Blogwatch

Congratulations...

Mike, whose Business Diary of his second week in Hangzhou made it onto page seven of Tuesday's Nottingham Evening Post. However, as he himself admits, it was the front page headline that probably captured the attention of most readers: "Burglar hid haul inside his false leg"...

Meanwhile...

Robin makes a welcome return to the blogging fray with a look back at the festive period chez Speaking As A Parent - "We had a truly non-partisan Christmas Day, starting with a New Labour morning featuring champagne and Marks and Spencer's truffles, balanced by a small, prudent bit of wealth redistribution from the richest in our family to some of the poorest. I think I got it about right and it seemed very popular. I may well be in office next Christmas too. My attempts to promote education were less well received though, and perhaps I will give less books next year, if re-elected. The highlight was our Tory Xmas dinner. With Brussels but not run by Brussels. We then drifted into a Lib Dem afternoon of not knowing quite what to do".

Elsewhere...

Dave announces his New Year's resolution - "to apply for a new job every day in January. Jobs I know I won't get, jobs I hope to get, jobs I'd be totally unsuitable doing and jobs no one wants. I thought I'd 'put myself out there' and see what doors open for me (or rather which doors get slammed in my face)".

Reluctant Nomad recounts a cautionary tale of why it can be perilous to leave certain foodstuffs lying around for the unsuspecting to chance upon - "The dope cake had been in the fridge for months so she’d have seen it before without trying it. Although it was heavily laden with cocoa and chocolate, the taste of it was unmistakeable to an aficionado. To an unsuspecting innocent like Patience, it would have tasted like lucerne heavily laced with chocolate".

Mish hatches a wicked but wickedly funny plot to confuse "our colonial cousins" - "Just drop in a few during ordinary conversation: 'Oxford Circus? No, this one goes to Narnia, you need the District Line on the next platform'".

Finally...

The moment you've all been waiting for (you just didn't know it): Phill reveals his Bus Routes Of 2005 - "16 - Birmingham - Hamstead (AKA The Polish Route) - Practice your conversational Polish whilst travelling through some of the dodgiest parts of North Birmingham. The ideal bus route to experience some of those classic Polish bus driver moments. Ask them any other question except 'How much is it?' and be prepared to be met by confusion, bewilderment, hostility, more confusion, or a beautiful smile and a shrug which conveys the message - 'I have no bloody idea what you are talking about, I'm from Gdansk'".