Ode of farewell to 2006

Goodbye 2006...

'Tis a week before Christmas
And all through the malls
Everything looks festive
Twinkling lights 'n glitter balls

Santas hang from ceilings
Complete with reindeers and a sleigh
While shop windows advertise their specials
It seems like everything's on sale

Yet back at the production house
Everything's winding down
If the telephone rings, a message clicks in:
"Sorry, we're not around..."

With the silly season's ads
Catching airplay since September
There's not much to do now
But look back and remember...

There was SAMRA and EXSA
An Indaba or two
With the Markex expo
Half the year through

The ABCs are coming quarterly
Much to magazine owners' delight
Though not all was peachy 'tween the teenies
As they got into a public fight

Men's weeklies are new in the magazine Zoo
But Krew had to pull out of the fray
Then Style went out of fashion
And Wegbreek made a clean Getaway

100 years of the Sunday Times
Celebrations are in the bag
The Mercury is back on this planet
And M&G got gagged

The RAMS show radio is on the up
With many changes on the air
Mark Gilman and Zee left 5fm
While Jeannie D brought Top Billing her flair

P4 became the Heart of Cape Town
And Metro celebrated 20 years
Good Hope bared all for breast cancer
Here's to you ladies - cheers!

The TAMS are now released overnight
And more local shows are on the box
The Lab and One Way and Survivor SA
The newest of the lot

'Twas a great year for SA filmmakers
Gavin Hood and Tsotsi's crew
Taking home the Academy's Oscar
There was one for Elalini, too

Cellphones have been a-bleeping
Bringing new services galore
MobileTV, MXit and mobizines
And number portability coming to the fore

And who can forget the Virgin launch
Getting people in a flurry?
Will Neotel be in next year,
Making Telkom drop costs in a hurry?

Broadband has become a new buzzword
Wireless Internet - the cutting edge
From iBurst to MWeb, Vodacom and MTN
3G's likely to put you on a ledge

And what of the Annual party?
That's the Loeries for those who forget
A circus tent atop a hill
And the rain making everything wet

Still Margate beach was rocking
Nothing can get the industry down
Once the awards were won, the real fun begun
And red was painted the town

Of the winners, there are too many
To list them all here and now
Congrats to you all - you know who you are
Face the mirror and take a bow

So as the year draws to a close
All the wrapping almost done
This last message goes to our loyal fans
Happy holidays - everyone!