Christmas purists will protest that it's too early to go festive, but it's only once a year and I want to make the most of it

It's become a bit of a tradition in our home to pick up our Christmas tree on the first weekend of December. We usually take a few days away for my husband's birthday - this year we headed to Lynmouth for wintry north Devon air, coastal walks and seafood. As usual, we jammed a little tree into the back of the car and watched it bounce all the way home to London. I know Christmas purists will protest that it's too early to go festive, but it's only once a year and I want to make the most of it. By the time you read this, I will have unashamedly raided the tinsel box and put the fairy lights up.

Desperately seeking perfection

Paid for a trip to Ronnie Scott's to see one of my jazz heroes - the pianist Ahmad Jamal, on his first visit to Britain for 30 years. In my days as a political correspondent, I used to slip up to Frith Street after a late shift just to take in the final set. I always dreamed of learning jazz piano but, of course, never have. It's probably too late to learn in your forties, isn't it? Best to watch the experts at work. Mr Jamal's fingers may be 77 years old, but they still dance over the keys with teenage enthusiasm.

Another sprightly 77-year-old - the tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins - was also in town for a sell-out appearance at the London Jazz Festival. Speaking to him before he went on stage, I learned why he is such a survivor, outliving contemporaries such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. He did the drugs, he cleaned himself up - and never lets himself get complacent. He tells me he still feels he's not good enough, practices every day and can't see a time when he won't need to prove himself.

Top brass

I may not be able to make the piano sing, but I've got a trumpet and I'll blow it. The Radio 4 programme I started presenting this year on Sunday nights, The Westminster Hour, was named Political Programme of the Year by the Political Studies Association at an awards lunch at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall. According to the judges, we "cover politics seriously but in an accessible and lively form". Along with the editor Terry Dignan and the team, I was delighted. It's a great honour, because, as Alex Salmond (Politician of the Year) put it: "The PSA - they're the intelligent folk."

Certainly it was a rare experience to have so many political brains pulsing in one room, mixing over the poached salmon and roast vegetables, but with little "party politicking" going on, although Paddy Ashdown (Lifetime Achievement in Politics) couldn't resist plugging Nick Clegg for the Liberal Democrat leadership. Sadly for him, I suspect the room wasn't exactly packed with bona fide voters from the Lib Dem membership!

The SNP's Angus MacNeil was awarded for "Setting the Political Agenda" with his early intervention in the cash-for-honours saga. He'd thought that by the time he'd be picking up his trophy, the episode would be ancient political history. How wrong he was. At that very moment Gordon Brown was fending off questions at his monthly press conference about "cash through intermediaries". MacNeil quipped when he stepped up to the podium: "If it was Blair's Britain I'd be asking: Who do I pay? As it's Brown's Britain I ask: Who's actually giving the award?"

Pulling power

While The Westminster Hour is my late-night job, the Today programme has been my early-morning occupation. It has opened so many doors to me, not least giving me the chance to interview some of the world's most fascinating people, as well as idols such as Sonny Rollins. Whatever you think of Today, it still has an unrivalled power to pull in the big names and set the agenda for the day ahead. Today has been an infuriating at times, but a mostly lovable, part of my life for the past four years. When I leave in April, it'll be a real wrench.

Absent friend

I was disappointed to miss the recent Media Society debate about the art of interviewing. Fittingly, it was held in honour of the late World at One presenter Nick Clarke. He was a true broadcasting grandee, and his was the style I admire most. It's a year since he died - and still it seems strange not having him around.

Post your comment

Please note: you will need to login or register before you can comment on the website