The Arab Spring, the Fall of the Euro, the Winter of Discontent ...

It was a year which saw the end of a trio of old Mad Dogs - Bin Laden, Gaddafi and Kim Jong-il. It saw turmoil in the global markets and debate about media methods. The year gave us the usual spate of new phrases from totes reem to bunga bunga.

And some tricky concepts we've more or less got used to - even though we still have no idea how they actually work.

Quantitative easing, Higgs boson, phone hacking...

It was the year when magazine covers were dominated by Kate Middleton's face and her sister's bum. When London was rioting while Belfast was rocking.

It was the year of downsizing and Downton Abbey. Octogenarian Christian broadcaster Harold Camping predicted the world would end on October 21, 2011.

Octogenarian media mogul Rupert Murdoch ordered the World to end on July 10, 2011.

Greece got itself a trillion euro debt and one of Bernie Ecclestone's daughters got herself a million pound crystal bath. The Queen came to Dublin and, after his failed presidential bid, Martin McGuinness came back to Belfast.

The richest man in Ireland was declared bankrupt, Rihanna filmed a music video just off the Bangor dual carriageway and two local golfers won two Opens.

All-in-all then, a funny old year.

For Belfast, unusually, it wasn't the worst of years. And next year promises to be titanic. In 2012 the city celebrates - and finally reclaims - the building of a legend. Let's hope that will be all plain sailing. All Titanic. Hopefully, no iceberg.