It has been a year in which many headlines have focussed on football: the dramatic fall and rise of Rangers, Champions League triumph for Celtic, financial turmoil at Hearts, and the need for radical reform in the game's structure.
I have been heartened to see more Scottish chefs putting themselves up for public scrutiny in the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals, and semi-finalist Ross Marshall of St Andrews so impress the judges – albeit shyly.