Issue 132,
Winter 2025
Letter from the editor
I always leave this letter to the very end. Every. Single. Time. I don’t know why. It’s a simple enough job; sell the tease of the magazine’s content, tally up a few key highlights that might elevate this issue above others beside it on the shelf, while weaving in a personal tale or two. I mean, I can spout personal anecdotes all day long. I could probably share a personal anecdote about my personal anecdotes. But perhaps it’s not the summing up that I struggle with so much as doing justice to what lies behind each page: the spark, the inspiration that connects all these stories.
Recounting all of my highlights does no good for anyone. It also seems kind of trite to capture, in a few lines, the work of someone like artist Darren Woodhead, whose beautiful watercolours capture not only nature, the landscape, the weather, but a sense of the shifting mood and movement of a place. Or someone like Yasmin Hanif, a children’s writer whose debut picture book, Abdullah’s Bear Needs a Name!, was shortlisted for the 2023 Kavya Arts Prize. Or how two sisters growing up making potions now create a unique range of skincare products from their East Lothian apothecary. Or Tom Brownlee’s reminiscences of the county’s vanished cinemas. Or the journey the new owners of the Longniddry Inn have taken to make the local pub the heart of the village community once more.
I mean, where do I begin? I think also that these inspiring stories are a part of East Lothian Life, and what I enjoy covering the most. But they are so different. And that’s kind of the beauty of it. It’s a patchwork of people, passions, and places – all different, all deeply rooted here. When the founder of East Lothian Life, Pauline Jaffray, launched this magazine 36 years ago, she did so with the intention that the customs and habits of people in East Lothian would be recorded, shared and always remembered. And decades on, this continues to be rooted in the magazine’s DNA, even as we keep opening the door to fresh perspectives and new voices.
If I had to sum it up, it’s that inspiration hides everywhere – in a brushstroke, a recipe, a memory, a place. Every story reflects something real and enduring about life in East Lothian. And that, more than anything, is what this magazine has always been about – moments worth celebrating – and remembering.
Until next time
Cover: Fieldfare among Sea Buckthorn Berries, Gullane | Darren Woodhead
