Pinnacle

Pinnacle? Yes, the very pinnacle of the blogging year.

Who doesn't like to conga? At last night's Laughing Horse Awards, excited attendees  conga'd like there was no tomorrow. You can see some of them there in the video below. Bob Slatten leading the way in his smart navy blue blazer and a slightly inebriated JayCee Manx in her retro turquoise outfit waving at the camera. And there's Jennifer Barlow and there's Thelma Wilcox, The Wicked Hamster and Crozier Magnon. Everybody who is anybody participated. The video was shot by Stephen G. Reed who apologises for messing up the labelling of said footage as he uploaded it to YouTube. He blames it on the martinis.

Later Mr Reed captured candid photos of assembled bloggers - including Bruce Taylor from Arizona:-

and newly engaged Meike Riley from Ludwigsburg, Germany:-

Don't they look funny in their Christmas outfits! Such merry japes!

Oh, we all had so much fun last night, partying until the early hours. Alcoholic beverages flowed aplenty and the hors d'oeuvres, neatly arranged on big silver platters went down a treat. As usual, the most popular of these were the mini Yorkshire puddings with beef gravy. "Oh my, they are so yummy!" drooled Mary Moon and Jennifer Barlow agreed as she scoffed her third one.

Thelma from Todmorden was having a right good natter with Margaret from Washington State and Diaday from Dayton, Ohio as they guzzled a bottle of 

Dom Pérignon together. Later, they ended up in hysterics and in the pool. 

Around eleven o'clock, down on the beach, Rhymer had arranged a limbo dancing event for senior bloggers. With torches blazing beneath a moonlit Caribbean sky, Kylie Tai from Sydney, Australia was the first to impress as her lithe Bondi Beach-bronzed body slipped under the cane with drums beating and onlookers cheering like wild football fans. But then followed the amazing  Keith Kline from Red Deer, Canada wearing nothing but a leopard print loin cloth. Man that guy could limbo! Though in his eighties, his body appeared corrugated as he eased horizontally under the bar. Unfortunately, Elsie River from Adelaide, Addy from Beckenham  and Jenny O'Hara from Nova Scotia couldn't make it under and ended up rolling about on the sand in fits of laughter.

Wearing no clothes, Crozier Magnon had gone for a midnight swim with Andrew de Melbourne and Nurse Pixie who said she'd "seen everything" in her nursing career when John Gray from North Wales bashfully tried to hide his bits, blushing like a Red Delicious apple on a market stall in Rhyl. Even so he went in, splashing about with Wicked Hamster as David Godfrey glowered from the shore.  In the moonlight, they played catch with an inflatable beach ball.

Steve Reed (aka Stork Stalker) had  grumbled all night about being "effectively pressganged" before being transported to Little St James Island. He kept yelling, "I know my rights!" before being told to "Shut the **** up!" by Captain Kirt from Sheffield and Michael from Virginia who rudely added, "Stop spoiling it for the rest of us you dweeb!"

It is the fashion at big awards events for musical numbers to be performed ahead of the main announcements and so it was last night at Little St James Island. To organ music from Bob Brague, Monica from Boras, Sweden dueted with Tasker Dunham on a selection of ABBA hits that included "Fernando" and "Thank You For the Muzak". They were ably supported by a group of giggly backing singers called "The Blog Babes" that included Carol from Spain, Shammy from Ontario, Ellen from Illinois and Kelly from Arkansas.

Lounging on the front row, Jack Haggerty's eyes seemed to be on springs as his tongue flapped like that of a panting bloodhound. Debra from Edmonton was appalled but Traveller advised, "Just ignore him!" and the brooding Jason "Arctic" Fox from Outlane near Huddersfield agreed.

At  the wide marble patio that surrounds the main house's swimming pool, the lights were dimmed and assembled guests quietened as a dramatic drum roll was followed by a solitary herald's brass trumpet that echoed across the wide Caribbean. It was as still as a millpond, faithfully reflecting the stars above.

A deep and authoritative Yorkshire voice came through the loudspeakers saying , "Ladies and Gentlemen... Welcome to Little St James here in the Virgin Islands. We are gathered here at the eighteenth Laughing  Horse Blogging Awards to announce this year's Blogger of the Year. Please give it up for your hostess for the evening - Miss Taylor Swift!"

There was an audible gasp from everyone in attendance. How the hell had The Laughing Horse Committee been able to pull this off for heaven's sake? The world's biggest musical star! But there she was in a spangly black evening gown - Taylor Bloody Swift! Wow!

Taylor announced four commendations - details of which will be shared in a future blogpost but her principal task was to open a large golden envelope. It contained the name of The Laughing Horse Blogger of the Year for 2025.

"And the winner is... Janice Cooke for 'Jabblog'!"

Thunderous applause followed and there was some wolf whistling from Graham Edwards as a clearly astonished Janice  headed for the stage to receive this special widget:-

Soon afterwards, a rather stunned Janice was pictured at resort reception (see below) cradling her widget and saying, " I am a mother and a grandmother and I suppose that I joined the ranks of the senior bloggers some years ago so never in my wildest dreams did I expect to receive such a prestigious accolade!"

Later, down on the beach, as our silver moon moved almost imperceptibly across the bejewelled night sky, JayCee Manx confided in Yorkshire Pudding, "I do hope Dave Northsider is okay. I miss him."

"Me too," said Yorkshire Pudding. "But he'll be back. One day. When the time is right."

MORE FROM LAUGHING HORSE  TOMORROW