I see my partner in crime has decided to start the ‘New Year’ casting a few assumptions. I would just like to make it clear – crystal clear – that I do not, and never have had a ‘Brummie’ accent. I may at a push and if the wind is in the right direction admit to a very small Black Country accent, but that’s only when I’m talking very fast in the vain hope of getting a word in edgeways.

And she was right, she didn’t sound like I’d imagined her to be in my head – for a start she stops talking for a couple of seconds in there and lets me say something :P

I’d rung Scally earlier in the evening to wish her a Happy New Year and remind her that come what may and no matter how hard she tries, she can’t get rid of me. It doesn't hurt to reinforce this with the group of them every now and again, I think of it as my good deed for the day.

Actually I missed a golden opportunity there, she answered the phone with a ‘And what’d you want?’; very friendly sort of person is our Scally. What I should have said is ‘I’ll have another couple of stories, a glass of your cava and the rest of your chocolates. You see, there is a warning there – don’t drink, it slows down your reactions.

Afterwards, a friend that had come around to see the New Year in with us asked if that was the *cough* 'lady' that we’d visited in Spain; had I known her at school? (See even other people assume just by listening to the conversation, that we’ve known each other for an age). First and foremost I obviously put him right – Scally is older than me and then I said we’d met over the internet.

He was horrified, obviously the internet is a very dangerous place fully of kinky perverts – he didn’t know how close he was to the truth either :) I told him that I’d not met her in a chat room if that was what he’d been thinking – I’d joined a writing group (didn’t mention what sort of writing group - fluffed over that bit) and I’d met people that I now considered very good friends; in fact more like the siblings I’ve never had. I don’t think he could get his head around the fact that I think the world of a group of people that I’ve never spoken to on the phone, let alone met – other than Scally that is.

Texting Pooks later on, it all of a sudden seemed a really good idea to just ring her – that’s what three glasses of wine and a Bacardi do to me I’m afraid. The strangest thing in all of this is the fact that although I’d never actually spoken to her, like meeting Scally, it just seemed very natural and like we’d known each other for years. No awkwardness or silences – more the fact that we had to get as many words into the conversation as possible. I know that when I spent time with Scally I talked the poor woman nearly to death and Pooks was the same.

With regards to the Edinburgh festival, if we do manage to get together and pull that one off I have to agree with her, we won’t stop talking all the time we’re together. I think she’s being a little on the optimistic side if she thinks I’ll shut up when the curtain rises – I’ll no doubt have a hundred and one questions that I’ll need to ask at that point.

Well, wishing you all a very Happy & Healthy 2007 and if the Leprechaun gets her finger out and sends her first draft to the Scary One, we could be updating soon.

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Oh, one more thing…Ms Wag had mouse mats made for us as part of our Christmas pressies. She used one of my photo’s for mine, I was really pleased with it. Pooks? Well, we all know that she doesn’t ‘do’ photographs – she got one of a girl with an attitude, throwing a tantrum.

So that obviously makes me ‘the Good One’ then :).