After all the late nights and excesses of Christmas and the New Year break, daughter, Sam the dog and I are running off to the country for a long weekend to detox and recover.

This is partly for health reasons and partly because one of my more serious New Year resolutions is to catch up with all the friends I haven't seen for a long time or haven't made time to see.

One is my friend Sheena who moved to Norfolk many years ago. She is now a country person with the obligatory four-wheel drive, three children, assorted dogs, horses and ponies and a hallway full of muddy wellingtons.

As we in Brighton have become total townies in the intervening years and seem to have spent just about every day since Christmas going round the sales, I decided a bit of clean country living would do us good.

Not that there's anything wrong with shopping, just that too much of a good thing and all that.

Although we keep fit walking the dog and trek miles along the seafront cliffs and over the Downs, a view of some different trees will do us good.

Consequently we are off on the train for some fresh air and clean living for a few days and I will return feeling rejuvenated and ready to face the world again.

I have also been in contact with my friend Jane, with whom I did my nursing training many years ago, and have promised to visit her later in the year.

Jane has two children and a dog but is much more disciplined than me.

Jane's children and dog are the sort who always look washed and scrubbed rather than as if they have just fallen out of bed and have forgotten to brush their hair for days or have just been rolling in something revolting, like my daughter and dog, respectively.

But Jane is so nice I don't begrudge her or her organisational abilities or her nice neat family.

One of my younger brothers, after the break-up of a long-term relationship and some world travel climbing mountains, has finally settled down as a teacher in Nottingham so a visit to Robin Hood country in is on the cards as well.

In addition to all this, I have to go to lifeboat headquarters next month to do a Press officers' training course so it looks as if I have a busy few months ahead.

Apart from all my travel plans we have had a quiet week. We didn't do anything special for New Year and, by the time midnight came round, daughter and husband, who had been out at work fishing since 4am that morning, had both fallen asleep on the sofa, so the dog and I watched all the fireworks from the back garden on our own and I didn't bother opening the bottle of champagne we'd saved specially.

Perhaps I'll keep it for next year.