The Lady Magazine

14 August 2015

Dear Readers, I approach writing my first letter as editor with an overwhelming sense of excitement and a degree of trepidation. Along with my first ever job as a 17-year-old dog au pair in Rome (yes, truly), being editor of The Lady is the best job a girl could ever wish for. The magazine has the most informed and inspirational readers of any publication on the market. Will I always be good enough to meet your exacting standards? I certainly intend to do my very best. There will be some small changes – Ladygram fans will be pleased to know that I have asked our new compiler Burt Baker to ‘turn the dial down’ a little – and we will be seeing some new faces joining our already established ones. More of that next week. This week, however, we are celebrating the serenity and sophistication of the older trailblazers, women whose own determination and grit made mine, and my generation’s, life choices possible. Women like our cover star Daphne Selfe, one of Britain’s most in-demand supermodels at 87 years old. Or the effervescent 91-year-old Eve Branson, who, despite her featherweight looks, is as fearless as a lion. On the eve of the 70th anniversary of VJ Day, we honour ‘The Forgotten Army’ and Judy the English pointer, the only dog to become a Japanese prisoner of war. We meet the YAPS. Are you one? They’re the new retirees who are planning on doing anything but be ‘retiring’. Perhaps you might find time to join the campaign to stop dear old Dippy the dinosaur from being removed from the Natural History Museum, or maybe you want to ‘resize’ your home. It’s all the rage. Just like us! Until next week, very best wishes, Sam Taylor, Editor