Welcome!

The last week of 2020 is finally here. Our next issue goes on sale on Thursday December 31, and the very next day we will be waking up to 2021. I am sure team (myself included) and New Year’s resolutions. Some from this time last year were derailed by the global pandemic. For instance, Rachel was planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, in Africa. She was going to do that on the back of a visit to the UK to see her family. Of course, neither happened. But Rachel is definitely a glass half full kind of person, so for her, the year has been about getting and staying fit, with lots of walking and yoga. And like so many other Aussies who’ve been separated from their loved ones this year, she’s kept in touch via FaceTime and lots of phone calls. Jude, our copy editor, also missed seeing her two grown-up sons in person. But she was excited to be catching up with Billy in Melbourne this week and is hopeful she will be able to see Myles, who lives in London, some time in the new year. ‘It’s hard to come up with resolutions after the year we’ve had,’ Jude said. ‘But I’ve been inspired by all the wonderful stories of simple kindnesses shown by strangers to others. Being kinder is not really a resolution, but it’s a lovely thought to live by.’ Jude added that on a more practical level, she would like to do some serious decluttering and simplifying of her life in 2021. It’s a plan that Mari is keen to adopt, too. ‘If anything, the pandemic has shown us that the important things are the people and places we love – not stuff,’ said Mari. I couldn’t agree more! Thank you to all our wonderful readers. You are so important to us. I hope for all of you that the new year is a good one.