PHEW! It's all over for another year.

After eating enough to feed a family of four for a week (not to mention drinking enough to kill a small pony), we've limped past the finishing line of Christmas and are almost ready to put 2006 in the box marked "past".

I always find myself in a strangely empty mood after Christmas.

All of a sudden there's absolutely nothing to look forward to and, after weeks of rushing around buying, wrapping, and cooking things, there seems to be a lot of empty time to fill.

I'm glad it's not just me who feels this way - and I don't mean to be downbeat but everyone knows it - January is the most depressing month.

We're all flat broke, bloated, spotty (from eating too many mint Matchmakers) and just a little bit shell-shocked from the festive onslaught.

The biting cold weather doesn't help either. As if that wasn't enough, it's not OK to simply curl up in a ball and hibernate in a straw-filled shoebox in the garage until spring (oh, how I would welcome that right now).

It's not even good enough to go back to how you were in early December.

Because we all know in January it's the law that we have to get better, improve ourselves, make resolutions to be better people for the next chunk of our lives.

My New Year resolutions are probably pretty much the same as most of yours.

I want to exercise more, take up a hobby, and perhaps think about finally stepping on the property ladder.

And I reckon there's a few people around East Lancashire who could do with making some resolutions.

If it was up to me I would impose a few new rules of my own: l To Blackburn with Darwen Council: Try to learn a bit of common sense and get the basics right before trying out the fancy stuff. We seriously aren't bothered about having high-tech interactive handsets and CCTV monitoring for litterbugs. Just collect the bins on time, fix holes in the road, keep our council tax low and we'll be happy.

l To those who spit out their chewing gum on the pavement: Stop it. Now.

l To the people in charge of East Lancashire's rail service: Stop fibbing to us. We all accept that sometimes a service will run late, or there won't be enough seats for everyone at busy times, but don't pretend the train is coming in three minutes when we all know it's going to be another seven before it arrives. Tell us the truth - we can take it.

l To people who speed: Barely has a week gone by that we've not had a child injured, or even killed, by a speeding motorist in 2006 - stick to the speed limit, it's just not worth it.