The main contribution to this issue charts the history and development of the British Geological Survey's Offshore Mapping Programme. John Hull, in his acceptance of the Clough Medal on behalf of BGS, draws a poignant anology between this offshore work, and the pioneering survey of the UK landmass by Clough and his contemporaries in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Dan Evans and Martyn Stoker present insights into recent scientific and commercial advances undertaken by the Offshore Programme, now built on a foundation of international, in particular European, cooperation. 

Reaction to Mike Browne's review of the Geology of Scotland (3rd edition) in Issue 27 has been quite interesting, with many people sharing his sentiments. Here, we present a robust reply from Professor Gordon Craig in his capacity as editor of all three editions. This presents an insight into the history of this publication and sets out a challenge to the next generation of geoscientists whose researches are taking us forward in our understanding of the geology of Scotland. 

In our book reviews, Dan Evans (a man of the sea) examines the series of booklets A Landscape Fashioned by Geology published by Scottish Natural Heritage. Potentially these represent an exciting way forward in explaining to the public at large, how geological processes have influenced our landsacape. In these days of image conciousness in science, these publications must represent a step forward in raising the profile of the earth sciences.