Well, seven months really is far too long to leave a blog with no update, and I'm sure you're all itching to know what has been going on in the realms of the Evening Telegraph, so I decided it's high time I wrote something on here.

Since I last wrote on here, our newspaper has gone to overnight printing - a move widely documented in national newspapers as well as journalism trade publications. Our deadlines have changed completely and all our pages are now done and sent by 9pm a couple of nights a week, 11pm others. It means the reporters have begun a new, additional rotating late shift, or 'late late shift' as it has often been referred to. So life has been a bit different of late.

We've also had all kinds of things going on in the paper - one of the most notable being the fish and chip competition! Readers have been asked to nominate their favourite local chippies and they have been doing so in their droves. In my 16 months at the paper I've never seen such a big response to a campaign we've run. Quite a few Kettering chippies have got bills about the contest up in their windows, it's good to see people getting into the spirit of it all really. I hope a Kettering chippie triumphs, as we've had an enormous response from my good old town. We care about very specific things here in Kettering, and it seems fish and chips is one such thing!

We've also reached £17,000 in our quest to raise £20,000 for the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance by the end of the year. I went out to their base in Coventry again recently. The place and people are fascinating, it's pretty cool getting to ask some of these noble voluntary lifesavers all my nosy questions.

And me? Well, I am 22 now - 22-and-a-half, in fact, it's been so long since I last wrote on here. I'm still up to my old tricks, but have recently been incurring less ridicule from my colleagues regarding my youth - they prefer to focus on making fun of me getting angry (which happens a fair amount, I must say). So if my age isn't of significance to them anymore, maybe I am getting old and just need to accept it?!

One good thing has come with time and that's experience - I had my mock training exams a few weeks ago and did alright, so I'm quite happy. The real ones are in summer 2009 - and I bet it'll come sooner than I currently think it will.

Speaking of time going past quickly, who would believe it, it's Christmas soon. You would be forgiven for thinking it already was the season of goodwill, looking at the ridiculous amounts of advent calenders, tins of chocolates and santa-shaped chocolate lollies in the shops already. It's complete madness. I love a bit of festive cheer but come on, can we at least wait until the 1st of November? Or else by December 25th, I for one will be bored of the entire concept.

I promise now that my Christmas tree won't be out of the box until gone Halloween at the earliest!

It's a well known fact that I'm the youngest person here, and it's a continual source of ridicule from my lovely colleagues. I'm constantly asked if it's past my bedtime, if I'm old enough to drink, etc etc - very humourous.

But I love being 21 and it's definitely got its uses. I can pretty much explain anything with my age. Sometimes I drink too much on a Saturday night, and often on such nights I'll stay out til 3 or 4 in the morning - but I'm only 21, so I can get away with it. I swear too much, I stay up too late and I enjoy sleeping until midday - but it's ok, I'm only 21, it's only been five minutes since I was a student, sitting around in my pajamas until at least 11am before even thinking about work. I've always been smug in my young age.

But there's a spanner in the works - I'm starting to feel my youth slipping away, as I am nearing the grand old age of (shudder)... 22. Come March 23rd, my excuses for excess and general stupidity will be slipping away from me.

Why can't I be like Peter Pan and just stay here at the age of 21 forever?

The sun is out! Can you believe it?! I'm sitting at my desk working a pretty uneventful Sunday and it's bright and cheery and I can hear birds chirping outside. There really is nothing like a bit of natural light to brighten up the darkest of moods - yesterday when I woke up (after a copious lay in, I should add), sun was streaming through the gap in the curtains and it made getting up a pleasure not a chore for once!

This optimistic rave may act as a jinx, but I hope this is the start of things to come. I'm not a good winter person - I think I have seasonal affective disorder, well it works as an excuse to be miserable which, to be fair, is what I've mainly been since ohhh, November time! Spring means sun, spring means later sunsets, spring means daffodils, possibly the world's best flower, and spring also means I'm older and wiser - 22 on the 23rd of next month to be precise. Spring also means its nearly summer, which means I'm nearly already reclining on the Magaluf sand. I say nearly, but I'm nowhere near having paid for that jaunt yet, so for now that holiday is firmly in the not-close-enough future.

Work is picking up, too - the community pages are steadily improving and things are happening in Kettering. We had a bit of a lull recently which made life quite difficult but, sad as it is, more things (usually bad) tend to happen when its not freezing cold. Seriously - after every bitterly frosty night recently I've come in to not much crime having happened overnight, it's the ultimate way to keep criminals indoors! Bar the one who targeted my house on that freezing January night, mind you - I hope he or she got a highly aggressive flu after that!

This time next week it'll be kick off at Sheffield United v Middlesborough. Live on BBC One, I love it! It means I don't even have to drive over my Nan and Grandads' and hijack their Sky to watch the Blades play. Oh how I lovingly remeber the days when all I had to do to see my team was watch Match of the Day... Oh well. I'm loving the Red and White wizards destroying Man City against the odds and going on to this fixture. Sure, it's not the easiest, but if we beat the Borough (our news editor David's team, incidentally) I'm sure to have bragging rights for at least a week or two. If SUFC lose, well, no-one expects them to win anyway, so at least I won't get too much abuse. It's a similar gamble to the Man City match, and that paid off!