WELL to be sure to be sure now and top o' the morning to you – as the world over drapes itself in green clothing while drinking copious amounts of Guinness and singing Oh Danny Boy very, very badly.

Yes today is March 17 or as it’s more commonly known in these parts, St Patrick’s Day. All over Scotland celebrations of the Irish saint’s feast day will take place, the biggest being in Coatbridge which has just played host to more than 15,000 attendees at its annual Paddy’s Day celebrations last weekend. That’s quite a turnout, I’m sure you'll agree.

Over the years I’ve definitely had a few eventful St Patrick’s Days myself, one being back in the year 2000 when I went to Dublin with a group of girls from work.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel in the Ballsbridge area of the capital but we were a little underwhelmed with Temple Bar as it was a bit too touristy for us ladies so we jumped in a taxi and asked the driver to take us to his local bar.

He hesitated slightly but then quickly realised we were Glaswegians and he agreed to take us to a more authentic part of Dublin.

He pulled up outside a pub on Baggot Street which was overflowing with people at its huge archway entrance.

Outside the pub a local band was in full swing playing hits such as The Irish Rover and Dirty Old Town, while others were drunkenly attempting to Irish dance on the cobbled streets, drink firmly in hand and not spilling a drop.

Within minutes we were at the bar joining in with the fun and before I knew it I was up on a table belting out any old tune the crowd requested while the drinks were being lined up for me on the bar top.

It will come as no surprise that many hours later that evening old ‘Michelle’s a Singer’ was literally carried out of the pub in one of the musician’s double bass cases belting out Molly Malone at the top of my voice while hiccupping throughout, but never missing a beat – no mean feat let me tell you.

I’ve also had the pleasure of performing at various St Patrick’s events up and down the country most recently in the Merchant City in Glasgow. The team behind the two-week event really do a fantastic job and there is just so much variety in the programme they provide. It’s always a great night out so however you choose to spend your St Patrick’s Day I hope you have a great one. For more information just log onto www.glasgowstpatricksfestival.com

I AM already on my 17th attempt at getting fit and healthy in 2016 and it’s only March, so that should go some way to telling you just how rubbish I’ve been thus far.

However, this time I’ve got a good feeling about it as I’ve decided to enlist the help of a professional to scream and shout at me until I put the family-size bag of crisps and bottle of wine down and replace them with a pink lady apple and a bottle of still water.

Personal trainer Chris Scougal, from the newly-opened The Gym on Bothwell Street in Glasgow, is the brave man that has decided to take moi to task and turn me from a lovely big bit of a wummin into a Russian gymnast in record time.

I know, not so much personal trainer but more of a miracle worker I hear you say?

Well you’d be right, but fingers crossed he can do it as I think I deserve to be in a bikini just once in my life, especially since from time to time I get mistaken for bra tycoon Michelle Mone when I’m out and about and we all know the baroness herself loves a cheeky two-piece just about as much as she loves a good old Whitney Houston power ballad.

The less said about that the better. I’ll keep you posted on my progress and don’t worry you’ll be the first to see that bikini shot should that miracle ever occur. Let that be the thought of today, eh?

For more information on The Gym log onto here and you can check out trainer Chris Scougal at Tartan Training on Facebook.