What time do I call this? I bet you all thought I’d never come back…and probably a lot of you won’t even read this because I have been absent for so long. Since 12 December, I kind of ended up very pre-occupied with other business. You know, parties, my birthday, work, baby-sitting duties (???) – those sort of things – but I weren’t going to round up the year without one final editorial for 2005. So here I am. On Christmas Eve albeit quite reluctant. And quite exhausted from the past seven days. It’s not old age, is it?

Well, in case you’re wondering, I had a superb birthday – possibly the best ever. Dinner with mates and presents galore including the most jaw-dropping one ever – ‘a floatation tank experience’. I think that is what it’s called. Basically, it’s some kind of beauty therapy treatment, where you relax in a tank of water filled with lots of dead-sea salt thrown in. I thought it sounded torturous but upon reading the small print, my mind was put at ease and I can’t wait to try it out! To my mates, you all rock!!

Now I know I won’t be forgiven if I don’t give a nod to the Christmas party a few days before – the one which brought some of the erm, familiar subjects of this editorial column together (and some new ones just desperate for a mention). Hungo (who nicked my drink!), Shiny Sonia, Berksy, Ed, Dan (‘small yet perfectly formed’), Ashok and Buncey – thank you for subjecting yourselves to a night of debauchery and not stopping me from recording the evidence on camera. It was a pretty surreal night, namely because it seemed stripy shirts was the ‘thing’ to be seen in. I almost felt left out because I weren’t wearing one…

Dan decided to be controversial by sporting what appeared to be a criss-cross pattern but most chose to play it safe with stripes. Buncey went one bit further, however – striped trousers. Stylish AND impressive! The boy certainly surprised me that night...

The only thing I am annoyed about is my new skirt stank of cigarettes afterwards (not to mention stained when I dribbled my glass a bit) and it’s dry-clean only. Worse is my top – it can only be washed by hand in COLD WATER. Gah! I hate that! I must remind myself to check the wash label before purchasing garments.

Any way, as I mentioned about two weeks ago, I met actress Joanna Lumley at a charity event…and here’s the evidence. I look like I’m scraping a vol-au-vent off my teeth…in fact, I probably was. So, she’s one less person to tick off my list of celebs I’ve met.

2005 has been like speeding on the motorway at 120mph – which certainly was the case when being driven up to the Hay literary festival in June where I met the legend that is Jon Snow. *sigh* Please let 2006 be the year I rub up against Declan Donnelly and Robbie Williams…

I hope you had a great year and if not, kick the next one up the arse. I’d like to thank my friends and family and my team of brilliant writers (who are like friends and family rolled into one) for their continual support with uk-fusion and for putting up with my melodrama, and to all the record company and PR folk for allowing us to pick and choose which artists we feel inspired to write about. Here's to the next one, which I can assure you will be even better.

We’ll be back in the new year (3 January with any luck). Happy Chrimbo and a sincere happy new year. Now I'm off to try out my new George Foreman grilling machine! I tell you, life doesn't get any better than this...