Well, I'm sorry I can't bring you more pertinent news. 

The fact is, I'm currently away on annual leave - or at least, I will be when this goes out. 

For a newsletter exclusive such as this, I'd normally try and find some new information or put together a long-read feature. The fact that I've resorted to writing about myself for this edition probably tells you how last week's task of finding a suitable exclusive topic went.

Still, we've just surpassed 1,000 newsletter subscribers, and that seemed to supply as good a pretext as any for something a bit more unusual.

Thanks, as ever, for reading. And it's newsletter business as usual from next week!

I'm relatively new to Stockport, having lived here for just over a year. I'm from Oldham originally, and after a spell in York studying history, and a rather more brief spell in London pursuing a music career, I moved to the beautiful south (of Manchester).

I came into journalism mainly for love of writing. And I've always liked the idea of talking to people from different walks of life. 

Stockport has already provided this and more - I've met with a huge range of Stopfordians: artists, charity organisers, timber merchants, ghost hunters, politicians, sportspeople, and a theatre company, to name a few. 

I've also been trying to see as much of the borough as possible, mostly by shuffling around it on foot.

I think it's important to get as broad a sense of the borough as possible, but less pompously, it's also a good way of inoculating myself against certain factual clangers. Something to the tune of misplacing an iconic local pub, or some similar faux pas which would show me up immediately as a Chaddertonian in Stopfordian's clothing.

I also remain as convinced as ever in the local sense of humour. 'Crime can't crack itself', and all that.

I hope that so far I've been able to do the area justice - thank you all for bearing with me; either if you're a reader or if you've been in touch over the past year or so and have shared your stories.

Outside of journalism, you'll most likely find me reading or playing music, or more occasionally drawing. Sometimes I'll even write about non-Stockport things!

Thanks again for reading - and by that I mean the site generally, not just the aforesaid dreck. But thanks for reading that, too. 

I'm back from Monday 16 September - my inbox is always open at [email protected]. I try to reply to every email, and even if I don't use absolutely everything that comes through, it usually slips onto the site in some or other way. 

All the best

Alasdair