A New Chapter

Let’s face it, if we’re not drowning in a sea of WhatsApp messages we’re cursing the ‘unidentified item in bagging area’ at the supermarket. Technology and the supposed progress it ushers in can feel like a mixed blessing. Yes, video calls from home in your pyjamas feels like a luxury but back-to-back zoom calls when you’re busting for the loo and need to feed the cat, arguably less so.
I’m a thirty-something, living and working from home in north Oxford and while this speciality coffee-sipping millennial is meant to embrace all things progressive and have his face glued to instagram, even I find it all a bit much sometimes.
When everything moves so fast I can completely understand the temptation to simply step off the ride. We’ve all been there. But stepping off the ride inevitably means you get left behind altogether and that’s never fun.
We are incredibly lucky to have a group of very talented people in our community who subscribe to the ‘don’t step off the ride’ mantra, favouring instead the search for new and exciting ways to keep pace and move with the times. People who stick it out and see things through even when the path to take isn’t clear. They’re a fantastic group of people, with a variety of backgrounds, skills and talents, dedicated to our community …and I call them ‘Team Flying Goose’.
When the team, who have kept The Flying Goose going over 66 issues and 17 years, first approached me they were understandably passionate about this special community publication but knew it needed to evolve to better serve all of you. Of course, the easier option would have been to carry on ‘business as usual’ but instead of The Flying Goose turning into just another dusty old village newsletter, the team were ridiculously enthusiastic to explore all kinds of new ideas to help The Flying Goose move with the times and engage more people in our community.
The result of much head-scratching, brainstorming (and yes, occasional zoom meetings in pyjamas) is the revamped Flying Goose you hold in your hands. The whole team have worked hard to breathe new life into every page and we all hope you like the new look and feel.
This issue is of course, just the beginning and there are plenty more exciting changes still to come – and plenty of ways you can get involved. I’m very much the newbie here but hope to do what I can in my own small way to spread the community spirit we all feel, one article at a time.