It has been well publicised that we are not paying subscriptions this year, for membership and for the magazine. The next renewals will begin in 2022 (an explanation here for longer-standing members: now that our website enables 12-month subscriptions without the need for a human to calculate when each individual’s memberships is due, the standard September renewal doesn’t apply. For new members the subscription will only be due in September if you joined in September).

Another function made possible through the website is annual recurring payment for your membership. There is a slight drawback to that system this year in that, if you have set up the recurring payment, your bank does not recognise a waiver in fees and will give your money to the NMC anyway.

I expect most people will not notice the subscription going out until they look at the balance, but if you do see it and would like a refund, contact the Treasurer [log in to see names], otherwise your payment will be shown in the NMC accounts as a donation.

Adverts—£15 full page, £8 half page. Send to me by 15 November, and if you could tell me you plan to have one now, that would be great—you can send me the details by the 15th.

Contact details—as I write this only about half the membership have completed the data request. As it stands, we are not printing any contact details unless you have specifically agreed to their publication; this includes names, so without the agreement you will not be shown as a member at all. You will be a secret.

[log in to see names] will be running a show in April 2022 (see back cover), good news for all those further west. If it’s a success, she hopes to run more. The next show will be Manchester: I forgot to print the schedule in the October issue. Hard copies were taken to Ashover, and the schedule is available on the website. It also appears in this issue but of course may arrive after the closing date for entries.

This show, ably run by [log in to see names] after a gap of 25 years, was a great success. The hall is very nice, [log in to see names] provided a great buffet lunch (and endless cups of tea), and there was a lovely buzz of conversation all day. The fact that the show was 18 months later than originally planned didn’t matter at all. To cap it all, I got BIS, so no complaints from me!

Several present and past fanciers visited the show, including [log in to see names], a name not previously known to me. [log in to see names] started to show mice in 1952, and brought with him a photograph from a show in Shipley, which I’ve reproduced on Pages 8 & 14. Can anyone identify the fanciers? [log in to see names] does know who several of them are, but there are a few unknowns.