From the Editor – Alex Lewis

So, here we are with the May issue of the journal of the Festival. You will see some differences - the first is that after editing four very highly acclaimed issues of the journal, our original editor Colin Duriez has handed the reins over to me. I would like to thank Colin very much for setting such a high standard in the journal, and I hope that we can take this forward and reach as many people as we can with the journal in the future. Colin has done such a wonderful job of bringing the journal to where it now is and he will be on hand to advise and help out as we develop the journal further. I would like to welcome all readers and potential contributors to the journal - this is your publication, so if there is something you would like to see in it, just contact me and we can find out if we can incorporate your wishes. If there is an article that you can offer, please do so as it will always be welcome. I am looking to covering as broad a range of subjects and interest areas as we possibly can.

As a means of starting some dialogue between the editor and readers, I have included a short article of mine that have recent thoughts about character development in The Hobbit. I invite any comments or thoughts on this - and indeed on any subject that the readers would like to air their views on. This is my way of being proactive and seeing if we might get as much inclusion and discussion as we can in this monthly journal - it is a powerful forum for fast dialogue between its readers.Alex Lewis...