It's an unpretentious little issue, a welcome ebb after the tide that was volume 25. EVERYONE was late, even by our standards. We have no gifts or sounds this time, but Stuart provides another installment of his Beastiary and I bring forth yet another Mr. Wizard. More recipes have appeared, Larry has given us a list of Kristen's first words, and our serial wedding thriller zigs and zags to unexpected heights. Best of all, it looks as if our old friend Holly, absent since volume 12, is about to stage a comeback.

This is our fourth Christmas together. At Stuart's suggestion I have started to re-read the cards of Christmas past in preparation for an anthology of our best voice cards to date. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Some of those old cards are not half bad!

A toast, then, to Archipelago. Long may she wave. And long may we all journey together. Let us vow never to take this curious contraption for granted. I tremble to think of a world without voice cards.

Seasons Greetings and a Very Merry New Year. I'll see you all in 1993!