We are delighted this month to feature the career of Mat Irvine, a long-time supporter of the BIS. Anyone who has been lucky enough to meet Mat in person will know what a highly entertaining raconteur he is and his article is very much in this vein.
We are also very pleased this month to include news of a regional BIS event in the West Midlands, which we hope will attract the support of members in this area. If you can, please come along to the lecture on the 18th January devoted to the life and work of Arthur C. Clarke. Continuing the Clarke theme, Odyssey 11 includes the first ever review of Neil McAleer’s updated biography on our most celebrated member.
As 2011 draws to a close (the year in which Odyssey joined the suite of BIS publications) I’d like to thank Adrian Mann for his tireless work on the design and layout of the newsletter, which has given it such a professional look. Thanks also to our hawkeyed proof readers Mel Hacker, Martin Postranecky and John Silvester, as well as to David A. Hardy for his wonderful mastheads. Finally, for their support and encouragement I am very grateful to David Baker the new editor of Spaceflight, and BIS Council Members Alistair Scott and Colin Philp.
Best wishes,
Mark Stewart
Honorary Archival Librarian/Editor of the e-newsletter: Odyssey
