Issue 46

2022 brought us the mad hubris and economically catastrophic fallout of the 50 day British prime minister; the monstrosities of Putin; climate catastrophe; a new pandemic of infection predominantly affecting school children; poverty, cold, inflation, be-leagured public sector workers forced after more than a decade of austerity to impoverish themselves further by withdrawing their labour, grief ‘tap-tap-tapping/on your window’ and (as I write) temperatures which obviate the need to plug in the freezer you can’t afford to power up. What better way to warm the cockles of your pining heart, and your chilblained toes, than Dream Catcher 46?

Throw another pile of un-opened bills on the fire; top up your hot water-bottle; grab a cat or two to bulk out the blanket over your knees, and luxuriate in the season’s creative offerings. Indulge in some arm-chair travel (whether on the Victoria tube line, or overseas); find solace in the language of flowers (maybe even be inspired to set up a society for the preservation of weeds, among other persecuted majorities); find the hidden depths in an artist’s model. Are you after the respectability of matching chairs, or fired up by memories of love? Do you believe corpses are the most reliable witnesses, or are you holding out for the perfect toast topping? Whether you are wanting to end it all or hoping for a new beginning, you will find something to interest, amuse, horrify, or inspire.

In this issue we also luxuriate in the realism of artist David Finnigan