It is often an advantage of retiring that one finally is able to say things that have long been on one's mind and to acknowledge those who have contributed to one's career or profession. Better yet is retiring as an editor of a journal or magazine, because then those thoughts and the mention of significant individuals can be recorded on paper for posterity. Having just retired after some 14 years as editor of Polar Record, I am pleased to be in that position now, because there are many people — both before my tenure and during it — who deserve mention for their contributions to what this special and very visible aspect of the Scott Polar Research Institute has become and to how it will develop.