I realised in 2003 that I had to have a Guardian Weekly subscription. I was visiting my brother, a diplomat in Kazakhstan, at the time leading up to the US/UK invasion of Iraq. While trying to understand something that made no sense, his copy of the Guardian Weekly provided the insights not available in the press in North America. Now each week I eagerly await its arrival.
After university in England and wandering the world for a bit, 43 years ago I finally settled as a sheep farmer on an island in Lake Ontario. We have no television, so CBC radio and the BBC website give me daily news, and the Weekly the investigative reporting and balanced comment so lacking in this post-Brexit, post-Trump, post-truth world.
First (vanity, I know) I check to see if my occasional contributions to Reply or Notes & Queries have made it in. Then if I am feeling strong I will start with the front page and World Roundup, and work my way through the hard news. I have come to enjoy the Eyewitnessed page, and the Weekly Review is for quiet evening digestion.
The book reviews are essential for my reading addiction, and for suggestions for my book club. My wife and I do the Quick crossword over supper; the Cryptic crossword reminds me that there are people in the world a lot smarter than me.
Then the slightly dog-eared copy is passed on to friends on the island.
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