As we celebrate our fifth birthday here on the site, I'd like to say a special thankyou to all our regular visitors. We love to have you here, even though of course we can't actually see you or hear you or check your pulse to find out how close it is to your birthday.

We also love new visitors. If this is the first time you've dropped in, welcome. You might like to start your visit by catching up with some of the highlights of the year here on the site. If you take a look at the Past G'days from this year, you'll find, among other things...

• me with a very weird head
• details of what some readers claim is my clinical obsession with tunnels
• an unexpected attack on me by a government minister
• the scary encounter I had with some very fast readers
• clues about why I wrote a book starring an intestinal worm
• where to find teachers' notes for Girl Underground and permission to read them even if you're not a teacher.

There have been quite a few new bits added to the site this year, and you can find out about those in the Past G'days too.

My other special thankyou is to the terrific and tireless webmaestro who designs, directs and displays this site with such panache and perspicuity (though he doesn't let me use as much alliteration as I'd like) – my brother Nick. Without his skill and dedication, this site would consist of me holding up cardboard signs outside your window.

In the next G'day I'll be leaking some early details about the new book I've just started working on. It's a new adventure for me – a type of book I haven't written before – so I'd rather keep it a secret for now until my pulse calms down. More soon.

Until then, a joyful Christmas, a safe and peaceful new year, and happy reading.

18 December 2004