The Lady Magazine

13 March 2015

Is it possible? Could it actually, really and truly be… spring? Certainly the sun is lingering for longer above the horizon, the light is different, more luminous, and just the other day I caught myself pining for an ice cream (I like old-school raspberry ripple). Change really is in the air. But for some the new season brings long hours, sleepless nights and an awful lot of hard work, as unreconstructed New Yorker Brianne Leary discovered when she fell in love with a Devon farmer, moved to the UK and found herself right in the middle of a rather chaotic lambing season. She tells her hilarious and heartwarming story – and reveals how she fell for a ewe named Casserole – on page 20. We also have TV critic Ben Felsenburg on the joy of credits – yes, it’s amazing what simple pleasures are to be had from paying attention to the list of names at the end of a favourite programme; the second, evocative part of a soldier’s memories of wartime India, and the great Mary Berry, who shares with you her very favourite recipes. But we also must say a goodbye. After more than a decade compiling our Ladygram puzzle, Keith Parker is retiring from The Lady. His wit and wisdom have provided a much-loved and widely respected feature of this magazine since 2003 and he will be sorely missed by staff and readers alike. We wish him the very best. Fear not, however: the Ladygram is here to stay. We have two brilliant new Ladygram compilers and, as Keith explains on page 30, your favourite puzzle will go from strength to strength. In fact, we are marking this important occasion with not one, not two, but three Ladygrams this week. What a treat. Matt Warren, Editor