You know when you get that feeling that you've been in a job for a lot longer than you actually have, well that feeling is already with me and I'm not suggesting, in any terms, that is a negative thing. Since speaking to you last, I have been too two model boat shows and popped in for a coffee and a 'quick' 'chin-wag' at Deans Marine. The first show was the most enjoyable Model Mayhem at Wicksteed Park at the end of May and the following Sunday I headed ' north and found myself in Doncaster at the CADMA show, which I hasten to add was just as enjoyable. In the space of a few days I was already meeting familiar faces and by the second event, many more gaps were filled in when I met contributors and a number of people from the trade behind the adverts as well. By the time I had got to Ron's, I actually j started to feel I was getting the hang of Model Boats only to discover after a 'quick' five hours that I knew very little at all! Conversation, enthusiasm and ideas were flowing and without the aid of a notebook, I have taken on board the bulk of what was said during all of my visits, the majority of positive. Now to go and found a new wave of contributor's to produce all those wonderful ideas; now that's th< real challenge!

Even during these early days of my tour of duty I am quickly realising that Model Boats covers a multitude of subjects and a wide range of disciplines, a number of which remain a mystery to the novice modeller. It will be going over new ground to the established, but if we are going to keep this hobby going, we really need to get more people involved and it the mag is picked up by a novice and a 'golden nugget' article is read, you will have a reade for life, another member for your club and even a new customer in your shop. I have focussed on getting the young involved in modelling-based hobbies for quite some time now, but it has been suggested that our core market here could be the semi-retired or newly retired who are hankering for a new hobby or a fres challenge in life while the younger modeller will have the inevitable distraction of decades at the coal face ahead of him/her and maybe, even that time consuming (although it flashes by pretty quick!) period of your life when a family comes along there are, of course, exceptions to every rule though!

In the meantime I shall try and visit as many shows, clubs and manufacturers over the coming months, so you've got a face to the name and if the past few weeks are anything to go by, I'm really looking forward to meeting you all!

The Editor