I’m not just writing this because this is the February/March issue, but I love this time of year. No, really, I do. It may be a bit on the nippy side (indeed there could be a lot of ice/snow covering the world outside your window as you read this) and Christmas may be a distant memory, but we now have the excitement of the year ahead. What holidays are we going to go on? Which restaurants are on our hit list? What are we going to cook the next time we have friends over? For answers, read the next 129 pages. As per usual, our pages are full of the best places to eat and seasonal recipes, so let’s focus on the holiday. Thailand, Israel and India: all should be on your shortlist. In Thailand, we go beyond the norm to visit Isan and try a seriously diverse cuisine that includes, among other things, crippled frog’s legs and water beetles. We go gourmet travelling in northern Israel from the Galilee to the ancient ports of the Mediterranean and then we have India – 25 pages of it. Recipes, restaurants, wines and tours, it’s all here. Perhaps now you can see why I’m so excited.

P.S. We’re on the road again this month, catch us at Destinations London, 2-5 February, http://destinationsshow.com