King of the Castle
Last week I said that if Alex Salmond did not win the Politician of the Year in The Herald newspaper awards - I would eat my hat.
Now that didn't take genius or inside knowledge to work out - and the bookies probably stopped taking bets long ago.
But I'm pleased to announce nonetheless - that my one and only hat is still safe - for the moment at least.
Because as expected Alex Salmond was crowned 'king of the castle' - and only the most bitter of his political opponents could say the First Minister's achievement - was not richly deserved.
In fact SNP politicians carried off most of the awards - almost a clean sweep - which is hardly surprising given their performance in the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections.
Scotland's main opposition parties - Labour, Tories and the Lib Dems - have all been forced to rethink and regroup - and elect new leaders.
So the next 12 months may prove to be more challenging for the SNP - as the 'newbies' find their feet and try to establish some credibility.
We shall see.