New gods

Congratulations to the top right wing, conservative and libertarian bloggers of 2010-11. Keep sticking it to the socialists, the Righteous and the enemies of freedom. I read you with delight.

For the first time in five years, this blog has not made it into Iain Dale's (rather shrunken) pantheon.

Am I shedding bitter tears? Er, hardly. I have always written this blog for my own satisfaction; eavesdroppers welcome. Bring a bottle and don't stamp out fags on the carpet.

Two things appear to have changed. Possibly three.

First, the right wing 'sphere is now vastly bigger, more widely read and more politically influential than when I started this little blog. My pathetic peepings are drowned out by booming throngs of better bloggers than I, more diligent scribes of similar political and philosophical bent. Hooray. Let a thousand flowers bloom.

Second, some would say, my fire's gone out. Well, no, not exactly. My days of making sparks on the keyboard several times daily are over, yes, but - trust me - this is a sign of mental health, not mental fatigue. The anger remains, even as we struggle on, up to our necks in the noisome ashes of the malign, treacherous and incompetent Blair-Brown governments, but it is effectively expressed for me by the rhetoric of a growing number of better bloggers than your humble servant. Uneasy lies the head, eh, Dave? Jolly good. The night has a thousand eyes. And growing.

The third, and it would not have occurred to me had I not seen acid cries of 'Referee!' on Twitter, is that the good people at Total Politics have cocked up. Unlikely, I feel, and anyway such allegations stink of sour grapes. The referee's ruling is final.

To those who voted for me this year and in the past, thank you. I'll continue to tap out a few obiter dicta which may amuse my loyal reader and even the odd passer-by.