Some of you may remember a few weeks ago that this site was nominated for a Blog Award or three?

I put a little orange badge down the bottom of the page.  I put it on the site because I was pleased and flattered to be nominated.  I put it down the bottom because I’m a humble sort of bloke.

The first round of judging has been going on for a while and results were to be announced last Monday.

They weren’t.

Nor Tuesday.

In fact they didn’t get published until the early hours of this morning.

Originally I was nominated in three categories – Best Personal, Best Humour and most surprisingly Best Political [I still haven’t worked out what wag nominated me for that one].  To my amazement, I have been shortlisted in all three categories.  So my humility has been tempered somewhat and the badge that was down the bottom has changed from orange to purple and is now proudly up at the top.  Damnit, I am proud.

I received a private mail yesterday from a friend.  He reckoned I was losing readers because of my stance on certain issues.  I replied that he was possibly, nay probably right but that he was missing the point of the site.  I’m not here to try to increase circulation or to become some sort of O’Huffington Post.  I’m here because it amuses me.  Something amuses or irritates me and I will write about it.  I primarily do it for me.  That fact that people go to the trouble of posting comments is the real cherry on the icing on top of the cake, and I love the banter that sometimes ensues.  I confess that if no one commented I would probably have given up years ago, but if I quit now, I feel I would be letting my new friends down.  It would be like inviting a load of friends up to the house for a party and then buggering off down to the pub.

So this is a small enterprise.  If you were to look at all the blogs in the world you would need a damn electronic microscope to find this one.  The production team behind the enterprise consists of myself sitting at the window in my armchair and Penny sleeping in the sunshine on the couch.  Hardly an enterprise worthy of board meetings and annual reports?

And for the very reason that it is such a small enterprise I am somewhat amazed that people and judges [are they the same thing?] consider the site worthy of a gong.  So Penny, Herself, my armchair and I would like to thank those anonymous people who nominated me and the anonymous judges who considered my efforts worthy. 

The Blog Awards do actually mean a lot.  They are not just handed out willy-nilly to anyone who applies.  There are strict rounds of judging and some pretty fierce competition so to be shortlisted is quite something.  There is more blood spilled at the Blog Awards than at the Oscars, and that’s saying something.

But then doubtless someone will point out that shite always floats to the top?