Bill Baird starts us off with a piece on living fossils. We are not talking about the coelacanth, which seems to have reared its ugly head again in the media, but of plant fossils. He makes a very interesting suggestion for the establishment of a real Jurassic Park. Any readers who have a few thousand acres to spare might like to give his idea some serious consideration. 

I have put together a couple of short snippets about encounters with James Hutton. The first is from Ellis Yochelson and Gordon Craig, who contributed the article on James Macie (Smithson) in the last issue. The second is derived from some reading that I have been doing recently, which I had initially thought had nothing to do with geology. 

I have introduced a new type of article and would be interested in readers' reactions. This is in the form of an interview with last year's Clough Medallist, Barry Dawson, of the Grant Institute of Geology. Barry has carried out a lifetime of research in Africa and in this issue he tells of his work there, as well as his time at university and in the RAF. It had been suggested that I put a headline on the cover of this issue, 'Exclusive Interview... Dawson tells all!' I was tempted but thought better of it! 

It is clear that scholars of ancient Greek are well ahead of the game in geology and there is scope for another 'What's in a Name?' on that very subject. In this issue, the subject of discussion is the Tertiary. This age has been 'dropped' by recent stratigraphic commissions. I look at the details and the implications. There has also been a wealth of correspondence after the last 'What's in a Name?' by Ken Hitchen. I have reproduced the letters here and hope that readers may find them of interest. 

There are two articles on this year's field excursions. The first, by Liz Hide, tells of the trip to Appin and, in particular, of the exciting new fossils found in the Loch Aline Sandstone. David and Fiona McAdam give a contrasting view on what a geologist and non-geologist found of interest on the weekend field excursion to Elgin in June of this year. 

James Hutton stars again in an article by Dennis R. Dean and Tom Sharpe, who discuss a letter from George Mackenzie, of the old Huttonian school, to Henry De la Beche. This was on the definitions of stratification and bedding, a topic that may still cause confusion to first year geology students. 

There is more on the new Dynamic Earth exhibition. Having heard in the last issue from Stuart Monro, this time, there is a chance for the punters to have their say. Five critical appraisals of the exhibition have been sent to me, providing points of view that should be interesting to the museum directors as well as of entertainment to our readers. The average age of these contributors is under 22... and one of them is Norman Butcher. 

I have been well-nigh overwhelmed with contributions for the 'Poet's Corner'. Thank you to all those that responded to my plea. I cannot publish them all in this issue, so some will have to wait until the future. If the Muse takes you, however, do send me your verse, because it is nice for an Editor to have material in hand! 

Puzzlers will be pleased to know that Angela Anderson has another ROCKSWORD in this issue. She tells me that she was alarmed to read that she would provide these on a regular basis... but she has sent me two more, which will see us up to the end of this Millennium. Beyond then, we can only hope! 

I am still keen to receive more articles and snippets from professionals and amateurs alike for the next issue, which will be published in the Spring. If you would like to contribute anything, I would be grateful to receive it before the end of February 2000... or sooner if possible!