What better day than the “International Day of Peace” to announce the formal launch of the website. And what better way to spend a Sunday morning than viewing these pages on my latop for the first time. Oooh, the joy and excitement that await me with each click!

My everlasting thanks to Toby the Indefatigable for his acts of heroism in bringing these pages to life. And to Ben Singleton for his superlative design work. Were we not just the merest unnoticed pimple on the cultural horizon of this country, I am sure their work would be worthy of some design award. As it is they will have to content themselves with the satisfaction of a job well done, and the bottles of Wine Society sparkling Saumur which will be winging their way.

This is apparently a “soft launch”, meaning that we tiptoe gently into the world, allowing the inevitable bugs and flaws to be cured without the full glare of publicity (as if!).

So please, kind souls (and even less than kind ones), bang, click and prod – and send your thoughts via any of the contact systems at the bottom of the pages.