Welcome from the Editor

by James Handscombe

Sometimes you set out on an enterprise knowing what the result will be: you work hard for your exams knowing that if you spend enough time alone with your books then you’ll probably achieve your predicted grade. Sometimes, however, you step into the unknown, take a chance and have an adventure.

I admire the great adventurers: David Livingstone, Vasco da Gama, Robert Scott… but I am growing more convinced that we are all adventurers, advancing into the unknown at a worryingly fast rate of one second per second.

Perhaps the greatest adventure I ever set out on was having children. Of course you’re warned beforehand: “Your life will never be the same” (thanks, but in what way exactly?) “You’ll be up at all hours of the night” (is that a problem?) “You really have no idea” (no, you’re quite right—can you help?).

There are, unfortunately, two problems. Nobody else knows how your life will change when you start the adventure of getting to know your particular children and nobody ever warns you about this before you let on that you’ve got past the point of no return.

Anyway, my adventure isn’t over yet; I’m told it may never be. There have been smiles, there have been tears, there’s been a lot of yelling and I still don’t know how it’s going to end. The bottom line, however, is that I don’t care and really, I wouldn’t be able to do much about it if I did; I’ve buckled myself into the rollercoaster seat and all I can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

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