CLIVE BETTS WROTE HIS FIRST COLUMN FOR US IN AUTUMN 2003, this will be the first issue since then not to be graced with his pen. He has given up his office at the Assembly but will continue as a contributor. In future his writing will emphasise individual stories focussed around interviews with key characters, concentrating more on policies which affect the people of Wales and why they have been adopted, rather than on the nitty-gritty of party-politics. For the next issue he is interviewing Alun Ffred Jones on what is happening within his heritage portfolio.

You will see a letter from Terry Breverton on windfarms - it has never been our policy to stop printing letters on this subject, although it is true that we have cut back on them. We received so many on the subject but we also had complaints that we were in danger of becoming a ‘one issue' magazine. The vast majority of these letters were anti-wind energy, many of them emotional, some scientific. I can assure you that we are not going to stop publishing them altogether, but there are so many other issues of importance which face us in Wales today and we feel it our duty to maintain a balance. The editorial policy of this magazine was established a long time ago and should be quite clear to all our readers. cambria opposes windfarms in Wales for three reasons. First, if tourism is to remain a key industry, and one on which we will rely heavily in the coming years, windfarms on a Welsh horizon, however remote the location, cannot but have a negative effect on encouraging visitors coming to Wales to enjoy the

pleasures of unspoilt countryside. Second, the alliance between the wind energy industry and central government with the system of sweeteners and grants that go with it appears to operate more in the interests of multi-national conglomerates and their profits than making scientific sense. This leads on to the third point, as to whether covering the entire country with wind turbines of massive size, with all the associated ancillary construction and infrastructure would ever provide more than 10 percent of our energy needs. The other 90 percent has to come from other resources. The equation involving the correlation between energy production, carbon footprint and environmental impact does not have a positive outcome. That said, hoorah for his last paragraph.

Reading through the proofs I am delighted by the quality of the articles and their subjects. Siôn Jobbins article, as always, provides interesting food for thought: an assessment of the relationship between  Wales and Ireland becomes a rumination on the responsibilities of nationhood.

The pictures of the St. David's Day Parade provide a happy reminder of a beautiful day, not only sunny but actually warm, and the atmosphere was a perfect reflection of the weather. It was the biggest Parade to date, and yet was marginalized and largely ignored by a declining Welsh press. A big thank you to all who came and supported it, to the partners: The National Assembly and Cardiff City Council, to all the sponsors, and to those who year-in year-out give freely of their time to make it possible.

Lastly, owing to our patrons' advisers' and readers' suggestions, The Friends of Cambria will be launched officially at a reception this summer. Details will be published in our next issue.

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