"Don't threaten me with a dead fish"

"I have of late,--wherefore I know not,--lost all my mirth, and indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory"
Hamlet
And a plague on both our houses-Lani and I are still sick, head colds having now relocated to the southern hemisphere of Chesterton, as we nestle like two bags of old washing around a barely adequate air heater.
A good a time as any to crack open my annual New Year double bill-'Withnail and I' and the 'The Man who fell to Earth' then.
Perhaps I should cover myself in deep heat and protest dramatically that 'My head is numb'
In fact, any number of eminently quotable soundbites from the former could sum up the years end.
"The greatest decade in the history of mankind is coming to an end and as Presuming Ed here has so consistently pointed out, we have failed to paint it black."

"Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day."

"Look at my tongue; it's wearing a yellow sock."

So-2010-what a year...fifteen shows-four featured.
Eighty six paintings-twenty of which are some of the best things I've ever done.
A veritable year in paint then.

And the best of it? Visiting England in the Spring, holding my grandchild for the first time. Standing by a waterfall in Yosemite and watching fireworks from a boat on the 4th July with my wife. Spending time with friends and meeting people who came to my shows.

Peering through the fog of Benedryl, I'd rather not recall the worst, but the Raw show, almost cutting off my hand with a hedge trimmer, the entire month of August and losing our beloved cat Pepper are particular low-lights.

Looking forward then-I'm a couple of weeks from putting my book 'Dead Ends' to bed.
And whilst I shalln't be doing anywhere near as many showings in the coming twelve months, my appearances shall be more prestigious.
Then there are the new works which I am beside myself with excitement about.

So Happy New Year to you all, and In the final words-this time from 'The Man who Fell to Earth'...
"I think perhaps Mr. Newton has had enough, don't you?"