I am delighted to follow Professor Anne Curry as President of the Historical Association. Anne has been a tireless advocate for the HA during her term as President and we recently benefitted in Canterbury from one of her many visits to lecture to the local branches. I am also looking forward tremendously to meeting our members during the next three years. I have already received a warm welcome at the annual conference held earlier this month in Manchester. Congratulations to everyone involved in the fantastic organisation and the talks. Anne's Presidential lecture on Henry VI was a must and I also joined the workshop run by our incoming Deputy-President, Ben Walsh, on the History teacher's toolkit. I have heard Ben talk before and I knew I would pick up some great ideas for working with my students. Sir Ian Kershaw's keynote lecture on the end of Hitler's Germany was a real highlight.

Afterwards, a member of the audience, who had endured the fall of Budapest as a girl, made a moving personal testimony. Her words were a poignant reminder of how the study of History gives us a powerful sense of our shared humanity. If you have not yet attended the annual conference, then make a date for next year, when there will be plenty of primary and secondary workshops on offer, as well as the general talks.

I will look forward to meeting many of you then, if not before.