Thunderbozz

It's the end of another year, and once again we've witnessed events and trends that no-one would have predicted 12 months ago. The internet now controls the music charts, Blair and Bush have admitted they were wrong, Bono is a Knight, and Pluto is no longer a planet. Less surprising events include the new home of Dartford FC in the borough, the execution of Saddam Hussain, being closer than even to another world war, and England losing the Ashes. It's been a bit of a mixed year for me personally, although it's been resoundingly positive on the whole. I've made some new friends – and found a new arch-enemy; enjoyed some excellent times – and suffered a few lows; made some pretty big changes to my life – and noticed how little really changes. Which is good. My new year's resolution is simple: to enjoy life a little bit more, and I hope you will too. Enjoy 2007, let's make it even better than the last.

The tree and decorations are up, the festive playlist is on shuffle, and I've just watched The Muppets' Christmas Carol on telly: I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Καλά Χριστούγεννα , Feliz Navidad and Joyeux Noël.

It's that time of year again when you find yourself thinking " Nearly Christmas! It only feels like yesterday that we were enjoying the Summer ", but then also find yourself saying " Thank goodness that term's over - it feels like I've been doing it forever ". My first "term" living (properly) in Sheffield is nearly over. Tomorrow evening I'll be sitting on the coach home, heading back to Kent for Christmas. Sadly, my suitcases won't be full of presents and gifts, as the need to bring back around a hundredweight of books is one that cannot be ignored (I've two essays to write and an exam to study for over the break). Most people have drifted home already, and I probably would have gone by now too if it wasn't for my dental appointment tomorrow. Just as I was getting used to the shards of plastic wedged between my teeth, they'll be taken out and replaced with a metal wire. The next time you see me I'll resemble Jaws, so h

It's Thursday the 14th of December. Here are the headlines at six o'clock: My teeth feel like they are being pushed in different directions at the same time. Because they are. In other news, Our Great Leader The Right Honourable Tony Blair has finally been questioned by the police. The Prime Minister was asked about the cash-for-peerages scandal in which he was directly involved. Downing Street welcomed the opportunity for an interview, reassuring the British public that Mr Blair was not interviewed under police caution, and that the ability to put spin on even the most deeply-embarrassing stories is still very much within their power. The world collectively gasped with shock this afternoon when the report commissioned to reveal that Princess Diana was killed accidentally, revealed that Princess Diana was killed accidentally . Mohamed Al-Fayed said the £3.69 million spent on the Stevens inquiry was a "total waste", adding the money could have been better spent on the

Another pleasant weekend here in the city of seven hills. Football first: Dartford managed to grab a 93rd-minute equaliser against Dover on Saturday, which keeps us in 2nd place in the league. After a few hours work on Sunday, I managed to catch the last (and best) half of a fantastic derby game between Arsenal and Chelsea. Then on Monday night it was down to Bramhall Lane for the game between Sheffield United and Aston Villa. Sheffield were slow to get out of the blocks and conceded after only 90 seconds, but the Blades fought back and deserved more than the final 2-2 scoreline rewarded them. Yesterday was Steph's birthday, the perfect excuse for one of those rarest of treats: a full-blown buffet, with pineapple and cheese on sticks, sausage rolls, celery and dips... Then a house party in which some people had too much to drink, probably only one had too little, but everyone had a good time. And that brings us to today, where I've been to the first appointment of my d

Armed with an interest in all things technical, and nothing else to do, last night I downloaded a couple of things from 4oD - the rather awkwardly-named on-demand service from Channel 4. It's one of the easiest services to use, as all you have to do is download the 4oD (or "fod", as I'm going to call it) software onto your computer, then just browse through all the programmes on offer and download the ones you want. There are some free shows to tempt you in, but most content is priced: TV shows cost 99p and films cost £1.99 to rent for 48 hours. I downloaded Trigger Happy TV and Withnail and I . Each download is pretty high-quality, so the estimated download times are usually twice the length of the programme itself. I left mine downloading overnight, so don't know exactly how long each took, but they appeared to be arriving fairly rapidly. To watch each show, you simply open up the 4oD software and click the play button next to each download. From there

There's a noticeable change in the air this week as people recognise we've only got two weeks of lectures left of this term. I don't just mean the dwindling attendances in the lecture halls, but people just seem to be in a better mood. The stress of essays has been removed: these next few weeks are for relaxing, socialising, and enjoying being independent. There is the small issue of some pointless presentation I have to prepare for one of my seminars. It's on Evelina (Frances Burney), which is one of the most horrible books I've ever read. It's like being in a nightmare you can't wake up from: every page is a confusing, claustrophobic tangle of hideous characters and garish locations. Thankfully, it's the last book on the course (which hasn't, it's fair to say, been one of my all-time favourites). In the cricket, England have snatched defeat from the claws of [moral] victory. Make no mistake, we definitely lost the game, it was not won by Austr

Today, I met legendary weatherman Ian McCaskill and star of Look North Paul Hudson. They were signing copies of their new book in the WH Smith store in Fargate, also the location of my new weekend job. Once they'd finished their stint at noon, myself and the lovely Megan took over the table. Sadly, I wasn't greeted with the same reception as Hudson (no kisses and cuddles from the middle-aged womenfolk of Yorkshire), but we managed to shift a few units. Megan is Australian, and therefore took some teasing over their current Ashes form. To be honest, we're not in the strongest position to take the mick just yet , but excellent performances from Collingwood and Pietersen have instilled some confidence in the side. A good bowling performance is now what's needed - and therein may lie the problem. Today's Ryman Division 1 South fixture finished Fleet Town 0-3 Dartford, pushing us up to second in the table. Next week is the big game against Dover - currently four