So here we are again. Just nine months after the country ground to a halt because of the appalling snowfall in February the country is now 'whited-out' as one particularly enthusiastic local TV news reporter said last night.

So today we have one builders merchant group less than we had yesterday.

I'm not really one for looking back, but man, am I glad to have seen the back of 2010.

I'm English. And a bit of a softie. I am, therefore, fated to be forever swayed by the plight of the underdog.

There was quite a lot of noise on the web last night regarding Mary Portas - she of the orange bobbed hair and power-dressed heels - and self-styled Queen of Shops. It's also been echoed on our sister site DIYWeek.net so I thought I'd take a bit of a look.

Question: How many Health and Safety consultants does it take to put up a Christmas light? Answer: None. It's far too dangerous to put up Christmas lights.

Looking out of my kitchen window as I write this at a rainstorm of Noah-esque proportions, I think one might be forgiven for wondering if there is such a thing as a water shortage in this country.

This might turn into something of a rant, but bear with me.

Am I the only one to find it particularly ironic that the notification that Interbuild aka BEST is cancelled for this year arrives the day before Ecobuild opens? It's hardly the most surprising news we've ever published. Interbuild has been called a 'shadow of its former self' for several years now.

Phew! I haven't been to a UK building exhibition as good as that one since, well the 1990s probably. That's not just a quote from me, by the way, it's something that a lot of people were saying about last week's Ecobuild show.