date to diarise

It’s reached that time of they year again when I start booking things into my schedule for next year but find myself at a loose end because I have nowhere to write them. While still reeling from the shock that it is almost time, once again, to see the year out with fireworks and a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, I marched myself off to WH Smith to pick out my 2010 diary.
Before me was an overwhelming array of colours and sizes and I started to feel daunted, aware that this is a very important decision. As my husband quite rightly pointed out, once you’ve chosen a diary you’re locked into a year long commitment. Oh, the pressure!
I was forced into deciding by process of elimination. The day-to-a-page A5 diaries are so appealing yet I know full well that they are totally impractical for my already, unnecessarily full handbag. The teeny little pocket diaries too are impractical unless you simply never go out or see anyone. I like to see my entire week at a glance so that is easy but I also need enough space to cross out and write lists if necessary. Naturally, it must be pretty but not too girly as a diary says a lot about a person and I like to keep an air of sophistication about myself (sorry Winnie the Pooh diary…you know I’d have chosen you if I never had to take you out in public). I like a slimline diary and almost opted for simply buying the same one I had this year but there is probably some truth in variety and spice etc. The extras are rather important too – place for notes, addresses, a tube map, important dates, personal details (although I have been warned not to fill in this section due to recent increases in identity fraud – be warned!).
In the end, I went down the functional route and opted for a thin little mauve number with a handy pink elastic and all the essentials. Its extra features are limited but, understandably, you can’t have it all in a handbag diary. It’s not outrageously gorgeous, but nice enough to look at for a year.
And the first date that’s going into it? “Buy diary for next year”