Welcome to this week’s editorial, Well this is it. We knew they would come as soon as it became warm and come they have in multitudes with many more on the way after Boxing Day. Hopefully the season will be good with lots of sunshine, warm waters, no bluebottles, few accidents, everyone being patient and locals being nice to the visitors who might be parking or driving a little differently due to an excess of sun, food or zinc cream. There will be the recurring traffic problems, the long holiday queues and the equally long queues at the supermarkets but that is all fun. It reminds us locals of what these folks have to put up with every day of their lives as they commute mindlessly to work without a cruise by the beach or the splendour of a foggy morning with either a dense sea fog or a mountain background of mists. Mostly they don’t get to see the sunrises we are so used to nor the sunsets and they certainly aren’t exposed to the wildlife we have, the clean air, the pristine water nor the incredibly fresh produce we have access to. No, these folks are mainly the worker ants who come down here with daydreams of buying a holiday home to retire to. That day when they can escape the rat race. So when you see them on the beach, in the streets, on the lake or by the river say a very warm G’day because they are on holiday and they really, really need it. The Beagle wishes its readers a Happy Christmas and the hope that Santa finds you well and has located that gift you always wanted. Many ask who is The Beagle—do we have a huge staff, do we have an office? The simple truth is that the Beagle is just me—along with the wonderful contributors we have like Trevor Moore, Robert Macklin, our sports article contributors, and all the publicity officers up and down the coast who provide articles to keep the community up to date. The Beagle celebrates and promotes our community and provides equal weight to a community fair as it does to a Federal Media Release. We celebrate art, music, the community, the volunteerism, the history and those who make a difference. We give voice to those who need a platform to yell from and we try as best we can to do it all in such a way so that the community can feel informed and included. So thank you to everyone who has played a role in The Beagle this past year—you have made it your newspaper. We have far to go however 2018 is looking pretty good already. Until next, lei
