AS 1997 dawns, the great and good ponder what might have been and British politicians face the prospect of getting down in the gutter to fight another general election.
But what of the highs and lows of 1996, when the sanity of the nation depended on a single penalty kick taken during Euro 96?
Mr John Major won an award before Christmas, courtesy of the BBC, when he was named Personality of the Year, while the Labour leader, Mr Tony Blair, with his much criticised bouffant hairstyle and Colgate smile, failed to get beyond the first round despite alleged attempts by a civil servant to rig the votes.
So Mrs Major and Mrs Blair - Norma and Cherie, to the electorate - win the award for "Politically Correct Style Tips in the Run Up to a General Election Award". Not since Barbara Bush baked cookies for staff at the White House has a politician's wife been so revered for her culinary skills.
Norma Major revealed her number one cost saving tip to the public last year when she announced that mouldy pieces of cheddar cheese should be grated and then frozen for use at a later date.
And in between defending poll tax evaders and council employees, Cherie revealed in the pages of Prima magazine that she liked nothing better than picking up a stitch on her knitting needles.
The joint effort for an "Outstanding Ability to Shoot Oneself in the Foot Award" is presented to Diana, Princess of Wales, as she is now known post D.I.V.O.R.C.E, and the irrepressible Fergie.
In a style she has made her own, Fergie even managed to knock Tony Blair off the front pages of the newspapers in October, when revelations about her sexual exploits were serialised by the Sun.
Poor Prince Andrew. Just when he thought he could face his navy chums without references to toe sucking American tycoons, his exwife's "psychic healer" played the trump card and revealed that, "fan loving, free loading Fergie really wanted to marry John F. Kennedy Jnr.
Perhaps Diana, Princess of Wales, is one of the few women who can match the former duchess in column inches and her fortunes at the hands of the press have surely experienced peaks and troughs.
In the beginning of the year she was accused of exploiting a young boy who was undergoing heart transplant surgery. Images of her eyes, covered in mascara, staring out over a surgical mask provoked anger among many - most notably nurses, who complained miserably that they were not allowed to wear make up on duty.
The year ended with Diana being photographed in what appeared to be her underwear at a New York charity ball, although the British designer John Galliano said he created the dress. No doubt we will all be wearing similar frocks this year.
There must surely be a special mention for Prince Edward for sustaining the hopes of the British public that at least one member of the royal family would make a successful attempt at marriage. He has kept the tabloid newspapers salivating for the last year that he will name the day with his longstanding girlfriend, Ms Sophie Rhys Jones.
In the European category a special "Roast Beef Award" must be given to the British government for resilience in the face of adversity.
Its handling of the beef crisis could hardly have been worse and caused Mr Major no end of problems as he attempted to explain the catastrophe in the House of Commons. The European Union and Mr Blair ganged up on him, with the Labour leader accusing the government of mind boggling incompetence", and at every turn the farmers' union stood ready to pile on the embarrassment for the Department of Agriculture.
Public confidence in British beef had collapsed, it said, but there was one chink of light on the horizon - they were still serving beef at Buckingham Palace.
Lastly, the former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, deserves a special award for endurance. Not only did he sit through six weeks of a libel case in the High Court in London against the Sunday Times, he was able to smile after losing a million pounds. And he has announced that he is prepared to go through the whole process again.