Verily I say unto thee, all is vanity mirrors, yea even unto the connoisseur.

One of this week’s BC comic strips …

Hmmmm …

Well at least ours come and ask in person, indeed one is doing so right now …

Well, it’s back to work for many people on Monday, and the start of a new year of unachievable targets. Just remember that over the holidays all the facilities have been upgraded …

OK, so here are a few of the miscellaneous things I’ve spotted during 2012 and which stand out …

Best Name of the Year
Captain Lintorn Highett
Telegraph obituary

Neologism of the Year
Transmedia content strategy
slideshare.net, 13 January
No I don’t know what it means either!

Recipe of the Year
Chocolate-covered Bacon on a Stick
As perpetrated by Wikipedia

Book Title of the Year
Louise Rennison, Withering Tights

TV Programme of the Year
Pointless Celebrities, BBC

Which just about says it all, really!

Only in the British Isles** do we seem to have such a range of strange customs sand events. Here’s a selection of some of the odder ones we came across during the year.

World Pea Shooting Championship
Witcham, near Ely, Cambridgeshire
Next being held on 13 July 2013.

Quite a few places hold a Scarecrow Festival, including Langwathby (Cumbria), Harpole (Northants) and Hayling Island (near Portsmouth).

National Giant Vegetable Championships which seem to always be a part of the Royal Bath & West Show at the end of August.

Cow Dung Festival, County Mayo, Ireland
But then there’s a Cow Dung Festival in Switzerland as well!

British Beard and Moustache Championships
Held in Brighton in September 2012.
There are some brilliant pictures here. The 2013 World Championships will be held in Germany.

World Snail Racing Championships
Congham, near King’s Lynn, Norfolk; August 2012

World Stone Skimming Championships
Easdale Island, near Oban, Argyll
Next on 29 September 2013.

World Custard Pie Championships
Marden, Kent; September 2012

** I was going to say England, but then realised there are Irish and Scottish entries in the list.

It seems to be traditional to write something to round off and/or summarise the departing year. And who am I to buck the trend? So here is my pick of wcky headlines seen during 2012.

Plane hit by bus shelter during storm
BBC, 4 January

Amish men jailed over reflective triangle dispute
Telegraph, 12 January

Got PMS? Time to Spot the Snake!
Neurotic Physiology blog, 9 May
One’s heard of trouser snakes, but …

Window of John Fowles says landmark home has become a dump (sic)
Telegraph; 23 March

Microsoft invests in Nook e-books
BBC, 30 April

Wet weather hampers All England squid catching championships
Telegraph, 2 May

Cherie Blair herds goats across London Bridge
Telegraph, 24 June

Forgotten Constables up for sale
BBC, 18 June
I knew the country was hard up, but selling off stray policemen?

Bad weather leads to broccoli crisis
Telegraph, 28 June
Now admit it, you never imagined that a lack of broccoli would constitute a crisis.

Stonehenge upgrade to begin
Telegraph, 6 July
Only 5000 years to get the planning permission!

Parrot in trouble for shouting out taxi bookings
Telegraph, 12 July

TfL denies driverless Tube rain trial on London Underground (sic)
BBC, 18 July

Starlings in danger after numbers plummet 80p per cent (sic)
Telegraph, 20 July

Part of Whitehall shut due to naked man on statue
BBC, 23 November
They’ve since changed that headline.

Enjoy!