It's been a while, but finally we are delighted to be preparing issue #43 on one of the very shortest days of the year. The fog is rolling down the Derwent with a damp chill and we'll probably have snow on the mountain soon enough  It's a good set of articles for you as you curl up with a blanket and a cuppa tea - from craftwork in Europe to an 1898 British Empire encyclopedia, and from holidays in the Northwest to the summit of a forbidding mountaintop. You may as well dive right on in...

Enjoy!

All the best,

The Editor

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