It's already New Year in Sydney. I was listening to Radio 5 Live this morning on my way back from a club run in the Comrie Hills, and was listening to the live broadcast from Sydney Harbour. We were in Sydney in April this year, which made it all seem very real. The broadcast was from the Museum of Contemporary Art, which we visited; people were being interviewed people in the Circular Quay area, which was only a couple of minutes walk from our hotel; and on top of that I have a few friends who are in Sydney at the moment on holiday. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if I had heard them on the programme.
We've had a brilliant year. In January it was my 40th and we had a couple of parties and 'birthday run' on the WHW to mark it. Then in March it was the Domestic Female's turn to become old. This gave us another excuse to celebrate in some style with friends at Andrew Fairlie's restaurant at Gleneagles. Soon after that we went for a 2 week break to Australia. After 5 days in Sydney, we spent a few days at Uluru (to give it its proper Aboriginal name), then headed north for a cruise up the Great Barrier Reef, before spending a night in Cairns before flying home. It was the holiday of a lifetime. As an added bonus Elle McPherson was on our flight from Cairns to Sydney. She couldn't keep her eyes off me.
In June it was the WHW race, then we headed north for a week in Skye at the end of July. This was the first time we had been in Skye but were sadly disappointed, and came home about 4 days early. There were too many sheep, so we couldn't walk the dogs properly, and too many ticks. It was also a hell of a long drive to get there. At least we've been now, so can't be accused of ignoring our own country, although we won't rush back. We made up for the disappointment by celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary with a night away at Dunkeld.
At the end of September we moved out of the town and into the country in the southern part of Perthshire. It is the Domestic Female's dream house, and I'm quite taken by it as well. Although it rains a lot, and it has been dark almost all the time since we moved in, we wouldn't swap it for anything. I've joined another running club, Strathearn Harriers, and I'm getting used to sticking on my headtorch and green wellies every night and walking the dogs across the moor. The dogs think they have died and gone to heaven. We just love the tranquility. Some nights the sky is so clear that we can see thousands of stars.
So, goodbye 2006. We are almost at 2007 which is just over 4 hours away as I write this note. Who knows what lies ahead? If 2007 is half as exciting a year as 2006 I won't be disappointed, although a sub 21.39 WHW in 2007 wouldn't go amiss, I have to say, along with some decent weather, a top six finish in the SPL for Falkirk and an MBE for me in the next honours list.
Finally I'm going to do the pretentious bit. Assuming there are any, I'd like to wish all the readers of my blog a happy and successful new year. Happy new year to you all.
