Happy New Year, etc.

Oh, and Happy New Year. Did you have a good Christmas? Are you glad it's all over? Yes, me too, but I hate the idea of January stretching ahead. There's really nothing to look forward too. Go away, some say. Well It's all very well booking a big holiday, but when you're back you find you've got the whole year staring you in the face with no prospect of another holiday soon lest you use up all your holiday entitlement. Sigh.

This year, I'm going to be good about holidays. Last year I seemed to end up with no holiday by the end of September. We went to Japan, Finland, Jersey, Canada, and with the odd day off here and there it all adds up.

So this year, I'm staggering it. So nothing until Easter, which will be my 11th wedding anniversary and we're thinking Istanbul. It's where we fell in love you know, 16 years ago. We went as friends and returned as, well you can guess the rest.

Back then, penniless as we were, we arrived at Istanbul airport and told a taxi driver to take us to Lalleli, the cheap hotel district. So he deposited outside the very 1970s Hotel Florida, a riot of dark pine cladding and no hot water, cockroaches, gun battles at 3am, other peoples hair on your pillow and a sticky carpet, all for £6 a night. Who could complain about that?

This time though, things will be very different. But if you see me considering a frittery day off, stop me.