Finito

The magazine has been "put to bed", as we like to say in the business (because it makes us feel clever). Apart from checking the printer's proofs, its all done and dusted - I for one am quite happy about this. Editing the whole issue has been an interesting experience. What was required of me in terms of production, writing and that sort of thing wasn't too different to when I was just the news editor. But when you're overseeing the entire issue, what's different is the overall tenor of your attitude towards the publication.

The things that I was required to actively undertake were well within my abilities, but what produced the stress was that I was never entirely convinced - right up until they arrived - that the articles and photos people had promised me would turn up in time. What if nothing turned up at all? What would I do then?

Some things didn't get delivered, as it happens (University of the West Indies, I'm looking at you). There are some stop-gaps and ommissions in the final product but overall it looks as it was intended to from the start.

Thanks to the capable services of Chris the design guy, it looks damn good, too. Chris really does know what he's doing - and when you've seen the raw text of an article and its later iterations, you can spot the tiny things he's done that really make the layout look good.

That's pretty much it for me here in Gordon Square, then.
An August spent largely in libraries beckons, with the THES and China after that.

Here is a PDF of the cover, with "hilarious" spoof headlines.