Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. Life at home has been upheaved due to furniture being rearranged to have new windows put in and I have only just reassembled the desk and my little office is partially up and running again. My inbox nearly burst at the seams as I powered up the laptop, opened Outlook and was notified “receiving 1 of 475 emails”. Anyway…

It’s nearly midnight and pretty soon it will be 2005. We’re having a quiet night at home this time, with good food, duvet on the couch downstairs and catching up on some films we missed. I hope that wherever you are, you are having a good new year’s eve and that 2005 will be big, in a good way, for your whole family.

In case you’re wondering where you can send your unwanted christmas gifts, old clothes, toys and anything else you dont want, those affected by the recent Tsunami could benefit from anything you want to give. Look out for charity drop offs in your area. (Thanks Angel)

In the UK there is an umbrella group for the Tsunami Appeal called the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which funds the major charities including among others, British Red Cross, Cafod, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund. Call them on +44 0870 60 60 900 or donate online at www.dec.org.uk. Donations to the DEC will help the charities to make a more co-ordinated response to this disaster.

Other bodies raising money include the Muslim groups Muslim Aid (+44 020 7377 4200) and Islamic Relief (+44 0121 622 0622) and the Hindu charities Sewa International +44 0116 261 0303 and the ISKCON Disaster Appeal on +44 01923 856848.