Shaggy Dog Comments...

Merry Christmas from us!

The Lismore Soupie is gearing up for its annual Christmas lunch at Lismore City Hall and is on the hunt for donations of soft drink, food and money. If you'd like to help out, give Mieke Bell a call on 6624 6080.

Don't forget that you can recycle Christmas cards, thanks to Planet Ark. Drop them in bins at Coles supermarkets or pick up a free 'Cards 4 Planet Ark' envelope at the post office.

One of our most delightful and vivacious staffmembers, Meril Fisher, who lost her dad, Stan, last Friday. There are times when then English language fails us. Our love, thoughts and deepest sympathies go to Meril and her family.

Shaggy's a big fan of tradition and of course one of the traditions we have at The Echo is the annual class photo of those behind bringing you the paper every week.

Pictured are: (front, l-r) Shaggy's master editor Simon "he's away again" Thomsen, sales & marketing manager Heather "I'm getting to it!" Williams and Scene editor S "for Serious" Sorrensen, (middle) sports editor Laurie 'the loon' Axtens, journalist Julian "have you heard about..." Ryan, sales consultant Mark "good looking paper" Robinson, graphic artist Ewan "big ups" Williams, and sales consultant Marilyn 'volcano' Manning, (rear), receptionist and life-saving tea maker Jocie "I love typing" Chard, chief of staff Terra "thanks darl" Sword, graphic artist Andy "he should be in soon" Gough, accounts manager Kerry "I'll sort it out" Mason, and sales consultant Helen "I've been doing this for 20 years" Rigby.

Also pictured are graphic artists Alex "I'll try to squeeze you in" Clarke and Meril "sure, no problems" Fisher.

And huge Christmas hugs and love to our wonderful contributors, from Richmond Valley eyewitness Therese Schier to globe-trotting compassionate technologist Chris Goh, wine wonder David Ellis, flick chick Evelyn Gough, relentless reader Robin Osborne, Canberra gadfly Mungo McCallum, the herbal Alan Hayes, unshrinking Stewart Hase, eternal flame Tony Belton and chlorophyller Julia Hancock, who sadly, has filed her final gardening column and heads for greener pastures. Alas cartoonist Paul Zanetti is also doodling off after this edition. Thanks to you all.

A special tail wag also goes to Terra, who filled in while Shaggy was off licking dog bowls in Sydney for three months.

Cheers and thanks to Dougal Binns once again for our annual Christmas front cover. Special thanks also to Andrew and Jeni Binns for their endless support and encouragement.

Hip! Hip! Hoorays! to our distributors, Rob & Sue Lane, and the fantastic team of walkers who pass by your letterbox rain, heat and shine, to ensure you get an Echo in the letterbox every week.

And we dip our lids to our advertisers, for their faith and support, which enable us to bring you The Echo. Without them, there simply wouldn't be an Echo, so if you enjoy reading the paper, please support our advertisers and let them know you saw them in The Echo'.

Last, but most importantly, we bow to you, our readers, for keeping us on our toes and letting us know what you think. Your encouragement tips and letters give The Echo its heartbeat and voice as celebrate this region and its fantastic, talented people.

On behalf of everyone here, we wish you a safe and happy Christmas (and for Jewish readers, a belated happy Hanukkah, and for you hippies, a happy summer solstice for last Monday - funny to think the days are now getting shorter... sigh!). May your God go with you. We wish you love and laughter. And please take care if you're on the roads and have a lovely Christmas.

Happy New Year too!

The Echo is taking a break and you'll see the paper in your letterbox again on January 6. See you in 2005!