LH Confidential

Jan 9 2009 by Lorraine Howard, Irvine Herald

I’VE FOUND a way of achieving total silence in the usually hectic Irvine Herald office – ask them what their New Year Resolutions are.

You could hear a pin drop as I asked Lex, John, Eric, Stevie and Nan if they had made any.

So, I’ve decided to come up with resolutions for each of them.

Firstly, the senior hacks, Lex and John should turn to the dark side of television and try and watch as much reality TV as humanly possible, who knows, the pair of them may even become avid viewers of the programmes they currently loathe – Strictly Come Dancing, the X Factor, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and of course, the mother of all 24 reality TV shows, Big Brother.

At the moment, John regards watching a Celtic game on his box as “reality TV” viewing but I long for the day when the tables turn and they are the ones requesting an early finish to make sure they’re home in time for a bit of Gok Wan or Nicky Hambleton-Jones makeover magic.

Now, to Nan at the front counter... that’s an easy resolution to make on her behalf – she should become the first female Carter in Irvine’s history.

And I’m not talking about the Cunninghame Riders, the one-time women’s equivalent, no, she should be leading the charge of these Carter men.

A woman who has more passion for the festival and love of horses than anyone I know, Nan should make it her best year ever.

Photographer Stevie is easy too – he should strive to become a domestic god.

This man’s a genius with his camera so he must be able to conquer his fear of housework and in particular, the iron.

He’s more than capable and while, I’m not a domestic goddess by any manner of means but I know he can do it.

And then there’s Eric, a good friend who is about to become a dad for the second time around.

He’s also a terrific guitar player so I’ve decided his resolution should be to keep at it and get back on to the live circuit... watch out Wembley, here he comes!

As for me, I’ve been encouraged by my colleagues to stop the Tuesday deadline tantrums.

I can’t promise but I’ll give it a go as soon as they try and adhere to my, sorry, their, New Year Resolutions.