31 December 2011	INDEX
2011 robin
2011 has been a weird year (as usual). I more or less gave up being a journalist, a pity really since I'm good at it. I continue to earn a small amount of money from public relations but hundreds rather than thousands (about the same as I get from compiling crosswords). My main income source is now video creation and I've worked for some big clients during the year (Richer Sounds, Johnson Controls and the Centre for Economic Policy Research). It's a great experience working for big organisations since they do what they say they will do. Although I have been considering giving up having a passport (mine becomes due for renewal next year) I got two jobs involving brief trips abroad. I was in Dubai during the early months of the so called Arab Spring and went to Brussels shortly before David Cameron used the British veto. Don't blame me for either! Dubai was a rather wonderful place to visit but not somewhere I would choose to live. You can see a video I made on my Youtube channel. My son Arthur decided to move to South Korea and it looks like he's going to stay there (so I may be forced to renew my passport next year). My daughter Laura continues to live just down the road but likes to visit exotic places (she's going to be in Sweden in a few days time). No close relatives died or got seriously ill during the year so I guess that's a result. For the last couple of years I've been working on a video about the Olympics and that's now gone live (though I'm still thinking about making some changes). I'm also starting a couple of fairly major video projects. The end of 2011 finds me happier and more contented than I've been for many years. I've completely stopped drinking alcohol for the last month (I often do this in the Autumn). If you live alone (like I do) it's difficult not to go to pubs in order to meet people, but these days there are many cafes providing an alternative. Trouble is I'm eating too many cream cakes (a new weakness, I never used to have a sweet tooth). Who knows what the future holds? Several friends/ colleagues/ associates/ people I know have discovered serious illnesses in 2011. It seems to have been a very bad year for many people. I'm not wealthy or wise, but I am healthy. I guess one out of three is not bad.
31 December 2011	INDEX