Thanks!

I'm sorry this is slightly late - I logged in yesterday, meaning to write this post, and got just a tiny bit sidetracked by Mark Oaten!

Anyway, I'd like to say a very big thank you to everyone who nominated Hug A Hoodie in the Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards. I really am thrilled to be shortlisted for best newcomer, best individual article, and best design. It means even more when I look at the phenomenally high standard across the Lib Dem blogosphere.

When I started blogging, a bit less than a year ago, I was looking for a way of getting myself to think through my opinions more carefully, instead of just shouting them at the TV screen. I wanted to force myself to come up with some sort of coherent argument, and to develop my own knowledge. I'm thrilled to have gone far further than that: to have built up a readership, to have made new friends, and to have had so many productive debates. Things have come a long way, and I really am grateful for the recognition.

Once again, thanks very much for the nominations, hard luck to everyone who didn't make the shortlists, and very best of luck to everyone who did.

I hope I'll be able to make it to Brighton for the awards, and if I do, I look forward to finally meeting the writers behind all those Lib Dems blogs I read regularly, who contribute so much to our little yellow corner of the web.