Is the glass half full or half empty?

Well here it is. The last post. Although, the lack of a bugler rather spoils that impression...

It's been a tough year. Even tougher than I imagined it would be at the beginning of it, when I ran through all the horrible things which could happen and wondered if I had the strength to diet through them. I thought I might, but the truth turned out to be that I succumbed when the stress mounted - just as I always do. How else do you imagine I got to be the size I was last year?

Just to recap, I started this off weighing 18 stone back on 6 January 2005. The first stone came off by 2 February and the second bit the dust on 12 March, during a vicious bout of gastroenteritis. It all got a bit boring after that, and the third didn't disappear until mid-August. At which point I ground to a halt, causing perturbation to my small band of constant supporters.

Since then, the weight has crept back on as I failed catastrophically to resist the temptations of the season. I finish this challenge weighing in at 15 stone 5. That's 2 stone 9 pounds less than when I started, but a whole 3 stone 5 pounds more than I hoped to be today.

For those of my less charming supporters who may clamour to know if I'm going to be paying the sponsorship back, the answer is No! It went to a good cause! But on the basis that payments to date equal approximately £30 per pound, I am paying £150 into the pot as a forfeit for the 5 pounds I regained.

I'm sorry to have let down my sponsors who demonstrated they believed in me and what I was trying to do by pledging such generous support. I'm even more sorry to have let down those who benefit from the work of ActionAid in some of the poorest countries of the world, especially on today's anniversary of the Tsunami which so tragically called attention to the fragility of human existence.

So I could look on this experience as nothing more than a failure - and I frequently do - but I'm going to choose not to do so. Given the events of my year, with the loss of a dearly loved pet, four illnesses, flood and temporary homelessness, I could easily have put all the weight back on. It really is only this challenge and your support which stopped me doing that. So I will start 2006 succeeding at weighing less than I did the year before, and I have every intention of starting 2007 in the same fashion. I will attempt to lose a further 4 stone in the coming year - but I'll be doing it in private. This blog ends here.

Goodbye.