Well here we are in 2009 and a week on, how are your New Year resolutions going?

I am certainly getting more exercise since Woolworths in Uxbridge closed down, as it has stopped me taking my lunchtime short cut through the shop and into the busy High Street.

Salmon, salads, and nourishing low-fat soups are back on the Fisher menu though the odd chip or ciabatta will no doubt make a guest appearance in the coming weeks.

Calorie counted, of course ...

At the moment I honestly never want to see a roast parsnip, sherry trifle or chocolate truffle ever again. Well, at least until the next time.

What a predictable lot we are when it comes to thoughts of self improvement at this time of year and how weird it is when we look at our resolutions in context.

Last year a woman died from drinking four litres of water in an hour, in her quest to be super slim, while others expire from a lack of food, be it compulsory starvation in the developing world or voluntary anorexia in the affluent West.

It makes you wonder how we came to live in a society where, as we 'struggle' to limit our wine intake to a magical number of units to stave off ill health (or just avoid a hangover), others simply long for clean water to keep them alive.

So ... what do I want in 2009 apart from world peace, cheap petrol, no more shops to close and everyone to keep their jobs?

I'd like to see TV comedy writers using clever wit and sharp satire rather than schoolboy humour which was acceptably outrageous when it was pushing boundaries but is no longer 'naughty' and rarely funny.

I'd also love to see a revival of the oldfashioned joy of confiding in one or two well-chosen friends occasionally, rather than always publicising our lives, warts and all, on internet sites.

Oh, yes, and I'd also like to see the black-current ones left out of packets of wine gums.

Not that I'm eating them at the moment of course.

FOOTNOTE: How generous of the Government to give elderly people who are funded by the state in care homes, an increase of 75p a week to make their spending money up to £21.90 . Even prisoners are allowed £33 a week for food, cigarettes and toiletries.

Happy New Year!