is to ask them. And even if they are fed up to the back teeth with you, which they would be fully entitled to be, there would still be no harm in putting the finishing touches to the book, just so the nieces and nephews could enjoy it. Or use it for spare colouring paper even.
Diary entries from throughout the year reveal that I was a bit evangelical about going to see Duke Special perform. I feel a plug coming on. Music fans, if you haven't seen Belfast boy Duke Special, or listened to any of his tunes, visit www.dukespecial.com and prepare to fall in love.
Tip to self in 2007: Just because you think Juliet Turner, Ron Sexsmith, Duke Special and Yusef Islam walk on musical water, there's no need to bore people.
I deduce from a recent diary entry that after waiting 21 years, I finally got to see George Michael on stage. Watching him sing Everything She Wants in The Point, I couldn't help going back to 1985, when I went to see him at the RDS. Back then he was one half of Wham! I went alone and I brought with me a 15-page letter to George, tied up in ribbon, which I was going to throw on to the stage. By the time I got to the front of the stage, though, I'd lost the letter. This year I discovered I am still in love with George Michael.
Tip to self in 2007: This is 2007, not 1987.
From entries in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December, I can't help observing that losing weight, getting fit, being healthy and not eating rubbish was something of a preoccupation in 2006. Funny that. This year I've done blood test diets, revisited Atkins, rekindled my love affair with Weight Watchers, and joined the Flora team for the Women's Mini Marathon. In recent months Ray D'Arcy and a personal trainer called Niall Hobbert have been helping me with this lifelong mission, and I'm saying nothing else because, touch wood, it seems to be working, even if that pesky festive season delayed progress slightly.
Tip to self for 2007: Do not under any circumstances spent the new year getting sucked in by The Shangri La diet, which involves drinking sugared water to curb the appetite. I don't care if someone sent you a free copy of the book . . . (this tip to self goes on for some time). Happy New Year.