I say that having spent Sunday afternoon outside Bunnings cooking the barbecue with Armidale Dumaresq Lions Club.

During the pandemic all sorts of restrictions came into place, which altered what we had to do there. But now people can put the sauce on their sausage sandwich themselves. I guess that's the point that life felt is was returning to what is was like before covid.

This week we also see the return of The Armidale Express as a printed newspaper, which we're excited about, and it's been heartening to receive all the positive messages about its return.

The Express is one of several ACM newspapers being printed again a year after the economic impact of the pandemic forced the suspension of printing.

Thank you for all your support over the last year, and we look forward to continuing to cover the news in Armidale.

In the meantime, we are also looking forward to more events taking place, such as next month's Big Chill Beer and Barbecue Festival.

Armidale has been selected as one of the locations to host the 24th Mother's Day Classic annual national fun run/walk for breast cancer research on Sunday, May 9.

Thanks for reading, and remember you can reach out to us at armidaleexpress@austcommunitymedia.com.au.

Laurie Bullock

Group Editor