Staff Picks
Each issue the team working on the magazine gets to read, edit and design every detail of our pages. Seeing every story and item up close leads to much discussion
I really don’t like rats. They carry plague (yes, I know it’s the fleas) and I hear they grow to some enormous proportions. So I was none too happy when I began working on “How to Make a Rat Laugh”, page 34. Rats laughing? As if. What is funny is the thought of teams of lab-coated gelotologists (apparently that’s what you call scientists who study humour) trying to get them to chuckle, perhaps starting off with jokes. A cockroach, a rat and an ant all walk into a bar… (And then I found two more mentions of rats in this issue... can you?)
MELANIE EGAN, deputy chief subeditor
Oops. I blushed when I read the funny and outrageous excuses listed in “Dear Teacher”, page 40. Now I realise that for all those years when I turned up at school with wild stories about why I hadn’t done homework, my teachers saw straight through me. Funerals for elderly relatives? Tick. Family dog chomping its way through maths equations? Tick. Lost bus pass? Tick. I’ve used them all, many times.
JOHN YATES, art director
Editor Sue Carney and I “met” the fish in “Ghost Fish” (page 56) at a workshop/exhibition attended by some of the artists. I had been looking forward to it, but days before I tripped and broke my wrist. Undeterred, I accompanied Sue to the event and, under the brilliant if slightly bemused tutelage of Florence Gutchen, made a brooch from washed-up fishing nets. One hand is enough if you’re prepared to use teeth! (Sue’s was better, but she was cast-free.) The art is a wonderful solution to a dire problem, I just hope that one day Florence and co. run out of nets.
DONYALE HARRISON, chief subeditor
A couple of years ago I went to see a GP who turned the screen to show me some blood results. While scanning the screen I saw that a previous doctor had written a note saying I had got angry when she told me my cholesterol was high. I don’t think GP notes are a place for personality reports, so I applaud the idea that doctors should let you in on what they are writing in your medical files (“When Doctors Share Notes”, page 92).
HANNAH HEMPENSTALL, subeditor
So many journalists aspire to writing travel features, but few can draw a reader in like Amanda Jones does when she recalls, with great humour, her first adventure to India. As she is led into the Thar Desert of western Rajasthan by a sleepy teenage camel driver and a bubbly tour guide, on top of Raj, a weary yet obliging camel, Amanda discovers her true calling. Don’t miss “Saved By a Camel”, page 94.
LOUISE WATERSON, managing editor
I loved this issue’s Instant Answers on Tweens (Subscriber Bonus). As a mother of a high schooler, I’ve first-hand and recent experience of those not-really-a-child/not-yet-a-teenager years. They’re roller coaster times. But a wonderful adventure – especially in hindsight!
DARLENE DELANEY, ad support manager
Do you have a favourite story in this issue? Write to us.