Letter from the editor: Life in the printed word yet

A few sore heads around here yesterday after our little shindig to mark the 100th issue of i.

We’ve checked with all the local police stations and hospitals, and the night seems to have passed without serious incident. The deputy editor wasn’t found by the cleaners the next morning, the obituaries editor wasn’t discovered asleep in a lift and a senior member of staff who shall remain nameless didn’t conclude her evening in Stoke Newington nick, so that’s an improvement on previous parties we’ve held.

It was, by common consent, a rip-roaring night, and I hope you’ll forgive our indulgence in running a few pictures of the more glamorous attendees, plus Dom Joly, in yesterday’s Caught & Social page. There was a hugely positive feeling towards i, and I made the point in a brief speech that, for a person of my vintage, there is something rewarding about bringing people back to newspapers. There’s life in the printed word yet.

These days, it’s mobile this, and wireless that, and wi-fi this. I’m old enough to remember the excitement when the first person in our street got cordless pyjamas! (And before I get sued, this is a joke borrowed - or even stolen - from my friend, the comedian Arnold Brown.)

Thanks, also, to the many, many readers who sent messages of congratulation - in particular to Anna Fenn of Plymouth, whose letter was possibly the most touching I have ever received, and to Sam Abbotts, who told how he converted someone reading a rival paper to i during a train journey to Birmingham. And a big thank you to the nice people in the press office of a top confectionery brand, who sent us 100 bars of chocolate as a present. I won’t mention it by name. I’ll just say it was Aero-dynamic! Now it’s on to our next party - the event for readers on April 13. The hangover may have worn off by then!