Proper #38

The theme of this issue is Recovery. It’s a word that can mean many things to many people. Maybe you’re nursing yourself back to health after having a fall in Home Bargains. Perhaps you’ve been tending to your lawn even in these cold and soggy days to ensure it finds its way to health after heavy use in the summer. It could be that you’re hooked on wine gums and you’re weaning your way off them in the hope of saving what’s left of your teeth? You might drive a pick-up truck, which is recovery in the most literal sense. Or maybe you want to get deep and think about your own personal journey through life, especially as we contemplate post-pestilence and whether those days will ever arrive. We’ve all got our version of recovery because as human beings, it’s simply what we do. Cut your finger on a bread knife? It’ll heal. It’ll recover. Bruised your shin climbing over plastic seats in pursuit of masked Eastern Europeans? It’s fine, it’s a battle scar and it’ll eventually get better. Lost a loved one? We all have. It’s absolutely horrible, isn’t it? But somehow, mainly through lack of other available options, we recover. We have to. Hopefully 2022 will bring us all more of the optimism and progress we’ve tried to provide you with in this latest issue, our 38th. As ever, this issue is interview heavy. It boasts talks with Ray Mears, Lorenzo Osti, Meghan Markle and the people behind of some of our favourite bands/brands. We may have made one of those up. Oh, and we went for a spot of wild camping to test out loads of gear from some of the outdoor world’s nicest brands. It was really good in the end.