Thanks to all of you folks who have taken time to check in with good wishes for 2006. I left the bunker this morning to get some air. The partying and fireworks are over once again and the streets are deserted. Something resembling peace reigns. For the time being. May you (and yours) grab a coupla bagfuls of said tranquility while it's going.

This was the view looking across the River Forth from Bo'ness towards Fife at approx. 9.30am when the sun was on the way up to chase the frost.

A couple o' minutes before midnight we switched on the TV to check the "official" countdown on national television. The final seconds were tick-tocked away to the sound of Louis Armstrong's 'What A Wonderful World', but as soon as the clock hit 24:00 the familiar 'Pretty Vacant'-like intro of Joey Ramone's version of the song hit the airwaves while the screen was filled with images of fireworks. I'm a real sucker for these type o' things, and can get way too sentimental over 'em, but whoever pulled off that little trick has my eternal gratitude...