Fox (n): carnivore of genus vulpes; crafty person; scavenger; (vb) to confuse; -ed (adj): to be drunk.
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Saturday 31 December 2011

Thank you, 2011.

OOF. Another 365 days have passed and the whole world is marking it at an arbitrary point in time after which everything is much the same as it was before, only with a hangover.

It must be said though that the annual habit of taking a step back to survey what has passed is a pleasing one, and when I bought a 2012 diary the other day I had a lot of fun going through the 2011 one to transfer all the birthdays and seeing where I was and what or whom I was doing.

Journalistic round-ups of the year are a massive ball-ache for the poor sod who has to write them, so I won't bore you with one here. If you can be bothered Charlie Brooker's Wipe 2011 does a reasonable job of it, although there seems to be more on phone-hacking than the Arab Spring (which involved rather more deaths and democracy and will probably affect more lives in the long run). Anyway you can watch it here to make up your own minds and if you get as far as 15 minutes in there's 90 seconds of yours truly saying super-injunctions were a farce.

I don't know about you but lots has happened in my year - the first half was bit rubbish and the second half was brilliant. I got my book deal and there are already a couple of projects in the pipeline for 2012 which I can't tell you about yet.

This time last year I didn't have this blog - I'm not sure what I have now that I do, but it's fun and lots of you seem to like it, so I might as well carry on. A handful of people will never like a tabloid journalist, or me, or what I say, and that's fine. I have neither the time nor medical expertise to convince them otherwise anyway.

During the course of the past year many of you have taken the time and effort to email, Facebook or Tweet me thanks, praise, abuse, questions, thoughts and demands. Whether you agree with me or not it's amazing - interaction is what teaches us about each other, and makes the world a better place. No-one ever died from debate.

The best thing I have discovered this year is that there are many people out there who quietly watch, read, and listen, and absorb without saying a word. When they do it is a little message to say what I wrote made them laugh, think a bit, or that while they still hate journalists they think I'm all right. Usually they manage to say it just as I am despairing over something, and it perks me right up.

Scott wrote:
"I'm not interesting or special or talented so there's no reason why you should care what I think, but as the year draws to an end I wanted to send a brief note of gratitude to you (and the two other bloggers I read). 
I appreciate that the investment in the blog must be great, especially as it comes on top of a busy (and often emotional) job and, no doubt, personal life. It must be difficult sometimes to keep it so consistently good. But please do. The reason I only read three blogs is primarily due to time but also because there's an awful lot of shite around. Fleet Street Fox offers a perspective which makes me think more about things. This makes me a bit more considered, a bit less willing to jump to a conclusions and I like to think, a bit better all round.
Best wishes for the year ahead, the book launch, the continued success of the blog and everything else. Thanks again."
And Nic said:
"This will probably sound ridiculous but having read your blog since its inception and hearing snippets of abuse you have gone through from your ex and as a result of your job, yet you seem to be stronger because of it and just as secure and defiant in your own mind, it really gives me hope for my future.
I have emailed some stranger before and it is likely irrelevant to you but it means the world to me and I felt compelled to thank you. So... Thank you x"
Both of which were rather lovely to receive.

So let me repay the compliment to thank all of you - for reading, retweeting and sharing, for clicking on adverts and whatever attention you pay to this daft idiot on the internet. I'm glad we know each other. And if there is someone out there who has done you a turn this year, then pick up the phone and thank them too.

Now go and get pissed. 2012 is coming round and I swear it's bringing a bottle of vodka with it.


You're brilliant, is what you are.