Christmas 2009 is fast approaching. Quite a lot has happened this year really, for us of course the biggest event was the arrival of our daughter Niamh, who is now just over four months old, so this will be her first Christmas. In the wider world, the global economy is picking itself back up, so (locally) that means that the two building sites surrounding our house are putting up more houses and getting a bit closer to finishing (though still not that quickly really.)

The latest entertainment thing is the battle between X-Factor and Rage Against The Machine for the christmas number 1. RATM’s Killing In The Name Of has been championed by a Facebook campaign and the last I heard it was actually pretty close. I suspect though that the X Factor single will overtake by chart time, especially given that simple volume will come into play in the end, and the X Factor single will have been mass-produced in sufficient quantities to assure the top position.

Of course it’s always amusing to get to this time of year, because it comes with the traditional Steve Brookstein anti-X-Factor outburst. He really should listen to fellow contestant Rowetta and just let it go.

We’ve had some snow this past day, and it’s currently about 50-50 as to whether we will be seeing a white Christmas this year. I wouldn’t mind a bit of snow. But not too much, obviously, don’t want to go over the top.

So yes, I hope you all have a very good Christmas and a Happy New Year!

So, that’s it folk! We’ve made it through to the end of the year 2008. Tomorrow is another day. It’s been quite an interesting year, though I suspect that next year might be even more interesting. The final moments of the year are likely to be cold and foggy, so it says.

You can read a BBC News review of the most read stories of the year here. Some of the notable points have been the death of Heath Ledger, the strange Austrian guy who kept his family locked in the cellar for years, the Chinese Olympic Games and various assorted scandals over pretty trivial things at the BBC.

Naturally in an Olympic year, British sportspeople are quite highly honoured. Also this year sees a knighthood for Terry Pratchett – well deserved I think – and a CBE for businessman and TV’s dragon Peter Jones.

As a final splurdge this year, we’ve finally purchased a video camera. It’s a dinky little JVC thing, that is currently charging up. So eventually I’ll be able to flood this website with videos of cats. huzzah!

Happy New Year!