To this day I donвЂ™t know why it induced such an extreme emotion in me. I hated, absolutely hated, it with a passion, the first time I saw it, to the extent that I nearly walked out of the cinema. And I canвЂ™t say that IвЂ™m a great follower of the art form вЂ“ the Christmas film art form, that is вЂ“ but there are one or two that deserve a mention. IвЂ™ve got to admit that the ending of films are brilliant at capturing a utopian ideal far removed from the stresses and strains of any Christmas that IвЂ™ve ever known. We don't need a crowded ballroom everything we need is hereДЄ slab of cheese and a heavy dose of schmaltz are par for the course at Christmas time. So I'd like to wish you all a blessed New Year and in the words of the song 'Perfect Year': The world keeps on turning.Д«ut beneath it all we (or maybe I should just say 'I') shouldn't stop being grateful for what's there, right here, right now. ten years ago this year we had Uncle Ted. We mourned the passing of John Kennedy Jr. We had mass shootings in Fort Hood this time. We had mass shootings in Columbine ten years ago. Ten years ago we were getting all in a tizzy about the Millennium bug. In one of those decade in review moments thereвЂ™s a lot of history rhyming, as Mark Twain would say. And although the media will provide a historical dimension to all that's been before us, 2009 is just another year. And I'm sure loads had a great year - some estatically happy on their wedding day, some with their first child, some with their first love. But I wouldn't say 2009 was fundamentally bad really. Over the last two years I've known some bereavements (the expected: old age the unexpected: suicide and a car crash the inbetween: illnesses). It may have been an odd year but in reality most years are - itвЂ™s all about degrees and your personal perspective. But I shouldnвЂ™t and wonвЂ™t complain about the broad brush applied to all in the financial industry because, letвЂ™s face it, a lot of people are in far worse positions due in no small part to the workings of the banking system. My non-blogging alter ego works for вЂEvil Bank PlcвЂ™ and it's been an interesting time, even though I havenвЂ™t had and will never see the crazy sums the tabloids tie to the pantomime villain banker. But clearly 2009 has been another strange old year for a lot of us. IвЂ™d like to think IвЂ™ve moved on as a person over the 365 and in better shape for the next. For me itвЂ™s been a year like any other вЂ“ highs and lows and lots in between.

Always something there to remind me