Times, past

How was 2007 for you?  Making a list seems to be a requisite part of closing down the Old Year so, here, in no particular order, are my Top Twenty Times of last year.

Meeting the Love Libraries new professionals who inspired me with their confidence and commitment.... taking part in the anniversary celebrations for the CILIP Carnegie and Greenaway Medals which reinforced once again how important those Awards are in the world of children's literature and illustrations .... being made a Fellow of CILIP's Career Development Group at Umbrella 07, an honour I prize greatly because of my longstanding link with CDG/AAL .... seeing the AGM give overwhelming approval to the new governance arrangements and the new subscription structure ... and seeing Council welcome a substantial operating surplus (over £200,000) for 2007 ..... giving evidence at Stormont on the legislation which will underpin the new Northern Ireland Library Authority .... discussing international librarianship with enthusiastic East Europeans in Berlin and committed Canadians in St John's Newfoundland .... listening to Judge Albie Sachs at the opening of ILFA's World Congress in Durban, South Africa .... getting re-elected to the IFLA Governing Board .... and losing 32lb in my Sponsored Slim (with CDG again) to support prison libraries in Zambia.

That's a Top Ten from my work experience.  And - given the need for work/life balance - here's a Top Ten from the rest of my life in 2007.  Celebrating my mother's ninetieth birthday and my daughter's graduation ... enjoying the view of Derwentwater from Catbells on a bright March morning, and the view of the Mediterranean from the hilltop bar on Montjuic above Barcelona on a warm September afternoon ... feeling the intensity and the hope as drive and determination took the England rugby team to the World Cup Final ... getting a real cultural buzz from the brilliantly appropriate final scene of The Sopranos and the poptastically energetic music of the Pidgeon Detectives and seeing Girl with a Pearl Earring in the original, and hearing Christie Moor singing live in concert ... and always (always, always) drawing strength and comfort from the warmth and joy of family and friendships.

Some people tell me that I have an overly positive attitude - but hey, why dwell on the downside of life?  Viewed through my rose-tinted rear-view mirror, 2007 seems to have been a pretty good year.  Let's hope for as much achievement and enjoyment - professionally and personally - in 2008.