<html><head></head><body><div class="yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Dear retro friends,</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">A friend of mine was the last person to fly out of Kai Tak, the legendary airport in the centre of Hong Kong. He was due to leave on the last plane, but then went and hid in the rest room. He emerged at the perfect moment, when everyone else was past the final boarding desk. He got his picture on the front page of the South China Morning Post.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">I feel a little bit like that about RML today. Frankly, RML has not been busy for a long time, but for many years it was a happening place, with so many challenges, competitions and triumphs reported here. In 2000, Noam Elkies pointed me to come here after I expressed an interest in retros. I encountered so many wonderful people, some still here, some sadly passed on.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Even in the declining years of RML, one annual activity has been the Path Enumeration year count, originated by Noam Elkies. At some point, I tagged along, so he didn't have things entirely his own way. I'm sure Noam's problem for 2026 will be posted here soon. This year, my own problem will appear in Joaquim Crusats' magazine Problemas in a few hours. I won't post it here, but I did want to get a final message through to this list before it is closed.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">So, I hope you are all well, and thriving in your composing, solving and life in general. Please come and visit us at The Hopper Magazine <a href="https://www.thehoppermagazine.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="">https://www.thehoppermagazine.com/</a> from time to time. Please send us your original compositions - the next issue will appear in April.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks to Otto Janko for managing this for so many years. I hope the archive of this channel remains accessible.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">All the best,</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Happy New Year,</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Andrew</div></div></body></html>