Once upon a time...

Fairytales usually have happy endings, and we have come to expect that. But life is not a fairytale and it is often without the requisite happy ending... still, we go on.

We were all young once and all had dreams, some small, some big - we may even have wanted to conquer the world, be the best at something, become prime minister, marry our princess/prince (erase as appropriate), live happily ever after. Most of these dreams never come true, though this does not stop us having them, staring misty-eyed into the future with our youth propelling us along.

And, to be fair, some of us actually do manage to fulfil some or all of our dreams in one way or another. We overcome all obstacles to reach our goal, embrace it, make something of it and of our life; some of our goals are, of course, extremely modest and easier to achieve than others - anyone for sorting out our planet?

So what is it that determines whether we are successful in achieving our dreams? Is it down to intelligence, effort, determination, beauty, faith, luck or what?

Life is a funny old thing, as you know already dear reader from reading me assiduously; it is what it is and not what we may want it to be, not a respecter of dreams, neither on our side nor against us. We have to do our best and hope for the best, that's all, without any guarantee of success. What is certainly true, though, is that we will achieve nothing and fulfil no dream, however small, without doing our best.

The New Year is well under way and most of us will have made resolutions of one sort or another about how we are going to live during it, even what we would like to achieve. Think about the one you made this year (it's not too late to make or modify one now!), stick to it and attain something for yourself, even if it is something small. Perhaps you want to lose some weight, give up smoking or change the world... remember, all you need to do is your best! Nothing happens without some sort of effort, after all.

Try and ensure your fairytale has a happy ending, within your own parameters. That's quite a lot, you know.

And let's all try and ensure that the dreams and fairytales of madmen and women, of 'dishpots', dictators and nasty tyrants everywhere are thwarted and ruined - now that would be a happy ending!