Today is the first day in the lunar calendar and 2009 is the year of the Ox.

People born under this zodiac sign are known as hardworking and diligent, and have stable personalities.

They also are said to have a strong sense of responsibility and are practical. It is often thought that people born in the year of the Ox will have their greatest success in their later years which is not a problem as they are known for being patient as well.

One famous example of an Ox very much in the news at the moment is Barack Obama. However, unfortunately for him, it seems that he is taking office in a particularly bad year for his Chinese astrological sign.

The ox sign is in direct conflict this year with a traditional Chinese divinity called the "God of Year," considered a bad omen.

Obama also is the 44th president, a number the Chinese deem extremely unlucky, because "four" is pronounced the same as "death" in Chinese.

As for the rest of us, according to Chinese predictions based upon their horoscope, it will be a daunting year. We haven't really reached the peak of the problems yet; ‘We haven't tasted the main dish, and will most likely experience it during the second half of the year’!

As for me, I was born in the year of the Pig, which as you can imagine has quite different attributes to those of an Ox. I was reminded of this as I received the ‘free hot lunch' ticket that arrived with my Manchester HEVAR visitors pass, which takes place this week.

Although I expect will be joining the food queue at some point though during the two days of the exhibition, the main attraction of course is not the free food but the interesting range of exhibitors this year as well as the quality of the speakers lined up for the free seminars.

So, hopefully I will see you there on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29. Those of you still celebrating the Chinese New Year are welcome to bring your own chop-sticks!