It was a year that careered out of control, with the natives of Scotland feeling like passengers in a souped-up dodgem car being driven by a crackpot clown without a valid driving licence. Luckily The Herald's Diary column was able to cover the toppling of Boris Johnson, the triumphs of Liz Truss, a huge green-hued shindig and a bat-like creature fighting crime on the streets of Glasgow. All before the outpouring of Royal grief in September when we said goodbye to the Queen and came to terms with "God Save the King". Away from the monarchy, there was the surreal story of a woolly mammoth who might one day play for Scotland, a knight in armour visiting an Edinburgh pub, a cow patiently waiting for a train, Santa climbing a statue and an emu loose in Livingston. And the year also saw a mysterious entity called . . . the Platty Jubes? This cockamamie compilation presents all sorts of shenanigans to round off a year like no other. All with that patented Diary twist.

Lorne Jackson began his career as a diarist at a precociously youthful age, when his parents bought him a blank notepad at seven-years-old. When he realised that he was unlikely to witness much in the way of momentous events from his vantage point in a West Lothian council house, Lorne took a sabbatical from diary writing. In the ensuing years Lorne worked as a travel writer, columnist, books editor, restaurant reviewer, feature writer and all-round Jackson-of-all-trades, before returning to his initial love when he took over the fabled mantle of Herald Diarist.