I have just opened our March BGI newsletter and enjoyed it (again) so much, that I felt I should write something about it in my blog.

I receive quite a few newsletters via email and don't have time to read them all, but I honestly believe that even if I had nothing to do with The Big Green Idea, I would always make time to read ours.

I've tried to put my finger on what exactly it is that makes the BGI newsletter special, and I think it might have something to do with the fact that the articles are all written by ‘real people', writing about subjects they feel passionate about. It might also be because the articles are so diverse - I never know from one month to the next what to expect and that stimulates my curiosity. Or, possibly, it's because I know how much time and effort our editor, Jo, puts into the newsletter....

First of all she has to find people to write the articles. She liaises with the writers and gently encourages them to send what they've written in plenty of time so that she can forward them to Judy, our volunteer proof-reader. After the articles have been edited and proof-read, (and in between writing a few more articles or reviews herself) Jo puts the newsletter together. This is no mean feat! Jo and her husband, Gary, have been learning ‘on the job'. They took on the task of producing a monthly newsletter with very little experience of this kind of thing, so it's been a steep learning curve and I take my hat off to them for what they have achieved! They do all this in between their full-time jobs and family commitments, so it really is a ‘labour of love'.

Anyway, I just want to say an enormous thank you to Jo, Gary, Judy and all the people who so very kindly write articles for the BGI newsletter - some of them on a monthly basis - and tell them that I, for one, look forward every month to receiving the newsletter, which I always read from cover to cover and enjoy immensely!

Thank you! :o)