HAPPY New Year! We are now officially at the end of 2005, and what a year it has been. Bermuda has enjoyed some successes and then of course there are areas where there is room for improvement. More on this after the Top 20.

Holding at number one is I Think They Like Me by Dem Franchize Boyz featuring Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat and Bow Wow. In the number two spot again is Unbreakable by Alicia Keys. She's been on TV performing this hit live on a number of occasions over the past few weeks, and the live performance might just be better than the recorded version.

Up to number three is One Wish, by RayJay. This is one of those catchy, sing-a-long ballads, that everybody loves.

Now some killer new joints that are moving up the charts, both here and overseas. Sneaking up to number four is There It Go (The Whistle Song) by Juelz Santana. Improving to number five is Here We Go by Trina featuring Kelly Rowland. Up to number six is Don't Forget About Us by Mariah Carey, easily one of the most consistent and successful divas in the history of the music industry.

Window Shopper by 50 Cent, advances to number seven. Slipping to number eight is I Should Have Cheated by Keyshia Cole. Sliding to number nine is Run It by Chris Brown. This track has been played a lot both on local radio as well as in clubs and at parties. Now a former essential new joint. Up to number10 is the kicking new joint from Mary J Blige entitled Be Without You. This is a hot track and Mary looks great; lean, lovely and mean.

Down to number 11 is I'm Sprung by T-Pain. Falling to number 12 is Stay Fly by Three 6 Mafia featuring Young Buck and Eightball & MJF. Slipping to number 13 is Lighters Up by L'il Kim. This is a very cool hip hop/dancehall track that is popular.

Down to number 14 is Soul Survivor by Young Jeezy featuring Akon. Sliding to number 15 is Girl Tonite by Twista featuring Trey Songz. Improving to number 16 is Grillz by Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gip. This one is a little different but you gotta be happy to have Nelly back with a hit. Climbing into the number17 spot is the new hit from Kanye West featuring Adam Levine entitled Heard 'Em Say.

On a dancehall tip, down to number 18 is Sean Paul with his latest hit entitled We Be Burnin'. I've heard this all over the place.

Now, this week's essential new joint. In at number19 its Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx featuring Ludacris. Jaimie Foxx is off the hook; the cat can really sing. He is truly multitalented; he can sing, act, play the piano and he is a bona fide entertainer. He just might be a hotter commodity than Kanye West! Tumbling to number 20 it's Looking For You, the gospel/dance track by Kirk Franklin.

Now back to this week's word - some of the happenings in 2005.

Certainly Bermuda has had a good year in sports, especially in international competitions. Bermudian athletes proved to the world and to Bermuda that our people can compete on the international stage, despite the size of Bermuda and its relatively small population. A lot of people have criticized the Government's spending of $11 million on the cricket team. Well, I don't think the Government had a choice. The cricketing community, its relatives, friends and fans are possibly many of the folks that vote for the Progressive Labour Party. Also, leaving politics aside, it was the right thing to do. The other issue is that Government's hands were tied by the ICC donating half a million dollars to the Bermuda Cricket Board, thereby necessitating that the Government ante up, with cash, not just words. If I were the Premier, I might have tried soliciting half of the 11 million from the private sector. I am perhaps guilty of believing in public private sector partnerships and guilty of thinking that they can and do work. But, perhaps he tried that and the money wasn't forthcoming (a very likely scenario). But, well done to Clay, Janeiro, et al. They worked hard, made the sacrifices and are reaping the rewards.

As a Berkeleyite, I am delighted to see that the school is nearing completion. Yes, it is costing me millions of dollars, but the decision has been made, the project is well underway and complaining about it wasn't going to finish the job or solve the problems. If anything, it might only serve to distract the people who are supposed to do the job from getting on with it.

I realised some time ago that dissing the Government, the Opposition, politicians, leaders, etc. doesn't undo decisions they've made or make them change their minds. It only serves to piss them off and make them more determined to do whatever it is they originally intended to do. But, then, they don't like too many compliments either. That is the unfortunate nature of politics - you can't trust anybody - look what happened to Dame Jennifer Smith. I'm not sure she has removed all of the 11 knives from her back just yet. And this is one of the reasons that I may never get into politics - you can't trust anybody. The other reason is that I don't have the patience for debating - in a second I can think of 10 things I'd rather be doing on a Friday night that sitting in the house of assembly until 1 or 2 in the morning. However, I digress.

You have to like what Tereza Perrozi accomplished in Boxing this year. Kudos to her and her training team. She is a good role model for our young people, especially our young women.

Back to politics, there has recently been some discussion about whether Bermuda should have a new political party. I will agree that there are a number of people who are not happy with the Government or the Opposition. Both parties have had their fair share of criticism, and both have deserved it. However, there is an old adage that, "If you are not part of the solution, you are probably part of the problem". This is true here as well, but what makes anybody think that they can do better than the National Liberal Party? The NLP couldn't get it done, so why not join the ranks of either of the existing parties and make a change from within.

One major problem in our society is that we don't have enough young people getting actively involved in some kind of service to this country. Some people serve by being politicians, others serve by staying in the Bermuda Regiment beyond their mandatory three years, and others serve by volunteering in various organisations. However, everyone should be involved in some type of giving back to the community.

One of the biggest problems in Bermuda is that the burden of service and giving back falls into the hands of a very few people in each organization, Church, sports club, charity, etc. Where are the others? One of my prayers for 2006 is that more of us will volunteer some of our time to give back to some organization, thereby spreading the load around. In closing, our family would like to whish everyone a Happy New Year, as well as health, wealth and prosperity in 2006.

Peace ...