The last day of 2010 is cool, dank and overcast, and I’ll soon be closing the blinds. I’ve yet to notice the slow lengthening of the days since the winter solstice. But for once, I’m quite looking forward to January, which, in England, is usually an interminably long and dismal month. The difference for me, of course, this coming January, is that I won’t be getting up to struggle into work. I’ll be getting up to wrestle with words at my desk. To knuckle down, focus, and pull off that strange trick of creating something from nothing. Pep talk over. Just hope I haven’t jinxed myself.