Shamelessly stolen from Stephen Tall as I see Google Analytics has been counting for me, here are the five most popular posts on this blog in 2006. Additional honourable mentions for my anal gig list (an anally-maintained list of musical gigs I’ve been to, let’s be clear), which would have made the top five were it a post, and Will’s kakuro masterclass, a perennial favourite from 2005 which remains the most popular post from the blog.

5. Don’t Get Me Started (September 5th) – popular with people trying to track down online copies of the TV programme in question, this was a brief post in praise of Stewart Lee’s documentary What’s Wrong With Blasphemy?

4. My Resignation Letter (April 27th) – a handy delete-as-applicable guide for shamed and/or incompetent Labour ministers which picked up a lot of hits from Google, presumably from people quitting their jobs who were hunting for a suitable form letter (sorry if, as is most likely, it wasn’t helpful)

3. Mark (January 21st) – from this blog’s busiest ever month, thanks to leadership shenanigans and people trying to find out what it was that Mark Oaten did, this was the obligatory “Oh dear” Oaten post

2. Webcameraon (October 1st) – not exactly an internet phenomenon but as close as this blog is ever likely to come, this was the first of my two YouTube videos spoofing David Cameron’s au naturelle (or au naturale?) home movies

1. Toby Stephens (April 10th) – and while everything else was going on, and probably unnoticed by regular readers, this throwaway post of little consequence has been quietly getting hit after hit. Entirely about the lineage of actor and not very good Bond villain Toby Stephens, it attracted loads of attention via Google after the actor in question appeared as Mr Rochester in the BBC’s Jane Eyre

As already reported on Duncan’s blog, I have produced some Blogger Beta sidebar widgets. If you’d like to try them out, go to the Liberal Democrats’ members only website.

Nich has tagged me with Iain’s “Ten Things I Would Never Do” meme. This has taken me a while as I’ve found it quite tricky, being more of a “Never say never” chap (but definitely not a Never Say Never Again chap), so some of the list are on the Grumpy Old Men side. Without nicking too many from other people who’ve done this, here are my ten. I reserve the right to maybe do some of these things, and, more importantly, never to do other things not listed below.

1. Become vegetarian
   Short of some Survivors style disaster that wipes out all the animals (or at least all the tasty ones), I couldn’t be vegetarian. I can make do with a Quorn-based meal from time to time, but meat is too delicious and proteiny to lose from my diet. Mmm, poultry…
2. Join a religion
   Some nice buildings and music, but no thanks. I’ve tried in the past and I just can’t do it. I’d quote Fox Mulder’s “I Want To Believe” poster, but I really don’t.
3. Wear a beard to party conference
   I am a lazy shaver (I broke my razor last night trying to clear the thicket) but since my first party conference I have had a policy of going clean shaven so as not to reinforce certain stereotypes about the Liberal Democrats. That conference in Torquay did demonstrate, though, why I don’t shave often: shortly after arriving at my hotel, I had a shave and cut the hard-to-avoid mole on my chin, delaying my arrival at the conference itself by about an hour while I lay in my room waiting for the bleeding to stop and hoping not to pass out…
4. Buy organic food
   A seven-letter word used to con middle class worriers into paying through the nose in the belief they’re getting a better product.
5. Go to G.A.Y.
   Many times I have walked past the Astoria on Charing Cross Road and seen their cinema style “What’s On” sign advertising one of these godawful nights, most of which feature some desperate miming pop group hoping the fickle punters will fork out for their shoddy single, and promised myself that I would never be dragged there, not even “ironically”. (One of my friends did go and tells me she ended up having a lovely chat with Brian off of Big Brother, so that pretty much confirms my apprehensions.)
6. Use a Barclays Bank deposit machine
   This week’s mini crisis was Barclays losing a what I considered a significant sum of my money (although it pales in comparion to the five figure sum a colleague told me her bank misplaced!). They’ve since found it and agreed to refund the charge they made for causing me to be overdrawn but I’d rather not have a repeat.
7. Wear white socks
   Shamelessly nicked from inspired by Stephen’s list. I don’t and won’t. I would consider an exception were I to play sport, but I think we all know that Hell will host the Winter Olympics before that happens. I also don’t wear shorts, but I won’t quite rule out that ever happening.
8. Purchase music by a boyband
   Online purchasing may let you hide your shame, but I still just couldn’t.
9. Watch daytime talk shows
   Of the Kilroy/Trisha/Jeremy Kyle variety. Can’t see the attraction, even as car crash TV.
10. Dye my hair to hide the grey
    I’m partly relying on the expectation of not actually going grey. I might do it for fun though.

I don’t usually go in for tagging, trendbucking cool kid that I am, but I feel in the mood at the moment so I shall tag Gavin, Rob, Alan, and Lisa.

Unless you’re going to the football, I recommend not trying to get to Glasgow – and even more so not trying to get back out of Glasgow – if Scotland are playing at Hampden Park. From slaloming around the kilted hoards at Edinburgh Waverley at lunchtime to queuing for a train back again at night, to trying to ignore the drunk women on the slow train you finally decide is a better option screaming “I’m on the long train!” over and over again into her mobile phone, it’s not fun.

I ventured to the west for the latest Scottish blogmeet. Along with organiser Gordon and various other familiar faces, it was good to meet newcomers Peggy and Patrick.

Richard L and I played an epic game of pool, as captured on camera by Richard B. Neil disappeared off to the football, but returned later to taunt us Englishers.

Despite some transport hiccups (the first train I tried to get was cancelled, most of the FastTicket machines at Edinburgh were out of order, etc.) and a smattering of rain, it was a very pleasant afternoon/evening, so thank you all for your company. Oh, and there was table service from the bar, which was most continental.