I am not sure if the present decade is ‘the worst of times’ (some may think it is), but there is no doubt that ours are ‘hard times’ and we are being put through major trials and tribulations.

In recent days, I often think of Mark Tapley, not as an extraordinary character always seeking challenges to prove his unshakable jolliness (when young, I found this characterisation rather implausible), but, basically, as an ordinary and vulnerable person who has firmly resolved to uphold his own values while under hopelessly adverse circumstances. What his attitude seems to suggest is that the only way for us to be jolly under trying circumstances, is to consciously keep choosing to be so.

Therefore, as Mark has demonstrated, through our Fellowship, let us determine not only to be as jolly as possible but also to preserve the Dickensian spirit for intellectual endeavour and conviviality.

Yasuhiko MATSUMOTO