Okay, full disclosure, that’s exactly how I started my end of year comment in 2017 – but seriously, what the flip!

The past 12 months have been a complete blur.

Fortunately, the highs, the lows and everything in between came flooding back when I read our review of 2018.

But what of 2019?

Well one things for sure, Paragon will cruise past its €1bn sales target if it continues on its increasingly well-trodden M&A path. As will Walstead.

But for everything else, I suspect all bets are off until 29 March.

The shadow of Brexit looms large over the sector and incredibly, despite being just three months out, we still seem no nearer to knowing what shape it will take and what, exactly, the impact might be – or if it will even happen at all.

And the uncertainty caused by the current hokey cokey is everyone’s worst nightmare, regardless of how they voted back in the summer of 2016.

But I suppose we’ve managed to get through the past 12 months of heightening uncertainty relatively unscathed, so how bad can the next three months really be?

And perhaps we could even dare to look on the bright side and appreciate that there’s a sense that it’s coming to an end, well an end to the beginning at the very least.

I hope you and yours have a fantastic Christmas and that you come back in the new year refreshed, invigorated and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.

Because whatever happens in the next three months, the only certainty is that whatever the challenges there will be also be plenty of opportunities.