I trust you had a suitably fine break and that you successfully reached your Christmas destinations despite the snow-induced mayhem on our travel network.

Interesting to note that while railways shut down and folk suffered major restrictions moving around the UK, fresh produce suppliers kept those shelves stacked from the small high street greengrocer to the big retailers - fruit and veg seemed in plentiful supply wherever I ventured, so well done to all of you for keeping the nation in everything from sprouts to satsumas over the holiday period.

I don’t know about you but I have never been given to making New Year’s resolutions - apart from the usual detox regime with a temporary but major reduction in alcohol consumption levels and fat food intake, I find the resolution tradition fairly pointless on a personal level. However, plans for the FPC this year and our service to members are at the forefront of our focus and we look forward immensely to the inevitable challenges of our vibrant industry in 2011.

Driving around over New Year, I caught the radio coverage of the government’s initiative to increase the health of the nation by issuing vouchers for fitness clubs and fresh produce to a certain society sector which set me off on my first rant of the new year!

The logic and predicted outcome of this harebrained scheme totally escapes me and the frustration is immense considering the long-term future of the School Fruit & Veg Scheme is still to be decided. We will continue in our resolve to influence future legislation on this and ensure the young in our society are not deprived in favour of mismanaged cutbacks and bureaucratic nonsense.

With just four weeks to go to the 65th FPC Annual Dinner at the Savoy I would urge you, if you have not already booked, to hurry as we will have to cap the numbers at just over 300. We have organised a spectacular evening for your pleasure in the opulent surroundings of the famous Lancaster Ballroom, with Morocco as the guest nation and a great opportunity just days before Fruit Logistica to meet Moroccan agri exporters and potential business partners. Publicity over the last couple of months surrounding the

re-opening of the iconic Savoy has encouraged some of you to take this opportunity to experience its delights firsthand - at a seriously competitive price - and we look forward to seeing you all on 5 February.

Over the past 12 months, we were true to our word and got out and about, more than ever before, to meet as many of you as possible and we will step this up in the next 12 months and look forward to meeting and representing even more of you.

I wish you everything that is good in 2011 and I look forward to seeing you very soon.