No matter how much you plan, study information to make forecasts and set targets, the unpredictable can happen.

We had such an incident last week - this time in our situations vacant section.

We set an all-time record for jobs of all kinds advertised in the columns. We are monitoring the situation very carefully in a bid to find out if this is the start of a trend or just a blip.

Whatever the outcome, it has to be good news - not just for us - but for the whole area.

As a media group we are leading the field in helping people find the employment of their choice. Not only do we have jobs advertised in our newspaper's columns, but they are now included in a new publication Just the Job, and of course as you may have guessed or read we are heavily involved in the Fish4jobs web site.

I really do hope that it is a sign of the times and that our district is making further progress towards boosting the local economy.

All kinds of exciting things are happening in the commercial and business world in our midst. We try to report on these successes and share the feelgood factor.

As I often say, it is not advisable to do it all the time, but a sharp blast to trumpet success is well in order when you have something to shout about.

I close with an open invitation. If you know of a success story then lets us know. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than shouting it from the rooftops on your well deserved behalf.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.