One thing I discovered this year: writers need stimulation if they are to keep writing blogs. I started this while working on the Asian Games website in the curious small nation of Qatar, which gave me plenty to write about (Did you hear? Qatar is bidding for the 2016 Olympics?!).
Back home, there isn’t as much to write about – other blogs write a lot better than I ever could about this weird little country ruled over by a man from a planet called Bertieland.
But then France has Nicolas Sarkozy, who is a more impetuous version of Bertie, while England has the incredibly irritating Gordon Brown and his dying goldfish imitations.
Then there is the permanently bewildered George Bush and I’m sorry I don’t care who replaces him because Big Business will have him or her in their pocket. Just like here. But at least we don’t live in Pakistan.
So should I write about my sport of athletics? This was the year Christine Ohurugu served a ban for missing three dope tests and then won the 400m at the World Track and Field Championships. Increasingly this is a sport I’m not sure I want to be associated with.
It gets worse. Here a Russian chap smashed the course record for the Dublin Marathon. He had done the same last year when he ran about three minutes inside his personal best on a course that is notoriously tough. Thanks to all the time bonuses, he can now buy himself a little appartment. Of course it was all above board – the IAAF told the race organisers they had no interest in testing anyone who was running in Dublin.
A month earlier, a 34- year-old man who is at the end of his career broke the world marathon record. He claims he can run under 2 hours 3 minutes for the distance. Sorry – I’m starting to come over all queasy.
Good news is that I have managed to get back running myself and am hugely enjoying it, so looking forward to competing in orienteering events and maybe even a few hill runs in 2008. Further good news is that my club 3ROC is again thriving – this time last year, we were thinking of folding up.
Am also playing a lot more guitar, and hoping that the Olympic book will get a publisher – it’s such a struggle getting books into shops that I’m mostly having to sell “Let’s Run” myself, so it’s a very disheartening world for small publishers.
So to sum up: I still don’t have much to write about. But I will try, I promise.
Happy New Year!
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