BEST OF 2009

2009 has been a mixed bag.

We have new mates and we lost some good mates

We stopped blogging for a while then we started back up again .

We have a new job.

The son and heir is passing his helicopter exams and Ma and Pa have been hitched for 50 years.

So who is the best of the best for 2009.

Okay we think that the speaker deserved the best slot for his transformation of the running of the House. No argument there.

Best Minister? Probably Gerry Brownlie. He has made some ballsy calls on the energy front. His decisions have the potential to change the economic face of NZ. We are not sure that ordinary NZers have yet grasped the potential.

Judith Collins has to come a close second. She has police in her steely grip and we are the better for it.

Best Journalist? We reckon there are a few who for different reasons have done a bloody good job this year. Fran O'Sullivan, Ian Templeton, Rob Hosking are all up there .

Then who is the best columnists? Well its Hooton for starters. His columns are must reads and incite the mandarins and spinners alike. And he just gets it right.

Best blogger? Cactus on business is hard to beat. Bernard Hickey is pretty good and Kiwiblog on policy and oogling.. No- one does online girly oogling like D P Farrar.

Whale has to be noted for his fearlessness. He has a touch of the crazies but he is the Rottweiler of the right wing blogs and Gotcha is starting to do some good work ...

We have to pay tribute to Brent Wheeler who had made us think so hard about some economic issues that it makes our brain hurt.

Best paper? NZ Herald is our first read of the day. NBR is next and we dip into it quite a lot and Stuff is good but it seems to have lost the race against the Herald. And we always read TransTasman.

Best Labour politician? Well that's gotta be - we actually no one has really stood out. Grant Robertson is probably the exception. Most of the female Labour politicians are old school, social manipulators not empowerers.

Best Maori politician? Tariana Turia. First and last. However we think that Ururoa Flavell is starting to get some cred.

ACT- Well the jury is out on that for us.

To more urbane issues.

The Best coffee in Wellington is served at Mixed business on the Terrace.

The best wine bar is still Beaujolais and it still serves some of the finest lunch food around.

Best Restaurant is Zicos, followed by Arbitrageur who are happy to accommodate our rolling lunches with a continuously changing cast.

Best venue is Dockside but the food aint what it used to be.

Best new place - Ortegas fish shack and bar.

Best urban bar - D4.

Best wine list - Wine Loft.

Best Beer - Montieths Pilsener.