HowDo?!

A very welcome addition to the cultural life in the city of Bradistan is a new magazine called HowDo?!. The publication is the brainchild of Martyn Johnston along with his sidekick Haigh Simpson.

Funded entirely by advertising, HowDo?! aims to focus on the remarkable diversity and potential that exists here but is so often overlooked or ignored. Bradistan has so much more going for it than the extreme negative image portrayed in the national media as well as its poor reputation generally. There is a lot happening here culturally but you often really have to scratch below the surface to find it. Plus a lot of these activities are not as "joined up" as they really should be.

HowDo?! has started to pull these disparate strands together into a varied and interesting monthly magazine. The first issue with a print-run of 2500 disappeared within days and the second edition of 4500 copies is due to appear anytime now. Inside you will find fascinating and illuminating articles about local arts, cuisine, music, photography and theatre happenings along with refreshing views and opinions. Crucially, the magazine is bursting with enthusiasm about Bradistan and its vast potential.

You can read the online version of the magazine here but it is so much better to hold one in your sweaty palms and smell the ink and paper for yourself. If you actually subscribe to it, then a donation will go to BIASAN, the local refugee and asylum seeker organisation.

HowDo?! is a long overdue venture but one sorely needed here. Let's hope that it flourishes and provides an effective voice for our city, as well as reflecting its strong cultural heritage.