Editor’s Letter – Issue 177

Well that has been a bit of a sh*tstorm since the last time we spoke, hasn’t it? I’ll get them out of my system now for the sake of making a point, but I hope soon to be able to ditch certain terms from my vocabulary in the not too distant future and they are… New Normal, Bubbles, Bubble Buddies, Breaking Bubbles, Daily Briefing, Level Whatever and Social Distancing. Whilst it is really still too early to comprehend the sort of domino effect that is still to play out on the global economy and our local economy, and there will be a great deal of negative impact, but I have been buoyed with optimism by the industry leaders that we have spoken to over the course of the lockdown (oh, that’s another word to add to the list). Many are seeing that our approach to the pandemic, our relative isolation (all of a sudden that is a bonus), our bias towards innovation and our resilience put us in a wonderful position to rebuild our economy so that it is stronger and better. And let’s be honest with ourselves, there were and are aspects to GDP metrics and economic “growth” that are not sustainable.

Hopefully, we can take the opportunity to breathe, to stand back and to look at what has been really important in times of crisis and keep those things in mind as we get to work on the recovery. You know those words we should never forget about; Family, Community, Environment. Speaking of resilience and community, as we celebrate 15 years of M2 this issue, I would like to thank our families both home and work and the incredible audience that has connected with us in print, in digital and at events to share the best of local ideas, innovation and optimism over the years. These things are going to be even more important over the next 15 years.