WELCOME TO ISSUE 30…

We are officially 8 years old – 8 glorious years of timeless, quirky stories and illustrations dedicated to a place I have called home for 14 years – brought to you by some of the best writers and artists in the world.

All of you have helped us grow, thrive and be visible by reading and appreciating our magazine.

This issue is dedicated to The Eye and all it sees, and we are honoured to have legendary illustrator Peter Bailey create our very sophisticated and elegant cover.

We hear about Peter’s illustrative career from historian Lucy Moore. His extraordinary body of work, creating countless covers for some of the best children’s writers in the world, is enough to make anyone’s eyes water – ‘…Perhaps the best eyes we ever have, the eyes widest with wonder, are the eyes we use as children…’ Full article on page 8.

We hear from Mick O’Hare about the brilliant work of The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), 5 minutes from our doorstep, and we learn that our neighbours on Mercer Walk Stanfords, the world’s biggest map and travel bookshop, have been supplying nautical charts to the RNLI since the shop opened in 1853. Stanfords’ CEO Vivien Godfrey is a long-time supporter.

We also play a game of I Spy with Mick O’Hare who treks high and low shining a light on Covent Garden locations featured in spy movies, (more on page 10) and theatre historian Mark Fox discovers who put the ‘I’ in Rodgers and Hammerstein ‘the King and I’.

Our focus is always on Covent Garden, creativity and community and we are incredibly passionate about print and our beautifully curated and fully commissioned independent publications.

Please continue to spread the word and follow us on Instagram
@thecoventgardener @themayfarer and @thecitycourant.

We are always interested in more collaborations. Please get in touch with ideas & suggestions.