So where did 2010 go? for me it seemed to race by and even if you don’t agree with that then you would have to agree that 2010 was a mish-mash of the good, the bad and the downright ugly, but mostly people seem to concur that it was not the best of years in general. Volcanoes erupting, earthquakes, floods, strikes, disputes – given that we really couldn’t do anything about them happening makes it all seem that much more dreary and a year we would all rather forget.

As we go into 2011 in a few short hours time I hope you will join with me in hoping that the next 12 months will be a hell of a lot better for the human race and this over-burdened planet of ours. If we all just take the time and make the effort to see that the space we occupy on earth is nicer, cleaner and more positive for those around us then at least we can say at the close of 2011 that we gave it our best shot. I would like to hear less, a lot less, about man’s inhumanity to man and in saying that I mean that I want to see less of it happening. I want to see our most vulnerable children in society get a fairer deal from those charged with looking out for them and I want parents everywhere to realise just how precious their children are and make every moment of their childhood matter in the best possible way. I have always said that when you get older you can in some ways recapture your own youth – but you can never, ever recapture your children’s youth…once that’s gone  it’s gone – know what I mean?

I hope that if there is a higher power watching over us all that ‘it’ gives us all a smoother ride throughout 2011 and that we all recognise more the importance of watching out and caring for those around us, in that regard we can make life nicer for everyone else and it doesn’t do us any harm either. Drive that little bit slower, take one less glass of booze, smoke one less fag, read that bedtime story to your kids that you’ve been meaning to do for ages now – it’s the little things we do that can make such a difference to life in general.

Happy New Year