Christmas 2011 has been and gone, as has New Year's Day and the public holiday of today. Many people will have taken the period between the two as leave. Indeed, many will have been obliged to.

But for the time being the fun is over and for many, including yours truly, it's back to work tomorrow. The sun sets on a recreational break that is not long enough, as indeed it never is.

Australia tends to remain in first gear for a lot of January, except for companies which need to do half year or full year reporting. Coming up in only a few weeks will be Australia Day (Thursday 26 January) which will undoubtedly cause many to take Friday 27 January off as well, making it a 4 day weekend. After that there's nothing until the long march to the Easter break is done, and playtime will be well and truly over for another summer even down here.

Last Year