I've had a great ride, but after 23 years of having my say, it's time to call it a day...

DAY one, a new year: what better time for a columnist to address some of the world's great problems?

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And there's no shortage of topics, is there? We live in a country more divided than at any time in my life. Hatred and intolerance abound and we are being softened up for another world war.Who would not seize the opportunity offered by this platform to steer a potential audience of thousands around to their way of thinking?

Today, for once, not I. Instead, I'm here to celebrate my good fortune.

It's more than 50 years since I left school with a handful of O-levels and began work as a £7-a-week Coop shop assistant. I had reached the dizzy heights of door-to-door encyclopaedia salesman by the time I landed a job as a trainee reporter on a weekly newspaper and embarked on a 47-year career in journalism.

A succession of roles followed and I enjoyed them all, but my burning ambition was realised in 2003 when the editor of the Derby Evening Telegraph asked me to write a regular personal column.